Distributor: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Episodes: 20
Duration: 44 min. (per episode)
Supernatural: Season 15 (DVD) – Series Review
After 15 seasons, the Winchester brothers ’67 Chevy Impala can rest its worn-out wheels. Before the brothers can finally retire, Sam and Dean have to first face the ultimate confrontation; after numerous demons, mythical creatures, monsters, and angels; now, they have to face… God himself. In the last 20 episodes of this season, the long, exhausting road trip that Sam and Dean have taken comes to an end, after devoting their entire lives to saving the world from ending, again and again.
Picking up where we left off last season, Sam (Jared Padalecki), Dean (Jensen Ackles), and Castiel (Misha Collins) are left to defend the world after all the souls in hell have been released and are back on Earth to roam free and cause mayhem again. Joining forces with Rowena (Ruth Connell) and a demon, they manage to create a force field around the town in which the rift has opened, causing most of the spirits to be contained in that area. Sadly, this barrier is weak and could break at any given moment, so it’s a race against time to find a solution. As they always do, everything works out in the end but not without great losses. Because of this, Dean accuses Cas of being responsible for everything going wrong. Realizing that Dean is frustrated with him, and also still blames him for Mary’s (Samantha Smith) death, Castiel reveals that his powers are failing and decides that it’s time to move on with the situation seemingly under control and they part ways. He’ll still offer help, if needed, from a distance.
Meanwhile, life goes on, filler episodes are being crammed in, and left-over subplots are getting resolved. Nonetheless, let us not forget about the main storyline here. The time has come for The Winchester brothers to set their focus back to the bigger thing at hand: defeating God (Rob Benedict). God/Chuck is determined to get rid of all worlds and living beings he has ever created, saving Sam and Dean for last. This is the biggest challenge the brothers have to face yet, but not impossible by using loopholes and seeking aid from unlikely allies as Amara (Emily Swallow), God’s sister, a reaper, death itself, and even a resurrected Jack (Alexander Calvert). After some going back and forth, The Winchesters and Jack are left with an empty lifeless world. All hope seems lost, but they still have the ultimate weapon that can defeat God: a Nephilim they call Jack. Will he be enough?
The pacing and the overall ambiance of season 15 of Supernatural felt kind of the same as the past seasons. The usual humor is still present as always, alternating with a good proportion of darker or more emotional moments like we are used to with this show. This can be seen as a good thing – which it is – but since this will be the very last season of the show, thus concluding the whole series, the writers could have stepped up their game just a little. Keeping the number of filler episodes in the final season was a bad idea. It took away from the main and side storylines because most of them did not bring much to the table storywise. Sure, it was fun to see a few old characters return, but this also unnecessarily built up our hopes for more and bigger characters returning towards the end; which didn’t happen. Taking Covid-19 into account, it’s understandable that getting people together is difficult, but it’s not impossible. It’s unfortunate to see that this affected the ending big time. This may not be the case for some, but it sure feels like it for us.
As for acting and on-set ambiance, it also felt the same as the past seasons. Of course, there are some side characters whose actors are a bit inexperienced and stiff, but how many shows don’t have this? Besides this notion, it is clear to see that the chemistry between the main cast and crew is great and genuine. It’s obvious that this show has been running for a loooong time and that it formed a strong bond between everyone who was involved in making it. It’s all of this that makes the scenes – especially between Jared, Jensen, and Misha – even better to behold.
Goodbyes are hard, especially if you have been watching Supernatural from the beginning (2005). Fret not, however, as the DVD version of the last season actually comes with a separate bonus disc. You’ll have around three hours of extras to plow through, nearly all of it revolving around the end of the show, and ‘the road so far’. We did enjoy every minute of this additional content, sometimes even making us shed a tear or two, seeing how emotional this family of cast and crew got over the last stretch of the series. It’s always nice to see this much extra content when buying a physical edition of a series.
Conclusion
Overall, we’re happy to get closure of a show that was running for 15 years. Could it have been better storywise? Yes. That being said, it wasn’t at all bad. It made sense. It made sense enough to accept that this was the end. Even if it was loaded with filler episodes, everything in this season felt authentic and somewhat ‘the same’ as what we’re used to from the past seasons of Supernatural. This, however, makes it’s unfortunate to see that this season – the final season – couldn’t be grander. As a stand-alone season, this would’ve been okay. Knowing that this season will be the last time that we are ever getting to see The Winchesters, we would have kept our eyes on the prize just a little more. We’re sad to see this show go, but all good things must come to an end, and we still enjoyed the conclusion very much. It’s time to carry on, my wayward son.
Supernatural: Season 15 (DVD) – Series Review,
No Comments