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in: The Winchesters season 1 episodes, The Winchesters episodes, Episodes

Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye

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Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye is the thirteenth and finale episode of season 1 of The Winchesters. It is also the series finale, which aired on Tuesday, March 8, 2023, on The CW.

Summary[]

Official episode synopsis for Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye from The CW:

John receives a message from a mysterious stranger. Meanwhile, Carlos, Latika and Ada work together to find answers, but time is running out. Lastly, Mary and John have a warm but awkward reunion. There is a lot to unpack, but they realize this isn't the time or place.

Plot[]

In a flashback, shortly after returning from the Vietnam War and visiting Hank Murphy's grave, John walks into a Detroit bus station, but he admits to the sympathetic clerk that he's not sure of where he's going or where he belongs anymore. The clerk hands him a bus schedule to figure out his destination and encourages John to take all of the time that he needs.

Sitting on a bench, John stays for quite a while as he tries to figure out his future to the point that the bus station mostly clears out of passengers. A bearded Dean approaches John and hands John Henry's letter and then vanishes when he looks away for a moment to read the letter. After reading the letter, John heads to the clerk, his path set.

Watching John buy a ticket to Lawrence, Kansas from a nearby balcony, Bobby Singer admonishes Dean as they're not supposed to meddle with things. Dean quips that Bobby had told him that if he was going to do something stupid, he should be smart about it. Bobby reminds Dean that they're not even supposed to be here, but Dean tells Bobby that the letter was meant for John and Dean just gave it a nudge. Bobby orders Dean to keep an eye on things here while he gets the cavalry, although Bobby admits that he's got no idea how he's going to do that. Dean and Bobby agree to one last hunt together.

In the present, Mary returns home to find Samuel who questions his daughter about some letters that he found revealing that Mary isn't planning on going to Kansas State University anymore. Mary admits that while she's still leaving hunting, she's not sure if college is what's next for her. Samuel asks Mary about how she had talked about leaving town when she finished hunting before college came into the picture for her, but Mary just doesn't know what's next for her. Mary recognizes that Samuel must've found something to come back, and Samuel explains that he got a line on a guy that the Akrida are afraid of from a hunter named Joan who spotted him weeks ago. Joan knows where he is now, and Samuel is going to meet her this afternoon to get the details. Mary asks when they're going to meet her, but Samuel asks her about John's opinion of her plans and realizes that he doesn't know yet. Mary simply tells him that Samuel's not the only one who has been busy finding ways to take out the Akrida, but the Monster Club's solution comes with a catch.

At Winchesters Garage, John explains to Millie as she works on the Ostium that the catch is that the Akrida Crystal only works once, giving them just one chance to save the world. Millie is pleased that they at least have a shot, but she realizes that if this works, Mary is going to leave the hunting life and asks what that will mean for John and Mary, but John doesn't have an answer.

At the Men of Letters Clubhouse, Carlos admires the picture of Dean, but Lata is more interested in the fact that Dean is not of this Earth. Since any weapon not of this Earth can take out the Akrida, Dean can take out the Akrida Queen and finding him can't come soon enough as, with the planets aligned, the Akrida can open the portal and begin their invasion at any moment. If the Monster Club can't find Dean, then the Akrida Crystal is their only shot. A somber Ada finally admits that the crystal is missing one important ingredient: a fragment of a human soul. Lata is alarmed as, according to lore, if you lose a piece of your soul, then the rest fades away. Ada prepares to power up the crystal, but Carlos stops her until they absolutely have to. Ada decides to check for the queen with Carlos where they found her while Lata decides to stay back and dig into the lore to find a way to grow back and restore Ada's soul just in case they have to use the spell.

At a bar, Samuel, John and Mary meet with Joan Hopkins who reveals that the Campbell Family and the Hopkins Family had hunted together in the past. However, Samuel has never heard of them before as Joan's family line ended with her a long time ago. Joan explains that the Man With No Name as she calls Dean was digging around in things that should've stayed buried like the Akrida. Joan knows that Dean isn't from around here, but there's only so much that Dean could do as his hands were tied. Although Dean had managed to stay ahead of Joan for awhile, he's not going to be a problem anymore. An amused Joan reveals to the increasingly alarmed hunters that while the Akrida's portal is "not quite up to code yet," she managed to pry it open just enough to toss Dean and his car into it and no human can survive the portal so Dean's body will be torn to shreds for centuries. All that's left of Dean is his journal which Joan has in her possession and lays on the bar.

