The Fiction of Free Will: A Supernatural Video Essay

A discussion of the ending of Supernatural, specifically what went wrong with it and how it could've been better.
PART ONE: • The Evolution of Desti...
THIS IS NOT A SPOILER FREE VIDEO
A want to give a special thank you to my good friend Alexa for making the thumbnail and background picture for this video! You can find more of her stuff here: / byalexapoma
Thank you to my friend Tierney for helping me out with some of the clips I used in this! You can find her here: / katebushstandean (make sure to check out her KZbin videos as well... she made The One And Only Strawberry Blond Destiel AMV)
Other places to find me:
gayedmundo.tumblr.com/​​
meatmandean.tumblr.com/​
The clips used in this video all belong to The CW Network. I use them for commentary purposes only, which constitutes as Fair Use.
Music used in this video:
• Grass - Silent Partner...

[@_k_n_]

Imagine the impact of just simply putting Cas in the passenger seat of the Impala in heaven. Just pan over before Dean drives off, a shared smile and BOOM. Still not what they deserved but better... So much better.

[@eileensnow6153]

I always thought they would just show a shot of them taking one another’s hand while staring out over all of heaven and then cut to black. I wanted more but I would’ve been satisfied with that.

[@cass-a-dilla]

:( what could have been

[@audreyii6750]

I'm so starved for representation I'd have probably gone NUTS over that alone

[@luminousmoon86]

I've had that thought too. It would have been so simple and it would have pleased the vast majority of fans, with the exception of the extreme Cas haters, of which there are very few. My idea was Dean goes driving and after a few minutes Cas appears next to him in the passenger seat, as he sometimes did in life. Dean smiles. Maybe says something like, "Man, I am so glad to see you". Cas smiles back, and then we pull away from the car to see it keep going and they do their same stupid Sam "the wigs of time and human existence" montage, and after the scene where Sam dies, we come back into the car, and Cas says something like, "He's almost here." And Dean, looking hopeful and sad and happy all at once, says, "Yeah?". And Cas smiles and says, "I'll give you two some time to catch up" and then disappears, again as he always used to do. Then they do their same bridge ending. This is such an obvious choice and it would have made the ending satisfying for absolutely everyone. You almost have to come to the conclusion that they did it on purpose to deliberately piss off Cas fans. The COVID nonsense is just that, nonsense. They had 300 maskless crew members standing on a bridge. One more actor was not going to make a difference to that scenario as far as COVID safety.

[@HealthyObbsession]

Sadly they couldn’t bring back as many of the actors as they wanted for the ending due to COVID

[@samcarmen]

even if you take away the ship aspect, cas was still his best friend for a decade. are you telling me that he wouldn't have a reaction to realizing that he's in heaven with him? that is just being dumb.

[@AlienZizi]

funny enough, it mirrors sam not caring that his own love interest might be resurrected lmao

[@isabellapalacio4631]

It’s been lazy writing since season 6 honestly- like lazy to a degree that makes me gag (tho I love seasons 8,11, and 13... the writers stopped caring when king kripckie left)

[@HealTheWorldwithMJ]

Did you miss Dean's reaction? He smiled and was obviously happy about hearing Castiel helped Jack with heaven. Sam not mentioning Eileen is consistent in showing us Chuck manipulated their relationship.

[@thepacksurvives71]

Dean was devastated when Cas died in season 12 and in the finale he' s just like, "oh well"

[@AndreaCanales25]

@@thepacksurvives71 he was devastated because he lost everyone, not only Cass. He lost his mom, Cass and even Crowley. Cass was dead, so he could morn him, as same as Crowley, but his mom? He thought she was dead, but the idea of her dying in Lucifer's hands after she ruined his plans of coming back to our world was terrifying coz he thought his mom not only died but died suffering in terrible ways. They lost so much that he would've been happy even if they got Crowley back, as he himself said, so when Cass, a true friend came back from death, he was hopeful and happy again. So you can't really compare Dean's reaction in season 12 finale/first episodes of season 13 with 15x18/15x19/15x20 because it's not the same. Dean lost Cass before in season 6, and although he was hurt by everything Cass did to them and missed his friend, he moved on relatively easily. Now compare that reaction with the series finale and it does make sense. Cass dies, Dean morns him for some moments and continues with his life, if Cass resurrects, then Dean is happy for him, but that's all. And that's exactly what those 3 last episodes showed.

[@Sallyxyz1]

The fact that they had no issue making god a villain and glorifying an abusive father but won't allow a gay relationship is baffling.

[@sam.v]

exactly!

[@caseyp167]

It is, but also isn’t - I remember seeing a map graph of the most watched show in each state, and Supernatural was top in pretty much every southern red state. I could see producers and network execs not allowing it for that reason even if show runners weren’t afraid of the idea. The show was blasphemous from the start, but they made homophobic jokes to still appeal to toxic males. It’s stupid and another piece of evidence that all studio execs need to sit tf down forever, but it’s not surprising.

[@gabe2777]

literally

[@Ryan78336]

I'm reminded of the supposed many letters the BBC received regarding the same sex couple of Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint kissing on screen being 'offensive' yet not one person wrote to complain that the kiss was interspecies. I mean PRIORITIES!

[@payten4515]

not to mention they also made God bisexual, but for some reason can't do the same for Dean from fear of angering people? literally made God a shitty writer and bisexual but nope! Main character can't be bi??

[@leadensparrow4887]

Me having never seen an episode of Supernatural: well this looks interesting Me at the end of this video shoving popcorn in my mouth: Tell me more funny words magic man

[@alixwoods1798]

ive never seen supernatural either, but hot dang the way ms. buzzkill makes a video essay ❤️

[@morganbrandr4228]

Ohh you gotta watch her other spn video first, it gives a lot of context

[@Cotteesee]

i started watching supernatural bc of this video lmao

[@user-cx7xz6qx6h]

@@Cotteesee at least you'll have the time at home to watch.

[@lexcas479]

@@Cotteesee Welcome to the family. This is a formal warning, you still have time to leave.

[@Poisonousquinn]

Honestly, I think regardless of what type of SPN fan you are, we should all be pissed that John got even a moment in Dean's heaven with everything he did to those boys. He shouldn't even be in heaven.

[@ravengrey9709]

That is one thing I always had a problem with in SPN tbh. Honestly, I thought they did well with depicting how John Wincester was not a good man and an even worse father. As the series went on, the authors tried to redeem him but I always found that I couldn't get away from the deep turmoil he caused in Dean and how that got drifted away when convenient. I always felt like they did Sam and especially Dean wrong in that sense.

[@cynomyslove2730]

My favorite Supernatural fanfiction tag is the bitingly sarcastic "John Winchester's A+ Parenting".

[@dawnmayflower4422]

@@cynomyslove2730 Same.

[@laltrasfaccettaturadelrubi6845]

I have no idea as to why they went from John is good and needs to be rescued to unveiling him as abusive, to trying to justify him in every single way. Like that episode where they eat dinner with the resurrected Mary. I would have been on board if Dean had gotten the development of understanding that he was abusive, detaching himself from that, be able to grow and then understand that he was a flawed person and find peace with that. But no. let's all act like that bunch of trauma isn't there. John is perfect. yey.

[@peacefulpossum2438]

I understand that as adult survivors of abuse who have themselves done harmful things to one another, Sam and Dean choose to see John as “doing the best he could.” And of course, John was manipulated by Chuck too. But the narrative itself should have been more objective. Lebanon was a ridiculous episode.

[@Poisonousquinn]

"Dean never gets to live beyond what his low self worth thought he deserved. He acheived his freedom and it was once again ripped from him months, or if we're being generous, a few years afterwards. He never broke out of this cycle. He never stopped hunting. He never grew out of his codependency with Sam. And then we're told that this character who has hated himself and struggled with suicidal behavior throughout the whole series can only find his true happiness in death. And that his abusive father who instilled all of this self hatred in him in the first place is right down the road from him." Dean has always been my favorite, I'm always sucker for a character with a lot of angst and daddy issues, and seeing him get this kind of ending after 15 fucking seasons of suffering feels really awful. On so many levels.

