During its fifteen years on the air, Supernatural had a knack for delivering suspenseful cliffhangers. The lives of Sam, Dean, and the rest of the world often hung in the balance. With the nature of television, not every season played out or ended as originally conceived.
The shocking conclusion to season three of Supernatural saw Dean brutally killed and sent to Hell. But that wasn’t how Eric Kripke and the writers planned on ending the third season. Sam was supposed to save Dean from going to Hell.
Season Three Ended With Dean’s Death in “No Rest for the Wicked”
The Finale Was Written by Eric Kripke and Directed by Kim Manners
In the epic season three finale, Sam and Dean go to confront Lilith. It was Dean’s last day before his demon deal came due, and Lilith was enjoying some R&R. Sam summoned Ruby for help, but Dean lured her into a devil’s trap and stole her special demon-killing knife. Bobby, Sam, and Dean headed to a small town where Lilith terrorized a family for kicks. With Dean so close to getting dragged to Hellhe was having hallucinations, but he could also see a demon’s true face. It was a handy new skill when infiltrating a block patrolled by demons.
|
Episode |
Title |
Air Date |
IMDb Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
|
3×16 |
“No Rest for the Wicked” |
May 15, 2008 |
9.2/10 |
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Sam and Dean try to kill Lilith, but when she jumps bodies, they’re unable to find her before the stroke of midnight. When they realized she’d possessed Ruby’s “meat suit,” it was too late. Lilith commanded her Hellhound to kill Dean, and Sam had to watch Dean get ripped to shreds, unable to save him from the torment waiting for Dean in Hell. The final shot of the episode showed Dean, as Eric Kripke put it when talking to TV GUIDE“meat-hooked in the center of what looks like a thousand-mile spiderweb of rusty chains.” Kripke went on to describe the ending as “M.C. Escher meets Hellraiser.”
It was a fun way to end the season. Dean meat-hooked in the center of what looks like a thousand-mile spiderweb of rusty chains. Sort of M.C. Escher meets Hellraiser.
There were quite a few plot threads that were left dangling in the season finale“No Rest for the Wicked,” like Ruby’s plans for Sam. When Sam asks her for help, Ruby hinted at what he would need to do to save Dean and kill Lilith, but the details of how a mystery was left for season four. In the initial concept for Supernatural‘s third season, Ruby’s manipulations would have played out alongside Dean’s impending death sentence.
Season Three Was Originally Going to End with Sam Killing Lilith
The Ending Would’ve Been “Much More Climactic”
Eric Kripke’s plans for season three were pretty different from how it actually went down. In the official Supernatural magazine, issue no. 8, Eric Kripke spoke about how their plans for the season changed halfway through. Sam was going to go dark side and use his demonic powers and become a “fully operational dark force.” This would’ve meant that Ruby would’ve had to convince Sam to drink demon blood while Dean was still alive. While it would’ve been significantly more challenging for her, Sam was willing to do anything to save Dean. It would’ve been a more noble motivation than revenge.
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While the finale was pretty monumental, Kripke teased that the initial plan would have been “much more climactic.” The fight would have seen the brothers “going to war to save Dean’s life.” It would’ve looked very different from the stealthy approach that the Winchesters took to go after Lilith. It probably would’ve seen Sam on the warpath, interrogating and killing demons like he does in season four, but more intensely. Having Sam give in to the demon blood would’ve also caused a rift between the brothers, as opposed to the united front they had in “No Rest for the Wicked.” Dean was never on board with Sam using his demon-given abilities, and is even more disturbed when he learns that they come from Sam’s addiction to demon blood.
Why the Writers Ended Up Sending Dean to Hell
And How That Impacted Season Four of Supernatural
By mid-season, Eric Kripke and the writers realized that their vision for season three was going to cost too much to do it well. They also had the impending Writers’ Strike looming over their heads. When Sera Gamble spoke to Digital Spyshe commented on how that affected the trajectory of season three, saying, “While we were waiting to hear when and if we would be shut down, we kept coming up with story ideas and thinking of ways to tell that story in different sizes. When we got back [from the strike]it was a question of, ‘What is the most important story to tell?’ We had one story that was clearly the most important: that Dean has made a deal with the demon and has one year left to live.”
While we were waiting to hear when and if we would be shut down, we kept coming up with story ideas and thinking of ways to tell that story in different sizes. When we got back [from the strike]it was a question of, ‘What is the most important story to tell?’ We had one story that was clearly the most important: that Dean has made a deal with the demon and has one year left to live.
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Dean’s demon deal was supposed to interweave with Sam’s demon blood arcbut because the writer’s strike forced them to end the season with six fewer episodes than they planned, Eric Kripke and the writers felt that they couldn’t properly flush out Sam’s storyline. They made the decision to push Sam’s story to season four. Once they did that, they knew they were going to send Dean to Hell. When asked why Dean ended up in Hell, Kripke replied, “Everyone expected Dean to be safe! That’s reason enough to send him to Hell. But also, in ways I can’t reveal, it’s a turning point for Dean.” Sera Gamble felt it would be a cop-out to do anything less, saying, “We’d been saying we were going to do that all season long, so I feel like we had to go there.”
Everyone expected Dean to be safe! That’s reason enough to send him to Hell. But also, in ways I can’t reveal, it’s a turning point for Dean.
Since Sam’s demonic arc was pushed, that meant Ruby’s manipulations turned into a slow playand no doubt led to Katie Cassidy feeling like the writers didn’t know what they wanted to do with Ruby. It also begs the question: If Dean didn’t go to Hell, what would the first seal have been? Season four of Supernatural ends with Sam breaking the final seal on Lucifer’s cage by killing Lilith. If the show had gone with its original plan for season three, killing Lilith may have been the first seal instead of the last. Sam may have also had to struggle more with his addiction as opposed to being supernaturally cleansed by God when he put them out of harm’s way on an airplane.
Dean Going to Hell Was the Better Storyline
It Worked Out for the Best That the Writers Had to Pivot
In the first few years of Supernaturalthe series was constantly on the bubble and under threat of cancellation. This pushed Eric Kripke and the writers to take big swings, like sending one of their main characters to Hell. Kripke told Variety“We took risks that we probably wouldn’t have taken had we felt more stable. We used to say in the writers’ room all the time, ‘Look, we’re getting canceled next year, so smoke them if you got them.’” They continued to take big risks with their characters and came up with fresh ideas for several more seasons.
We took risks that we probably wouldn’t have taken had we felt more stable. We used to say in the writers’ room all the time, ‘Look, we’re getting canceled next year, so smoke them if you got them.’
Dean’s experience in Hell helped the character grow and gave Jensen Ackles plenty of incredible scenes to play. Without him going to Hell, he may not have fully felt the weight of what selling his soul meant. Dean may not have been willing to let Sam make the ultimate sacrifice in season five without learning that hard lesson and bearing the guilt of breaking the first seal. Season three, playing out the way it did, also led to season four being one of the best seasons of Supernatural. If Dean and Sam’s storylines had run concurrently, seasons four and five would look very different, and since they’re pretty close to perfection, it’s hard to imagine it could’ve been better with so many changes.
