Supernatural Should End With The Death Of Both Sam & Dean Winchester

Supernatural is confirmed to be ending with season 15, and the Winchesters should go down in a hail of blood and bullets. In 2005, a fresh-faced Jensen Ackles teamed up with an even fresher-faced Jared Padalecki as Dean and Sam Winchester to hunt down all manner of fantastical monsters, eerie undead spirits and sinister demonic entities. Joined in season 4 by a third lead character in Misha Collins' Castiel, Supernatural grew into a cultural phenomenon, becoming the longest running TV show of its kind and amassing a dedicated, passionate fan base. Alas, after 14 years of roadside heart-to-hearts, "checking the lore" and coming back from the brink of death, Supernatural's ending is at last nigh.

Now that the tears of the Supernatural fandom have stopped flowing (temporarily, at least), thoughts begin to turn to how the Winchesters' epic tale will end. There have been many occasions in Supernatural history where the narrative could've come to a natural conclusion and creator Eric Kripke actually originally intended the show to run for between 3 and 5 seasons. Since then, however, Sam and Dean have met God, reunited with their father and teamed up with the Scooby Gang. With so many mighty accomplishments on their resume, it's not immediately clear where Supernatural can go in its final season to deliver a climactic and conclusive ending to the story.

And of course, a large part of the discussion surrounding Supernatural's impending finale concerns the fate of the Winchester brothers themselves. Will they each find a wife, settle down and live happily ever after? Or will they go out in a blaze of glory, sacrificing themselves for the cause? Realistically speaking, there's only one way this story ends: with Sam and Dean Winchester dying, saying goodbye to the world they've spent over a decade defending.

This Page: Why Killing Sam & Dean Is Supernatural's Only Logical Ending
Page 2: Why Sam & Dean's Death Can Still Give Supernatural A Happy Ending

The Hunter's Code Dictates Sam & Dean Should Die At The End Of Supernatural

Sam, Dean, & Jack give Castiel a hunters funeral in Supernatural

Perhaps the most compelling argument for the Winchesters to die at the end of Supernatural is to follow in the tradition of a hunter's lifestyle. Both the show and the Winchesters themselves have often reminded viewers, as well as each other, that hunters are never blessed with a happy ending and are destined to go out "bloody" as Dean has eloquently explained in episodes past. Supernatural has been building up the prospect of a "Butch and Sundance" style exit for years and now that time is near, any other type of finale would be contrary to everything the audience has heard up to this point.

Some viewers might argue that turning this hunter tradition on its head may be a more effective, and certainly more feelgood, way to end the series. After all, Sam and Dean have surely done more for the world than any other hunter before them - do they not deserve to buck the trend and ride off happily into the sunset, hanging up their holy water and silver bullets for a quiet retirement?

This might have made for a fitting conclusion, were it not for all the hunters that have given their lives in the process of helping Sam and Dean throughout Supernatural's 14 seasons.

Ellen, Jo, Pamela, Bobby, Maggie, the various single-episode hunters that no one remembers. The list of humans who have died while helping out the Winchesters is extensive and while some certainly would've perished with or without Sam and Dean's interference, others met their doom purely because that famous black Impala was in town. Therefore, while Sam and Dean's heroic deeds may mean they deserve a reprieve from the traditional hunter's funeral, it would seem somewhat unfair for them to live happily ever after when so many friends fell along the way.

Supernatural Can't End With Sam & Dean Retiring Because It's Already Happened

Dean Lisa and Ben pack up their home in Supernatural

Leaving the Winchesters alive after Supernatural's final episode presents a unique problem: the brothers have already proved themselves incapable of giving up "the life." As Bobby Singer often said with his trademark gravel-toned wit, you don't just stop being a hunter and while both Sam and Dean have, at separate junctures, found a way to live a normal existence, the world of the paranormal has always drawn them back in before too long.

