InSupernatural, Sam and Dean face many villains in the show’s long run, each one more powerful than the last. With the ever-rising stakes of the series, it’s hard to think of one that could top God. There are few who are older or more powerful, but one of them could make a great antagonist for the revival for which many fans are hoping.
The ancient all-powerful primordial entity of Death could be the perfect villain for the next chapter ofSupernatural. The only problem is that Dean killed Death in season ten. Death and the Winchesters would all need to be brought back. Death’s immense power and abilities would make him a very formidable enemy.
Death Was Always a Force to Be Reckoned With
Audiences first meet Death in season five ofSupernatural.Death was usually kept locked away hundreds of feet below the Earth.He was only to be brought out for the really big jobs. When Bobby Singer was telling Sam and Dean about Death, he said,“The last time they hauled him up, Noah was building a boat.” While Death is resurrected and bound to Lucifer in the intense mid-season finale, “Abandon All Hope,” viewers don’t meet the Pale Horseman until the penultimate episode of the season.
For the oldest and most unstoppable of the Four Horsemen, Death got the powerful and memorable introduction he deserved.Julian Richings as Death walked down the street, cane in hand, in slow motion to “O Death.” A man bumps his shoulder against the ancient being and doesn’t get three steps before collapsing to the ground, dead.Supernatural also gave Death the fun quirk of enjoying regional cuisine, like deep-dish pizza and bacon dogs. WhenDean summoned Death in season seven, he comes prepared with fried pickle chips to appease the Grim Reaper.
Episode | Title | Air Date | IMDb Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
5x21 | "Two Minutes to Midnight" | May 6, 2010 | 9.2/10 |
6x11 | "Appointment in Samarra" | December 10, 2010 | 9.1/10 |
7x01 | "Meet the New Boss" | September 23, 2011 | 8.9/10 |
9x01 | "I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here" | October 8, 2013 | 8.6/10 |
10x23 | "My Brother's Keeper" | May 20, 2015 | 9.1/10 |
In “Two Minutes to Midnight,” Dean seeks out Death to acquire his ring in order to open Lucifer’s cage and put the devil back in his box. Being bound by Lucifer, Death was happy to help Sam and Dean. When Dean confronts him, Death explains,“He made me his weapon. Hurricanes, floods, raising the dead. I'm more powerful than you can process, and I'm enslaved to a bratty child having a tantrum.”Death agrees to hand over his Ring of the Horsemen if Dean lets Sam become Lucifer’s vessel and lead the fallen archangel back into his cage. Dean agrees but has every intention of backing out of the deal. In the end, he does let Sam do it. Sam doesn’t stay in the box for long, resurrected by a power-hungry Castiel but missing one important piece.
He made me his weapon. Hurricanes, floods, raising the dead. I'm more powerful than you can process, and I'm enslaved to a bratty child having a tantrum.
Death comes back in season six, when Dean begs him to retrieve Sam’s soul from the cage. Dean tries to bargain with Death’s ring, but Death knows exactly where it’s hidden—displaying his omniscience.Death had a certain affinity for the Winchester boys, or at the very least, Dean, by coming when Dean called and meeting with him. Death restores Sam’s soul, putting up a wall to shield Sam from the memories of Hell after Dean spends the day as a Reaper.
In season seven, Sam and Dean summon and bind Death to get him to kill Castiel. When the super-charged angel crashes their meeting, he unbinds Death. Instead of seeking revenge on Sam and Dean for binding him, he sits down to eat the pickle chips. He evenhelps by telling them how to stop Castiel and creates an eclipse for them—adding moving celestial bodies to his growing list of abilities. Of course, he does reiterate that he doesn’t actually care about them before helping. But when Sam is at death’s door in season nine, Death comes to personally reap Sam and says, “Well played, my boy,” revealing that he did have a bit of a soft spot for the Winchesters.
