'Supernatural' season 7 finale recap: What JUST happened?!

Yesterday, Jensen Ackles gave me what I thought was a little tease about the season finale of Supernatural while on the red carpet at the CW Upfronts. (Yes, that was a humblebrag.) I shared it with y’all in Spoiler Room this afternoon. To recap, he said: “In [a] previous season, Dean found himself in hell and we had to figure out how he was going to get back from hell next season. This is something like that. It’s going to be interesting how we get back from that.”

Well, I can say a lot of wonderful things about that guy — and I have. Another one I can add to the list? He’s not a liar. Tonight’s season finale did just as he promised, and despite his juicy little tease, I never saw it coming.

[Read spoilery details about the season finale below.]

There’s been a lot of talk of purgatory on Supernatural over the years. If you recall, it ramped up a lot in season 6, when Crowley wanted to locate purgatory so he could have a smörgåsbord of souls. We all know how that turned out. But now, as we close season 7, we will find ourselves talking about purgatory again for at least the rest of the summer — because that’s where Dean is trapped.

[Pause for WTF.]

He found himself there in the final minutes of the episode (with the most soul-crushing, terrified expression on his face) after killing Dick Roman, who is now RIP — resting in purgatory. Apparently, getting sent to creature bone yard was a side effect of killing Dick with the ancient weapon that Dean and Sam forged. (One righteous bone, one vial of Crowley blood, marinate, serve) Now, the brothers are separated. Dean is in a dark, scary land where all the things that go bump in the night fight each other for eternity, and Sam is on Earth, alone.

And by “alone,” I mean TRULY alone. We bid farewell to ghost Bobby in the episode, and, I think, Jim Beaver for at least the foreseeable future. (Note: Jared Padalecki got his wish.) Again, I SHOULD have seen it coming, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t heartbreaking to watch Dean burn the flask.

So, to review: Dean’s in purgatory, Cas is in purgatory (but ran away…?), Sam is on Earth and confused, Ghost Bobby has crossed over, Dick Roman was boned and is now dead, Crowley took the genius prophet, and the Impala needs to be fixed…again.

Yes, the Impala returned. And I feel corny for saying this, but I got more excited than a person probably should at the sight of a car. What can I say? It’s an icon.

To return to Ackles’ statement, at the beginning of season 4, Dean clawed his way out of his own grave after being sent to hell in the finale. So part of me guesses we won’t begin season 8 in the same way. I’m thinking there won’t be an angel who rides him out of purgatory. But what will happen? Your guess is as good as mine. One thing I do know? I’m pretty excited about the possibilities — especially because the season 4 premiere was one of my favorite episodes ever. No pressure.

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