[@katherinemorelle7115]

As someone who struggles with chronic depression and suicidal ideation, I have to agree that this was... not the best message to send. Maybe don’t reinforce that the depressed, suicidal character (or at least one that has story goes with it during significant parts of the story) can only be happy in death. Holy shit is that a bad message!

[@nephtys1959]

@@katherinemorelle7115 same here. Wrong message about "Happiness (= Cas) and Peace (= Dean) can only be found in death". This is unhealthy, cruel and evil.

[@namichan89]

To hear these sentences coherently made me realize what my (at first, seeming only mildly disappointed) feelings and issues with he finale truly were. Fucking bullshit.

[@syolyte]

@@katherinemorelle7115 Yeah I* didn't expect to be read like that in a video essay xD. That message was hitting me in the face for a long time when younger. It still does every once in a while but not as much as it did before.

[@melissam5669]

Ive struggled with my feelings about the finale for months and you’ve just captured exactly why. I hated the ending. Even though the internet tried to tell me it was “how it was always destined to end” I felt that Dean was abused the entire show and through to the end without ever having a chance to grow or heal beyond the abuse life threw at him . As someone who lost someone close to me from depression and suicide, I understand better why the ending sucked for me in so many ways.

[@Poisonousquinn]

the comment about them trying to kill off Castiel and him just being like "No." reminds me of how when Supernatural ended like 3 months ago, it kept trending again and again during December cause of the other dubs making Destiel canon again lol

[@maylingbrown2171]

Since the end of season 4, Cas REFUSED to stay dead and we love him for it

[@makyatheprocrastinator]

And yesterday bc we organized them a wedding 😭👏

[@tunasandwich1135]

The last two episodes feel like they were written by someone who watched the first episode and then was given brief summaries of some of the other major plot points/characters and about 24 hours.

[@zoex3316]

I agree! But even Dylan a KZbinr who only watched the first and last episode hated the last episode

[@foolwithtoomanynames]

​@@zoex3316Ayy fellow Dylanisintrouble fan!!!

[@daneroberts1996]

I can't believe Wincest won out over Destiel in the end

[@art_school_idiot5153]

This comment is amazing and I have so much respect for you

[@phoenixsweet1697]

I didn't even realize.

[@rockracingfan]

No it didn't. they're brothers ffs.

[@Hunter_VanderMatthews]

That's what I was thinking, I mean, Dean's death scene? Jesus Christ.

[@nighttail101]

@@rockracingfan That’s the joke-

[@qwellen7521]

Free will only exists in the Spanish dub

[@somber.cosmos8381]

and arabic dub,, dean even said i love you back

[@shaywhoop4040]

@@somber.cosmos8381 and now in French dub too

[@tinystank]

im sorry this comment has me c a c k l i n g

[@claire3614]

Somos superiores en ese sentido

[@yanny7186]

This comment is precious

[@Poisonousquinn]

40:32 okay idk about y'all but I would 100% watch a two hour video about you deep diving into all the scenes that pointed to Dean being bisexual throughout the years, cause hoo boy are there a lot.

[@FelixxFernanda]

OH MY GOD, YES!!!

[@catboymccartney]

I HOPE THEY MAKE A VIDEO ABOUT THAT PLEASE.

[@zhulimoon46]

OH MY GOD, SHE HAS TO DO THIS!

[@igettoloveyouu]

YES!

[@GabiihAmaral]

Please do

[@eileensnow6153]

Imagine painting 7/8 of the next Mona Lisa and then giving your two-year-old niece a box of crayons to finish it

[@LysLovesAlpacas]

even if you take away the ship, the way that they treated cas as expendable is disgusting. and the show had tried doing it since he was introduced. cas, canonically was the only one who ever truly had free will, being the only thing in every single universe to ever break away from the chains of chuck. it mirrors how in real life, no matter how many times they tried to take cas away from us, he was always brought back because that’s what the people wanted. them ending it with him dying and sam and dean not giving a shit, really shows the show’s true feelings on what they thought about and felt about castiel, regardless of destiel.

[@Mia199603]

Yeah, that's disrespectful af but also so ungrateful.

[@mossface100]

I don't know why but "it stands to reason that had Dean ended up with someone romantically, it would've been Cas. Unfortunately... 'It's important to remember that we live in a society--'" just GOT me. I died laughing but it was half in pain because...yeah... :') love the video!! you did a great job

[@KJ_bluebird]

@@peacefulpossum2438 Err... why sexual partner? Romance does not always include sexual relationships.

[@karmahoudini9241]

@@peacefulpossum2438 Y'all Wincest shippers stay telling on yourselves. Also Kripke did not say that, it was just Gamble. And it was clearly a joke said over a decade ago. But why let something like context stand in the way of your incest shipping, amirite?

[@karmahoudini9241]

@@peacefulpossum2438 I hope you didn't strain your arms from that reach. Imagine going this hard to defend shipping incest. I feel sorry for your family, because you've failed them. Hopefully none of them are your "soul mate".

[@karmahoudini9241]

@@peacefulpossum2438 Whatever you say, brother-f*cker. Destiel isn't "inter-species" shipping because Cas is literally in his own human body. And even if it was, he's a sentient consenting adult and NOT related to Dean. Imagine that. Imagine being so delusional that you compare incest to a supernatural relationship in a fantasy show. And yes, we absolutely have the moral high ground, because incest is a real thing that hurts people irl, regardless of whether you personally advocate for it in real life or not. And gtfoh with that "purity culture" bs. I can call you out for being sick in the head without claiming that ships reflect real life. (Something I've never claimed, BTW). And again, Destiel is canon. That shit burns you up so much that you can't stop talking about it. If Destiel was just "fanon" it wouldn't bother you enough to keep arguing about it on the internet. Whereas I'm just sitting here having fun giving you a taste of your own medicine.

[@karmahoudini9241]

@@peacefulpossum2438 Now I've wasted enough time even engaging with someone who not only ships incest, but ships it so hard that it distorts their entire view of the show and the fandom to the point where you ignore canon because it doesn't conform to your fantasy. From now on, I'm just going to respond to your replies with "OK, brother-f*cker"

[@nbucwa6621]

1) The thing that gets me about Sam's ending is how it re-affirms what's been implied in SPN since early seasons: that Sam is being held back from his true happiness by Dean. The fact that Sam doesn't quit hunting after Chuck's death (when he gains free will) but quits immediately after Dean's death holds the horrible implication that all along the only way for Sam to truly be free was if Dean was dead. I could stretch this further and even add that it sullies his choice not to bring Dean back, changing it from being driven by growth by opening up the possible reading that he only ever brought Dean back in previous seasons because Chuck was controlling their choices despite their true wishes. 2) They definitely decided not to bring Eileen back so that the would have an excuse against any accusations of homophobia. "Ofc we weren't avoiding addressing Dean/Cas! See, we didn't bring back Sam's love either!" 3) I will admit that Kevin is treated horribly (esp as one of the few poc on the show) but I will raise you Adam. The third, and most unloved, Winchester brother didn't even get his name included on the table. 4) Now that you've put Bar-owner Dean in my head, I love it! I can't stop thinking of how it could have been executed while still obeying covid guidelines ie. perhaps have Sam show up after closing time (so empty large room w only two actors) w baby pics and mention what he and Eileen have been up to (maybe recently retired due to the baby). And since we on the topic of improvements, Dean's death scene could have also been greatly improved (while also resolving Cas' ending) by having Cas show up (distanced) during it. Imagine the catharsis, as Dean grows weaker, the camera switches to Dean's perspective. He's holding Sam's hand, his vision blurs and as Sam goes out of focus, a smiling Cas comes into focus instead from beyond Sam's shoulder and Dean smiles slightly in return. Sam glances behind him and sees nothing and when he looks back at Dean, he's already gone. This would have resolved Cas' fate (we can still find out the details later in heaven from Bobby), while leaving the scene open to interpretation enough for them to still avoid addressing the big homo elephant in the room and it would have removed the awful message that perpetually suicidal dean just always wanted to die by shifting the focus from death to him knowing there's ''another life'', another chance if you will, waiting on the other side for him. 5) in essence, there was no excuse (including covid) that could justify an ending this bad. It's interesting that some of the most defining stories and characters of SPN were birthed by the writers having to get creative in the face of external, unexpected crises and yet . . .