All of the people in the bar reveal themselves to be possessed by the Akrida and John realizes that Joan is actually the Akrida Queen. Joan explains that she's been following the hunters for awhile now and she knows everything about them thanks to Kyle Reed and their police records. Joan reveals that she is not Akrida, she's human, and she really was a hunter once too and Joan claims to have been just like Mary. John challenges Joan to fight them, but Joan isn't there to fight them, rather she wants them to leave together. Joan also wanted to get them out of the clubhouse long enough for the Akrida to take it over. At the same time, the Akrida burst into the clubhouse where Lata is continuing her research. While Joan could've killed everyone a long time ago, she doesn't want one more hunter to needlessly die. Joan delivers an ultimatum - join her or die - and teleports away with all of the Akrida.

At the Campbell home, Mary gets off the phone with Samuel who has discovered that the Akrida are guarding both entrances to the clubhouse. Samuel is going to look for the portal while John and Mary dig through her family's history in the attic as there has to be something about her in it if Joan was telling the truth about her having history with the Campbell's. Carlos and Ada arrive with the news that the queen is gone from her lair and are alarmed to learn that Joan has taken over the clubhouse where Lata is.

In the clubhouse morgue, Joan searches for Lata who attacks Joan and slashes her face with a silver blade, briefly wounding Joan before it quickly heals. Joan notes that hunting has driven Lata to break her pacifist streak and disarms Lata. Mary finds information on Joan's history in a book while Joan explains her history to Lata. Joan was born on June 11, 1673, to a family that was hunting even before the Campbell's. Joan wanted out of hunting, so she turned on her own kind, having lost her parents, her brother and her whole family to the cause and then her husband William. No matter how hard Joan fought, there was always another monster, another death, another Apocalypse. Lata asks if Joan decided to join the monsters when she couldn't beat them, but Joan explains that she decided that the monsters weren't the problem, mankind is. Mankind always needs saving and hunters are the ones who always end up paying the price with their lives. The humans then waste the second chance at life that they've been given, killing each other, beating each other down and destroy their planet. Joan believes that monster have it right and that humans are nothing more than food. Lata asks if it's Joan talking or the monster essence that's powering her while Mary reads that the monster essence drove Joan insane, making her obsessed with ensuring that hunters were protected by wiping out everyone that needed saving. With no way to kill Joan, hunters teamed up with the Men of Letters and banished her from their world. Instead of explaining how the Akrida came into her life, Joan decides to just show Lata who stabs Joan in the heart with a scalpel, leaving her completely unharmed. Strangling Lata one-handed, Joan burns off her anti-possession tattoo.

With Lata trapped with Joan, the Monster Club debates on their best course of action, especially as the crystal could cost Ada her soul to use it. Carlos recalls how using the rock from the Akrida's world on the Ostium sent them back to where they belong and suggests using the Ostium in reverse with Dean's Journal to bring him back to their world. Mary instructs Carlos to bring Samuel's lore on the Ostium to the garage while she, John and Ada go to the clubhouse to try and help Lata.

At the clubhouse, Lata has been possessed by an Akrida who tells Joan that Lata is filled with knowledge and anger and is putting up a fight against its control. Joan explains to Lata that the Men of Letters cast a spell preventing the Akrida portal opening which is the last thing that is holding Joan back. Joan burns the spell, breaking it and destroying all of the Aquarian Stars around the clubhouse.

