Supernatural “Inherit the Earth” was written by the team of Eugenie Ross-Leming and Brad Buckner and was directed by John F Showalter, who has directed many of the best episodes. I know that I have been, at time, brutal in my criticism of the show lately, but this was a solid episode. I would have been satisfied if the series had ended here. In fact, I’m pretty worried that I’m going to be really, really disappointed with the final episode… There were no really big surprises in the episode, either good or bad, but let’s dive in for a closer look.
The episode begins with shots of an empty world – and nicely bookends back to this. Dean (Jensen Ackles) drives up to join Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Jack (Alexander Calvert). Sam is distraught that he couldn’t save anybody, and Dean tells them that it wasn’t Billie (Lisa Berry) who disappeared everyone, but Chuck (Rob Benedict). Jack asks where Cas (Misha Collins) is, and Dean has to tell them that Cas saved him and the Empty took him. Cas is gone. Sam can’t believe it, and immediately starts trying to call everyone. Dean apologizes to Jack – and the three walk down the empty road.
It’s interesting that the episode – which was written before the pandemic but filmed afterwards – so eerily echoes visions of the lockdowns and also provides an explanation for the lack of extras or guests in the episode! The episode contains lots of shout outs to all the shout outs we’ve had over the years to cast and crew family through things like Margiekugal beer, named in honor of Jerry Wanek’s mother. Dean turns off the Family Business draft beer – a reference to Ackles’ own beer company.
Jack tries to contact Cas and as he walks by some plants they seem to die – which we find out later is him literally sucking the life and power out of them. He joins Sam and Dean in the diner. Sam is distraught that he’s the cause by not just giving Chuck the ending he wanted. He’s ready to give up.
Dean and Sam summon Chuck- somehow – and tell him that they give up. They’ll kill each other any way he wants, but Dean tells him that first, Chuck has to bring back all the people – and Cas. Sam surrenders, but Chuck tells them that it’s too late. And he’s also enjoying the new story. He makes a reference to them not taking a knee, which seems like an odd reference to Colin Kaepernick, who did take a knee but not in supplication but in defiance…
Back at the Bunker, the boys do what they do. Dean drinks himself into a stupor. But Jack senses a presence. Their first question is how is he feeling it because they thought he was powered down. They arrive at a gas station, and Dean finds a dog that he’s going to call Miracle. Sam is shocked that Dean is going to put a dog in the Impala, but he no sooner puts him in than Chuck shows up and smokes him. Meanwhile, Jack’s jacket is now white – from beige in the first scene.
Jack also picks up on a presence in a church, which turns out to be Michael (Jake Abel). He tells them he took refuge in St Michael’s church when the rapture began. He tells them that he’s avoided using any of his powers to stay hidden from Chuck. Sam asks about Adam, and Michael tells them that he’s sorry that Adam is gone. Michael tells them that he never spent much time on Earth, so he’s been doing some research. He’s found, to his surprise, that the believers loved God. We learn that when God left Heaven, Michael made sure that God’s image was burnished on Earth – Michael was the first publicist! The all knowing, all seeing, all caring God. Abel is fantastic as Michael – quite possibly my favorite portrayal of him. He clearly doesn’t believe his own copy. Dean calls him Daddy’s-boy. Jack asks what Michael thinks now, now that he’s seen what Chuck has done. Michael is ready to help.
They all head back to the Bunker. They are hoping that Michael can open God’s death book, but he can’t.
We get a really nicely shot scene with the boys as they discuss their options, concluding that they are screwed. They’re interrupted by a phone call that seems to come from Cas, telling Dean he’s there but hurt and he needs Dean to let him in. When Dean runs and opens the door, however, it’s Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino)! So, ok. That was an AWESOME surprise! Pellegrino is his usual fantastic over the top self! He tells them that he’s been sent by the Empty to get God’s book to kill Chuck.
Lucifer brings Betty (Kimberley Sustad) with him as a token of good faith. She’s a Reaper and he kills her – which as the first Reaper to die since Billie, she becomes Death. Pellegrino is just fantastic in this entire scene. They give Betty God’s book so that she can read it, and she locks them out while she does so.
Michael is not happy to see Lucifer, who taunts him with Chuck turning his back on Michael. Betty returns and tells them that she knows how God ends. Just as she’s about to tell them, Lucifer kills her and takes the book – admitting that Chuck let him and that he’s the new favorite and that Dad called Michael a Cuck. The two fight, and Lucifer invites Jack to join him and Chuck on the winning team, pointing out that it’s the only way that Jack will get out alive because he’s too weak to fight him.
