Dean Winchester became a surrogate father figure to Jack in Supernatural, so it’s natural to ponder why, after becoming the new god, Jack never revived Dean. The eldest Winchester brother died in somewhat controversial fashion during Supernatural‘s series finale, killed by a vampire during a routine hunt alongside his brother. By that point, the Winchesters had already defeated God and installed Jack as a replacement, ensuring the Supernatural multiverse would remain in safe hands.
Despite Jack’s omnipotence, however, he never brought Dean back to life after Supernatural‘s ending. Jack happily revived Castiel, who was previously swallowed by the Empty, and restored everyone killed by God during season 15’s divine rampage, but when Dean found himself on the wrong side of a vampire, Jack was nowhere to be found.
Dean Was Ready To Move On During Supernatural’s Final Episode
Jack Wouldn’t Have Wanted To Betray Dean’s Wishes
The chief reason Jack wouldn’t have simply sent Dean back to the world of the living after his death is that Dean himself wished for the opposite. During his final conversation with Sam, Dean pleaded with his brother, “No bringing me back, okay? You know that always ends bad.” As he continued edging closer to death, Dean admitted, “I did not think this would be the day. But it is… and that’s okay.” Dean’s words carried a certain acceptance that his time on Earth was over, and any friend of the older Winchester brother would want to respect that.
It was well within Jack’s power to swoop down from Heaven and squash the offending vampire before it managed to take Dean’s life.
For the majority of his life, Dean had been a soldier fighting an ongoing war against evil, and Supernatural‘s later seasons conveyed how his weariness with that battle was growing season after season. After defeating God – the culmination of the Winchesters’ timeline – Dean appeared to acknowledge that his work was done, and how the mortal chapter of his existence had come to its natural conclusion.
If Dean had felt otherwise, he might have asked Jack to restore his life, and Jack may have agreed. Since Dean was content to move on, however, he remained dead. Nevertheless, that explanation does not account for Jack letting Dean’s death happen in the first place. Despite accepting the situation, it was very obvious in Supernatural‘s series finale that Dean Winchester did not want or plan to die so soon.
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It was well within Jack’s power to swoop down from Heaven and squash the offending vampire before it managed to take Dean’s life. Supernatural‘s new God later did virtually the same thing against the Akrida during The Winchesters, after all. Had he made the save, the Winchesters would have almost certainly thanked Jack, and all laughed about it over a bottle of beer back at the bunker. As such, Jack still has questions to answer regarding Dean’s demise.
Jack Promised To Be A Hands-Off God In Supernatural
Jack Is Supernatural’s God With A Small “G”
Jack’s non-interference in Dean’s death can partially be explained by a promise he made after accepting the position of God. The reign of the original God was marred by meddling, whether by directly influencing the lives of the Winchester brothers for his own entertainment, or slowly destroying entire parallel universes one by one. Knowing this, Jack decided, “I won’t be hands-on.”
Dean was going to be happy in Heaven, and Jack knew that.
In many ways, Jack’s philosophy makes total sense. During his time with the Winchester brothers, Jack was part of a unit collectively known as “Team Free Will,” and they fought for the right of humans to forge their own destinies, free from the whims of celestial beings. By staying “hands-off,” Jack was merely honoring the lessons Sam and Dean taught him. Unfortunately for Dean, that meant Jack could not step in to prevent his death. As per his free will, Dean went on that fateful hunting mission and knowingly risked his life. For Jack to interfere would be to meddle with Dean’s autonomy.
It is also important that Dean knew what dying would mean. Rather than slipping into a black abyss of the unknown like most people do, Dean was already fully aware that he would arrive in Heaven and be reunited with loved ones. As consolation prizes go, Dean landed on his feet. That foreknowledge of the afterlife can help to explain why Dean was ready to accept death when it came, but, more importantly, accounts for why Jack never felt compelled to protect his surrogate father. Dean was going to be happy in Heaven, and Jack knew that.
Dean reunites with Bobby in Heaven, but is later implied to have seen both of his parents and Castiel too.
The only wrinkle in Jack’s excuse is that he did get somewhat involved against the Akrida during The Winchesters. The plot hole can perhaps be explained by arguing that the Akrida represented a threat to all universes in Supernatural, whereas Dean dying concerned only a single individual. Even Jack must have a point where he has no choice but to throw hands.
Dean Didn’t Need Jack’s Permission To Come Back To Life
Death Doesn’t Mean Much In Supernatural
The other perspective is that, oddly, Dean never actually needed Jack’s power to come back to life. In The Winchesters, Dean managed to worm his way through Heaven, locate other timelines, and physically insert himself into the spinoff’s world. While Jack never exactly encouraged this behavior, he didn’t prevent it either. In theory, if Dean could walk around The Winchesters‘ universe freely, there would have been little to stop him doing the same within his own universe.
Death’s impact upon Dean was not all that profound. It might not have been as straightforward as a swinging door between the living and the dead, but neither was Dean completely barred from interacting with living beings. From that angle, the question of why Jack refused to revive Dean becomes a moot point. As soon as Dean died, he was free to walk right back out again.
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Not all dead people get that privilege in Heaven, so by bending the rules a little, it could be said that Jack is letting Dean act like a living being. That’s only a small hop away from reviving him completely. In The Winchesters‘ season 1 finale, Jack gave Dean a mild telling off, but only for interfering with his parents’ love life, not for visiting their world, tacitly giving Dean permission to roam freely.
One Way Dean’s Supernatural Death Was Actually A Good Thing
The Silver Lining To Dean Winchester Dying
Dean Winchester dying was a very contentious element of Supernatural‘s finale. Both the timing and execution felt underwhelming after 15 seasons of bonding between the audience and Jensen Ackles’ character. While that debate will rage on, the discussion over why Jack did not (or could not) resurrect Dean exposes at least one way the controversial death scene benefited Supernatural‘s ending.
For Sam and Dean to spend their remaining years covered in a big suit of Jack-armor would have felt like cheating.
If Supernatural had ended with Jack as God and the Winchester brothers both surviving, audiences might have assumed that Sam and Dean would enjoy Jack’s divine protection forever. With their all-powerful friend watching from above, it would have been natural to assume that neither Winchester brother could possibly come to any harm for the rest of their mortal lives.
That would have made for quite the disappointing end. For Sam and Dean to spend their remaining years covered in a big suit of Jack-armor would have felt like cheating, and, once again, like a loss of the free will they fought so hard for. Dean’s death proved, albeit in a very abrasive way, that Supernatural‘s heroes were finally the masters of their own fates.
Created by Eric Kripke, Supernatural is a fantasy/drama series that premiered in 2005. The series follows the adventures of Dean and Sam Winchester – two men wronged by supernatural beings as children who now spend their days investigating and hunting demons, ghosts, and monsters across the United States.
- Release Date
- September 13, 2005
- Seasons
- 15