Why Supernatural Needs To Kill Off A Major Character After The Latest Cliffhanger

(Image credit: The CW)

Spoilers ahead for Episode 17 of Supernatural Season 15, called "Unity."

Supernatural may well be finished with the standalone monster hunts, because "Unity" took Team Free Will 2.0 and their battle against God past a point of no return. While Dean and Jack spent the episode powering Jack up to be ready to kill God (and Amara) when the time came, Sam and Castiel were trying to find a way to save him. Unfortunately, Jack lit his own figurative fuse before the end of the episode, and the credits rolled with him seemingly moments away from dying with Cas, Sam, and Dean by his side.

Now, having actually watched Supernatural before, I know perfectly well that Jack is probably not going to die for good in the opening of the next episode. But the final minutes of the episodes were so intense and God's reveal that they never had a chance against him with this plan was so effective that God kind of deserves the win on this one, and while I'm not happy about it, I really don't think the guys should be able to all make it through the next episode after this cliffhanger.

That's not to say that one of the core four needs to die because of Jack's lit fuse, and the promo supports my belief that Sam, Dean, Cas, and Jack all survive what seemed like certain disaster at the end of "Unity." I really just think that they need to take a significant hit after how thoroughly they lost this round against God. The stakes should be almost impossibly high as the show counts down the episodes to the finale, and one of the guys dying would do the trick.

Besides, the promo for what is still to come literally has Billie -- a.k.a. Death, who has been running out of patience with Team Free Will -- saying "I'd like to see you dead" to somebody. If Death wants somebody dead, and if that somebody is one of the four heroes, then something has to give, and somebody has to go. Admittedly, this does all play into my evolving theory that Castiel is going to die and/or be dragged to The Empty when it finally collects on their deal.

I'm also starting to suspect that Supernatural is setting Dean up to die while Sam attempts to live a normal life, perhaps with Eileen. Dean has been going so hard on doing what has to be done even if it doesn't feel good, and even if it means sacrificing almost anybody, that I could see him deciding to make the ultimate sacrifice himself, especially if it's something he gets to choose rather than do because God decided.

Then again, maybe hearing about Billie's real plan will be enough to snap Dean out of his funk. He definitely looked alarmed at prospect of Castiel being away to Heaven forever, and God dropped a comment about how Cas raising Dean "from Perdition" made him one of a kind. Throw in those emotional shots from an earlier trailer with both Dean and Cas in tears, and I'm thinking the prospect of losing Cas one way or the other could snap Dean back to himself.

Oddly enough, Jack is the one of the four who I feel the most confident about surviving to the end of Supernatural. Castiel has died enough times on the show that I wouldn't rule him out even if The Empty wasn't circling, and a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ending for the Winchesters might actually be pretty epic. Killing off Jack would just be too much of a bummer. The poor kid deserves to catch a break!

Of course, I may be singing a different tune next week about somebody needing to die as soon as it looks like one of the guys is in any more serious danger than a stubbed toe. I don't want any of them to die! That said, from a story perspective, I think they need a big loss to bring the survivors together and galvanize them into action as a team. Besides, this is Supernatural! Any of them dying ahead of the finale doesn't mean they won't be resurrected by the end of the finale.

Find out if somebody dies after the "Unity" cliffhanger or I'm totally wrong and everybody is fine in the next new episode of Supernatural. Called "Despair" -- because of course it is -- and featuring the guys fighting for the good of the common goal, the episode airs Thursday, November 5 at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. For some of what you can watch once Supernatural airs its series finale before the end of November, check out our 2020 fall TV premiere schedule.

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).