ok yknow what? The Winchesters panel is tomorrow, the PILOT is NEXT WEEK, I don’t want to wait til november/til i can format this to work with ao3. Here yall go. Sorry for the long post, I fixed the entire finale.
Sam and Dean Winchester are not human beings. It’s hard to say if they ever were, but they definitely aren’t anymore. This may sound strange, but hear me out: many sources agree that descendants of Cain are not human, by definition. Even aside from that, if a person repeatedly dies and more or less physically fights their way out of every variety of Christian afterlife, it would be a considerable stretch of logic to still consider them a fully human being. Unfortunately for anyone trying to figure out exactly what Sam and Dean are, the only instance of a confirmed Descendant Of Cain is Grendel, from Beowulf. (source: Beowulf, translation by Seamus Heaney, lines 100-110)
“Grendel was the name of this grim demon Haunting the marches, marauding round the heath And the desolate fens; he had dwelt for a time In misery among the banished monsters, Cain’s clan, whom the creator had outlawed And condemned as outcasts. For the killing of Abel The Eternal Lord had exacted a price: Cain got no good from committing that murder Because the Almighty made him anathema, And out of the curse of his exile there sprang Ogres and elves and evil phantoms And the giants too who strove with God Time and again until He gave them their final reward.”
In terms of appearance, Grendel is never described in the text. He has been referred to as an archetype, a monster, an evil or corrupted human, a demon, or a forest spirit. In Beowulf, Grendel was immune to iron weapons ( Beowulf lines 986-989) but the only other widely accepted canon source on the subject, the book “Grendel” by John Gardner, puts forward the idea that that specific power comes from the outside source of The Dragon (Gardner, 75).
When Grendel was killed, his mother (also a monster of some sort) came back the next night for revenge/further murdering. While this is not a 1:1 comparison, it seems a fair guess to say that these creatures (I will be referring to them as Grendels from here onward) usually come in pairs and have strong familial loyalty. In Supernatural, the dynamic is a bit reversed: while they are siblings, Dean did essentially raise Sam. Despite this, Dean takes the main-Grendel role of initiating melee combat, while Sam takes the role held by the original Grendel’s Mother, as the more cautious and magic-focused backup/range fighter (Or at least, Sam SHOULD be doing that. Instead he lives his life like a dnd wizard trying to play a tank, refusing to learn actual magic and getting KO’d in every fight.)
Moving on, let’s talk about Cas, or Cassiel in the actual Lore (but also spelled Castiel, Kafziel, Qafziel, etc). Yes, Cassiel is a real angel, thought he is not mentioned in the bible at all. In fact, he mainly exists in Kabbalistic studies, some extra-canonical Christian texts, various esoteric beliefs, and, randomly, as a tragic main character in a fairly obscure German Art House film about angels (Faraway, So Close, dir. Wim Wenders). Cassiel’s history of use as a tragic (and ultimately doomed) figure in modern media is likely due to certain aspects of his lore: *note: for this and following sections, I have opted to use screenshots directly from the source material
(Of course he likes crocodiles. It's the perfect level of random)
(Still not sure how Supernatural managed to totally flip the color scheme)
It is extremely ironic that Cassiel, an angel that Kripke has said he chose “at random” as a name for the character in Supernatural, followed the lore so perfectly that many things about Cassiel work to fill in some much-needed context/backstory for Our Cas. Setting this aside, however, let’s look at the part that is most relevant to the finale.
Though he is also associated with Cybelle and Proserpina/Persephone, due to his rulership of the planet Saturn, Cassiel has much stronger ties to the god Saturn, the zodiac sign of Capricorn, and the new year, all of which only strengthen his connections to the archetypes of death, rebirth and time.
Cas, in a way, is Saturn, or at least a different version/manifestation of that being. The Lord Of Time, an uncommonly isolated spirit of midwinter and the new year, associated with agriculture and the harvest, the dude who Saturnalia is for, the Lord of Misrule in his chaotic aspect, etc, etc....
