When God and his biggest gun are taken out, you know you’re in trouble. Add in a dying sun and it’s time to crack open a beer and wait for the end to come. Sounds like a Dean thing to do, doesn’t it? And he’s not wrong.
In the aftermath of Amara gaining her second wind to take down Chuck and Lucifer, the unlikely band of brothers (and Rowena) gauge the damage. Castiel’s back in charge, telling Dean that “Lucifer is gone: Amara ripped him from my body” while Chuck shares a bit more urgent news: Simply put, he, along with the sun, is dying. He snaps everyone back to the Bunker where Sam appears to be the only one looking for a Plan B. Dean’s not interested, considering their powerlessness in fixing the sun but Chuck delivers the big news: stopping Amara now means nothing. “I’m dying and, when I’m gone,” he says, “the cosmic balance between light and dark…it’s over.”
Never one to take thing laying down, Sam offers up a solution for the cosmic balance conundrum. Simply put, kill Amara and Balance is restored. Easier said than done, of course. Though he’s not a fan of the plan, Chuck offers up light as being Amara’s kryptonite, but how much light do they need? Somewhere along the lines of “10,000 suns set to super nova”. Considering corner drug stores (or governments) don’t really have those type of weapons , the group needs to do a bit of soul reaping. Cas heads upstairs to speak with the Heavenly Host, Crowley downstairs to procure his own treasure trove of souls while the Winchesters head to Waverly Hills Sanatorium (in good old Louisville, KY) to harvest the ghostly souls haunting the halls. Only the latter is successful, as Crowley’s soul stash has been taken and Heaven is closing up shop to die with dignity (what a bunch of ass-hats).
Enter Billie the Reaper.
Understanding that Existence is on the line, she procures a few hundred thousand souls by raiding “the Veil” and offering them up to the gang. Souls in hand, Rowena does her part, concentrating them into a massive bomb—one which is placed inside of Dean, as he’s the only one who’ll be able to get close enough to Amara to detonate it.
Meanwhile, Amara seems to be feeling a bit of remorse at what she’s done to Chuck. Sitting alone on a park bench, she’s joined by an old woman who is having her own issues with family. Though the two share resentment towards their family, the woman gives Amara something to remember about family: “even when you hate them, you still love them.”
Outside, everyone says their goodbyes to Dean. Chuck doesn’t want Amara dead, but he understands it. Dean says his goodbyes to Cas and Sam, giving his brother the keys to the Impala and then, with a snap of Chuck’s fingers, he’s in the park.
From the start, Amara feels the power of the bomb inside of Dean. She tries holding on to her indignation when Dean lays it down for her. “You’re family,” he tells her, “he doesn’t want you dead. He doesn’t want any of this.” He continues on, touching on all of her emotions, harping on the family angle and ultimately asking her the most important question of all, “What do you want?”
When Amara transports Chuck before her and Dean, the two siblings have their own Dr. Phil moment, where Amara unloads all her anger and jealousy out…but more than that, she tells Chuck “I wish that we could just be family again.” They clasp hands and Chuck, along with the sun, is restored. Brother and sister, God and Amara, Light and Dark are once more in symmetry.
Before Chuck and Amara go, Chuck removes the bomb from Dean’s chest and promises the hunter that “Earth’ll be fine. It’s got you and Sam.” But Amara’s even more thankful. “Dean,” she tells her once semi-obsession, “you gave me what I needed most. I want to do the same for you.” And in a swirl of light and dark, Chuck and Amara are gone.
Now, interspersed between all the Amara vs the world planning and talks, we were given a peak into London and a new face in the ‘Supernatural’world. Said face belongs to Toni Bevell, member of the London chapter of the Men of Letters. Sam’s the first to run into her as she’s waiting for him at the Bunker—even blasting Castiel with an angel banishment spell to get Sam alone. Apparently, the Men of Letters is tired of the Winchesters flubbing things up and are bringing the brotherly duo to task for a reckoning of sorts. Sam tries talking to her, confident she won’t shoot him, despite comfortably aiming the gun his way. We see and hear the gunshot but nothing more…
Except for Dean, trying to find his way back to the gang, runs into the last person he expected to see…
His mother.
Alpha and Omega—Beginning and the End
As ‘Supernatural’ finales go, this had to be the most subdued finale in the show’s history. There was no major action and though Dean was set to sacrifice himself to take Amara down, it ended up not being necessary. Instead, we were reminded of the importance of family, both by the old woman in the park and Dean’s final one-on-one with Amara. It was a testament that brute force and cunning aren’t always the answer; sometimes talking, opening yourself up to disappointment and allowing forgiveness to enter your heart is the answer.
The title “Alpha and Omega” was apropos because, more than any of the recent finales, it seemed as if we were saying goodbye to some important piece of the show (not just Chuck and Amara…and Lucifer, too) but, at the same time, it seems there will be a new beginning of sorts next season. The introduction of Toni Bevell and the London Men of Letters branch and, even more shocking, Mary Winchester’s resurrection, hints at a season unlike any we’ve experienced in ‘Supernatural’ since it premiered more than a decade ago. Where we go from here is anyone’s guess but, no matter where the future leads us, I’m along for the ride.
Nota bene: It’s probably time for characters to stop saying “You and I both know you aren’t going to shoot me” or any derivation of such because, inevitably, said characters almost always get shot.
