With 15 seasons worth of storylines, it can be quite a task for viewers to keep up with the most important aspects of The CW’s Supernatural. That said, it’s not as difficult a trask to stay on track if fans are aware of the plot points that connect everything that happened on the show together right until the end.
Sam and Dean Winchester went up against the likes of angels, demons, ghosts, monsters, and even God, yet there were a few plot threads that were of the utmost importance. Those who want to get up to speed with the series need only to keep this in mind and they’ll know exactly what elements link one story to the next.
Mary Winchester’s Deal With The Demon Azazel To Resurrect John
Shown in season 4, this event chronologically took place before the first episode. As it turned out, the demon Azazel was only able to target John and Mary in 1983 due to an understanding with the latter. This was sealed after Azazel initially killed John in 1973, following which Mary made a deal to allow Azazel into their home in ten years.
With this approval, Azazel entered the house and fed baby Sam his blood, which turned him into one of the Special Children and linked him to Hell and Lucifer. Its importance ran throughout the series, making Mary’s deal the catalyst to everything that happened.
Sam & Dean Being Archangel Vessels
Although it was revealed by season 5, this was a storyline that dragged on the longest in Supernatural. It was retroactively revealed that Sam being chosen by Azazel was to prepare him to be Lucifer’s vessel, while Dean’s role as the elder brother was the same as Michael’s. Their births were ensured so that Lucifer and Michael could do battle while possessing the Winchester brothers.
This plot point came to a head in the season 5 finale when Lucifer took over Sam, although Dean wasn’t possessed by Michael. It became significant once again much later in season 14 when the Alternate Michael from the Apocalypse World possessed Dean as his rightful vessel.
Jack The Nephilim’s Role As Being More Powerful Than Archangels
Jack’s time spanned across three of the final seasons of Supernatural, with it established that he was a Nephilim. Since children of angels are more powerful than their parents, Jack became the strongest ever as he was the son of the archangel Lucifer.
It appeared as if the series wasn’t going to make this a focal point as Jack was more human in personality than everyone else, but his status as a Nephilim became absolutely vital in the end. This was when he was shown to be able to absorb the powers of God to make himself even more powerful, resulting in Jack defeating Chuck and taking his place as the ruler of the universe.
God’s Creation Of Multiple Realities
There were a number of alternate universes seen throughout the series and across the seasons. These include the Apocalypse World, the French Mistake Universe, the Bad Place, Earth-2, among many others. All this turned out to be a build-up to one of the final storylines of God/Chuck being revealed to have created all of these out of boredom.
The final season’s overarching plotline was about Chuck deciding that he was done with all these realities and embarking on a visit to the alternate universes to destroy them. The different realities also became significant when the Apocalypse World Michael invaded the main universe.
The Darkness & God Have To Exist To Balance The Universe
With the Darkness/Amara as the main villain in Season 11, this plot point became of the utmost importance. It meant that she couldn’t be killed without endangering the universe and necessitated Dean to become a kind of bomb to destroy her and Chuck. Although this was averted, the storyline returned in the final season.
Here, Dean plotted to lure Amara to the Men of Letters Bunker and destroy her alongside Chuck to ensure the balance remained as both God and the Darkness would perish. This ultimately led to Jack absorbing both Chuck and Amara’s powers to become the new God and preserve the universe.
John Winchester Had A Third Son
While there have been plenty of times where Sam and Dean were possessed in Supernatural, the season 5 finale saw their younger half-brother Adam act as Michael’s vessel. This carried forward a plotline from season 4, in which Sam and Dean learned that John had fathered another boy many years after they were born.
It became the plot thread that was kept unaddressed for 1o years, as Michael was sealed in Lucifer’s cage while still possessing Adam. Its importance finally came up in the final season, as Jack absorbed God’s powers after his killing of Michael to then overpower Chuck.
Sam & Dean Being God’s Favorite Form Of Entertainment
Over the course of the series, Sam and Dean committed certain evil acts on Supernatural that were out of their control, such as Sam killing people while soulless and Dean becoming a blood-lusted demon. In season 11, Chuck revealed he was aware of all this but didn’t interfere.
However, the final overarching plotline arrived when Chuck clarified that he had been the one to plan out all of the misery in the brothers’ lives. This was due to his enjoyment of watching them suffer because he found it entertaining. After the Winchesters started to defy Chuck, he decided to make them pay, ushering in the end of the series.
Lilith As The Key To Breaking Lucifer’s Cage
The demon Lilith’s release at the end of season 2 initially implied that she would be another villain looking to gain supremacy. However, season 4 brought the revelation that Lilith’s death was the final seal that held Lucifer in the cage, and breaking it meant Lucifer’s freedom.
The importance of this plot point was implied throughout season 4 without fully revealing it, as Lilith baited Sam into attempting to kill her numerous times until it came to pass in the finale. It also opened up the storyline of Sam’s addiction to demon blood. Lilith’s underling, Ruby, convinced him that he needed to consume it to be strong enough to kill her.
Deceased Angels Going To The Empty
One of the longest-running questions about Castiel on Supernatural was how he came back after dying numerous times when others didn’t. This became a major plot point by season 13, in which it was revealed that a being called The Empty kept deceased angels and demons in its realm.
This was essential to the series’ ending, as Castiel made a deal with The Empty to take him in place of Jack, which came to pass by the show’s conclusion. Castiel’s sacrifice allowed Dean and Jack to live and ultimately defeat Chuck, which tied directly into the aspect of The Empty being angels’ resting place.
Dean Placing Sam’s Safety Before Everything Else
This is the underlying factor in every storyline the series had. It was exploited by the Winchesters’ enemies and led to Dean making many wrong decisions. It was also the thing that kickstarted the apocalypse arc that then ushered in every other story. It reached its peak in the season 2 finale, in which Dean gave up his soul to resurrect Sam.
This led to Dean eventually going to Hell and breaking one of Lucifer’s seals. The ending also came about when Dean made Sam promise he wouldn’t try to bring him back after his death, meaning they had to wait until Sam died of old age to be reunited in Heaven in the final scene.
