Supernatural ran for an impressive 15 seasons, but a heated debate about whether the Supernatural season 5 finale or the Supernatural season 15 finale (which was also the series finale) was really the better ending persists today. Although the show remained popular, the original plan was for Supernatural to end with season 5, episode 22, “Swan Song.”
It was also after “Swan Song” that Supernatural’s creator, Eric Kripke, left the show. Many in the fanbase believe this is when the show should have ended, yet there are seemingly just as many fans who believe the series finale perfectly concluded the show. So, five years after Supernatural’s conclusion, which ending was best: season 5 or season 15?
Supernatural Season 5 vs. Season 15 – Which Gave The Characters More Satisfying Endings?
Both Endings Were Devastating (But Also Came Full-Circle) In Different Ways
Both Supernatural season 5 and Supernatural season 15’s finales offered massive emotional conclusions that were not only heartbreaking but also brought the brothers’ stories to a bittersweet end in different ways. In season 5, this meant Dean and Sam essentially fulfilling the roles they were always intended to, at least from a divine perspective.
That is, Sam had become the vessel for Lucifer, and although Dean hadn’t been the vessel for Michael in the end, this still more or less saw each brother fulfilling their destiny. This ending of course would have been gutting as the show’s end, because Dean was now left without Sam, Castiel, or Bobby, but it certainly felt full-circle.
In fact, particularly in terms of Sam’s story, this ending was arguably more satisfying, as it was because of Sam’s sacrifice that Lucifer was able to be stopped. After five seasons (and decades of his life), Sam was able to overcome his feelings of being inadequate, ‘evil,’ and beyond saving, and fix what he’d done by kicking off the Apocalypse.
Sam was able to overcome his feelings of being inadequate, ‘evil,’ and beyond saving, and fix what he’d done by kicking off the Apocalypse.
That isn’t to say Supernatural season 15’s conclusion wasn’t satisfying, though. The way Dean Winchester died (or died for the final time, given Dean had many deaths in Supernatural) remains very controversial for some, as he wasn’t taken out by some massive supernatural force but rather by a piece of rebar.
Yet, after Dean’s death, Supernatural’s final episode, “Carry On,” gave the boys perhaps as happy an ending as they were ever going to get. Dean did die, but he also went to Heaven, and viewers got to see him happily driving Baby, truly at peace.
Sam also got what he’d long wanted. Although we never see his wife’s face (the prevailing theory is that Sam married Eileen), Sam got married and had a son, whom he named Dean. Considering Sam had talked about how desperate he was for a ‘normal’ life since the pilot episode, this was a happy ending, in a way, for him.
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It’s also worth noting, those who take issue with the series finale tend to dislike that Dean and Sam end up separated, with Sam living decades longer than Dean. Yet, both finales would have had the brothers torn apart in the end. In the true ending, this meant Dean’s death, whereas in the original, Sam would have been eternally trapped.
Which Supernatural Finale Had A Better Story, “Swan Song” Or “Carry On”?
Both Stories Were Compelling, But Only One Really Got An Ending That Was Planned
Supernatural was in part able to sustain 15 seasons because of the show’s brilliant storytelling, and while some seasons of Supernatural were better than others, as is true of any show, both the season 5 finale and the season 15 finale of Supernatural exhibited that powerful, compelling storytelling.
However, season 5’s “Swan Song” has a leg up on season 15’s “Carry On” for one reason: “Swan Song” was much more intentionally planned than “Carry On”—and that’s not really the show’s fault. For one, the arc leading to “Swan Song” was the entire focus of the show for five seasons.
This means that, while story details no doubt shifted and developed over time in those first five seasons, the target was generally that season 5 arc. The same cannot be said of season 15, which was of course not planned out from the inception of the show, as it wasn’t expected for the show to last that long.
Yet, the bigger issue season 15’s finale faced was something no one could have anticipated: the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of safety regulations and various other issues arising from COVID, certain aspects of the Supernatural season 15 ending were changed.
Although the show’s producers have asserted that the characters’ arcs and the core story weren’t affected by COVID, it was confirmed that, initially, Supernatural’s season 15 finale was going to include a number of cameos from characters across the show’s fifteen seasons. The most notable of these returns was Misha Collins’ appearance as Castiel.
Particularly given how heartbreaking Castiel and Dean’s farewell was when Castiel was taken by the Empty, it certainly seems as though seeing Castiel again on screen would have been a significant moment that would have had an impact on the finale.
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The Supernatural Ending That Felt Most Fitting For The Show
Season 5’s Finale Really Did Feel Like The Culmination Of All That Had Come Before
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Ultimately, Supernatural season 5 felt more aligned with all that had come before in the show. For five seasons, tensions had been building between Dean and Sam, Sam had increasingly been forced to face the reality not only of his past but also of what he’d done, and the show had become about this divine showdown between Lucifer and Michael.
While “Carry On” still upheld the themes that had been seen throughout fifteen seasons of the show, it just didn’t have that same weight, in part because it wasn’t even the episode in which the final face-off (between the brothers and God) took place. Arguably, the penultimate episode, “Inherit the Earth,” served as a better finale because of that.
Even the massive showdown aside, there are simply elements of the series finale that still don’t sit well with many viewers, Dean’s death being one of them. Whereas the season 5 finale felt like a bittersweet, full-circle moment, wherein both brothers fulfilled their destinies, many felt as though Dean’s death made no sense for his character.
Supernatural Season 5’s Finale Was The Better Conclusion For The Show
Because of these many factors, I believe the Supernatural season 5 finale was the better finale of the two. “Swan Song” just seems to better capture the relationship between Dean and Sam and all that they had been through, and it feels like a more carefully-crafted conclusion to all that had taken place in Supernatural up to that point.
However, were that episode the series finale, it would mean everything that occurred in Supernatural following season 5 would never have come to be, and that would truly be a shame. Countless characters, storylines, brilliant scenes, and touching moments only came about in those 10 later seasons, and I wouldn’t want to trade that for the season 5 finale.
Therefore, while I do believe the Supernatural season 5 finale is the superior finale, I could never wish away the 10 seasons that followed it—the series finale in season 15 included.
Supernatural
8/10
Release Date
2005 – 2020
Showrunner
Eric Kripke
DirectorsPhilip Sgriccia, John F. Showalter, Kim Manners, Thomas J. Wright, Charles Beeson, Guy Norman Bee, Richard Speight Jr., Mike Rohl, John Badham, Steve Boyum, Amyn Kaderali, Jensen Ackles, Tim Andrew, Eduardo Sánchez, Jeannot Szwarc, P.J. Pesce, Nina Lopez-Corrado, James L. Conway, amanda tapping, J. Miller Tobin, Stefan Pleszczynski, John MacCarthy, Jerry Wanek, Ben Edlund
Writers
Meredith Glynn, Davy Perez, Raelle Tucker, Cathryn Humphris, Brett Matthews, Nancy Won, John Bring, Ben Acker, Daniel Knauf, David Ehrman, James Krieg, Trey Callaway