John, Mary and Ada arrive at the clubhouse to find it abandoned with no sign of the dozens of Akrida that had been guarding it. The Akrida Lata, revealing itself to be the same one that had mind-controlled Kyle Reed and the detective that had interrogated John, holds a knife to Lata's wrists to keep them from attacking, repeats Joan's offer to be at her side as the Akrida rid all of Creation of humanity. The Akrida asks how many Winchesters and Campbells have to die, calling the clubhouse a tomb with no history or legacy worth fighting for. While the Men of Letters thought that they were ridding the world of Joan, she was sent to the Akrida when they cast her out to another planet and Joan gave them salvation. The Akrida were made by an angry God as a failsafe in case he was ever bested, designed to wipe out all life in every universe, but the queen gave them meaning in freeing every world from the tyranny of mankind. Holding a knife to Lata's throat, the Akrida demands that they make a choice, but Ada uses the crystal to kill it and save Lata, sacrificing a part of her soul in the process. Lata apologizes to Ada who simply tells Lata to find the other way and Lata reveals that she has good news and bad news about that with the good news being that she knows how to hurt Joan.

At the garage, Lata warns the others that the bad news is that the queen has all of her strength back and she will have the portal completely opened by tonight. Millie reveals that they know where the portal is, Samuel having found a bunch of Akrida near what's left of some old warehouses. Carlos and Millie explain that the Ostium works by creating a portal connected to whatever object it's fed. When the Monster Club fed it the rock, the Ostium was able to send the Akrida back to their world. If they feed it the journal and trace the sigils in reverse, the Ostium can bring to their universe whatever was tied to the journal - the Mystery Man if he's still alive. However, according to the lore, the Ostium's polarity can only be reversed at midnight meaning that they need to buy themselves some time. Lata reveals that although they can't kill Joan, she is vulnerable: the monster essences that Joan consumed have given her both monster powers and monster weaknesses. As a result, Lata was able to hurt Joan with a silver blade, meaning that they can use silver to hold Joan off until midnight. With Ada and Lata still recovering, Mary orders them to remain behind and bring back Dean when the time is right.

Pulling Mary aside, John asks her to remain behind as Mary is the best hunter that they've got while it's likely a suicide mission for whoever goes out to face Joan. John, Carlos and Samuel will buy Mary time until she can find Dean and lead him into battle against the Akrida. For the first time, John is running towards hope instead of danger as, if they succeed in saving the world, Mary's free. Mary tries to tell John something, but he tells her to tell him when she sees him again and they kiss before John leaves.

At night, Joan successfully begins to open her portal, but stops as John, Carlos and Samuel, armed with silver swords, approach her. Recognizing that they are there to fight, Joan attempts to appeal to the hunters, offering to save Mary, pointing out that no amount of ghouls that Carlos kills will fill the hole in his heart left by the death of his family and telling John that he's already a monster and doesn't need her sales pitch, but none of the men are interested in Joan's offer. Joan conjures a sword of her own while several Akrida-possessed people, similarly armed, emerge to act as her backup. John engages Joan in a sword fight while Samuel and Carlos battle the other Akrida.

At midnight, Lata activates the Ostium in reverse and Mary feeds it Dean's Journal, but Dean doesn't emerge. While nothing appears to happen at first, Millie spots the Impala parked at the gas pumps, having been summoned back by the Ostium instead of Dean. Lata and Millie conclude that Dean must be dead, so the Ostium pulled out the car which it is also connected to. Mary realizes that like its owner, the Impala is also not of this Earth and so the car can take out Joan and by extension the Akrida. The women pile into the Impala and drive off to run Joan down.

John holds his own against Joan who flings him with telekinesis while Samuel and Carlos are overpowered and held at sword point by the other Akrida. Joan reveals to John that, after the Men of Letters defeated her last invasion, Joan used every ounce of her remaining power to wipe out the Men of Letters, including John's father. Reaching a long stretch of road leading to the battle location, Mary orders Millie, Ada and Lata out of the Impala, not sure that their plan is going to work, and she asks Millie to keep an eye on John for her. Spotting Mary driving at Joan, speeding past a surprised Samuel and Carlos, John reengages Joan in a sword fight, eventually kicking her backwards into the path of the speeding car. Spotting the Impala coming at her, Joan opens her portal in its path on the other side of her. Mary hits Joan with the Impala, killing her, and causing Joan to explode into dust. However, the car passes through the portal as a consequence, and it closes behind Mary and the Impala. With the Akrida Queen dead, the other Akrida all die almost instantly, and their confused vessels run off, leaving the grief-stricken hunters to mourn Mary's apparent loss.