Michael kills Lucifer with an archangel blade that Sam gave him. Dean checks in with Michael afterwards. Michael is clearly upset that Chuck reached out to Lucifer and brought him back from the dead without even reaching out to him. Dean tells Michael that Sam thinks that he can decipher Death’s book by using the Book of the Damned. Sam tells them that he’s deciphered a spell that has to be done in a specific place at a specific time – which turns out to be a beautiful location by the water – also terrific for Covid-shooting as it is outside and away from people!
The spell does summon Chuck, who tosses Dean, Sam, and Jack aside to talk to Michael – who is actually the one who summons him. Chuck, however, is pissed that Michael would have even thought of siding with the Winchesters and we get a pretty spectacular special effect as Chuck explodes him.
It’s a nice meta-moment when Chuck tells them that he’s cancelling their show – though of course,
Supernatural was never going to be canceled, but go out on it’s own terms. Chuck tells them that eternal suffering sounds good on paper but makes for a boring viewing experience. Sam throws the first punch and Chuck is about to snap them out of existence, but decides to beat them to death instead. After breaking Dean’s leg, it’s a pretty impressive that he can simply stand back up. The brothers refuse to give up even though Chuck tells them to. It’s clearly supposed to echo Sam beating Dean at the end of “Swan Song,” but the scene lacks the emotional depth of that one.
The two finally support each other, bleeding and smiling as Sam tells Chuck that he loses. Chuck tries to snap Jack out of existence, but Jack has just absorbed most of Chuck’s power and finishes the job before snapping Sam and Dean back to health. When Chuck asks them what they did, Dean tells him that they won. Chuck thinks this is how his book ends, but it’s not going to be that easy. They show him the empty pages of the book – only Death can read it. This was their plan B. They knew that Michael was desperate to be the favorite again, so they lied about the spell. Lucifer and Michael’s fight helped to power up Jack too.
Chuck tells them that this is why they’re his favorites – he has no idea what happens next! He’s happy to die at the hands of Sam Winchester – and Dean Winchester, the ultimate killer. But they have no intention of killing him. Sam checks that Chuck can’t ever get his power back – his ending is to be just like all the other humans he forgot about. He’ll grow old, sick, and die, alone and forgotten. The three drive away, leaving Chuck screaming for them to wait.
The three return to where they began the episode. We get more shots of empty landscapes – and then they are not. We get a musical montage of people just going about their business. And it’s a happy vision for our Covid-restricted existence too. I also loved the choice of song Get Together by the Youngbloods – a perfect song for the US in particular right now.
Sam asks what they call Jack now, clearly a little in awe. Dean of course, is just business as usual. Jack tells them that Amara is now “with” him, and they’re in harmony. Sam asks if Jack is coming back to the Bunker – and Dean assumes he is. Jack tells them that he’s not coming home, but in a sense, he’s already there. He’s everywhere. He tells them that he’ll be around. Dean tells him that it’s a hell of a time to bail – people will have questions – and you get the feeling that Dean has a few. Jack tells him that the answers to those questions will be in each of the people asking – maybe not today, but some day. People won’t need to pray to him – they just need to know that he’s already a part of them. Chuck put himself in the story and that was his mistake. So, if we read this as meta, we can extrapolate that the writers would like us to keep writing fan fiction, to keep the story going for ourselves. And really, nobody likes a Mary Sue… Jack also tells them that he’s learned from them, that when people have to be their best, they can be. Jack says good bye and walks away, disappearing much as Chuck did at the end of “Swan Song.”
The brothers return to the Bunker and share a beer. Dean toasts everyone that they lost along the way. Sam marvels that they get to write their own story now. Dean adds that they are finally free, and the music kicks up again into “Running on Empty” by Jackson Brown. We get a closeup of the table that now also has Castiel and Jack carved in it along with DW, SW, and MW. And then there’s a final montage of the brothers driving down the road and scenes from past episodes. It would have been a perfect place to stop….
So, Lucifer turning up was a fun surprise. I liked the meta elements and the political nods in this episode as well. Great performances by Jake Abel and Mark Pellegrino. It wasn’t a surprise that Jack turned into the new God and saved the day – it was pretty obvious that that was where they were headed. Still, a solid episode. What did you think of the episode? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
