The God vs. the Darkness showdown came a week early, something that would have presumably been left to play out on the Supernatural Season 11 finale.

I was surprised it even took place at all after all the plodding along and talking about the plan for most of Supernatural Season 11 Episode 22.

So to actually see some action take place as the teamup of forces tried to damage the Darkness was a relief. Except, it just didn’t have the intensity it should have had.

This wasn’t the title fight I was expecting, and I left rather disappointed.

Remember when Dean was ready to face off against Lucifer (who had taken Sam for a vessel) in the apocalypse fight on Supernatural Season 5 Episode 22? There was a weight to the whole situation, especially because it pitted the brothers against each other.

But it also felt like it really was about to be the end of the world. The stakes felt huge.

With the Darkness, there really was and is the possibility of the end of everything. Yet, the episode didn’t make me feel that.

Maybe that’s because the hour started with the comedic approach to mending Lucifer and God’s relationship. But having Lucifer with what seemed like teen angst (locking himself in his room to listen to loud music?) and then Sam and Dean playing Dr. Phil in a weird therapy session was off-putting.

I get that there needed to be a teamup and some airing of grievances, but it felt way too cutesy and out of place for such a serious situation as taking on the Darkness.

On some level, it’s hard to imagine, at least in this particular episode, that the Lucifer on “Swan Song” was the same on “We Happy Few.”

Also, why couldn’t God get Michael to help and just heal him up like he did Lucifer? Or was what happened to Michael beyond his capabilities?

And not saving Donatello? C'mon. The guy just became a prophet.

I did like the use of teaming all the angels and demons together (though enough with the corporate talks in Heaven and Hell, please!), but I could have done without Rowena joining the team.

She just felt like she was shoehorned into the situation because we know Rowena. If we didn’t have a main character that was a witch, would one really be a necessary part of God’s plan otherwise?

And how did all her witch friends manage to get killed when fighting the Darkness but she survived? She really does have all the luck.

It was pretty neat to see effects of the angel smiting and the swirling demons take on Amara. And I’m glad Crowley got to do something of importance in laying a pretty significant blow to the Darkness.

And while I’m surprised we didn’t get a talk between God and Sam about Sam taking on the Mark, I’m glad that plan didn’t succeed. I just wasn’t keen on another Mark of Cain storyline, and it felt like a rehash of what we got with Dean.

Additionally, it felt like some tidy way to fix everything, which, it really shouldn’t have been.

Though, I’m confused how getting the Darkness mad was able to supercharge her enough to be able to take down God and kill Lucifer (or was he sent back to the cage?)

It was such a weird shift in power, especially because God hadn’t taken any damage before the Darkness showed up. It all just felt jarring, not to mention the long closeups of the characters at the close of the hour as Amara talked about the end coming.

Not only was the fight between God and the Darkness lackluster, but it just felt random that the Darkness could have manage to gain the upper hand.

It makes me wonder if we would have even gotten this type of ending if Supernatural Season 11 was the final season.

Are we heading into a final season where there is no God and where the actual end is going to happen? Or were those hints about time travel from Rowena a signal of what might actually take place?

I guess there's still Dean and his connection to Amara to pull out the win, but I’ve really never bought their connection, so even that doesn’t have the weight that it should.

What a disappointing penultimate episode and way to head into the finale. Rather than being psyched up, I’m apprehensive about what’s to come and far less excited than I want to be. Fingers crossed we get a major turnaround before sending the show into hiatus.

Did you enjoy God and Lucifer chatting out? Were you surprised the Darkness was able to take down God? Are you excited for the finale? Sound off below, and get all the Supernatural goodness when you watch Supernatural online now!

Quotables from Week Ending May 13, 2016

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NOTE: Supernatural Season 11 Episode 23, "Alpha and Omega," airs May 25 at 9 p.m.

Sean McKenna was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. He retired in May of 2017. Follow him on Twitter.