Moments later, the portal reopens, and the Impala emerges with Dean behind the wheel. Helping Mary out of the car, Dean explains that the Impala had kept both of them safe from harm, although there's not a lot that can hurt Dean as he's already dead. Dean was stuck in the World Between Worlds so he stayed close to the portal until the Impala came through and Dean hopped in and grabbed the wheel. Samuel asks who he is, and Dean explains that he's a hunter, but one from a different Earth. Ada asks how he got to their universe and Dean reveals that when he died, he made it to Heaven where the Impala was waiting for him so Dean went for a drive before taking a detour through the Multiverse. Dean explains that he was looking for his family and that he comes from a long line of hunters, and he was hoping that somewhere out there was an Earth that had a version where Dean's family had a shot at a happy ending. While Dean was driving, he caught wind of the Akrida who, as it turns out, were one of Chuck's last creations. Chuck had left the Akrida behind as a failsafe to destroy all of existence in case of his defeat in the War for Creation and, since Chuck was defeated, the Akrida were unleashed. The Akrida were eventually going to make their way to the Main Universe where Sam is still alive so Dean couldn't let that happen. John asks Dean about Henry's letter and Dean explains that "I took my little detour, the rules were simple. Don't mess with anything. Well... I gave it a little nudge. Thought it might need a little help. Looks like it worked out pretty well." Now that the Akrida are gone, the Monster Club can choose their own destiny and write their own story.

Jack appears nearby with Bobby, telling Dean that he can get back to his story now. Dean introduces Bobby and Jack to the hunters, identifying them as family before excusing himself to go talk to them. Bobby reminds Dean that he told Dean that he'd figure it out, although Bobby never said that he wouldn't get them into more trouble. Observing the Monster Club, Bobby calls the situation all kinds of weird, and commiserates with Dean on how weird it is to see Samuel with a full head of hair. Jack reprimands Dean for his actions, reminding Dean that when Jack restored everything, he wanted mankind to make their own fate which means no interference from on high anywhere with no exceptions. Dean insists that he couldn't let their world get destroyed, especially since Sam is still alive and he deserves a good long life as does the Monster Club. Dean tells a visibly conflicted Jack that he can cast Dean out of Heaven for his actions if he wants to while Bobby votes that Jack gives Dean another chance. Conceding the point, Jack notes that there's always another case for hunters, even in death. Handing Dean something, Jack tells him to finish what he started if Dean's going to meddle in things and that "after this... it's time to get around to the "there'll be peace when you are done" part of the song."

Walking over to John and Mary, Dean tells them that he wants to give them something before he goes. Dean tells John that his father had kept a hunter's journal that Dean had lived his whole life by. Dean gives the alternate version of his father his own hunter's journal to guide him in hunting, just like John's journal had done for Dean throughout his life. Turning to Mary, Dean tells his mother that he knows that she's thinking about quitting hunting which is something that Dean understands all too well. However, Mary needs to do him one favor: keep an eye out for a Yellow-Eyed Demon. Handing Mary the Colt - the object that Jack had given to him - Dean instructs her to use the gun to kill Azazel should she ever even catch a hint of him. Mary asks if Dean ever found a version where his family had a shot at a happy ending and, glancing at John, Mary, Samuel and Millie - his parents and grandparents - Dean admits that he thinks that he did. As Dean returns to Jack and Bobby, John asks for his name and Dean lies that it's James Hetfield. As the Monster Club watches, Jack teleports himself, Dean, Bobby and the Impala back to their own universe and Heaven.

In the aftermath of their victory, Lata and Ada perform a spell grown in a plant that will restore Ada's damaged soul with time and Mary sees Samuel off as her father takes off on another hunt. In front of the movie theater in the spot where they first met, John asks Mary what she saw when she went through the portal and Mary reveals that she saw every possible version of herself. Mary intends to make her own version of herself and is leaving town to do it as everywhere that she looks in Lawrence is a reminder of who she was and she needs to be away from that if she's going to figure out who she's going to be. John admits that he was lost when he came home from the war, but he's found where he belongs being a hunter. John knows that he can't be the best version of that until he faces the anger inside of him and he intends to figure out how to do it through meditation or therapy or something else so that John's anger will no longer control him. Mary promises that she won't be gone forever and the two agree to no goodbyes before kissing.