[@PeanutForBrains]

P R E A C H 👏

[@alanaw4489]

I'm still pissed they gave Sam a blurry wife/ basically a prop with a uterus if she wasn't important why semi- show her anyway? SingleDad! Sam would have been better

[@billiemorton3078]

@@alanaw4489 Right, they just chose a random girl they could have just made him have a baby mama atp

[@HealTheWorldwithMJ]

Sam: "This is my life. I love it. But I can't do it without my brother. I don't wanna do it without my brother." That's why he was hunting with Dean and that's why he quit without Dean. It's so clear when you watch the show.

[@billiemorton3078]

@@HealTheWorldwithMJ I mean yea but they’ve been pushing the narrative for a while throughout the show

[@elenaKS230]

The thing about supernatural is that it was the last of its kind. Most shows nowadays will barely last as long as supernatural did, with the Netflix show format becoming increasingly popular. Shows like the X-files, with extremely slow burn romances have essentially disappeared in the new era of television and SPN was truly an old relic of its time. It could be the first ever gay slow burn of that scale.

[@peacefulpossum2438]

The thing is that SPN never wavered from what it was about - the actors or writers. It was old school that way. It didn’t deviate for a younger, more modern audience. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@megonometry9230]

The fact that they had deans abuser living so close to him in heaven is totally inconsistent with how John was written in during the earlier seasons. And the fact that Jack/Cas when rebuilding heaven would let John in even after how he abused the brothers is laughable

[@foxymoon7860]

Jack and Cas were OOC as well. Implications are very dark if you think about the finale more. The way Jack probably let Dean die sucked. Many people argue that Jack is now God and he's not supposed to interfere, but it only makes Jack's situation worse. Now he's an absent and emotionless God that doesn't do anything? And that Dean was his father... wtf man. And Cas too. Cas was alive the entire time but he just didn't do anything about it and never came to see/greet Dean. Didn't even attend his funeral (which is just... so bad and trash writing all the way) There are so many narrative inconsistencies and nothing really made any sense. It seemed like all characters got amnesia and were given most parodic and ridiculous endings possible.

[@monoculares]

I cried so hard at your Dean character analysis. My mom came to my room to ask me if i was ok. no mom, i'm not. dean deserved so much better. cas deserved to be loved. i'm heartbroken.

[@Shauniiiiiiiii]

I'm glad I'm not the only one crying omg!!

[@cass-a-dilla]

Poor Dean. I’m just gonna pretend the finale never happened and make up my own. Much more satisfying.

[@anandiganguly3086]

They established some of the best plot lines. And did absolutely nothing with them. Cas's fading grace. The wound that connected Chuck and Sam. Heaven being powered down. The empty being loud which could've woken up all the angels and demons in it. The fact that there are other gods, below the main God like the luck lady who could've helped in the main battle. And most importantly, Cas being the only being in the entire multiverse that was acting completely on free will. He was unaccounted for by both Chuck and Billie and I can't believe that they established that... AND THEN NOTHING. Instead we got Lucifer back for the millionth time. Would it really hurt them to do something different? The whole reason why they never even mentioned Cas's confession afterwards is because they know if they do, it NEEDS to be followed by Dean's confession. That's the only way and well...they can't have that so they decided to erase Cas's entire existence. Cool. We know how depressed, worried, self destructive, unable to function, and downright suicidal Dean got everytime Cas died, especially after season 12 and you're telling me that he sees Cas confess his undying love for him, says that he cared about everything because of him and ultimately sacrifices himself to save Dean and Dean's just....cool with it? They didn't even have Dean utter his name once after 15x18. Pitiful. Honestly, pitiful. Him saying "their sacrifice would go to waste if we didn't keep on living" is the most un Dean like line I've ever heard. Hell, Sam showed more emotion that Dean in the finale. And they even established how easy it is to summon someone from the empty. Nick did it to Lucifer as he had his blood with him, Dean also had Cas's blood on his jacket but did nothing. They didn't even ask Jack to bring him back once he became God. What the actual hell? And they couldn't give Dean a happy montage of a married life because they knew he could only have that with Cas so they KILLED HIM OFF. When he finally started to move on, when he finally thought he deserved happiness. And Sam had to live the rest of his life without his brother, without his best friend, without Jack AND ALSO WITHOUT EILEEN? Say it with me, Chuck won. Remember the ending he wrote that Becky said was terrible because of what he did to Sam and Dean and the fact that no one even mentions Cas.....yeah that's the ending we got lmao. And throughout they show that the writers are evil. With Metatron and then Chuck, now we know that they were right because the writers truly are evil.

[@mffmoniz2948]

Yep, they didn't even allow the name "Cas" to leave Dean's lips. Come on...

[@AlexGilbert_]

Oh my god, I never even thought about how they brought Lucifer back from the Empty with blood... And how they definitely could have done that for Cas 💀💀

[@Rebecca-tz8pz]

In an effort to keep their reputation as a good show, Supernatural destroyed 15 years in 2 episodes. I can't fathom how terribly they managed to fuck up

[@tulips3243]

It's just like the Game of Thrones. How can you mess up that badly...

[@hollykm]

Honestly it's kind of impressive

[@alonsoarana5307]

Okay but let's be honest here, the show had overstayed its welcome. I fear the MCU is going this route

[@cynomyslove2730]

My favorite SPN finale hot take of all time is still: "Dean Winchester deserves to be in heaven right now, getting his back blown out by a man who truly loves and appreciates him." RIP Castiel, you saw Dean for who he was, start to finish, and you loved him.

[@_k_n_]

Right????

[@eileensnow6153]

You’re my favorite person

[@Michael_the_Drunkard]

You girls wanna see this, because you have a fetish. That's the only reason, you're shilling for "Destiel".

[@vegetalover9297]

lol

[@mcmann2243]

I wish, damn

[@danceteacherrlb]

Putting all the scenes of Dean flirting with men over the discussion of how Dean was straight was a bold move- i loved it

[@Michael_the_Drunkard]

Still wasn't convinced. I've complimented my friends several times and don't want to bang them.

[@miles2757]

I was one of the fans that fell off and then came back to see the last couple of episodes, but let me tell you I was SO angry to find out that John was just chilling in heaven, fuck that guy lmao. And what they did to Dean was just criminal. I'm pissed off on behalf of everyone who stuck with the show honestly

[@Theracooninyourbasement]

John doesn't deserve heaven

[@katherinemorelle7115]

John Winchester’s A+ parenting is a full on fic trope for a reason! If they had to have him in heaven, I wanted it to be only after him atoning for all the damage he did. I remember reading fics where Mary learned what John did, and then she sees him and just lays him out. That would have been awesome. Because no way would Mary have been okay with what John did to her boys. I’m okay with Mary being a flawed character herself (though her leaving the boys willingly for an entire season was very obviously only because they didn’t know how else to fulfil contractual issues). But I’ll never believe that she was okay with John being abusive. That makes no sense. I remember fics that even had Mary realising that she never really liked John all that much, that once she died the whole Cupid’s bow thing wore off, and she was pissed at the lack of autonomy. That would have been interesting to explore. I guess the entire moral of my comment is- the fics are better than the show. Thank Jack for fics!

[@Theracooninyourbasement]

@@katherinemorelle7115 tru

[@elliart7432]

Honestly, I don't understand why the writers seem to think canonically making Dean bi strips him of his "ladies man" character trait and makes him pretty much gay. Um... you do realize bi people with strong leanings toward one particular gender exist and "Dean definitely prefers woman" and "Dean happen to be in love with a man rn" can co exist? I prefer woman, STRONGLY prefer women, women are my jam, I've contemplated whether or not I'm actually just straight...(ish?) (I'm masc nonbinary). Low and behold the love of my life is a man so hopefully someday soon my woman loving ass is gonna have a husband. see what I mean?

