'Supernatural' season finale recap: 'I'm proud of us'

Despite warnings that Supernatural‘s season finale would be a whopper of an episode, I didn’t plan to spend my entire summer trying to recover from the trauma. But it looks like that’s exactly what I’m going to do, following an emotionally exhausting hour that capped off the show’s stellar season 9 Tuesday night.

That may sounds hyper-dramatic. But it’s really not, considering all that happened.

First, I’ll start at the top: Gadreel didn’t die from the wound he received from the First Blade. But he did die later. He sacrificed himself to help Cas escape angel jail. (Locked Up Abroad: Heaven — I’d watch it.) I was sad to see this angel go because I thought he had a fascinating psychology, but I am glad he got the redemption he’d been looking for.

Speaking of death…Dean died too. Read that one more time: Dean, he of a thousand deaths, died again. You’d think I’d be used to this by now, right? I mean, this guy has experienced death by taco, death by electrocution, death by Hell Hound. I should be used to Dean Winchester dying. But there was something about the suddenness of his fatal stab wound that was like a knife through my own heart. Allow me to break it down:

First, he was beaten, and that was hard to watch.

Then things looked up for a second when Dean was able to use his Mark of Cain Mind Powers to get the blade back. (This problem, by the way, could have been avoided completely had they taken some good season 5 advice and invested in some bungee cords.)

This small positive sign turned out to be too little too late, though. Because just when we thought Metatron was finally going to get bone-bladed, he stabbed Dean instead. (And my world stopped.)

I know, Sam. I know.

As Dean sat there dying, he said exactly what I thought he would. “Sammy, you gotta get out of here before he comes back.” (The way his voice broke on the word “back” killed me; I don’t know why.) But Sam refused to leave him there, insisting they’d find a spell to save him or get him to a doctor, whichever came first. To that, Dean confessed that he thought “it was better this way.” “The mark — it’s making me into something I don’t want to be.”

While all of this tear-inducing drama was going on, back in Metatron’s HQ, Castiel was in a sticky predicament of his own. He smashed the angel tablet and when Metatron saw what he’d done, he was ready to rip his pretty vessel apart. That is, until Castiel got him to confess to all of his evil ways — while his entire angel army was listening over loud speaker. (It’s been a running joke for a few episodes that Castiel now has a bunch of pop culture knowledge in his noggin and even though this was not brought up during this scene, I like to think that Cas got the idea for the accidental public confession from Vanessa on Gossip Girl.) After the reveal, the angels took Metatron and threw him in angel jail, but I wish they’d just killed him. Having him alive makes me quite uneasy.

Back at the warehouse, Dean, indeed, did kick the bucket — but not before delivering one of the most heartbreaking lines I’ve ever heard on the show. (See: Quotables below.)

The good news — kinda — is that the mark didn’t let Dean REALLY die. Instead, it turned him into a DEMON. Crowley explained it all as he sat with Dean’s dead body. The episode cut to black after it showed Dean’s black eyes. Then fan screams were heard around the world.

Heading into season 10, we’re left with quite a few major questions. Like how will Sam, who was last seen trying to summon Crowley for help, react to Dean’s demon twist? Will Cas get his hands on some new grace? And can Dean be cured of his demon-ness? Will he want to be? Does the mark still have him in its grips? So many questions. And one LONG summer to ponder them.

On a related note, this is the last Supernatural recap (and Beard Watch!) that you’ll see from me here on EW. New adventures await. But no tears, please. Sam’s cried enough for us all.

QUOTEABLES

“Game of Thrones is complicated. Shower sex — that’s complicated. Hell ain’t complicated.” — Dean

“You are nothing but Bernie Madoff with wings.” — Dean to Metatron

Dean: What happened to you being OK with this?

Sam: I lied.

Dean: Ain’t that a bitch.

“I’m proud of us.” — Dean

BECAUSE I CAN:

Action Sam.

BEARD WATCH: