Supernatural: Fans React to [SPOILER]'s Death in the Series Finale

After last week's mythology-heavy finale, in which Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles), along with Jack (Alex Calvert), squared off with God (Rob Benedict) and won, there wasn't really a way to go bigger from there. Instead, the series finale of Supernatural returned to what the first season had been about: a couple of brother hunting the things that go bump in the night. Some familiar faces popped up along the way, and tragedy struck. To no one's surprise, after fifteen years and more than 300 episodes, the fans of the series had some serious opinions about the nature of the tragedy.

The first ten minutes or so of the episode were nothing but brotherly bonding, playing with the dog, and getting food -- but it wasn't long after a trip to a pie festival, where Dean ate pretty much everything in sight, that the brothers got a call: some creepy stuff was going on, and it was time for them to investigate. It would be the final case in the series, so as routine as it seemed to be, it was bound ot be surprising.

Spoilers ahead for "Carry On," the series finale of Supernatural, which airs tonight.

The case turned out to be a group of mask-wearing vampires, who had murdered a couple and kidnapped their children. Sam and Dean set out to find them, and managed to do so, incapacitating the two who had done the deed and getting directions to their home base, where the kids were.

That led to a final brawl between the Winchesters and the two remaining vampires. During the melee, both vampires were killed, but Dean was also slammed against a post that had a sharp piece of rebar sticking out of it. Dean died peacefully, bringing love and consolation to his brother as he did, but even he admitted that he didn't think tonight would be the night.

That seems to be the most consistent theme that ran through fan reactions. There was a lot of denial, and even after his body was burned on a pyre, fans were speculating that Jack might bring him back (that's the perks of being best friends with the new God) -- but instead, we got to follow Dean to Heaven, where he met Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver) and found out that his parents had a place nearby. Hopping into the Impala, Dean made his way for the joyous reunion he deserved...and as an added perk, since time passes differently in Heaven, by the time he got there, Sam had lived a full life, died, and was there at his side.

Here are some of the responses to Dean's death, which happened at about the halfway point of the episode, and so had the longest of any major plot point to linger with the audience before it was over.