cancelation of The Winchesters, meanwhile, strongly suggests Supernatural has no future as a franchise without Sam and Dean. Supernatural season 16, therefore, appears destined to become a reality at some point.

The underwhelming nature of death of Dean Winchester is one such gripe, but while the decision still sits uncomfortably over four years down the road, there is one way Supernatural season 16 can reframe Dean's ending in a way that saves it.

Why Dean Winchester's Death In Supernatural Season 15 Didn't Work

After Facing Gods & Monsters, A Poorly Positioned Spike Was Dean's True Nemesis

By itself, Supernatural's decision to kill Dean Winchester and leave Sam alive made perfect sense. Dean was always the soldier of the two, never able to find meaning or purpose outside of hunting monsters. Dean's determination, drive, and singular mindset laid the foundations for him dying on the job years ahead of Supernatural's ending. Thematically, it worked to have Dean die instead of retiring peacefully, while Sam - who always wanted to escape hunting - got to settle down and live long enough to display TV's universal signs of aging: glasses and a cardigan.

The older Winchester brother could have died saving the world, protecting his brother, or after single-handedly holding back the denizens of Hell as they attempted to invade Earth.

The problem was not that Dean died, but how it happened. The moment came long after the Winchester brothers ousted God and saved the world, with Jensen Ackles' character falling victim to a regular vampire during a run-of-the-mill hunting mission. It was an anticlimactic way for such a legendary character to bow out - the narrative equivalent of someone rescuing a child from a burning building then going home and scalding themselves while making Pop Tarts.

Even if one ignores the realism problem with Dean Winchester, after all his great deeds, dying because of a sloppy mistake against a no-name vampire, it's very hard to argue it was the ending Dean deserved. The older Winchester brother could have died saving the world, protecting his brother, or after single-handedly holding back the denizens of Hell as they attempted to invade Earth. Any of those options would have provided a fitting final act for a character who dedicated his life to busting evil. The route Supernatural ultimately took felt more like a tacked-on addendum designed squarely to reach a point where Sam lived and Dean did not.

Supernatural Season 16 Can Blame Dean Winchester's Death On God

Blaming It On God Is Super-Easy

If Supernatural season 16 ever happens, blaming Dean's death on God would be an effective way of correcting the series finale's mistake. For one thing, God's return would be difficult for any future Supernatural revival to avoid. As the pinnacle of evil in Supernatural's multiverse, season 16 cannot possibly conceive a villain stronger or more high-stakes than Chuck Shurley. For that reason alone, a revival would likely need to install God as the overarching antagonist once again.

Having Dean die in such mundane, almost embarrassing, fashion is the exact kind of petty retribution Chuck would opt for.

The fact that God survived Supernatural season 15, albeit supposedly without his powers, makes a return for Rob Benedict's character very straightforward. Supernatural would merely need to explain that either God's powers (which famously work in mysterious ways) were restored, or his downfall was just an act. As revealed by The Winchesters, God prepared the Akrida as a fail-safe in case of his defeat. If he went that far preparing to lose, it is absolutely plausible that God put some backup measure in place to restore his abilities.

The Akrida were interdimensional monsters defeated by Dean Winchester and The Winchesters' main group.

From there, God being responsible for Dean's death falls into place with surprising ease. God would obviously want revenge on the Winchester brothers, and since he always hoped Sam and Dean would fight each other, it follows that he would only kill one of them. Supernatural already revealed God had been influencing the Winchesters' lives since the beginning, so orchestrating Dean's death merely extends that concept. Having him die in such mundane, almost embarrassing, fashion is also the exact kind of petty retribution Chuck would opt for.

God Being Responsible For Dean's Death Would Explain A Big Coincidence From Supernatural's Finale

With God Around, There Are No Coincidences

While Dean Winchester was, unfortunately, killed by a regular vampire, the offending blood-sucker did carry a surprising personal connection to the Winchester family. The very last band of vamps Dean fought during his lifetime included Jenny, a character Sam and Dean encountered in Supernatural season 1. Even Dean was surprised by this curious twist of fate - the kind of full circle moment that only happens in stories. Perhaps even in God's own stories.

On Earth, God masqueraded as the author Chuck Shurley, showing a flair for creative writing. Arranging for Dean to be killed by a familiar face from the beginning of his tale is exactly the kind of literary flourish God would struggle to resist. Whereas Supernatural season 15 played Jenny's return as a strange coincidence, therefore, a future season 16 could reveal it was always a secret clue pointing to the character really responsible for killing Dean. The hallmark of a frustrated writer taking revenge on those who wronged him.