Supernatural's "Curious Case Of Dean Winchester" sees the titular hunter literally gamble with his life - and growing old in the process. Supernatural will come to an end in 2020 after an impressive fifteen season run. The show began with brothers Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam Winchester (Jared Padelecki) hunting all kinds of ghosts, demons and mythological creatures. The supporting cast and lore kept expanding with each passing year, with the boys coming to blows with both Heaven and Hell over the years.

While the show's faith wasn't always certain in early series, it soon became a given that new seasons of Supernatural would be greenlit. While some story arcs were definitely weaker than others, the series had the impressive habit of reinventing itself from time to time too. Given how popular it continues to be, it wouldn't be a huge surprise if a Supernatural movie or continuation happens down the line, but for now, the upcoming season 15 finale will serve as the end.

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The Winchesters regularly gamble with their lives but Supernatural season 5 episode "The Curious Case Of Dean Winchester" makes this subtext all too literal. The episode finds the boys looking into the death of a 25-year-old who seemed to age to death overnight. This leads them to a charming Irish warlock who gambles with years instead of money. Bobby, who is confined to a wheelchair at this point in the series, makes the dumb decision to play him and loses, and ages 25 years in the process.

supernatural curious case old dean winchester

Dean decides to win back those years and puts up 50 years during a game, but while he reverses Bobby's aging he ultimately ends up losing and becoming an old man. Supernatural's "The Curious Case Of Dean Winchester" is thus an homage to David Fincher's The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, with the trio having to figure out a way to undo Dean's aging. Surprisingly, Patrick's girlfriend Lia later hands them a reversal spell that will undo everything the warlock has done, but they need some of Patrick's DNA to make it work.

Supernatural's "The Curious Case Of Dean Winchester" thus ends with Sam playing Patrick to win back Dean's time, but it's just a ploy to steal one of the warlock's toothpicks to gain his DNA. Dean and Bobby also have some grouchy old men banter as they get the other ingredients, but while Sam succeeds in grabbing a toothpick, the spell doesn't work as Patrick figured out their ruse. Sam races against time to win the game before Dean dies of old age, but he uses Patrick's psychology against him and ends up winning fair and square.

While the ending of this Supernatural episode is a happy one, it's also bittersweet. It turns out Lia betrayed Patrick because she's tired of immortality and while she remains young, she buried her daughter who died of old age. They play one last hand and Patrick cries as she loses, and soon ages to death. Meanwhile, Dean has a heart to heart with Bobby, who earlier revealed he took the gamble because he feels old and useless in the wheelchair and has contemplated taking his own life. Dean assures him he's not useless and the Winchesters still need him.

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