Also, Saturn is the Roman version of the titan Kronos. We meet Kronos one time in spn canon, in Season 7 episode 12. He was largely forgotten as a monster-of-the-week encounter, but after Cas’ final death in season 15, the fandom took renewed notice of Kronos, specifically his dying foretelling the futures of Sam, Dean and Cas:
Coincidentally, in this episode, Kronos was killed by the Winchesters for Doing Bad Guy Things in order to protect a human who he’d fallen in love with, in defiance of that human being fated to die- A parallel to Cas & Dean’s relationship that only becomes more apparent as the series progresses
In Greco-Roman mythology, Saturn/Kronos is overthrown by the gods, Zeus (his son) becomes king in his place, and Kronos is chopped to pieces and, as he is immortal and unable to be fully killed, thrown into the pit of Tartarus:
Tartarus is by far the best match I’ve seen to what, and why, The Empty is. Note that Tartarus, like The Empty, is both a place and a primordial deity at the same time.
*fun fact- even though Saturn was FAR more respected in Rome, his statues’ feet were still bound with wool to symbolically “bind” the god’s chaos, and were only unbound during Saturnalia, when social roles were meant to be overturned
Before detaling the actual events of the finale, here’s a rundown of the other major characters:
-Jack is Jack. Literally. A “Jack” is a folkloric archetype from northern Europe, think of Jack The Giant Killer, Jack Frost, Jack And The Beanstalk, Jack O’ The Lantern. Stories often portray all of these Jacks as some variation of the same person. “Jack” as a character is usually young, either naive or “foolish”, bold, impulsive, and unshakeable. In fact, Jack in folklore is often found interacting with God and Satan, tricking and/or humiliating them both, usually within the same story. In many endings of the tale, Jack finds himself banned from Heaven AND Hell for his actions, and, depending on the story, either tricks his way back into heaven in a way that makes it impossible for him to be kicked back out, or, more commonly, convinces Satan to give him one of Hell’s embers to see and keep warm by, and wandering forever with that light, becomes Jack O’ The Lantern. This does mean that our Jack will likely not last long as God. Jacks, no matter how much power they get, rarely manage to keep it. However, could there be any better choice than Jack Kline to be in charge of Halloween?
(The answer is no. This is perfect.)
-Baby/The Impala, is, as much of the fandom has theorized for years, a sentient creature that can take human form. Weirdly, I have found no Human!Impala theories or fics that references Baby’s ability to travel impossible distances (such as Kansas to LA in less than a night), which make it very obvious that Baby is not a car. Specifically, Baby is a Pooka, a type of Fae shapeshifter known for taking equine form:
While John Winchester did buy a Chevrolet Impala, it is doubtful that this car lasted long into Sam and Dean’s childhood. It’s more than likely that John wrecked the original car driving drunk, since the most common way in which someone can encounter (and possibly control) a Pooka goes as such:
John probably used the above-mentioned horsehair bridle method used to gain control of her, specifically by wrapping the hairs around the car‘s keyring, as the keys to a car are the closest equivalent to a horse’s bridle. Additionally, while the car itself has been heavily damaged in-canon, the keys have remained intact. John never told Sam and Dean about the change to their car, but then again, he never told them a lot of important things.
Whatever Baby may have thought of John Winchester, I imagine that having two baby Grendels constantly left in her “care” was more than enough for her to feel some bond or responsibility towards Sam and Dean from fairly early on.
Also, Dean took REALLY good care of her, talked to her, and almost definitely left a few Playboy magazines in the car- an unwittingly amazing gift for a shapeshifter who often appears as a human with rabbit ears.
Lastly, Fae really, REALLY, don’t like pet dogs. Remember this. It is going to be extremely relevant.
*last minute edit: Bobby is a Tanuki. This is relevant to absolutely nothing, but is very funny. Balls
Now, as for the actual events of the finale:
-Cold Iron has been a long-running concept throughout spn canon, primarily for its ability to cancel magic and either weaken or insta-kill all sorts of things, including demons and Fae. In America, cold-wrought iron was phased out of use as a construction material towards the end of the 1800s. Coincidentally, the barn from the finale episode matches the construction of barns from the mid-late 1800s. In case I’m not being clear here: Dean is not human. Dean is a Grendel (*last minute edit: even if he still was still somewhat human before s15, Sam and Dean worked with Michael and Lucifer in 15x19. Dean had just lost the love of his life, the entire human population of the world had vanished, and he was about to literally fight god. He would have easily been desperate enough to agree to let Lucifer kill/turn him on the spot in exchange for Cas/returning everyone who got thanos snapped/the ability to win a fistfight against Literal God). With no angels, Pookas or other beings alive to magically protect him, and no idea that he had to/was able to protect himself, Dean was not immune to iron. Staking a demon or Fae through the back with cold iron will kill it.
That’s Dean’s death explained. What about Sam? ...Buckle up, because this is where it gets wild.
-Féar Gortach/Hungry Grass is definitely an obscure cryptid. It is an Irish spirit/phenomena that takes the form of a patch of grass or field that (depending on the telling) has been cursed by Fairies, covers a grave, is related to the famine, or any combination of these things. There are not many accounts of it, but this one is one of the most well known, and also extremely relevant here. It’s a short read, but I have included screenshots of the relevant section below:
(*Last Minute Edit: it could have been a different Fae- lots of more malevolent Fae or Fae-aligned creatures use this method to harm or kill humans., but I personally would bet on this one)
Earlier in spn canon, Sam and Dean defeated, but did not kill, the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Their encounter with Famine was unique, both because of Famine’s method of preying on the individual weaknesses of each person, and because of the encounter’s clear open-endedness.
Many, many stories exist of people who are abducted by Fae or similar creatures and, while under that creature’s power, experience a whole lifetime within the space of a day (or a day over the course of a whole lifetime, but the first version is the one relevant here). If this person can escape the illusion, they are often drastically physically aged due to the experience.
This is the last image we see of Sam in the flash-forward, before he dies.
This is the horseman of Famine
This is Sam before the finale
And THIS is how Sam’s “Son” appears at Sam’s death in the flash-forward.
-Cas, seemingly like every other entity with rulership over Saturn, got sucked into Tartarus.
-Chuck (whether or not he regained power in Heaven later) gives Sam and Dean a final “fuck you” by sending them a pet dog, which, while definitely a Good Boy, interferes with Baby’s ability to protect them from most Fae magic, including their own weakness to Cold Iron.
- In the final fight with the mimes, Dean is shoved over an iron stake, and, since neither Sam is not aware of his and Dean’s true nature, Dean dies before Sam can figure out what is happening. (*last minute edit: Dean probably asked Sam not to bring him back bc 1) where do Grendels even GO when they die, 2) they might go to Tartarus, and Dean is obviously extremely okay with that, and most importantly 3) he does not want his little brother’s last memory of him to be finding out that he’s a demon/bringing him back and possibly having to kill him)
-Sam walks out of the barn to get whatever you need to get in that situation, and, since he’s grieving and desperate, he’s an easy target for the hungry grass, which is waiting in the cornfields surrounding the barn. My best guess is that the grass used its illusions to appear as either Eileen, or someone else that Sam trusted, and led him deeper into the field by promising a way to have Dean back. By the next morning, Sam is dead in the cornfield less than 50 feet from the barn, and Famine, having drained every last bit of magic/energy/life force from Sam, now appears as the young man we see in Sam’s final moments.
-Sam and Dean are haunting the bridge from the final scene (ironic). (*last minute edit: at least Dean is. he’s obviously still there. where tf is Sam. is he on the bridge also, just stuck in a DIFFERENT time loop? if so that’s fucked up, but if not. WHERE IS HE)
-Jack is probably back on earth and/or already having a great time as The New King Of Halloween (*last minute edit. before anyone says he should be working on saving Sam/Dean/Cas. he’s FIVE YEARS OLD. LET HIM BE A KID IN WHATEVER WAY HE CAN)
-Baby is either bothering Adam/Michael (as she still serves the Winchester family line), or has been captured by Famine, if he took the keyring when he killed Sam.
*Also, despite this scene being the butt of many fandom jokes, Dean got to heaven and immediately started driving because the LAST time he ended up in heaven, he got out by following the highway, and found out he was dead by hearing Cas talk to him over the car radio (s5 ep16).
Now, how can this be fixed?