[@trubb1e]

Women are my jam😂😂HAHA love it

[@Jhocey]

Honestly, for me, I am a bisexual woman who also sees women as my preferred, but I have been in an excellent relationship with a man for six years. When people tell me that Dean could not be bi because he loves women too much, I called it BS. That’s the whole point of bisexuality that you love both, and it’s possible to have a preference, but your heart will know when they are the one whomever that person may be. I was very disappointed 😔

[@sydneyhayes1273]

Same same same we are the same person

[@isabellapalacio4631]

DUDE EXACTLY. I’m like the worst example for this bc dean clearly showed attraction to men before but I haven’t to women so let me explain: I’ve fallen for a girl, never met her face to face but I did love her. It was a connection of souls as they say. I’ve only ever had crush on Boys irl but they all developed from a dream or sum, with the exception one guy I genuinely felt a deep connection to this girl was my only true connection. Yet whenever I think of the epitome of hot im thinking of a dude bc like Henry cavill Is seggsy, I don’t simp for girls yet I definitely simp for guys. But - I still loved a girl. And I’ve had deep friendships w girls too and it’s different, bc again what I had w this girl wasn’t friendship it was the connection of souls. If she was a guy I still would’ve felt tje same, bc love dosent have a gender for some ppl including myself anf many others. I acc loved this girl (lesbian btw), yet I’m not typically attracted to women physically (sexually and physically are two diff things) and never had a crush on girls before. That really shows that even if you think you’re straight sometimes u meet ppl and realize that for lots of ppl, romance is abt something way deeper than just looking pretty and silly crushes.

[@Nessainthebuilding]

Yeah bisexuality is very rarely a 50/50 thing. We usually have a preference. I'm cis female and I prefer men but I couldn't ignore my attraction to women or the hook ups I've had with women. Like I had so much internalized homophobia that I sabotaged a possibly loving relationship with a woman. To watch a character go through that long process of going "shit I'm bisexual" would have been ground breaking but noooooooo

[@archieh1135]

Well you see, the show's refusal to acknowledge Sam's love interest in Eileen is meant to parallel the refusal to acknowledge Dean's love interest. Excellent writing. QED Destiel is canon

[@Michael_the_Drunkard]

Yeah thanks to fanservice in s15. Before that it was clearly a bromance, which is something you somehow can't fathom. Maybe the reason, you want "destiel" to be canon is that you get off on that. You tell me.

[@castielnovak2900]

​@thephilosopher896 ppl wanted destial to be cannon because the show queer baited fans for a decade and included numerous scenes hinting at deans bisexuality(even before cas was introduced). If you can watch compilations of Dean and Cas interacting and tell me there's not tension there, your blind

[@Daniela-pn5iv]

I would literally pay to have that "Dean is bi, actually" video

[@jestersbirthday]

Same 😭

[@mwheeler37]

Did you see him interacting with Benny? That was a whole damn relationship in only a few episodes

[@t4tvampireisms]

@@mwheeler37 I agree, I love Dean/Benny. It’s my favorite ship

[@DerpingIsDerp]

It's dean's death that really pisses me off. As someone who struggles with self worth issues, finally having a character on TV that you can relate to getting told he could only be happy in heaven is devastating

[@succubitch1054]

i knew the ending was bad but jesus christ that’s so much worse than i thought

[@nickollgarcia2360]

Okay right?? I didn’t like it at the time but right now, having it summarized in context of the entire season and show, I literally felt like “what...the fuck”

[@elliart7432]

everybody always forgets to mention this but... they left a plotline involving the empty that was INSANELY interesting and practically set up freakin dominoes for striking a non-sacrificial deal to rescue Cas. I was so pumped to find out wtf happens after Jack wakes up *the entire fucking empty.* I mean, it's not like the empty is one of the most interesting and mainly untapped pieces of lore to come out out of the later seasons right? It's not like Jack is now god right? it's not like literal god's father is now dead, in the empty, and he can do something the empty desperately wants... *right??*

[@yellohcards]

Thank you so much for mentioning the Billie issue! As a black fan of the show I was so disappointed to see them fall back into their "kill the black people" ways. Also Death remaining neutral was the better option.

[@thepacksurvives71]

I hated that so much!

[@imaginieiota6298]

Same

[@1dsantos]

@@imaginieiota6298 Definitely should have kept Death neutral and Eternal. They demeaned Billie as Death making her less than the old white guy Death..

[@alonsoarana5307]

I get disgusted at how everyone demeans Billie just because "she's not like the old Death". I don't get it, why does she have to be like the old guy? I personally like both for different reasons

[@LivaJulani]

I hated the way they created Gordon! This character is so mean and way to hard. I have no idea why the actor take this role.

[@chaoticcrypsis4081]

These two videos perfectly encapsulate my love/hate relationship with this show. As someone who struggles with internalized self hatred and an inability to handle anything in a healthy manner, I always related to Dean in that way. I watched his progression through the show and hoped it would end with him learning to value himself. I hoped he would learn that its ok for him to continue living and enjoy life, and that happiness is not something to fear. That is all something I myself am trying to learn. Seeing that they ended the show with all of his expectations about himself and what he deserves in life coming true feels... wrong. They truly didn't know what story they were telling. Also, I fucking love Eileen. How DARE they screw her over like that.

[@mimimurlough]

As someone who has lost people to suicide, this ending just seems irresponsible to me. Fuck these guys. Dean deserved to get help at the very least, and feel like he was worthy of living on

[@hollykm]

I agree with you so hard. The disrespect aimed toward Dean and fans of Dean was just atrocious. I wonder, how do you combat these feelings of self-hatred? Do you think they could have incorporated those into Dean's story?

[@Blue_Lunacy]

In the end, the show not only have the worst case of q*eerbaiting but probably the fastest execution of fridge your gay trope. Cas confessed and died immediately with Dean shock pikachu face as the last thing he saw...

[@Shauniiiiiiiii]

Me: stopped watching supernatural at the end of the leviathan series because it felt too repetitive to me. Also me: giving my full attention to almost 2hrs of intellectual supernatural analysis, crying at your description of Dean's personality and issues, fully believing in Destiel being 100% legit and so romantic and beautiful omg, feeling represented and highly turned on at Dean's obvious bisexuality, and also DEVISING A PLOT TO FIGHT THE WRITERS AND SHOWRUNNERS OF THE LAST TWO EPISODES THAT I DIDNT EVEN WATCH!!! Sam and Dean deserved so much better! Idc why I'm crying in the club rn

[@dianamijde5543]

i hold out a bit longer( halfway season 14) but feelthe same man...the same

[@mrubbykat]

Me: * grabs pop corn, tissues and a clown mask * I'm ready

[@Theracooninyourbasement]

me every day 😂

[@doodlebrain6594]

Gods picturing an ending where Sam and Eileen form a network of hunters (taking Bobby’s role) and dean retires to start a bar with cas (taking jody’s) is like looking into the mirror of erised

[@mffmoniz2948]

Check The Goldenrod Revisions by Aethylas. It is the ending we deserved.

[@emmalee8548]

@@mffmoniz2948 bless you

[@mffmoniz2948]

@@emmalee8548 Bless the writter.

[@TimeandMonotony]

@@mffmoniz2948 I just read that and it was SO MUCH more fulfilling than the last two episodes. I loved it, but it made me sad for what could have been.

[@mffmoniz2948]

@@TimeandMonotony What could have been is part of why fanfiction exists.

[@bobsrussi598]

God, now you've said it I can't unsee it. The real ending is that Cas fought against the writers to be happy until they had to give it to him, and ultimately all of them were punished for it. :(

[@eski5084]

i've actually explained this to ppl before, how the show basically retconned the seasons where Supernatural focused on found family and relationships outside of Sam and Dean's relationship, making the final episode a carbon copy of first-season Sam and Dean's expectations of their ending while ignoring over ten seasons of character growth that would have made that ending obsolete if the writers were actually competent. cas and jack deserve better, i rest my case

[@dresden123456]

"This show isn't about romance. It's about brothers!". Some fans (we all know which ones) just love to smugly point it out as if that 1.explains the show and 2.makes the show better. But the whole premise of SPN was a guy who couldn't move on after his wife's death and his younger son dragged back into hunting because his gf died. (JFC they really got off on fridging women right from the pilot). I absolutely hate the mindset that romance involved in a story automatically makes it a story of lesser quality... because chick flick amirite? What a toxic approach.

[@peacefulpossum2438]

No, that’s not why. It’s because our culture elevates romantic/sexual relationships above all others, and it’s hard to find shows that don’t do the same. I keep hearing about representation in this discussion, but what about aro and ace people. Why can we not have a show about familial love? Why is that inferior?

