Ackles' Idea of Supernatural's Ending Was Much More Grim Than Actual Finale
The Dean Winchester actor was not immediately on board with how Supernatural ended.
Jensen Ackles had imagined his own version of the Supernatural finale - and it could have been so much angstier than what we ended up getting.
Speaking on Michael Rosenbaum's podcast Inside of You, Ackles revealed that it was quite challenging for him to make peace with the finale. His initial reaction to the pitch was "I don't like it," and it turns out he even had to reach out to Eric Kripke who had to persuade him that the ending was perfect for the show.
Was it about Dean dying? Quite possibly, Ackles admits.
"Maybe I'm just too close to that character and I just don't want to see him go," Ackles said. "For some reason, I always thought that if someone was going to go, it would be Sam. As a martyr. And Dean would then be left to just kind of stumble through the rest of his life, mourning his brother and his lost family."
Well, even if Ackles is indeed so attached to the character, he certainly doesn't feel like having mercy on him. Anyway, after Kripke shared his thoughts with the actor, Ackles immediately changed his mind and decided to trust the process and go with the finale we ended up seeing: Dean dies on a hunt and Sam gets to live a normal life, with the two brothers later meeting in heaven.
To this day, Supernatural fans are divided on the show's ending. While many believe it was a perfect ending, others argue that the finale felt very anticlimactic, and many characters were neglected in the end.
Today, the Supernatural universe continues in the prequel titled The Winchesters. It follows the love story of John and Mary Winchester before they had Sam and Dean. However, the show has also been criticized for seeming to retcon Supernatural and never explaining it.
Currently on hiatus, The Winchesters is expected to return to The CW on January 23.