Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) revealed that his drive to kill God is more personal than professional in Supernatural. In season 15, episode 15, “Gimme Shelter,” Dean's anger at Chuck (Rob Benedict) is on full display during a tense confrontation with Amara (Emily Swallow) in which he rails against the control God exerts over him and everyone in his life. Dean may be used to saving the world, but in this scene it's clear that his anger at Chuck is his primary motivation.
Supernatural season 15 is the final season for the long-running fantasy series. In "Gimme Shelter," Dean and Sam (Jared Padalecki) finally track down Amara, and Dean and Sam try to lure her into their plan to take out Chuck/God. Amara, who reveals that she's Chuck's twin, initially refuses to help. After the first failure, Dean's curiosity drives him back inside the diner to ask Amara why she resurrected his mother Mary Winchester (Samantha Smith) in season 11. After Mary's recent death, Dean is grieving and angry at Amara for toying with his love for his mother in an effort to teach him a lesson. He accuses her of being just like Chuck, "another cosmic dick rigging the game."
In trying to persuade Amara to stop Chuck's destruction and save the world, Dean reveals that his motivation to defeat God, season 15's primary antagonist, is more personal than benevolent. What gets Dean out of bed in the morning aren't the millions of anonymous lives he's protecting, but his fury at how his life has been predetermined since birth.
Dean's Fight For Free Will Is Rooted In Family
Like Amara's sisterly relationship with Chuck, Dean's anger and grief over the people he's lost bring a personal touch to the story of the apocalypse. The family drama makes audiences more invested in the story than they would be in a tale of warring gods. In earlier episodes, season 15 touched on the brothers' personal investment in stopping the apocalypse by showing Sam's nightmares about how the final battle with Chuck could end. These visions are later revealed to be glimpses into alternate realities written by Chuck, which doesn't help alleviate Sam's terror that one of these possibilities will come to pass, ending in the deaths of one or both brothers at the hands of the people they love. Despite Sam's nightmares, much of the story in season 15 has focused on the cosmic endgame, exploring Chuck's obliteration of alternate worlds, Billy's foreknowledge and plans, and the power of souls and resurrection.
Episode 15 of Supernatural revives a winning formula, giving the brothers an intimate stake in saving the world. As Sam strives to find a way to ensure the survival of Dean, Eileen and others in the final battle, Dean fights to finally be free of God's plans. Supernatural's use of personal relationships as causes of the apocalypse was most effective in season 5, when Dean and Sam were presented as an allegory for Michael and Lucifer, two brothers "who loved each other and betrayed each other." The fate of the world hinged on their brotherly bond, and the world is saved when Dean refuses to abandon Sam. In later seasons, Supernatural strayed from that convention, exploring more nebulous concepts like Purgatory, the states of Hell and Heaven, and the nature of the universe. The stories were still effective, but the emotional punch was lessened. Now, season 15 seems to be building up to final battle similar to Supernatural, season 5, in which the fate of the universe will depend on the relationships between family. In this case, it's likely the outcome of the battle will hinge on Jack (Alexander Calvert), who is like a son to the boys and the newest member of Team Free Will.