[@KJ_bluebird]

@@peacefulpossum2438 I mentioned this already under another comment, but romance does not have to equal sexual. You yourself just mentioned in regards to ace people. And in case it was aro, they don't have to have a Destiel/Saileen ending. Like not at all. The creator of the video essay addressed all the other underlying issues with the ending not having Cas and Eileen there.

[@peacefulpossum2438]

@@KJ_bluebird and, despite the tragic interlude of Sam living all those years without his soulmate, I’m okay with the romantic HEA the they gave to the “epic love story of Sam and Dean.” That is the story the finale was meant to tie up, and it did.

[@dresden123456]

@@peacefulpossum2438 one doesn't exclude the other. You can have beautifully explored family love at the same time as exploring romantic relationship. You can have characters evolving within more than just one relationship. Focusing on siblings love doesn't automatically mean any romantic subplot in parallel will destroy that focus. SPN was all about the brotherly bond for 15 years. And I don't think anyone would want the perfect finale to forget that. Not at all. But as it stands it sadly forgot that there was more than just that relationship defining them as characters.

[@karmahoudini9241]

Let's be real: these are the same "fans" who want to watch Sam and Dean fuck and literally only care about the brothers and nothing else. They're deranged.

[@keiths2902]

Man this ending really gave me PTSD flashbacks from Voltron. The shows seemed to suffer similar fates.

[@ferrisite]

I think its because the shows seem to end their characters right where they started, and seemingly forget all the character growth they went through and how they wanted their lives to end up. Take Lance for example, he didnt want to be a poor farmer but in the end he literally just became a farmer. Its a lot like how Dean didnt want to die the way he did and just wanted to live his life out. (Well and the obvious qbaiting at the end of both lmao)

[@rubisg3372]

I don't know if it's just me but Dean not grieving Cas seem not only out of character but homophobic. He learns that his best friend has feelings for him and died for him but in 15.19 and 15.20 its like it doesn't matter??? Dean's constipated with feelings, we know that, but Cas was his family

[@mffmoniz2948]

A friend that we have seen him grieving before... Does not compute!

[@Michael_the_Drunkard]

I agree, that Dean showed little grief, but Castiel was made gay for only that episode. Every other scene shows him being not more than a 3rd brother for Dean.

[@zhulimoon46]

You pulled all the words out of my mouth about the whole "Dean cannot be bi" thing. I actually realized I am bisexual bc of Dean. I thought he liked men and women, and I researched what it was and saw that it was me, as well as Dean. So, I felt very erased after 15x20. It was very bi-erasure to me. I felt hopeless. But now I choose to believe this (I am not settling for it, I just like to imagine): SINCE THEY NEVER SAID THAT DEAN DOES NOT LOVE CASS BACK: Dean went to heaven and met Cass and told him that he loves him back and they kiss AND Jack sees them and puts them back in Earth and goes to Earth as their son (Bc he is a hands-off God, he can go wherever he wants to after redesigning heaven) and maybe they adopt more kids(?) and frequently see Sam (there are a lot of inside jokes happening), then Dean and Cass grow old, die together...holding hands. They go to heaven and continue their journey together. THE END

[@1dsantos]

You should have written the ending! Personally, don't see why Cass had to die for Dean. If they hadn't made Death into a stupid travesty and if Jack is God, there is no reason for Cass to be dead. He could have just come back and lived with Dean while Sam lived with Eileen. It would be interesting to see how their lives unfold from there. I really liked the video suggesting that Sam should become a true "person" of letters along with Eileen. Dean and Cas could open a restaurant since Dean loves food. They'd live by the ocean and take long romantic walks every morning before going to work. ...

[@krisblackley4922]

These videos are the best. Intellectual commentary on Supernatural are never words I thought I would put together, but damn if you don’t make me contemplate the universe!

[@carlaquill2990]

Chuck wasn't the writers. Chuck was 'glamoured' as the writers to throw off the audience. Chuck was the network, he was the executive producer Ro- [gunshot]

[@rhyswallace3590]

Hahahahahahahaha

[@lillie6870]

love how this was posted just as i was finishing up part one lol

[@laurab1673]

literally same

[@cristela4034]

I agree with your view of the ending, it was a tragedy. It was Chuck's ending, so no free will, no found family, none of that mattered in the end and the only way to find happiness was in death. I suffered a loss in my family recently and watching the final episode was really depressing for me. I re-watch some episodes of the show sometimes cause it's still a very re-watchable show despite the bad ending, but I might never watch the final episode again.

[@KaylaChan90]

First of all this video is great. Second of all: TLDR, Cas and Eileen deserved better, the brothers were lost without them, Dean is Bi REGUARDLESS of Cas (who he does love), & screw The CW Edited to add: I am tired of people saying we 'didn't get our ship" when we did, just not in a happy way. We're mad at how ALL the characters were treated and how the last two eps, especially 15x20, look like it was written by someone who had NEVER seen SPN in their life.

[@niftythegoblin]

15x20 was written like an essay by a high schooler who didn't read the book but read the sparknotes the night before the essay was due

[@Michael_the_Drunkard]

How is Dean bi. It even says in the SPN wiki, that Castiel's shoehorned love for Dean was unrequited.

[@KaylaChan90]

@@Michael_the_Drunkard So like.... By first week of March or so Imma be cackling at this more than ever. Also Jensen wrote the song 'watching over me' about Dean and Cas so

[@KaylaChan90]

@@Michael_the_Drunkard OH also not sure which spn wiki you're using... but hte big one is run by a biased wincest fan sooo

[@valerierodriguez8033]

YESSS KEVIN!!!!!! i feel like most forgot about him but Kevin is just a ghost :(

[@laurapierson9670]

God, I'm crying AGAIN about this bullshit ending.

[@elle8786]

I actually saw some people defending the ending like 'Dean always wanted to die hunting! It's about what he wanted, not what the audience wanted!' and I was floored. By that logic, we should be happy when suicidal people die, instead of mourning that they weren't able to get the help they needed and move into a better mental place. I wanted Dean to be happy in the end BECAUSE he had such a death wish. I wanted him to learn there's more to life and he deserved to be happy.

[@foxymoon7860]

Lol Dean didn't want to die like that. Some people really have a low reading comprehension of media and characters personalities. Dean always THOUGHT he would end up dying like that, on a random hunt without having a chance to live and die of old age. That's what he was always afraid of. That he thought he was never be able to find peace and happinnes on Earth. That's not what he WANTED but what he was afraid of. He didn't think that he would be able to live. And the other characters like Sam, Cas and his loved ones always disagreed with Dean. We, as the audience, were meant to agree with Sam and Cas and his other loved ones. We were not meant to agree with Dean. We were meant to think that Dean's lack of self worth and suicidal tendencies were bad and that he deserved to have a life. Especially after defeating Chuck and achieving his free will. Dean says it himself that if he knew the world was safe, he'd retire. He's tried to find a life for himself and wanted to move on. He's expressed this wish many times over the course of the series. He wanted to ''go to beach with Sam and Cas and toes in sand'', or when that time he was talking to a preacher and how he wanted more for himself and his life instead of just hunting endlessly. Really, it's all there. It's even in the last episode. Dean wanted to find a job and finally move on. He said it himself that if he and Sam didn't continue living, the other characters' sacrifices (Cas and Jack) would be meaningless. And then... he died. It sent the all horrific messages. With Dean not being able to escape from Chuck's narrative, not being able to get his free will, not being able to live longer, him dying young on one of John's unfinished hunts (which made him 'his daddy's blunt instrument' even at the end), him never getting a chance to find peace and happiness on Earth, him finding happiness in death (a suicidal character with low self esteem at that), him never getting a chance to own a Bar, go to Beach or experience anything he wanted. His voice, his will, freedom, life and youth were all taken from him in such a horrific, absurd, parodic and ridiculous way. Anyone who say that that's what Dean wanted never knew about Dean's character at all. They don't know what a disservice the finale did to Dean's character. Dean didn't want to die. If you think he wanted to die that way and it was a nice resolution for his character then you didn't watch the show tbh.