At the garage, Lata brings up a possible new case that she's found the Monster Club near the beach, but Carlos is dubious as werewolves don't surf. John goes to deal with a customer, only to find Mary waiting for him outside. Although Mary doesn't know where she's going, what she's doing or how long it's going to be until she figures herself out, she thinks that there might be something out there for the both of them and they can figure it out together during the day while John hunts at night. The others encourage John to accept with Millie telling John and Mary to send the rest of the Monster Club a postcard when they do.

On the road, John starts going through Mary's cassette tape collection, but she chooses the music herself, quoting something from Dean's Journal that he was very specific about: "driver picks the music, shotgun shuts their cakehole." As John and Mary drive off together, excited about the future ahead of them and the possibilities that it holds, a montage plays of various moments from their relationship over the course of the series.

Characters[]

Main cast[]

Special Guest Stars[]

Special Appearance By[]

Featured supernatural beings[]

Continuity[]

Trivia[]

  • The Winchesters is revealed to take place in an alternate universe while Dean is from after his death in Carry On, but before meeting up with his brother again in Heaven.
  • Unlike his previous uncredited appearances in The Winchesters, Jensen Ackles is credited as a Special Guest Star for this episode, as is Jim Beaver. While Alexander Calvert is credited as Special Appearance By, he is not credited until the episode's end credits in an effort to leave Jack's return as a surprise.
  • This episode continues the tradition of Bobby Singer appearing at least once a season in some form or another.

Goofs[]

Quotes[]

