After 'Supernatural' series finale, the Winchester brothers will carry on in our hearts

Spoiler alert: The following post discusses the ending of the "Supernatural" series finale, so beware if you haven't watched it yet.

“There’ll be peace when you are done.”

The 327th and final episode of CW’s “Supernatural” fittingly took inspiration from a line in the show’s unofficial anthem, Kansas’ “Carry On Wayward Son." Thursday's series finale wasn’t the best or the worst hour in the horror-fantasy mash-up’s 15 seasons. But for someone who spent those 15 seasons with “Supernatural” closer to their heart than any other TV show had ever been, it was a mostly satisfying ending for two heroes who spawned a loyal fandom and, for yours truly, got me through a dark time in my own life.

It was one heck of a ride for which we all got to sit shotgun, as the Winchester boys killed vampires, demons and various other monsters as well as every possible chance at cancellation, on WB (where it premiered in 2005) and its successor CW. It’s a miracle, in a way, that we got Dean (Jensen Ackles) and his younger brother Sam (Jared Padalecki) for so long, and that they ended up in the heaven they both deserved after a life spent fighting everything from things that go bump in the night to biblically cosmic foes.

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It was Dean, the loose cannon with an appetite for fast food – and the best character on TV, no arguments will be allowed at this time – who went first, dying after being impaled by a large rusty nail while fighting some child-nabbing vamp mimes. (After surviving multiple apocalypses, fights with God and the devil, possession by an archangel and so many killer encounters, that a stray construction item finally did him in was a little iffy, if I’m being honest.) It led to a teary farewell and Sam telling him, “It’s OK. You can go now.” He went on hunting while Dean arrived in the heaven he deserved, where he could crank up the rock on his radio and drive his beloved black Impala, “Baby.”

Sam, always the moral center of this duo, continued to hunt, and the series finale showed him as he lived the rest of his life, having a son named Dean (who, it seems, also joins the family business). And after shuffling off his own mortal coil, he reunites with Dean in the show’s final scene to spend the rest of eternity.

“Supernatural” began with Sam and Dean and had to end with Sam and Dean –anything else would have been a betrayal of these characters who took on heaven, hell, alternate worlds and the end of the world (more than a few times). That greater mythology was the gravy, but the Winchesters were the meat and potatoes, two urban legends who stuck together on cross-country road trips and carved their own place in Americana.

Superheroes are supposed to inspire one’s ideal sense of self, but I can’t see myself in Batman, Superman or Spider-Man. I can, however, see myself in Dean, a guy who hits up gas stations for snacks and acts before he thinks (probably too often), and Sam, a big-hearted, sensitive sort who would sacrifice himself for his family 10 times out of 10.

These guys were why I was hooked on the show from the pilot, when Dean showed up at Sam’s college because their dad (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) had vanished, and they started on this epic road with a "saving people, hunting things" ethos. They met Scooby-Doo, killed Hitler (thanks, Dean) and watched a high school musical version of their lives. They drove the coolest car this side of the A-Team van. And they were always where they needed to be, even for yours truly.

“Supernatural” became my favorite TV show – and has been ever since – during the second season. During a time in my life when I wasn’t in the greatest place, literally or figuratively, I lived for that hour every week, when I could escape my own purgatory and head into a demon-filled world with two dudes who carried on, no matter what. I don’t normally get so personally invested in pop culture (OK, aside from “Star Wars”), but I always felt like Sam and Dean had my back.

But what makes them Sam and Dean is Padalecki and Ackles. Aside from being cool guys with whom I’ve been lucky enough to share a few Comic-Con stages, several phone interviews and one COVID-era Zoom call over the past decade, the stars gave their characters depth, soul and humor that was as much a part of their personas as their penchants for flannel. TV’s had many iconic duos, but they found something special for generations to come.

Now it's time to say goodbye, just when we all could use Sam and Dean as our champions over evil. (Thank goodness, we have Ted Lasso now.) As the band said, there’ll be peace when they’re done and they’ve earned it. We’ll carry on, though, looking out for the families we have and that we make, avoiding crossroads demons whenever possible, fighting monsters always and taking to heart a Dean Winchester nugget: “Every day, we can get better.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Supernatural' finale: Winchester brothers will carry on in our hearts