‘Supernatural’ Says Goodbye to Mary Winchester Again: Is She Gone for Good?

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Diyah Pera /The CW

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 14, Episode 18 of Supernatural, “Absence.”]

Winchesters die, and they come back. That’s what they do — until they don’t.

Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) have died more times than anyone can count (especially taking into account Season 3’s “Mystery Spot”). Supernatural began with Mary’s (Samantha Smith) death, but Amara (Emily Swallow) brought her back at the end of Season 11.

John (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) stayed dead (but did briefly return this season through a spell and time travel), while Adam (Jake Abel) is lucky if his brothers remember he’s still in hell.

In “Absence,” Sam and Dean lost their mother again and immediately began looking for a way to bring her back. But they weren’t so lucky this time.

In Season 14, Jack (Alexander Calvert) joined the family resurrection club, but the others, especially Castiel (Misha Collins), noticed some differences. Using his powers burned off parts of his soul until there was nothing left.

That led to him doing things that weren’t “bad” but “the absence of good,” according to Castiel. He killed a snake to reunite it with its dead owner and brutally killed Nick (Mark Pellegrino), who was trying to resurrect Lucifer.

When Mary tried to get through to him, he reacted in a way that suggested he might have killed her, and Thursday’s episode confirms he accidentally did.

But she’s a Winchester, so they can just bring her back, right? That’s not the case this time. Jack used a spell Rowena (Ruth Connell) found in the Book of the Damned but only brought back “a shell” that is “incapable of holding life.”

Mary was at peace, Duma (Erica Cerra) told Castiel. “She died painlessly, instantly, completely,” she said. “She’s in Heaven, a special Heaven. Mary Winchester is complete.”

Castiel verified her words with a visit to Mary’s Heaven. “She is happy,” he told Sam and Dean. “She’s with John, and there’s no sorrow. There’s no guilt. Just joy.”

All the Winchesters can do is give their mother a hunter’s funeral and salt and burn the only body, the “shell,” they have.

Smith confirmed her departure from Supernatural with a farewell message on Twitter following the episode.

“Living in Mary Winchester has been the adventure of a lifetime. I’ve loved every second with every fiber of my being, and adore every person I had the honor to stand alongside more than they’ll ever know,” she wrote. “And can I say, what a sendoff?!”

Fans are emotional following Mary’s death and using Supernatural GIFs to express their sorrow.

Will Sam and Dean have to kill Jack, or is there hope for him yet? Sound off with your thoughts in the comments below.

Supernatural, Thursdays, 8/7c, The CW