[@spluke587]

I got into Supernatural about a year ago now and as I was watching the show, I'll admit, I didn't see it. Destiel didn't "stick" out to me so to speak. However, watching you break it down, I can't unsee it . It would've been beautiful if they committed to getting Dean and Cas together. I feel quite sad now that they didn't. Everything about it makes sense. If only they really went for it, it would've become something truly beautiful I believe.

[@95CeliaM]

I honestly don't see how some people CAN'T see the love between Dean and Cas. Like, seriously. It's so obvious.

[@billyedd1447]

I see that he loves him like a brother but I can’t see dean being gay

[@luminousmoon86]

​@@billyedd1447 Respectfully, but that's probably because you have been socialized to see gay people as strange or different on a subconscious level (it's not your fault) and to think of them in terms of their sexuality only. Dean being bi would change literally nothing about his character except who he likes to sleep with or has romantic feelings about. Nobody is claiming Dean is gay by the way, he obviously likes women, people are saying that if you look at the show from another perspective that he also seems to have an attraction to men at least sometimes (not even just with Cas, there are actually quite a few examples), it doesn't even have to be a 50/50 thing. Sometimes bi people have a lean one way or the other where most of the time they're attracted to one gender but sometimes another one will do it for them. I'm just saying, sometimes straight people are, again, through no fault of their own, "blind" to same gender attraction in other people because they're not socialized to look for it the way q*eer people are.

[@billyedd1447]

@@luminousmoon86 I think u can interpret anything if u look at it from a certain perspective the show never said he was bi and until they do he’s straight I think y’all look at it from a gay POV the same way we look at things from a straight POV

[@luminousmoon86]

@@billyedd1447 Straight isn't the default sexuality, so no. If they don't say one way or another, than people are free to interpret it any way they see fit.

[@LiterallyLegoBatman]

@@luminousmoon86 he said that he's straight because we've literally seen him being blatantly attracted to women and having sexual interactions with them, but we've never seen Dean beings ACTUALLY attracted to men (because if you didn't know: funny looks or strange faces mean nothing), so it's just speculation by the fans when EVEN the authors and the actors specifically said that he was straight.

[@nataliep856]

Thank you for addressing Becky in this. I think a lot of fans are still using the Becky episode as proof that “the ending was tampered with,” but unfortunately I think it’s much simpler and crueler. She was just there to be made fun of one more time, to be shown as proof that the fans don’t know what’s best for them, that the ending they wanted to write is what they were going to give us no matter what. I really appreciate your analysis of her scenes at the beginning because it sets up the really shit way the show runners were going to handle this whole thing. I think it even speaks to what Jensen Ackles said about when he was pitched the finale - “this is what we have, deal with it.” Not that we’ll ever know the full story of why they went in this direction, but I think it’s probably likely that they were planning to end it like this the whole time.

[@mffmoniz2948]

Becky was our stand-in. "That finale is awful! " And Chuck/whoever ruled the show just goes "I don't give a fuck about what you want!"

[@setofreakinkaiba8553]

The writers were always telling us to stay on our lane. Kinda Bitchy of them tbh

[@gracebrown6675]

I may be a heterosexual person watching supernatural, but I’ll be damned if Dean and Cas weren’t in love. I feel like it’s blatantly homophobic to say that there was never anything between Dean and Cas, when the tables would have been completely turned if Cas had simply chosen a female vessel. Is it really that hard for people to accept that they were happy together and deserved to have a better ending? To reduce their love to a semi-cannon, partly ambiguous “friendship” is such a cop-out to what would have been such a revolutionary love story. Personally, when I started watching this show, I loved Dean and Cas, whether that was them being together or as separate characters didn't really matter to me. Towards the later seasons, (since Dean has always been my favourite character) I couldn’t help but notice how happy Cas made Dean, and in turn, made me happy for them. It was the characters I loved, and if Dean was so clearly happy with Cas, I was thrilled for them. I can't imagine how invalidating it must be to see a love story such as this be completely scraped since it involves the love between two men. If you’re reading this please don't let anyone invalidate you by saying you're crazy for clearly seeing the love story between these two characters. I also hope this didn't offend anyone in any way, because that is certainly not my intention in writing this comment. Throughout the past few months, I've really just been trying to listen and learn about the horrible ways LGBTQIA+ fans have been treated, so please feel free to correct me in any way possible. This is just my take on it, but I welcome feedback and critiques, especially if I’ve said something out of line. Your voice deserves to be heard, and I'm so so sorry that supernatural execs told you otherwise.

[@angelsgrace9186]

this is a beautiful comment, thank you

[@gracebrown6675]

@@angelsgrace9186 you’re so sweet!!

[@tasnimezzddin6222]

I know this is old but I have to agree with you. I don’t care if they’re gay or not but the writers completely ignored the very obvious love and deep connection they have with each other. Be it gay or not. All they needed to do was make both parties acknowledge the love they have for each other at the end but they decided to never bring it up again.

[@Michael_the_Drunkard]

Bromance=/=homosexuality. Only in the last season, they made Castiel gay for fanservice.

[@erinys2]

​@thephilosopher896 Oh f*ck off! Stop seeing love as a one dimensional thing, you cannot see the complexity of love between two best friends bwcause of your homophobia!

[@lynwood]

what if they messed up Sam and Eileen’s relationship so they could have deniability against purposefully not giving Cas and Dean’s relationship an ending?

[@lynwood]

so when they’re called homophobic for leaving Cas and Dean’s relationship ambiguous they can say “no! we messed up the straight couple too! we’re just bad writers!”

[@foxymoon7860]

@@lynwood It also ended up being ableist. SPN said no rep for anyone.

[@danceteacherrlb]

Im going to say it- corona isn't an excuse for this. If the show couldn't write a good ending during quarantine, then they should've just waited and done an ending special

[@trubb1e]

🅴🆇🅰︎🅲🆃🅻🆈

[@tdfox4052]

I'm now convinced: Chuck wrote the finale out of spite.

[@redcowcat8705]

I agree. Otherwise it would be an uncharacteristically cheap writing for this show.

[@FilmFan-iv7sz]

The ending played out the same as if Dean had never picked Sam up, Dean via hunt and Sam old age

[@nephtys1959]

Your analysis is perfect, under every aspect. I appreciated the John/Chuck comparison. Finally someone who sees them as I do. As to the b*sexual matter, I cannot understand people insisting that Dean is straight as an arrow, but at the same time they want him to have s*x with his brother because to them "it's not about Dean being g*y, but it's only self love". Meh!

[@mediabuzzkill]

Just like my last two videos, I recommend trying to avoid comments with the word q*eer in them, since KZbin tends to delete them without my say in the matter.

[@Demarco-Zae]

I found myself disagreeing a couple of times throughout the video but regardless you made your perspective clear, supported it with things from the show, this video was well made for such a small channel and I look forward to more

[@neelamaxwell6841]

apparently this is bisexualrowena so just wanted to hey! your tumblr is great and this video was really well-done

[@AtomicHaven]

You are slowly becoming one of my favorite female video essayists, up there with Sarah Z and Jenny Nicholson! Keep it up!

[@johnny196775]

I love your work. I have to say, as an older gay man who has post traumatic stress syndrome because of being out in the 80's and fighting for gay rights, I appreciate KZbin's policy on that word. I have a pained and visceral reaction to that word. It was a slur most of my life. It hasn't even been reclaimed in the same sense the N word has been; the gay community invites straights to use it with impunity. So I find it ruins documentaries on gay subjects for me.... Most people who make documentaries on gay issues seem to feel it necessary to use that word and then I find it emotionally difficult to continue with the material. Thank you for not using it in this series, excepting, I think, once... If it had been a habit, it would have rendered your video unwatchable to me and people like me. I am much obliged to your sensitivity.