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Death’s final appearance is in season ten when Dean kills him. Dean summons Death and asks to be killed so that he can’t hurt anyone else because of the Mark of Cain. Death reveals that he can’t kill him as someone must bear the mark to keep the Darkness locked away. Offering an alternative, Death says he can put Dean somewhere where he won’t be able to hurt anyone, but Sam must die so that he won’t be able to bring Dean back or remove the mark. Dean and Sam agree, but at the last moment,Dean realizes he can’t kill Sam. Instead, he kills Death with his own scythe.
Death Could Be the Perfect Villain if They Brought Him Back
While Death was not typically petty or emotional, he could hold a grudge against Dean for betraying him. Death was only doing as Dean asked when Dean turned around and killed Grim Reaper with Death’s own scythe. After helping them numerous times, only to get killed and replaced by a vindictive, power-hungry reaper,Death might want a little vengeance. His abilities are nearly endless. He’s exhibited control over life, death, and natural disasters; his touch kills; he has some sort of omniscience or awareness; he was able to get Sam’s soul out of Hell when no one else could and manipulate his memories to block out the traumatic ones.His ability for destruction is matched only by God’s, making him a very formidable enemy.
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Vengeance is a bit of a short-sighted goal for a major villain arc, soDeath would need to have some other motives and a grander objective, as Billie did. When Billie, the reaper, became Death, she wanted to bring down the Darkness and God so she could take control of everything. She was in cahoots with the Shadow, another primordial entity that could be even older than Death itself. The Shadow was very petty, wanting Castiel to suffer when it took him, so it’s not unprecedented for the old and immortal beings to have more “human” flaws.
On the flip side,Death could come back unwillingly, bound to someone else as a tool of the villain. It might give the show a great reason to resurrect Sam and Dean. Death could bring them back to help to stop the mysterious figure who bound him. The Winchesters would still beforced to fight against Death until they could unbind him.
Other Potential Villains for a Revival Series
The Shadow and Billie would also make great villains in a Supernatural revival series.The Shadow was a cosmic entity that lived in The Empty—a void of nothingness wheredemons and angels go when they die. The Shadow lived and slept in The Empty. It could only remain sleeping if all the other beings there slumber. If they wake up, it causes the Shadow pain. When Castiel wakes up in The Empty, the Shadow wants him to go back to sleep, but Castiel refuses. The Shadow sends him back to Earth, butit harbors resentment towards the angel. When Castiel trades himself for Jack, the Shadow accepts but wantsto pull Castiel back to him when he is truly happy so that it will hurt more. While the Shadow had limitations, like it couldn't actually go to Earth itself unless summoned, it has shown itself to be cruel and could make for a scary opponent against the Winchesters.
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Billie had lofty ambitionswhen she became Death. She also hada personal vendetta against Sam and Dean. When she takes over the mantle of the Grim Reaper, she tells Dean that the next time one of them dies, she'll toss their souls into The Empty so they can't be resurrected.Her long-term goals included killing God and the Darkness. When she fails and gets mortally wounded,she wants nothing more than to kill Dean before she dies,showing her vindictive and petty nature. If Billie came back as Death, she would be just as challenging a foe as the original Death.
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Supernatural
- Release Date
- 2005 - 2020
- Network
- The WB,The CW
- Showrunner
- Eric Kripke
- Directors
- Philip Sgriccia, John F. Showalter, Kim Manners, Thomas J. Wright, Charles Beeson, Guy Norman Bee, Richard Speight Jr., Mike Rohl, John Badham, Steve Boyum, Amyn Kaderali, Jensen Ackles, Tim Andrew, Eduardo Sánchez, Jeannot Szwarc, P.J. Pesce, Nina Lopez-Corrado, James L. Conway, amanda tapping, J. Miller Tobin, Stefan Pleszczynski, John MacCarthy, Jerry Wanek, Ben Edlund
- Writers
- Meredith Glynn, Davy Perez, Raelle Tucker, Cathryn Humphris, Brett Matthews, Nancy Won, John Bring, Ben Acker, Daniel Knauf, David Ehrman, James Krieg, Trey Callaway
Cast
Sam Winchester
Jensen AcklesDean Winchester
- Franchise(s)
- Supernatural
- Rating
- TV-14
