THEN: Lilith wanted to break the 66 Seals to bring Lucifer to Earth. Dean was recruited by the angels to stop it while Sam went his own route, drinking demon blood until he became strong enough to defeat her. This difference in strategy caused the brothers to have an epic fight and vow never to speak to each other again.
NOW (actually, still THEN, since the opening scene takes place in 1972): At a Maryland convent in 1972, a priest is terrified when a demon rushes in and takes over his body. The next day the priest fives a sermon to the nuns that his dad is locked away and that, ironically, he recently learned that the door to his cage is at that very convent. The demon priest yells at the nuns and then his eyes goes Yellow before he has some fun. That’s right…Azazel is Lucifer’s son!
Ruby and Sam stop on the side of the road. Ruby thinks Dean was wrong to say what he said, but Sam actually agrees with him. There’s something evil inside of him and Sam realizes what he has to do and he knows Dean is better off without him.
The camera cuts to Dean in a mirror image of Sam’s face when they first showed him. Dean is feeling sorry for himself. He claims Sam never wanted this and that he’s glad Sam’s gone. Uncle Bobby gets fed up with their childish crap and turns on the tough love. He yells at Dean telling him that family isn’t supposed to make you feel good and he should stop being such a whiny brat. You tell him, Bobby!
Bobby also tells Dean that John was a coward and that Dean is more of a man than John ever was. I understand the purpose of a pep speech, but I think if you spoke to Alastair and found out about the breaking of the first Seal, you might think differently on that matter.
Then Dean is magically transported to what I can only assume is Heaven’s waiting room. It’s nicely decorated and there’s beer and burgers. Perhaps this is Heaven for Dean. Zachariah and Castiel show up, and Dean calls it The Suite Life of Zach and Cas. The angels don’t get the reference, and even Dean seems a little ashamed that he just made a reference to a Disney Channel series.
Zachariah offers Dean anything he wants, including a threesome with Ginger and Mary Ann. Things must be serious, because Dean refuses and Zachariah explains the situation. Lilith has broken every Seal except one and they don’t know where she is. Dean mocks them (as he should), but Zachariah reminds him that Dean swore his undying allegiance to Heaven.
When the angels leave, Dean reluctantly makes a call to his brother. Dean gets Sam’s voicemail and leaves a message that’s equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking. He still thinks he’s right and that Sam deserves a serious beatdown, but Dean regrets what he said. The message cuts short before Dean can say “I’m sorry.”
Sam’s too busy to take the call because he’s gone with Ruby to pick up the creepy nurse who steals babies to feed to Lilith. Sam takes pleasure in torturing this demon until she talks because Demon Nurse is literally begging for death. Sam agrees to these terms and Demon Nurse tells him that Lilith is going to be at the convent in Maryland.
It’s a long trip and Ruby suggest bringing along Demon Nurse as a road trip snack. Sam agrees and Demon Nurse is royally pissed that he’s going back on their deal. To punish him and make it a more difficult decision, Demon Nurse lets the person whose body she’s using become conscious and feel the pain Sam will inflict.
Flashback to 1972: Azazel has killed everyone and uses one of the nuns as a conduit to allow Lucifer to speak through the cracks in the cage. Lucifer says that Lilith is the only one who can break the Seals, but Azazel claims she’s trapped deep in the pit. To solve that problem, Lucifer says that his son must find some special children. Wow, so Lucifer told Azazel to find special children so that one day one of them would open the gates and let Lilith so everything has been a part of the Devi;’s master plan.
Dean tries to break out of his Heavenly prison, but the doors keep vanishing and the walls keep repairing. Dean desperately wants to see Sam, but Zachariah arrives to let him know that’s not going to happen. Zachariah reveals that Dean won’t be stopping Lilith because she’s certainly going to break the Seals which exactly what Zachariah wants. Before you think he’s evil, his plan is to force the apocalypse because he’s fairly his side will win, evil will be permanently eradicated and there will be peace on Earth.
That sounds pretty good, except for the fact that all the innocent humans will be killed in the process. Zachariah doesn’t care, but he assures Dean that it wasn’t all lies and that Dean does have a role – he will defeat Lucifer. As awesome as that fight would be, it’s not the most terrifying bit of news. It seems Sam also has some role to play in this, and that can’t be good.
Later Cas pops in to apologize for what he did to Dean. In response, Dean punches him in the face and tells him that there is no such thing as destiny or God’s plan and this whole thing is a lie. All that’s important is humanity and Dean pleads with Cas to listen to reason and help him escape and find Sam. Cas warns him that if he does this, they will all be hunted and killed. Dean turns his back and Cas vanishes.
Sam debates whether to drink the demon blood of the conscious Real Nurse and before deciding what to do, he checks his voicemail. Unfortunately, the message we heard Dean leave wasn’t his fist, so all Sam hears is that Dean wants to hunt him down because Sam is nothing but a disgusting monster. Ouch. Sam hangs up and decides to drink the blood.
Cas returns and pushes Dean against the wall. He takes out a knife and cuts himself, smearing the blood on the wall. Zachariah arrives but Cas finishes his blood smear and sends Zachariah away. He takes Dean and says they need to stop Sam. Why, you might ask, would Cas want to stop Sam from killing Lilith? Because Lilith isn’t just the only one to break the final Seal, she is the final Seal, meaning that her death is the final Seal to be broken.
They transport to the home of Prophet Chuck who is busy trying to order 20 $1,000 prostitutes because he knows the end of the world is here. That is ruined when he sees Dean and Cas, because they’re not supposed to be there. Chuck tells them how “Lucifer Rising” is supposed to end. Cas sends Dean to Maryland to stop his brother while Cas and Chuck stay behind to fend off the Archangel, who is breathing down plenty of power onto them.
At the convent, Sam is already inside with Lilith. He’s been waiting for this moment for a long time and she’s more than willing to let him take his shot. He starts to use his powers to kill her but is given pause when he hears Dean knocking on the door. Sam temporarily seems to revert to his old self, but then Lilith starts mocking him and Sam turns his sights back on her. He gives it one last squeeze and he kills Lilith.
Her blood starts pouring out, and Ruby is amazed and happy that Sam did it. Oh yes, there’s betrayal afoot, because Ruby was a part of this plan all along. She’s evil and Lilith was the only other one who knew that Ruby was purposefully leading Sam into this direction so he could kill Lilith and break the final Seal.
It’s almost hard to hate her because she did play the role so damn well and convinced everyone all along that she was good. Sam is, of course, angry, but there’s nothing he can do . The blood is spilled, Lilith is dead, and the door is opening.
But there is something Dean can do, namely knock down the door, barge in and stab and kill Ruby with the knife. The boys look at each other and it’s as if all is forgiven because they both realize they were wrong all along and were being manipulated into it.
That tender brotherly moment is cut short by the opening floor and the bright light shining out. He’s coming. Oh yes, he is. And just like Lost, Supernatural ends with the screen filling with a bright white light.
Damn it. Now we have to wait more than three freaking months to see what the Hell Lucifer looks like and how, exactly, can Sam and Dean beat the Devil? My prediction: a fiddle contest.
And what about Cas and Chuck vs. the Archangel? I wouldn’t mind seeing the fallout from that battle either. This is going to be a long wait, but I certainly enjoyed this season finale even more than last year’s ending.
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