  • Bobby: We're not supposed to meddle with things, idjit.
  • Dean: You always said if I was gonna be stupid, I might as well be smart about it.
  • Bobby: Yeah, that does sound about like me. We're not even supposed to be here.
  • Dean: Come on, the letter was meant for him. I just, uh, you know, gave it a nudge.
  • Bobby: You keep an eye on things here, I'm gonna get the damn cavalry.
  • Dean: How you gonna do that?
  • Bobby: I got no freaking idea. One last hunt?
  • Dean: One last hunt.
  • John: You're the queen.
  • Joan: And here I thought Mary was the smart one in the power couple. Okay. I've been following you for awhile now. And thanks to your old pal Kyle and your cartoonishly thick police files, I know everything about your sad little lives. But to level this playing field, I'm gonna shine some light on little old me. I am not Akrida. I was a human once. And I really was a hunter too. In fact... Mary... I was just like you.
  • John: You came here for a fight, so if you don't mind, we could just skip the whole monologuing.
  • Joan: Oh, there's the John I know. I wanna get something through that hot, little adorable head of yours. I'm not here to fight. Point of fact, I want nothing more than for us all to walk out of here together as one. And I did want to get you all out of that clubhouse long enough for me to move in there.
  • Joan: The truth is, I could've killed you a long time ago, but I don't want one more hunter to needlessly die.
  • Mary: What are you saying?
  • Joan: I'm saying join me, Mary. Or die. Think about it.
  • Joan: I lost my parents, my brother... all my family, to the cause. And then... I lost my William. And no matter how hard I fought, there was always another monster, another death, another apocalypse.
  • Lata: So you decided if you couldn't beat the monsters, you'd join them.
  • Joan: No. What I decided was that the monsters weren't the problem, kid. Mankind was the problem. They always need saving. And hunters are the ones who end up paying the price with our lives. And then what do these rescued humans do with the precious second chance at life? They waste it. Kill each other. Beat each other down. Destroy our planet. Monsters have it right. Humans are nothing more than food.
  • Akrida Lata: How many Campbells and Winchesters have to die? And for what? History? Legacy? Look around you. This isn't a clubhouse, it's a tomb! The Men of Letters... they thought they were ridding the world of Joan, so they cast her out to another planet and in doing so they sent her to us... and she gave us salvation.
  • John: What are you talking about?
  • Akrida Lata: The Akrida were made by an angry God. Anything ever bested him, he had us as a failsafe. We were designed to wipe out all life in every universe. But the Queen... she gave us meaning. We are freeing every world from the tyranny of mankind.
  • Mary: What? What's going on? Why is nothing happening?
  • Millie: It did.
  • Lata: The journal pulled out something it was connected to, but our mystery man isn't here which means he must be...
  • Millie: Dead. What now?
  • Mary: We go for a drive. This car...
  • Lata: It's not of this Earth.
  • Millie: Detroit steel makes a hell of a weapon.
  • Ada: If the car takes out the queen, the rest of the Akrida are dead.
  • Mary: Let's go run this son of a bitch into the ground.
  • Joan: Before I kill you, John, I wanna give you some much needed peace. When the Men of Letters stopped my last invasion, I said enough is enough. Unlike hunters, they never played fair so I thought why should I? After your dad's boys club beat me, I used all my remaining power, every ounce of it.
  • John: What did you do?
  • Joan: I wiped out the Men of Letters, John. Including your father.
  • John: How did you guys survive?
  • Dean: She kept Mary safe. Me too. Of course, there's not a lot that can tear me apart. I'm already dead. I was stuck in the world between worlds, so I stayed close to that portal, and as soon as I saw Baby come through, I hopped in and grabbed the wheel.
  • Samuel: So who are you?
  • Dean: I'm a hunter, just like you. But I'm not from this Earth.
  • Ada: And how did you get here?
  • Dean: When I died, I made it to Heaven. And she was waiting for me. So I went for a drive, and then I took a little detour...
  • Lata: Through the Multiverse.
  • Dean: I was looking for my family. See, I come from a long line of hunters. I guess I was hoping somewhere out there was an Earth that had a version where my family had a shot at a happy ending. When I was driving, I caught wind of the Akrida. Turns out that they were one of Chuck's last creations.
  • Millie: Who's Chuck?
  • Dean: God. It's a long story, but uh... basically, he's a real dick. He left the Akrida behind to wipe out all of existence in case he failed. Well... he failed. Eventually the Akrida were gonna make their way to my world, and I got family there, so I couldn't let that happen.
  • John: The-- the letter. Why did you...
  • Dean: I took my little detour, the rules were simple. Don't mess with anything. Well... I gave it a little nudge. Thought it might need a little help. Looks like it worked out pretty well.
  • Dean: So now that the Akrida are gone, you all can choose your own destiny. You can write your own story.
  • Jack: And you can get back to yours.
  • Dean: It's alright. It's alright. They're.. they're with me. This is Bobby and that's Jack. They're family. Excuse me.
  • Bobby: I told you I'd figure it out. Didn't say I wouldn't get us in more trouble. Look at 'em. Man, this is all kinds of weird, seeing Samuel with a full head of hair.
  • Dean: Right?
  • Jack: When I restored things, I wanted mankind to make their own fate. That meant, no interference from on high, anywhere... no exceptions.
  • Dean: I couldn't let our world get destroyed. Sam's still down there, okay? He deserves a good, long life. Hell, they all do. So if you want to cast me out of Heaven... so be it.
  • Bobby: If we're taking a vote, I'd say you give the guy another chance.
  • Jack: There's always another case with you hunters... even in death. Well... if you're gonna meddle in things, finish what you started. After this... it's time to get around to the "there'll be peace when you are done" part of the song.
  • Dean: I wanna give you two something. My dad... he, uh... Kept a hunter's journal, looked just like this. I lived my whole life by that damn thing. Well, this is my hunter's journal. So, if you're going to stay in this game... This will help guide you through it.
  • John: Thank you.
  • Dean: I know you're thinking about quitting hunting. Believe me, I understand. But you need to do me one favor. Keep an eye out for a Yellow-Eyed Demon. And if you even catch a hint of that son of a bitch... I need you to use this.
  • Mary: Your family... did you ever find a version where they had a shot at a happy ending?
  • Dean: I think I did.
  • John: You never told us your name.
  • Dean: Hetfield... James Hetfield.
  • Mary: I was reading some of Hetfield's journal and he was very specific on this issue. Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts their cakehole.

Deaths[]

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Promotional Pictures[]

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