Why Sam (annoyingly) couldn’t be the one to kill Lucifer on Supernatural

It’s been almost a week since the Supernatural Season 13 finale aired and fans are disappointed at one element: Sam not getting to kill his torturer. While it is disappointing, it realistically had to go down the way it did and here’s why.

When Sam shared his deepest and darkest secrets to Rowena in Supernatural Season 13, Episode 12, we all felt one thing: the two of them should have been the ones to finally take down Lucifer. He tortured both, leaving them with nightmares and scared for their own safeties. While Rowena seemed to get over her fears because she knew Sam would be the one to kill her, Sam didn’t have that luxury and we really wanted him to be the one to kill his torturer.

In the end, Dean was the one to do it. After making a deal with Michael and saying “yes,” Dean kept control while fighting the devil and taking him down once and for all. Well, at least it seems that way but this is Supernatural and the dead doesn’t stay dead. Sam did help by throwing the archangel blade, but it was Dean who made Lucifer’s death final.

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While I wish it was Sam, it couldn’t realistically be him. This was confirmed with previous lore set up in the storyline.

Only an archangel can kill an archangel

Of course, there have been plotholes along the way with Supernatural. In Season 4, it was stated at one point that only angels could kill angels and now we know different. It could have been possible that the lore that archangels could only kill archangels wasn’t quite true. But assuming that it was right, only another archangel could have killed Lucifer.

Sam would have had to allow an archangel in. But remember that archangels need specific vessels according to previous lore. So that means Sam wouldn’t have likely been strong enough since he was Lucifer’s true vessel.

Sure, Crowley used magic to make it possible for Lucifer to keep his vessel and Rowena could have possibly done the same, but Crowley bound Lucifer to his vessel. Sam wouldn’t have accepted that even to kill Lucifer. Plus, Sam didn’t like an angel taking over him before, so he wasn’t going to like it again.

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Dean allowing Michael in meant that there was an archangel strong enough to take on Lucifer, especially once Lucifer took the nephilim grace. All Sam could do was allow his brother to take down the devil. However, he didn’t just stand by and watch, offering help at the most crucial of moments. Because of this, he did play a role in taking down the devil. It really was teamwork and maybe that is something we should be focusing on for the Supernatural Season 13 finale.

Rowena wasn’t around to help

Even if Rowena could do something to make it possible for Sam to kill Lucifer, she wasn’t around in the Supernatural Season 13 finale. She was off road-tripping with Charlie, making it clear that the two were staying out of harm’s way and we could believe both were alive and well.

Rowena isn’t just the only witch powerful enough to work magic on that level, but the only witch the Winchesters trust. There is no way they would have called in another witch to help. Ketch may have had the knowledge for spells, but he’s not a witch and wouldn’t have been able to cast them effectively.

Unfortunately, it just wasn’t possible for Sam to kill his torturer. It’s sad for the fans, but Sam just looked genuinely happy that Lucifer was gone. Plus, it suited Dean’s big brother role to look after Sammy.

Next: Could Christian Keyes return to Supernatural?

What did you think about the final takedown? Do you wish that it was Sam who stabbed Lucifer? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Supernatural Season 14 premieres in the fall on Thursdays at 8/7c on The CW. Like SPN Hunters on Facebook for more updates on the show and cast.