WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Season 15, Episode 9 of Supernatural, "The Trap."
Over 15 seasons, Supernatural has built up a vast and varied mythology of gods, monsters and everything in between. While supernatural adversaries like Lucifer and Lilith have proven persistent and popular threats for the Winchesters, no-one was exactly clamoring for the return of the many-fanged Leviathans. Still -- love them or hate them -- the ancient beasties are a key part of the show's history, so it was only natural for the final season to include them in some way, as it has been doing for other characters.
Unfortunately, what could have been used as a chance to reevaluate a maligned part of Supernatural's lore was completely squandered in the midseason premiere, with neither the Leviathans or their "mother," Eve, being given a chance to shine.
Led by slimy politician Dick Roman, the toothy creatures were the central antagonists of Season 7. The earliest monsters created by God, they were banished to Purgatory, along with Eve, when he realized the beasts could never be fully satisfied until they'd consumed everything. They remained there for thousands of years until they were accidentally released by Castiel, and soon set about infiltrating and feeding off of the human race. After claiming the original Bobby's life, Dean took his revenge out on their leader, leaving the monsters to scatter to the wind. This uncertain fate only added to the poor reception of the villains.
Now we know the fate of at least some of their kind. "The Trap" sees Castiel and Dean forced to return to Purgatory by archangel Michael, who opens up a portal to the hellish dimension so that the pair can retrieve the rare Leviathan blossom -- the activating agent in a spell that can bind primordial beings like God, who the Winchesters are feuding with. There, they encounter a Leviathan and force him to take them to where he claims the flowers are growing (out of the rotting corpse of one of his kind).
However, this turns out to be an ambush. Castiel is immobilized by an angel trap while Dean is knocked unconscious. "Mother's got beef with you," the Leviathan tells Castiel, leading him off to presumably where Eve is holding court amongst her children. Eve, the creator of the Alpha monsters and related to the Leviathans, was a big villain during Season 6 before sent back to Purgatory, so it's a significant namedrop.
Viewers gearing up for a rematch of biblical proportions between her, Castiel and Dean, however, never get such a payoff. Instead, Castiel reappears -- bloody and exhausted -- after Dean roams the neverending forest looking for him. He explains that he fought off his kidnappers before they could bring him before Eve. Oh, and he conveniently still has a Leviathan blossom with him. While it's clear that the focus of this subplot -- other than obtaining the blossom -- was to repair Dean and Castiel's broken friendship, you can't help but feel cheated out of seeing Castiel reigning holy justice on a group of Eve's lackeys. Eve doesn't even get to appear on-screen.
What could have been a chance to redeem the villains of Supernatural's awkward middle years instead ends with them feeling as inconsequential as they did the first time around; only worthy of a pitiful, off-screen death.
Airing Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW, the final season of Supernatural stars Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins and Alexander Calvert.