[@mediabuzzkill]

@@johnny196775 of course ❤️ honestly, I’m not a huge fan of it myself and i know lots of people who hate it, so I try to be considerate of it. I don’t have the same history with it as you of course, but I’ve grown up in the Bible Belt so I haven’t grown up with the most positive associations with it. If I ever do use it in a video essay like this it’s mostly due to convenience, but I prefer to avoid it when I can. (If you ever watch my Gotham video, I believe I use it most often in that one, just as a warning)

[@LysLovesAlpacas]

dean should’ve ended up giving up the life and being with cas. sam should’ve ended up with eileen, living a semi domestic life, but ultimately choosing to stay in the life because he realized he was a good leader. and both of them should’ve been shown in therapy, working towards becoming the healthy and happy versions of themselves they always deserved. they fucked up the ending so bad 😭😭😭

[@zoebernard4060]

I can't even tell you how glad I am that I found this channel

[@constanza7528]

mood

[@JessicasASMR]

Spanish dubbed dean really carried the finale lmao

[@chulol7935]

i personally know hypermasculine gay and bi men who want the kind of representation dean couldve provided :^/// that was really such a missed opportunity

[@MistressMandi]

What I don't understand is why Castiel sacrificed himself to save Dean from Death, then Dean dies anyways. Why? It makes no sense.

[@dorkosociopath745]

Everything's on point, you traced all the issues and inconsistencies in the finale so much articulately, I can only make screeching noises when someone asks me to tell them why the ending of spn really sucked... Thank you so much, for making this video covering all points from a fans perspective, this is a masterpiece ❤

[@zhulimoon46]

I think that a lot of people are really hurt by Dean AND Cass' endings as NOT Destiel but bc of their own arcs BECAUSE we see ourselves in them. For me, I see myself so much in Dean: I don't ever talk about my feelings, I just keep things bottled up, I never make a real connection with anyone outside the "family" (there are exceptions of course, like Cass for Dean), I am bisexual, I have internalized homophobia, daddy issues, mommy issues, and so on... And also I see myself in Cass, rarely but importantly, because I aspire to be like Cass. I want to just fall in love and be happy that I am in love. I cannot do this bc of the whole repressed emotions part BUT I would like to. I would LOVE to have a profound bound with somebody, I would love to love someone so much that I would defy everything for that person. I WOULD want an epic love story like Destiel. As you said, it would have been amazing if they actually made Destiel canon. It would have been the best slow burn IN HISTORY. IT WOULD BE SO HUGE, like HISTORY BOOK HUGE! Everyone in history WOULD talk about it. I am sure that in 100 years, people will talk about Korrasami, Catradora, and especially our real life queen Jojo Siwa for being so brave. BUT Destiel would BE SURE AS HELL more talked about if it happened. There are no slowburn gay love stories like Destiel. LITERALLY, NONE. WTF. I WANTED IT SO MUCH. SOOOO MUCH. I NEEDED IT. I STILL NEED IT. Not a day goes by where I don't feel pain. I feel very hopeless even though there are other shows with many representation. All I wanted was Destiel. Just once. I would not ask for any other show if Destiel happened. So yeah, anyway, in my mind DESTIEL IS CANON, FULLY. 15x20 never happened and instead Dean, Cass, Jack, Sam, Eileen are all happy in Earth, Jack being Destiel's son of course (Not God but a Winchester, because he IS family).

[@mffmoniz2948]

Check The Goldenrod Revisions by Aethylas.

[@Maria-nv7bk]

Even if we want to see it from a marketing point of view, destiel is extremely popular, what did they have to lose?

[@dvphneblue]

the ending truly felt like that line cas said before, “freedom is a length of rope, and God wants you to hang yourself with it.” thank you for making this video, you put into words a lot of what i was feeling about the finale in such an eloquent way! it’s always so frustrating how some people completely dismiss us, saying that all we care about was our “ship” when it was so SO much more than that and this entire video is a reason why. so well done!! ❤️

[@mitchhhhhhhh]

I would like to get every person involved in the making of this show and force them to sit down and watch this. you obviously couldn't go into detail about every aspect you mentioned but overall this is an extremely satisfying and competent analysis of show and how it failed in the eleventh hour to make what could have been a truly good story and groundbreaking ending. I think the reason now that so many people are still talking about supernatural three months after its ending is because the ending gave almost no closure to the majority of viewers and fans. we need closure!! even if you didn't start watching it until the last season or even after the finale, the amount of time that goes into viewing the show is significant and the ending just leave you wanting. people are so desperate for some kind of closure, we're hoping for reboots and retellings just so someone can get the story Right and give us an ending that would finally give us closure.

[@TimeandMonotony]

That's so true! I didn't start watching till after the finale aired, so I already knew how it ended, but I got so invested in all the characters as I binged it that I was STILL upset by the series finale, despite knowing exactly what would happen. I can't imagine how it must feel for the people who'd stuck with it for 15 years and then were given THAT. Not to mention the Destiel shippers who were called delusional for 12 years, only to get it half-confirmed (which, don't get me wrong, I'm glad we at least got half.)

[@elenaKS230]

Also, Sam having biological kids kinda rubs me the wrong way? Not in the sense that he didn’t deserve children but considering how strongly he felt about having demon blood, even in later seasons, I don’t think he would risk it. Yes, he’s no longer psychic, but I doubt he would take that chance, especially now that their lives are truly free from evil.

[@spence98]

i legit havent seen a single episode of supernatural but i am very invested in not just destiel but how bad the ending was all around

[@peacefulpossum2438]

If you haven’t watched, you are ill informed. Propaganda isn’t education. You shouldn’t be taking sides if you haven’t watched the source material. Take a lit or film class and learn how to engage with textual analysis.

[@thepacksurvives71]

Prior to the finale I would say you should watch it but after the finale I can't in good conscious recommend this show to anyone. There's a reason after 327 episodes the series finale has the 2nd to lowest rating.

[@AndreaCanales25]

@@thepacksurvives71 you mean the reason being whiny destiel shippers who didn't got their ship canon so they started to create fake accounts and planned to rate the ep the lowest they could? Yeah, it totally makes sense. Although there were a lot of real critics that liked the finale just fine and rated it very good. But see, their opinions don't count, right? I mean, who would want to take into consideration experts's opinions when you have imdb where pissy "fans" can rate it "thoughtfully" 😄

[@spence98]

did yall not watch the video??

[@spence98]

@@peacefulpossum2438 i have now seen every episode of supernatural i agree destiel is not all there is to the show but especially towards the end it was very important narratively. you don't have to like it to realise its importance to the plot and themes.

[@Marianne80109]

In conclusion, the writers are Wincest shippers. Wincest prevailed and we all suffered.

[@peacefulpossum2438]

it’s not about shipping, honey

[@karmahoudini9241]

@@peacefulpossum2438 Says the Wincest shipper. You aren't fooling anyone, "honey."

[@roxannarodriguez2050]

The way they handled the relationship between Dean and Jack annoyed me SO MUCH

[@a.3032]

All of this, except I think the writers knew exactly where they were going and the network stepped in and said NO.

[@vampireinsomniac2251]

What makes angers me most about the ending is how it seems to mock the viewers. The fans were the reason the show got so big, and the creators forgot that. The ending was so terrible, it almost feels deliberate.

[@AngusStewart01]

This is honestly the best video analysis of supernatural I’ve ever seen

[@darthcarrots2581]

But HA HA at people arguing that Dean can’t be Bisexual when DEAN HIMSELF was targeted and seduced/controlled by a siren who disguised himself as a MAN.

[@rachel-joyseifrit4833]

Thank you so much for such a well thought-out analysis of this show. I'm actually using both of your videos for part of my Master's thesis, and they're just so well done.

[@Marianne80109]

lol same

[@aryana392]

I can't tell you how many times I cried while watching this. I know the show only ended two months ago but having to go back through 15x19 and 20 brought back up all those scars. Our boys deserved better and we deserved better too. The majority of us had such high expectations after the first few episodes of season 15 and to think that this was our thanks, that this was the legacy they wanted to leave behind?? It's heartbreaking... The erasure of Cas and Destiel and the erasure of character development from Sam and Dean in the end will stick with me forever.

[@kalavarahs]

Honestly I'm still saddest I didn't get my grand 'The road so far' montage, from season 1-15 to Wayward Son. Like it was so easy YOU HAVE ALL THE FOOTAGE and it would've been so cool to actually be reminded of the evolution of the story from episode 1 to now. I genuinely thought I was being pranked for most of that finale episode

[@angelsgrace9186]

I think they didn't add in that montage that was absolutely essential in the SERIES FINALE because it would have showed how far the brothers' stories had progressed and it wouldn't have made sense with the story they were telling in the finale. It would have had to stop at season 1 episode 2.

