This season has been somewhat mediocre, with some useless filler episodes but then incredible plot twists and reveals such as Lucifer’s return and God himself showing up as our fan-favorite Chuck. This finale episode, “Alpha and Omega”, reflected this kind of season but I felt that the ending was one of the best we have seen, and, in my opinion, was actually quite sweet, which is strange for a show like Supernatural.
Firstly, we have the return of Castiel. After Amara expelled Lucifer from his vessel, it was refreshing to see the old sidekick back again but it did leave me wondering where Lucifer had gone. Back to Hell? Will he return in Season 12? I hope so. There were some lovely bonding moments between Cas and Dean where Dean refers to Cas as “a brother”. I also loved the scenes between Rowena, Crowley and Chuck because they felt very relaxed despite it being the end of the world.
When God reveals that he is dying, Sam comes up with the idea to kill Amara so that the cosmic balance of light and dark will be equal as both God and The Darkness will be dead. (What a world where there is no light or dark would look like I don’t know.) To do this, the team, with a little help from Billie the reaper, gather thousands of souls to make a bomb. The fact that these souls are actually deceased people that are stuck in the veil seemed to be lost on Sam and Dean. Sam started off the season trying to save as many people as possible and now he’s prepared to deny thousands of souls access to Heaven or a resting place, just to clear up his own mess.
Rowena reveals that Dean needs to be the suicide bomber in this situation as he is the only one who can get close to Amara. This leads to a heart-felt scene where Dean says goodbye to Sam and Castiel. This would have been upsetting to watch, had the show not already done this a dozen times before. It’s obvious, from a long-term fan’s perspective, that Dean isn’t actually going to die, so this sorrowful scene doesn’t really induce much heart wrench.
Dean confronts Amara (again) and, after she discovers he is carrying a bomb inside of him, Dean tries to knock some sense into her, accusing her of killing the sun. Amara then reveals that she isn’t responsible for dimming the sun, but that it is due to the fact that God is dying as he is the light to the world. She then further reveals that when God dies, all his creations will cease to exist. At this point, I was very confused. I know God isn’t at his best at the moment, but he is all-knowing and must understand that, after his death, the world will inevitably end so why is he going along with Sam’s plan to kill The Darkness in order to save the world? Why pretend that the sun’s energy loss is actually Amara’s fault when it’s from his dwindling power? Killing Amara won’t stop his death, and therefore won’t stop the end of the world so why are they doing it? Sometimes I don’t know what the writers are on when they write this stuff.
Anyway, Amara gets all upset, regretting what she’s done, and summons God to heal him. It’s actually a very, very joyous ending in my opinion. God and The Darkness drift off into the sunset to do some re-bonding family time and I was extremely happy with that result. The world appears to be stable, God and Amara are no longer going to interfere with Earth, and Dean LIVES! (I didn’t see that one coming.)
Then we have new character, Lady Antonia Bevell, an English Woman of Letters who we see travelling from the UK throughout the episode. At the end of the episode, after banishing Castiel using a sigil, she challenges Sam, explaining that the Men of Letter’s society in England have basically had enough of the Winchesters and their screw ups. She’s come to take them in. Personally, I can’t wait for this storyline in Season 12 as I am English and am desperate for the show to film on location over here. The fans of Supernatural are known for being universal, with conventions taking place all over Europe and Australia, so for the crew to travel somewhere new to film would be super exciting. Bela, the British antagonist of Season 3, was very well received by the fans so I can’t wait to see what Lady Antonia will do.
In addition to this, Sam’s fate is left uncertain as Lady Antonia takes a shot at him. With Dean left in the middle of nowhere after God and The Darkness depart (I mean, c’mon, they could have at least teleported him to the bunker before disappearing), the Winchester’s have no idea of each other’s position, with Sam still believing that Dean has blown himself up. Then, just as Dean is about to lose it over his phone signal, who else but the famous Mary Winchester, Sam and Dean’s mother, shows up back from the dead. This twist was foreshadowed when Sam and Dean visited her grave earlier on in the episode and, before God and Amara split, Amara expressed her desire to give Dean what she had got back; family. I must admit, I was half-expecting the return of Winchester dad, John, as fans have begged for his return since his death in Season 2 but seeing Mary really stirred something special.
This is a woman who never got the chance to watch her children grow up, who initiated the vengeful hunting lifestyle of her husband and sons, and who sacrificed everything for family. Basically, the premise of the entire show is based on this woman and yet her story always felt unfinished. A chance for Sam and Dean to finally reunite with their mother in Season 12 has so much potential and, as I’ve said, it’s definitely one of the better finale cliff-hangers. The last line of the season, Dean’s astonished “Mom?”, which magically transformed the older Winchester into a vulnerable, little boy again, was telling.
Can you wait for Season 12 or are you going to start fantasising the family reunion now?