In Dean's case, the eldest Winchester managed to rekindle a romance with former one-night-stand Lisa and moved in with her and her son, the incredibly Dean-like Ben, when Sam was presumed trapped in The Cage. After living an apple-pie life for a little while, the supernatural returned to haunt Dean, and it wasn't long before both brothers were out saving people and hunting things once again. Dean desperately tried to balance his family life with his day job but, as expected, his adventures soon caught up to Lisa and Ben, putting them in harm's way on several occasions. Ultimately, Dean's hunting almost cost Lisa her life and, heartbroken, Dean requested Castiel erase all memories of him from Lisa's mind.

Sam enjoyed a similar, if not quite as tragic, taste of regular life between seasons 7 and 8 with veterinarian Amelia. Although the relationship broke down more because of Amelia's husband returning than for any hunting-related reasons, Sam immediately resumes his former occupation alongside Dean when the romance is over. Clearly, the boys are too entrenched in the world of hunting monsters to ever break away and live a normal life; if Supernatural tried to go with a happy ending where both boys settled down, viewers would rightfully assume that it would only be a matter of time until the hunting bug kicked in all over again.

Of course, Supernatural needn't end with Sam and Dean's retirement, and could instead conclude with the brothers still alive and still on the hunt for cases, just as they are currently. However, ending the series on Supernatural's status quo is hardly a definitive or satisfying closer. A finale where one brother dies and the other lives can also be ruled out, since viewers have already witnessed the lengths Sam and Dean will go to resurrect each other. With all this in mind, the obvious solution is to kill off both Winchesters for good.

Page 2 of 2: Why Sam & Dean's Death Can Still Give Supernatural A Happy Ending

Sam Winchester smiling at a diner in Supernatural

A Deadly Ending Can Still Be A Happy Ending

Few would argue that the Winchester brothers aren't deserving of a good, long rest. If Supernatural does indeed bid farewell with the Winchesters' deaths, the final scene can still be a positive and uplifting end to Sam and Dean's story. Given the family's history in heroic deeds and their personal friendship with God himself, it's possible that when Sam and Dean die, they won't depart to the afterlife like just any regular old humans. Instead, God could use his position as the general creator of all things to offer Sam, Dean, Mary and John a place in the heavens where they can live together in peace for all eternity. Combine this with a hunter's funeral led by Castiel that draws in powerful hunters from across the globe, and Supernatural looks perfectly positioned for a touching, but permanent, sendoff.

Even with such a heartfelt resolution for the Winchester family however, there would still be a lingering question mark over the safety of Earth. Who will protect the world, or the U.S. midwest at least, without Sam and Dean around? Supernatural may have already laid the groundwork to provide a solution to this very problem.

In the recent Supernatural season 14 episode "Don't Go In The Woods," Sam and Dean were forced to give "the talk" to an ignorant member of the public. Instead of staring at the Winchester brothers in disbelief and awe however, this person questioned why the duo hadn't already revealed the truth about the supernatural to the entire world. While Dean scoffed at this idea, Sam appeared to be seriously considering the proposition, and thus the seeds were planted for brotherly division further down the line.

With the end of Supernatural now in sight, this scene may well be laying the foundations for an ending that sees the Winchesters reveal the truth to the entire world before departing the mortal plane, leaving Earth's fate in its own hands and answering the question of who will guard the planet without Sam and Dean around.

At its core, Supernatural has always been a show about sacrifice. Sam and Dean Winchester have sacrificed any opportunity to live a normal life in order to protect the world from evil and, somewhere along the way, they seemed to silently accept the reality that there was no running away from their destiny as hunters. Changing course in season 15 to give the Winchesters a fairy tale ending where they live to see another day would not only feel wrong, but wouldn't fully close the book on Sam and Dean's epic journey.

Next: Jack Is Too OP - Is Supernatural Making Him A Villain?

Supernatural season 14 continues with "Game Night" April 4th on The CW.