[@nanamiharuka3269]

15 YEARS!! Ya’ll got played...

[@_gremlinboy]

They played the long game! Shit was ridiculous

[@bausebuh]

I agree with everything you said. It was the worst possible ending they could‘ve pulled of, as far as I‘m concerned. They killed the suicidal character, who just now finally had the chance to be happy and live the life he wanted, but instead, his character is put on hold, 15 years thrown out the window. He is killed young and in a manner he always expected to go out. He did‘t get to mourn his family and best friend/love interest, depending how you look at it, he didn‘t get a shot at a normal job, retirement, toes in the sand. He was not allowed to openly tackle his trauma, which to a large part stems from his father, who now lives down the road. Well, I don‘t want to repeat everything you said, as you put it much more eloquently, it just frustrates me. I love Dean and the first time I watched the episode, it made me sick. Many people relate to him, to his issues, trauma, grief. Now they‘re told: yes, Heaven will grant you all your wishes, you don‘t have to live a fulfilled life, it doesn‘t change anything in the end, if you die now or live on for 40 or so more years. That is a HORRIBLE message. Yes, it really, really isn’t only about a ship. Everything regarding Cas and Destiel you yourself said best, I don‘t want this comment to be any longer than it already is. Thank you so much for these two videos and the effort you put into them! You summarized and broke down the issue perfectly, you managed to put into words what I felt, but wasn‘t able to vocalize.

[@jamiec9260]

"The first example of a show trying to subvert their audiences expectations for an ending, and it being a good and satisfying choice" * Black Sails has entered the chat *

[@katherinealvarez9216]

Also, what happened to Adam? And Eileen, is she okay? Also, where is Adam, is he okay?

[@valerierodriguez8033]

well Eileen just got forgotten and Adam, who knows. I feel like Adam might be in heaven or just a spirit. He got ripped away from Michael but then when Michael died and when things went back, Adam had no where to go??? So unless Jack was like "hello, wanna go to heaven" or Adam is just roaming earth. IDK thats just my theory

[@katherinealvarez9216]

@@valerierodriguez8033 so, he like met with Kevin and they like spirits roaming the earth? Christ, everyone got screwed in the finale. No wonder so many fans are pissed. The boycott makes even more sense now.

[@peacefulpossum2438]

Eileen is off living her life like she was before Chuck manipulated her back into Sam’s life.

[@blinkfilms1]

taking notes so i can cite this in the essay im writing for english

[@rexberkova7328]

Wait, wait, why did no one told me that by the end, Supernatural was just dollarstore His Dark Materials with less gay angels-

[@TimeandMonotony]

Interesting, I was thinking Supernatural was Incarnations of Immortality, but with less p*dophilia.

[@shreyatalwar9588]

This was heartbreaking to watch but ultimately true thanks for this Also thanks for mentioning jack, i wanted them to explore his character rather than just make him a convenient solution for sam and dean. Jack could have had friends and learned about hunting and so many things because all he thought was that he was useless without his powers But just like everything else this show disappointed jack too

[@mffmoniz2948]

Read The Goldenrod Revisions by Aethylas. She gives Jack a happy ending too.

[@forrestwitthuhn2321]

2 years out this remains the best video essay out there on the ending of supernatural. Every few months I come back to it. Thank you for all the effort and love that obviously went into this

[@laurafitzpatrick4258]

So what I’m hearing is that to complete the story’s meta narrative we have to write the secret good episode ourselves.

[@laurafitzpatrick4258]

But on a serious note, I really loved this video! I have seen a lot of people reacting to the finale, but it’s nice to actually see someone go through and analyze what went wrong.

[@thatmessy132]

This show worked so hard to keep its straight, white, male audience that they isolated almost everyone else, this is not unique to this piece of sci-fi/fantasy/supernatural media. Someone told "hollywood" (Print, comics, ect too) that those are the only people that are patrons of this genre of media (Something that the internet has worked to debunk for years) but the difference is that everyone else is a lot more likely to take the scraps of representation we're given than straight white men.

[@nope4-0-4]

facts. we were robbed of a history making ending

[@smoogieboogie1694]

Yeesh. I don’t even watch Supernatural but after watching these two videos, I’m somehow angry about the ending myself.

[@FelixxFernanda]

just wanna to say how grateful I'm for these two videos, they show that we, the fans who hated that ending, are not crazy. so thank you thank you thank you!!! ❤️❤️❤️ (and sorry for any mistakes, my English is not very good)

[@whatshouldinamemyself215]

I'd only like to add to your video that fans are just asking for continuity in the thing that matters most, character arcs and relationships, it's the writers/producers who chose to bring back eileen, no one would be asking for saileen endgame if they didn't bring her back and made her a big part of s15 and only forgot about her relationship with sam at the 11th hour, similarly they could have ended on cas and dean chilling in heaven platonically, instead they chose to include the confession, no one would be this serious about the destiel endgame if it wasn't made textually romantic on cas' part in the first place, which then lead to them horribly betraying these characters' personalities and their relationship in an attempt to avoid adressing the confession

[@mffmoniz2948]

Continuity? What is that?

[@whatshouldinamemyself215]

@@mffmoniz2948 the maintenance of continuous action and self-consistent detail in the various scenes of a film or broadcast.

[@peacefulpossum2438]

Eileen was brought back because Chuck was using her to manipulate Sam. OMG it’s not a romance show! As I recall, Misha talked the writers into having the confession. He did it for y’all, and it made things worse.

[@whatshouldinamemyself215]

@@peacefulpossum2438 it's just not cohesive storytelling to have Sam be worried sick for her in one episode and then never mention her again, Sam and Dean having girlfriends in previous seasons never made it a romance show before, what's different now lol

[@peacefulpossum2438]

​@@whatshouldinamemyself215 I don't know who is asking for Saileen endgame, but that would have made it a romance show, and made zero sense given Sam and Dean's relationship -- I mean them being canonically soulmates and all. My point was that it was Chuck was manipulating Sam and Eileen. Did Sam care? Sure. Sam cares. Sam feels guilt. Once the danger was past, he knew she could take care of herself. She'd already taken off once because of the craziness. Why would she stick around this time? That being said, Castiel's confession was a shitty thing to do to Destiel fans. It really raised their hopes when tptb were never going to make it canon.

[@Emily-gw7ox]

Such a great job explaining everything and what went wrong. It's truly just tragic the way it ended and I am glad there are people who realize that and agree.

[@djdamashii670]

Holy shit lol. I actually really loved the ending before I saw this, primarily because I was team first interpretation mostly. I still love the ending, but I can definitely see your point because you made nothing but very valid points throughout this video. It's crazy how much I have always loved this show from the start but never even realized that Destiel was a thing until I saw this video. Made me really go back and think about it and I can definitely see that now too, but that makes Castiel's death all that more tragic now lol

[@HasnaaAlaa]

It literally makes his entire story a tragedy from start to end, i believe in my heart that dean loved him back romantically but they were both two idiots who thought it wasn't reciprocated but I'm sad the last two episodes gave people who didn't wanna see it on purpose a chance to see it as unrequited 😭

[@djdamashii670]

@@HasnaaAlaa it's funny cuz she was going over the two different interpretations of the story, at first I was like, LOL yeah that's exactly how I describe it to everyone I introduce it to...and then it got into the second interpretation and I was like, oh yah duh of course that's a part of it too

[@HasnaaAlaa]

@@djdamashii670 yeah they were telling two stories that's really why there are so different opinions on the finale, SPN's writting room is unique coz of the different show runners, the fact that it lasted 15 seasons, so many writers, each show runner, writer & producer has their own views on what the show's about etc..

[@lauren8135]

I can’t help but think it’s hilarious that Becky is a sort of the most hardcore depiction of the fans and in true supernatural fashion god the ultimate writer if you will killed her. The writers offed the fans.

[@deniibook1007]

I always thought Dean was Bi long before Cas showed up.

[@bronte4356]

Me too

[@Xerocoo]

Dean dyong in a car accident with the Impala, that way the Impala and Dean reunited in heaven makes more sense

[@JMBAD_art]

Oh FUCK yes I am SO glad I subscribed after part one