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Supernatural Make Me Choose: @presentlydean asked Kripke era, Gamble era, Carver era, or Dabb era?
So what’s it all add up to? It’s hard to say. But me, I’d say this was a test… for Sam and Dean. And I think they did all right. Up against, good, evil, angels, devils, destiny, and God himself, they made their own choice. They chose family. And, well… isn’t that kinda the whole point? No doubt - endings are hard. But then again… nothing ever really ends, does it?
the thing about the kripke era is that from s6 onwards the guns stop needing to be cleaned, and there’s always ammo and salt rounds, and joints don’t need to be popped back into place after fights, and when someone walks into a room the people there weren’t busy doing anything else unless that’s the point of the scene, and interactions with one-off characters no longer require those little thankyous and hellos and byes and excusemes that are barely noticeable because those interactions are just transactions to move the plot along, and driving around the country hardly ever involves small bits of logistics like buying gas or charging backup phones or something needing to be replaced, because the world keeps getting bigger and bigger but it’s their world, just scenery for the ones that matter to move around in, and unless showing the small details of everyday life serves a specific point, they’re no longer things that simply happen, casually a part of the day-to-day
Holy shit you guys. I’m up to “The End” in my SPN rewatch, and I stg, this episode is one of the absolute best of the entire series, for so many reasons. It’s also the episode that doesn’t stop giving.
We don’t get Sam’s side of the story, but with the hindsight of Swan Song, we can know pretty certainly that Sam probably said yes to Lucifer with the intent of trying to complete that plan.
In this future, Dean didn’t say yes to Michael. He walked away from Sam. He thought he couldn’t lose. He thought he could stop it alone.
Sam still said yes to Lucifer, because he, like Dean, didn’t believe he could lose. He thought he could let Lucifer in and throw himself into the pit. He thought he could stop it alone.
THEY BOTH thought they could do it alone. They couldn’t. And I love that what Dean realizes by the end of the episode is the exact OPPOSITE of what Zachariah intended.
This episode would have been the future. Zachariah wasn’t wrong about that. If things had continued on their current trajectory with Sam and Dean apart, what we see in The End is exactly what would have come to pass.
But Dean doesn’t need to say yes. He and Sam need to stick together. And he’s 100% right because even though Sam still says yes, it’s different this time. Because if Dean hadn’t been there at Stull Cemetery to ground Sam, to push past Lucifer and REACH Sam, Lucifer would have won. It’s only because they stick together that they win.
They’re stronger together than they are apart. I know there are a ton of episodes that highlight this fact about their relationship, but I’m not sure any of them make the point quite as strongly as this one does. Like, the world literally ends because the Winchesters went their separate ways.
Seasons 4 and 5 are excellent storytelling, but they’re also really sad, and extremely bleak. Watching them air live, I had time between episodes so I didn’t notice it AS much. But every rewatch I’m just like, DAMN, can I breathe now Kripke? This episode is a bit of an exception to that, because The End is incredibly bleak for the majority of the episode, but the ending is so hopeful.
And again, it’s only with the hindsight of having watched Swan Song that you could call this episode anything like heartwarming, but to me, now, it’s an affirmation of how Sam and Dean’s bond and love for each other literally saves the world.
Seasons 4&5 break my heart, but they also put it back together in some amazing ways.
