It's hard to believe that
Supernatural has been on the air for fifteen years (something that's pretty much unprecedented for a genre series such as this one) and perhaps even harder to come to terms with the fact it's now entering its final season. While the show has certainly had some rocky patches along the way - who could ever forget the Leviathans? - it's never really struggled to keep the momentum going but the pressure is obviously now on to deliver a satisfying ending to the long-running story of Sam and Dean Winchester.
It's too early to say whether that will be the case after watching this premiere but season fifteen is definitely off to a strong start. As you might expect, we pick up with Sam, Dean, and Castiel seconds after the events of the season fourteen finale when they found themselves surrounded by an army of the undead possessed by the demons God freed from Hell. What follows is an entertaining hour as the brothers come up against familiar foes from the past and the stage is set for what appears to be a year that will see them tackle some of their most iconic foes from the past. It's a shame
Supernatural appears to be heading down the tried and tested path of Sam and Dean keeping things from each other but some compelling storylines are definitely set into motion here and, right now, it's hard to say whether the Winchesters will be getting a happy ending!
It goes without saying that Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, and Misha Collins all deliver the stellar work we've come to expect from them over the years but the standout has to be Alexander Calvert as a drastically different Jack. Playing this version of the character definitely seems better suited to the actor and he'll hopefully get to stick around for the rest of the year now too.
This opening episode mostly focuses on action (all of which is as great as ever) and with the aforementioned but albeit very vague hints about what might be in store for our favourite hunters, there are definitely plenty of reasons to be excited about what comes next. It would have benefited this premiere if we'd been given a slightly stronger idea of what that might be but if you've made it this far, chances are you aren't going anywhere now. However, while
Supernatural has twenty episodes to wrap things up (which is quite a bit longer than
Arrow's truncated final year), it would be a shame for the show to take the slow burn approach because while Sam and Dean's initial mission might be clear, this season deserves better than weekly "freak of the week" battles.
Supernatural has, after all, always been at its best with a strong villain.
Supernatural's season fifteen premiere is an enjoyable, action-packed affair which doesn't exactly make it clear where things are going from here but still points to it being a fun, final ride for the Winchesters.