“Supernatural” ends disappointingly after 15 years of buildup

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Photo via The CW

The final six episodes of season 15 of “Supernatural” were released on Netflix Nov. 27. The series focuses on the Winchester brothers, Sam and Dean, who were raised to hunt down evil creatures in a world where monsters are real.

The 15-year long series follows the Winchesters as they fight their way through vampires, werewolves, vengeful spirits, pagan gods, angels, demons, ancient beings and everything else evil and monstrous in the world. In season 15, the Winchesters and their friends, Castiel and Jack, face off against their most powerful and greatest enemy yet, Chuck, also known as God, who has grown tired of the Winchesters’ resistance to his storyline and wants to end the story permanently.

I started watching “Supernatural” in the summer of 2018, and I loved it. The episode-to-episode monster hunts with a slowly-evolving overarching plot was intriguing and the character dynamics were nice to watch. As the series evolved, though, the neverending stretch to one-up the previous seasons’ increasingly insane big bads (Lucifer, archangels, alternate realities, darkness incarnate, etc) led the plot to grow incredibly complex, confusing and occasionally contradictory, introducing new game-changing plot devices that have supposedly “always been there” in order to keep the plot armor functional. Still, I enjoyed the characters and their dynamics, and wanted to see it all the way through.

Season 15 was mostly enjoyable. The episodes leading up to the finale were interesting and easier to follow than some of the prior seasons (my personal favorite being episode 14, “Last Holiday”) and with the exception of episode 18, “Despair,” did the characters justice. I felt the final confrontation to be incredibly investable and climatic. It’s the aftermath and the fate of several characters that I have a problem with.

Episode 19, “Inherit the Earth,” ended wonderfully with a great finish, and I believe they should have cut it off there. Episode 20, “Carry On,” might have started off lovely and nostalgic, but ended up using a cheap trick for a final overused emotional twist, leaving me more frustrated than satisfied.

Overall, I’m disappointed. Only one of the four main characters’ had an ending that I actually felt satisfied with and thought fit, and they were arguably the most minor of the mains. The only reason I’d recommend watching all the way to the end is if you’ve already made it this far and want the satisfaction of watching “Supernatural” disappear off of your “Continue Watching” section.