Why Supernatural Went With That Crazy Season 11 Face Off

Supernatural got crazier than ever in Season 11 when Sam and Dean had to deal with the age-old conflict between a pair of divine siblings. God and the Darkness - also known as Chuck and Amara - drove the action of the season until their epic face-off in the penultimate episode that--SPOILER--left God dying and the Darkness on the verge of destroying her brother's creation. Now, thanks to an exclusive clip from the Season 11 Supernatural Blu-ray/DVD set, we know why the show went with the family conflict. Carry on, wayward fan, and check out the sneak peek for yourself!

The exclusive clip comes from a Season 11 Blu-ray/DVD featurette called "The Winchester Mythology: Shedding The Light On The Darkness," and it's an interesting look into what inspired the team behind Supernatural to explore another complex sibling relationship. The plot was a natural extension of the Season 10 arc of the Mark of Cain that culminated in Death's death and the Darkness' release, but the reveal that she is actually the sister of God himself came as a surprise. God had been missing from Supernatural for a long time and was even presumed gone forever by his angels. It took the escape of his sister and her vendetta to destroy his creation to draw him out from the sidelines.

Considering that Supernatural has spent more than a decade examining the sibling relationship between Sam and Dean Winchester, the introduction of the conflict between God and the Darkness was a great way to both foil and highlight aspects of the Winchester boys' bond. God himself revealed that he needs his sister to remain alive, even if he had to keep them separate for the sake of the world he created. Actor Mischa Collins had this to say about God's rationale:

Chuck talks about it in terms of yin and yang and, you know, a balance in the universe.

Just as Sam and Dean seem to need and always come back to each other, God and the Darkness need each other alive in order for existence to continue. Of course, Sam and Dean's spats only occasionally result in an apocalypse. The God/Darkness battle had high enough stakes that the boys had to deal with everybody from demons to a witch to Lucifer himself. Luckily, Dean's ability to relate to Amara's frustration with her brother allowed him to talk her down from destroying the world. God and the Darkness ended the season on good enough terms. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for both Winchesters. Sam was last seen being shot in the bunker, and Dean has a freshly resurrected mom to deal with when the show returns for Season 12.

The Supernatural Season 11 Blu-ray/DVD set will be released on September 6, 2016. You can order your own copy here, which features four more hours of bonus content, including what is sure to be another classic gag reel of gaffes and pranks galore. Supernatural returns to The CW for Season 12 on Thursday, October 13 at 9 p.m. ET. Check out our fall TV premiere schedule to see when your other favorite shows will be back on the airwaves in the near future.

Laura Hurley
Senior Content Producer

Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).