After the recent decline in writing quality over the recent seasons, I was hoping they were saving all of their mojo for the final season. Boy was I wrong. Trying to copy Game of Thrones here with a final turd of a season as a sendoff? This final season of Supernatural was absolutely abysmal. Though as bad as the final season of Game of Thrones was, the final episodes of Supernatural (the ones that were actually focused on the main plot) are still far superior because they at least know how to stay true to their two main characters.
The entire final season is carried by meta-humor, callbacks, and bringing back as many previous guest stars as possible. Regardless of if the guest stars make any sense or impact the story in any meaningful way, they'll have the entire plot revolve around them to serve as a mcguffin to carry on the plot to the next mcguffin. "Developed" characters making the same decisions, mistakes, and apologies they have in every prior season. I guess it counts as character development if they repeatedly "learn" the same lesson and don't change themselves /s. Plot convenience after plot convenience (even if you break the fourth wall and acknowledge it in the script!) isn't good writing. It's lazy writing. Think you won't have time to do stupid side filler episodes during a final season consisting of only 20 episodes? Wrong. As always, they have to work their run-of-the-mill cases, regardless of the fact that the world is ending... again... (this time even something as big of a deal as GOD himself). 85% of the season was entirely filler with only 15% of it left for the main plotline to be scattered into those filler episodes for just a few minutes each. The entire season felt like obnoxious fan service....for characters and plot points that have already been resolved and concluded??? I guess "No One's Ever Really Gone"(https://youtu.be/gNTLC_uiGFA) really speaks monuments. They went ahead and destroyed any closure the side characters' original plotlines had in favor for these new endings which feel so cheap and undeserving AKA shitty retconning. It completely undermines/disrespects the sacrifices and any development these characters had in their original arcs. If they wanted to bring back characters for good fan service and nostalgia, they could have at least brought back the heavy hitters like Lucifer (more of him), Crowley, Bobby (the actual character instead of a superficial cameo), John Winchester, Loki, Cain, or Azazel but I doubt the writers would've had enough talent to handle them. Instead, we got a bunch of second rate hunters and side characters (ones I'd argue very few people actually care about) stealing the spotlight which felt extremely forced and unearned, all the while it was clear the writers wanted me to root for them or applaud them anytime they'd make their reappearance. If you want me to root or cheer for a character you have to earn it through writing good characters and developing them, not solely because they existed in a prior season.
Somehow each season seems to increasingly surprise me with poorer acting, especially from the extras. The acting has gotten so bad from the main cast, its hard to ignore and not cringe at their mannerisms they've developed from playing the same characters and saying the same repetitive lines all these years. As much as I love Jensen and Jared, when you see them step out of their character and into another one, their poor acting really shines; not because you're not used to them playing other roles but because its really bad. Though that could entirely be the fault of the directors, which would not surprise me.
All of the degrading plot behavior and the strict formula-following that the recent seasons have been experiencing more and more of as time goes on has been amplified by 200% for the final stretch in the series. In the shows case, the more it "carried on", the more unbearable it became. It's truly sad to see them go after such a long journey but thankfully its come to an end before it's gotten any worse because the writing staff have absolutely tarnished whatever resemblance of a unique and engaging story was left.
I must say that the final episode seriously felt like Jack wrote it instead of Chuck. It's truly a great metaphor; The same feeling of when people with no idea and no passion for a project take over another persons creation. An ingenuine presentation and almost like a fan fiction. Told by someone who wants to end the characters in whatever way they feel rather than a well written and thought out conclusive ending to our two characters journey. I couldn't think of a more cookie cutter and easy ending. I know they made it a little cheesy towards the end of the episode but it feels like the writers are mocking the audience with exactly how bad this ending was... They knew exactly what they were doing and it truly irritates me. F### that Carry On cover, it was like the cherry on top of the steaming pile of s###, a spit in the face. I'm beginning to think that they were serious when Chuck mentioned how he adored the Game of Thrones ending, because clearly the writers took notes.
As much as I enjoyed the earlier seasons of Supernatural, I would describe this final season and many of the other recent seasons in two words: Lazy and Formulaic.
Great cast of characters, gorgeous animation, and a killer score. Some of the most unique stand abilities so far, and a ton of creative scenarios for them to shine.
Narratively, the show frequently exceeded expectations in the first half. It starts out as an escort mission where we get to know the cast and what they're up against. The next half, where the show morphs into a chase to defeat the villain, could have been used as a vehicle for developing the characters we had just become comfortable with.
Sadly, the last half is a mixed bag. There are hints that the characters are going to develop and strengthen their bonds with one another, but all of that ends up being tossed aside for spectacle. The final battle doesn't do much to flesh out a weak main antagonist, and a couple of the arcs leading up to it struggle with dreadfully slow pacing. Everything culminates in a horribly underwhelming epilogue that spends almost its entire runtime in a flashback that doesn't add any character development or narrative depth.
Overall, this season had a couple of the best arcs in the entire series. The Grateful Dead and King Crimson vs. Metallica are particular standouts. Unfortunately, the best moments can't completely compensate for the missteps. Golden Wind felt like a bit of a disappointment compared to its predecessor.
