Supernatural Season 11 Finale Review: Alpha and Omega

This Supernatural review contains spoilers.

Supernatural Season 11 Episode 23

The last few episodes rocketed into the craziest concept for a Supernatural finale ever – the impending death of God and ultimate destruction of the universe. Jeez, and here I thought they’d never be able to top the apocalypse for huge stakes. I know when to admit I’m wrong.

The scene in Waverly Hills asylum shows just how far Sam and Dean have come, as they dispatch ghosts as mere pests. Well, until they get sloppy and a ghost gets Sam in a choke-hold. Wouldn’t be Supernatural if we didn’t choke Sam. These ghosts would have been a major challenge in the first season. Now they’re just a task to complete before the real trouble.

Let’s talk characters. Rowena showed the most drastic change overall. During this episode, she’s somber and serious, not at all the conniving witch she is normally. She seems genuinely interested in conversing with Chuck, even helps him out when he’s feeling weak. Rowena would never have put herself in this position before unless she knew she could get something out of it. Since she acted this way pre-bomb plan, it proves she’s not her normal self.

Rob Benedict, as Chuck/Carver/God, was the perfect choice. He played a greatly sympathetic character, and although I mourn the loss of the comically hapless Prophet Chuck, God Chuck turned out to be a great replacement. We’ll likely not be seeing this character again, at least not for quite a while (there would be a problem with that whole “deus ex machina” thing – Google it). It was great while it lasted.

Billie’s appearance hinted that all was not going to end well in the Winchester-verse. Perhaps she’ll make an appearance in Season 12, Episode 1?

Finally, Amara wasn’t just a cookie-cutter villain. In fact, she showed true vulnerability in this episode as she saw things dying around her. She even respects the life of a pigeon-feeding old woman when she normally would kill indiscriminately. I don’t know exactly where this shift in her character occurred, but it was a necessary one.

Being the finale, we had to have some weird camera angles and transitions to make it feel pivotal, and it was. We’ve seen so many dialogue heavy scenes in the Impala with the same tired camera angles. Not this time. Cas and Dean are portrayed in slightly uncomfortable canted angles and extreme close-ups. It leads to the turning point in which Sam calls them up with the plan.

A very cool transition takes place near the end. It happens when Cas and the others enter The Lazy Shag (read into that what you will, I’m mostly getting Austin Powers flashbacks). They enter the bar, approaching camera in single file. We switch immediately to the park scene where Dean approaches camera, only to turn and have Amara appear behind him. The reveal is quite flawless. I watched it twice to see if I could nitpick.

Amara’s neat appearing trick is countered with Chuck’s disappearing one. Sam approaches the bar, turns and finds Chuck has disappeared from behind him. Naturally we all have a moment of panic, but he’s just been summoned to have a heart to heart with his sister.

In expected cliffhanger fashion, we’re left with a couple loose ends, but this season had a different flavor. In a previous season, they might have ended this with the boys looking up in the sky, someone remarking that the sun is dying, and a quick cut to the end credits. I’m happy for the resolution to the Amara storyline and eager to see what next season will bring with this Men of Letters (London chapter) craziness.

I’m also eager to see Sam’s fate and whether Dean has found himself in Heaven or if Mary is going to be hunting alongside her boys. We’ve got a while before we find out.