For Sam and Dean, there are two options. The first assumes that there is at least some echo of them haunting that bridge. I am admittedly unsure as to whether this would mean that part of Heaven is linked to the bridge, or that, like many ghosts, Sam and Dean are stuck to one physical location while believing that they are able to move freely. While there is very little written on how to reverse the effects of Cold Iron OR the Hungry Grass, it is widely accepted that running water can be a source of healing for some Fae, and harm for others. As the original Grendel lived in a lake, I’m assuming that Grendels are the type to be healed by water. Also, it has an easy point of access in current canon, and is hilarious.
The other option works no matter where their spirits/souls are, and involves finding and healing their bodies. Healing (or more lore-accurately, “freeing”) Dean would likely consist of finding a way to release the cold iron’s hold on his physical body, and then using some method to wake him up. I do imagine that, since Cold Iron reveals a creature’s true form as well as trapping it, Dean can only come back as a Demon at this point. He might not like it, but it’s that or be dead.
Sam is way more straightforward- in the episode where they fought Famine, he used Sam’s craving for demon blood at the time to taunt him. Now, Famine literally drained Sam dry. ...Therefor, demon blood. Not a pretty process, involves killing several demons beforehand, Sam didn’t handle it too well last time, but, again, it’s the best way to have him not be dead. (*last minute edit: found an alternative re: this weird old poem called “The Goblin Market”. appears to describe a young woman who was attacked and rapidly aged in a very similar way, but is healed by eating fairy/goblin fruits. idk how to get that but we already know a Pooka so that’s a start)
TLDR, any way to have the Winchesters not be dead will have to involve them being demons, permanently.
Now, for Cas, there are three main options, leading to a slightly different mythological primordial void (*last minute edit: assuming that Heaven has given up trying too brainwash or control Cas, and are keeping him locked up in The Empty/Tartarus when they don’t need him. They obviously did let him out for a bit recently, though, as the Queen of England did die and Cassiel is the angel in charge of that shit)
The Greco-Roman route is Cool and finally forces some of the Actual Cassiel Lore into spn canon.
(*last minute edit: discovered some Lore abt heaven’s methods of memory erasure. has heavy connections to myths abt Tartarus. tldf if The Empty= Tartarus, it is likely that Cas has lost some or all of his memories, Because Magic Greek Hell Rivers. Apparently)
The Norse route is a fairly uncommon choice of underworld in modern fantasy, relatively unguarded, and definitely interesting.
And of course the Christian route is familiar to the point of predictability, allows plenty of opportunities for old characters to return for an episode or two, works as a road trip story arc that I’m shocked hasn’t been done in canon already, and ends with Sam, Dean and Cas hiding out in Purgatory, providing a scenario with high potential for emotional reunions/soft Destiel moments/hurt-comfort with an emphasis on comfort, and a chance for Sam and Dean to explore purgatory now that they themselves are demons.
(Technically there IS a fourth route, consisting of going back to the earthside entrance to Lucifer’s Cage and trying to break through to whatever’s on the other side of The Cage... but that feels both too simple to be good storytelling, and WAY too risky if something goes wrong. Still, it’s worth considering)
....anyway. I’m seriously impressed with anyone who reads this far- this is A Whole Entire Fucking Lot All At Once. Am I just posting it now bc I’m worried that I might be right (specifically about the Grendel Thing), and I won’t look as cool if The Winchesters beats me to the punch? ....yes. I am that petty.
Beowulf, translation by Seamus Heaney
http://www.archangels-and-angels.com/aa_pages/correspondences/angel_planet/archangel_cassiel.html
https://mythology.net/angels/cassiel/
https://www.theblackfeatherintuitive.com/who-is-archangel-cassiel-the-archangel-of-duality/
https://supernatural.fandom.com/wiki/Chronos
https://www.history.com/news/history-of-the-jack-o-lantern-irish-origins)
https://www.yourirish.com/folklore/irish-pookas#:~:text=A%20Pooka%20is%20a%20shapeshifter,mane%20and%20luminescent%20golden%20eyes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%BAca
https://britishfairies.wordpress.com/2019/12/01/the-hair-of-the-dog-fairies-dogs/
https://wizzley.com/fear-gortha-the-irish-hungry-grass/ , https://obscurban-legend.fandom.com/wiki/Hungry_Grass
https://supernatural.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Side_of_the_Moon
