SUPERNATURAL Season Finale: Survival of the Fittest

Episode 723: “Survival of the Fittest”

I admit it, I was procrastinating on this writeup. As much as I love Supernatural, it often does very frustrating things, such as killing off Bobby Singer, and then wasting a perfect opportunity by making his ghost go “vengeful,” as if all ghosts self destruct in the course of only a few months. Which they don’t, even in the Supernatural universe, as evidenced by a recent episode involving an entire mansion full of ghosts who have been there for decades.

The Winchesters did end up having to let Bobby go and destroy the flask that he was tied to. I assume they’re going to burn his bones and all that at some point to completely release him, although they didn’t talk about that. I’m grateful that we weren’t forced to watch Bobby burn away as the flask melted into a puddle, it was only a light on Sam and Dean’s faces as they watched. At least we fans of Bobby were allowed that dignity, and we did get a little more time with him after his physical death, but still. So much wasted potential.

Well, on to the matter at hand, how to dispose of Dick Roman and his Leviathan cronies. Turns out that Dick, since he also had the prophet translate the tablet of Metatron, summoned Crowley and now they’re going to make a deal. A very lengthy deal. Written on parchment several yards long in Latin. Let the games begin.

Meanwhile, Sam and Dean are getting the final ingredients for the weapon that will take down Leviathan, according to the tablet. They have two of the three bloods and need the bone of a virtuous person, so they break into the catacombs of a nunnery, going through the burial book and listing off each one. Finally, Sister Mary Constant fits the bill, and, sledgehammer in hand, Dean says, “Let’s bone this nun.”

Even Dean had to stop himself on that one and say, “Sorry,” before breaking open the crypt.

Castiel, otherwise known as “Emo Boy” in this episode, is still reflecting on the nature of life and outwardly appears to be pretty unhinged. However, there’s a method to his madness, literally. He’s said several times that he is done with fighting, and every time something comes up where it’s clear that he has to help clean up the Leviathan mess he helped cause, he diverts with non sequitur like playing Twister and making sandwiches. Essentially, he’s sticking his fingers in his ears and going LALALALA, but in a less annoying manner.

One moment that went by quickly but that I simply had to mention here was when Castiel picks up the nun bone, sniffs it like a fine cigar, and says, “Ah, Sister Mary Constant.” Wow. Awesome, creepy and funny all at the same time. Awcreeny? Priceless, however you spell it.

Crowley shows up eventually and hands over his blood as promised, double-crossing Dick, because hey, that’s what Crowley does. Don’t make deals with major demons, kids. Unlike the alpha vampire who was somehow gullible enough to believe that the Leviathans were going to do a fair deal with them if they helped out, Crowley knows that the Winchesters are straight shooters (pun intended) and that it’s in his best interest to take their side.

The weapon is created with absolutely zero bells and whistles, to the point that they’re not even sure it worked at all. Having no other choice, and figuring it’s this or nothing, off they go to… “bone Dick.” Literally. They’re going to stab him with a bone. Heh. I do love the humor in this show.

And then, the triumphant return of Dean’s baby, the Impalla. It screams down the road, drifting and swerving, then smashes straight into the main glass sign of Sucrocorp. It’s glorious. Turns out Meg’s driving it and she gets out and starts going after the goons who meet her outside. A great diversion. Dean, Sam and Cas have snuck into the building in order to, yes, bone Dick.

Why is Castiel so important in all this? Because he knows intimately what Leviathan is, and despite the fact that Dick made copies of himself in order to trick them, Cas can see which one of them is the real one.

At last, the final confrontation takes place with only about ten minutes in the show to spare. Dean stabs Dick through the gut and nothing happens. Collective gasp. While they’re monologing at each other, Dean pulls out a second bone, the real one this time, and shanks Dick through the neck. This one’s very effective.

Everything starts pulsating and vibrating and I’m saying to the television right about now, “Dean, back the hell up. Why are you so close?” You would think someone with that kind of experience would, you know, duck and cover if it was so totally obvious that the head of the entire Leviathan force was about to blow. So yes, there’s a giant explosion of black, and Sam is left standing there, very, very alone.

Crowley’s taken the Prophet along with him. Dick Roman is dead. Where are Dean and Castiel?

This is one of those moments that makes you want to punch things.

Apparently, the Leviathans, or at least Dick (we don’t know if everybody else went with him) were sent back to Purgatory. And guess what? Dean and Castiel were too close and got sucked in there too. So now the season ends with Dean in a dark, tangled wood like something out of The Brothers Grimm, surrounded by growling creatures with glowing red eyes. Castiel disappears, and we can only assume he’s gone off to get help or go scouting or something productive.

I’m guessing they shot two endings: One for if the show was renewed, and one for if it wasn’t. Because I can’t believe for a minute that they would be so horrible as to leave the entire series with Sam all alone and Dean in Purgatory about to be ripped to shreds by monsters. I mean, come on.

I feel the ending at Sucrocorp was rushed and anticlimactic, and that sending Dean to Purgatory was unnecessary and only served to yank everybody’s collective chain. There’s just a point when viewers need to have something good and right happen to the main characters of a show, and this is that point.

These two have seen far, far too much misery, and while it’s fun for the writers to torture their characters, it’s not particularly fun to watch happen over and over. The Winchesters are doing their best to help humanity simply because it’s the right thing to do, and yet, for some reason God keeps screwing them over. Here’s hoping that season 8 will at least try to give Sam and Dean something positive for a change. I would have given up ages ago.

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