Review for 5x22 'Swan Song'

So, my review for Swan Song has been a long time coming, but that’s not the result of a lack of enthusiasm for the episode on my part, quite the contrary, actually. It’s an episode that moves me immensely, and it sure holds a special place in my heart. However, severe time constraints in the first couple of months after the episode aired prevented me from writing a review and then the new season started up, demanding all of my attention, so the review for Swan Song was postponed time and again – until I finally had the time to address myself to the task. I admit, I (almost) found it too difficult to write about the episode, not only because I had a rather intimidating amount of notes for it, but also because I felt that I would never be able to do the episode justice or adequately express why it elated me the way it did.

But well, here we are anyway. Better late than never, right? Unsurprisingly, this is the longest review I have ever written for a single episode. In fact, it’s the longest meta I have ever written about Supernatural. Period. I tried to be concise, but I still ended up with almost 10.000 words, which is why it took me so long to actually finish it. So, in case anyone is interested enough to read their way through this monster: Please make yourself comfortable – and maybe bring provisions. Also, I apologise for the fact that this turned out a tad more sentimental than usual. I just couldn’t help it. Anyway, this review is based on the notes I took right after the episode aired, so S6 hindsight does not play into it. Enjoy!

Swan Song, by courtesy of Eric Kripke, concludes the five year arc of Supernatural, and while it is the end of the season and probably the most important milestone in Sam and Dean’s story, it’s luckily not the end of the show. The episode is intensely focussed on the brothers – which is always a plus in my book – and even though the plot may not be perfect in every sense possible, where Sam and Dean’s storyline is concerned, the episode hits all the right notes for me. And, ultimately, that’s all I ever wanted from the S5 finale. Moreover though, the episode connects beautifully to what came before, echoing crucial episodes of the past five seasons and circling back to the beginning of the show, bringing closure to some of the main themes for the characters in the process. Overall, I can honestly say that Swan Song is one of my favourite episodes of the show. ♥

( I’m here. I’m not going to leave you. )