Supernatural is one of the most consistent shows delivering something great week in and week out, but this last episode far outclassed any this season. With a switched up format, The End delivered on every level with exceptional writing and acting. It met its mark at every turn with pinpoint accuracy. Supernatural is such an impressive show it's a shame it's left festering on the CW while crap like Heroes gets double the viewers just because it is on NBC.

Zachariah send Dean into the future where the Earth is just devastated. The Croatoan demon virus from season 2 has infected vast majorities of the world. There is an amazing scene in the beginning where an infected girl attacks Dean who hits back and then runs from other infected people while the military is shooting at them. As you can see from the newspaper, the world is pretty much screwed. Honestly, I could have done without the Sarah Palin jab, but I guess in conjunction with the other headlines, it wasn't too offensive.



Present Dean meets future Dean and we get to see more unpleasantness. Sam actually said yes to the devil, becoming the vessel, and Dean (future) isn't quite the same Dean we knew him. He's back to torturing and when their group goes on a raid, future Dean chooses to sacrifice everyone else to get to Sam/Devil. So how far would Dean go? I guess we learned in this episode; he will go all the way, even if that means sacrificing innocent people and committing atrocities along the way.

The big moment comes when Sam as Lucifer arrives to talk with Dean where he rationalized what he did. I understand why Lucifer does things. No one likes being usurped by a lower being, and God gave angels the ability to become mad, so I guess Lucifer does have a point until of course God comes back and sets things straight. Jared Padalecki had a superb performance after a shaky start as the calm, calculating devil who speaks softly and carries a big stick. Oh wait...

Castiel and his harem was utterly delightful and I would love to have seen present Cas see what future Cas was doing. With Sam and Dean back together, we'll probably see less of Mischa Collins, but Cas running around with Dean would never have worked in the long run anyways.

Score: 9.8/10