Dean goes back to the future to get a taste of how bad things can get in a pretty good episode.

On a show like SUPERNATURAL that’s become about the apocalypse, an episode entitled “The End” is bound to intrigue, especially when it’s only episode four into a twenty-two-episode season. Turns out the name refers to a hypothetical future in 2014. Zachariah zaps Dean forward in an attempt to convince him to agree to become the living vessel of the Archangel Michael (a plot thread that’s been going on for awhile now). Dean finds a world devastated by the demonic Croatoan virus (think 28 DAYS LATER), with a stoned, mostly powerless Castiel and an even more badass future version of himself.

This IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE-style episode is largely a showcase for Jensen Ackles, who has a number of dramatic scenes opposite himself, and does a good job of differentiating between “our” Dean and his bitter future counterpart. Although he has much less screen time, Jared Padalecki likewise makes the most of some fairly unusual scenes. Kurt Fuller is as always smarmily great as Zachariah and Rob Benedict contributes some brief fun as Chuck the Prophet.

At its best, SUPERNATURAL is smart, entertaining and surprising, but it has a tendency to wallow in fraternal angst (to put it mildly) that can exasperate anyone who isn’t tuning in to watch precisely that. ‘The End’ looks like it’s heading in that direction, but it turns out to go exactly where most regular viewers would agree it should.

Writer Ben Edlund knows just how far to push the emotional dialogue so that it’s satisfying rather than bathetic and we can be grateful that the episode continues to up the stakes while allowing the series to return to its narrative roots.

Source: ifmagazine.com