I still remember the night that Supernatural aired its premiere on the now-defunct WB network. It was a few days before my 14th birthday and all I knew was that a cool show about fighting supernatural creatures was about to debut and I needed to catch it. With no DVR and no ability to drive myself, I stressed my mom out trying to ensure we were going to be home in time for me to watch it – I missed it by a couple of minutes, but they aired a repeat over the weekend. This was over fifteen years ago, but I remember this high anxiety moment every time I think about the show. Inherently I knew this show was going to be something special, but little did I realize it would have the cultural and personal impact that it has had over the last decade-and-a-half. This show was something more than just two brothers fighting monsters-of-the-week; it was both a terrifying and entertaining narrative that focused on the importance of family and tackled themes of self-identity. The show has had major ups and downs over the years – many believe it should have ended long ago- but the adventures of Sam and Dean Winchester are something that will live in the hearts of the fandom forever.
Guiding this massive behemoth to a satisfying conclusion was always going to be a tall order, but even the most forgiving fans have to admit that this final season did not deliver on many of the key things that made the show great. The biggest issue with this particular season is the lack of focus on Sam and Dean during the home stretch. The show has often struggled with making the brothers seem like an afterthought on their own show, but this season in particular seemed to find the show covering much of the same territory as it had in the past. While it makes sense for the creative team to want to cover a major arc one again, the idea of devoting this season to smaller, more personal stories that connect back to characters from the past seems like a dream. As it is, the creative team only passively tried to adhere to the mythology that the show had so elegantly created for so many years. Even one of the most hotly-anticipated moments of the series was handled in an unsatisfying manner that elicited reactions from disappointed to apoplectic.
Despite some major missteps in the overall narrative, there was much to like in this season. While the age of the series has been registering on the faces of our two leads for a little while now, the news that this was indeed their final time out brought about a renewed sense of energy in their performances. During some particularly emotional moments, you can feel the pain of the actors saying goodbye to these characters and this family coming through on screen. Also, their tussling with god brought about at least one bit of retconning about the afterlife that made things feel a lot more complete and satisfying at the end of the day. The real villain of this season, though, was COVID. The ending of the show has been highly divisive for a multitude of reasons, but one thing that is for sure is that the showrunners intended for something much for grand before this virus interrupted their final two episodes. The show will forever be saddled with these awkward, COVID-restricted interactions that will stick out like a sore thumb.
The final season of Supernatural is one of great beauty and great pain, but it offers up moments that fans will never be able to forget. It was not a perfect journey, but it is one that fans would never trade in for anything. This show is all about family, and it has introduced a whole slew of characters that feel like family to the audience. Very few shows earn that level of investment from their viewers, but Supernatural was that one-in-a-million show that you always hope to find.
Video Quality
Supernatural: The Complete Fifteenth Season arrives on Blu-Ray with a pleasing AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The levels of detail this presentation is able to eek out is quite striking, as all of the subtle details in the production design are easily identifiable. The series can be a bit dark, but there are some magical instances of beautiful colors popping off the screen. Black levels are appropriately deep and give way to a nice amount of detail in shadows. The bright whites of the show do not fall victim to any blooming in this presentation. Skin tones appear very natural across the entire cast. There are no egregious instances of aliasing or compression artifacts detectable here. The show employs some iffy visual effects at times, but that is not the fault of the transfer. The Blu-Ray presentation should be more than satisfactory to fans of the show.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with an incredibly active DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that creates a truly enveloping world. Dialogue always comes through crisp and clear without being stepped on by the powerful score or any sound effects. Action sequences and more kinetic moments are given the appropriate power in the mix with a forceful showing in the low end. Ambient sounds are also precisely placed in the rear channels. The show sports a killer soundtrack that often fills the room with music that perfectly complements the characters. The audio track does not feature an incredibly complex mix, but it gives the sounds being featured a lovely presentation.
Special Features
- Deleted Scenes: Nearly nineteen minutes of unused material is provided here including some nice moments between Sam & Dean, additional scenes with Castiel and Jack, and some moments from the case-of-the week that were cut for time. There are some worthwhile moments interspersed throughout that fans should appreciate. Some scenes are also provided with unfinished visual effects.
- Supernatural – The End of the Road: A 30-minute special in which the cast and crew discuss the decision to end the show and the emotional impact the journey has had on them. This piece primarily breaks down the production of the final batch of episodes with an emphasis on the difficulties of filming the finale. Most of the interview subjects start tearing up at one point or another.
- Supernatural – Family Don’t End With Blood: A 23-minute piece that takes a look at the importance of family within this show in its different forms, as well as how those themes extended into the relationships of the cast, crew and the community at home that has supported the series. This is a well-produced piece that balances interviews, behind-the-scenes moments and clips from throughout the run of the series.
- The Winchester Mythology – Midwestern Heroes: A 22-minute featurette that takes a look at distinctly American qualities of the show from the settings, the cars, the values and more. This piece takes a look at the narrative importance of the scenes between Dean and Sam in the car, connections to classic American figures and more.
- Supernatural – The Long Road Home: The 42-minutes retrospective episode that aired before the finale is included here. This is such an emotional and satisfying look at what this journey has meant to everyone involved.
- Gag Reel: A 15-minute gag reel filled with flubbed lines, missed marks, goofing around, laughing fits and more. It is everything a Supernatural fan could ever want.
- Supernatural – 2019 Comic-Con Panel: A 34-minute look at the final Comic-Con panel moderated by Richard Speight Jr. and Rob Benedict featuring actors Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins, and Alexander Calvert, along with executive producers Robert Singer, Andrew Dabb, Eugenie Ross-Leming, Brad Buckner, and Bob Berens. The love for the series hangs in the air before the commencement of this final season as the cast and crew discuss the series as whole, the final season, the fandom and even give away an exact replica of Baby.
- Winning Baby – A Supernatural Giveaway: A four-minute look at the work that went into creating the replica of “Baby” mentioned in the previous featurette.
Final Thoughts
The final season of Supernatural is not its strongest, but it succeeds in conjuring up some raw emotions once you get to the point of saying goodbye. If you have made it this far in the series, there is no way you are going to give up without seeing how everything is concluded. You might cheer or you might yell in anger, but one way or another you will feel something during this final send off. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray set with a great A/V presentation and a lovely assortment of special features. So long, Supernatural, we will never forget you. Recommended
Supernatural: The Complete Fifteenth Season and Supernatural: The Complete Series will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD on May 25, 2021.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.