There are several classic characters a Supernatural's series finale. Plenty of heroes and villains died along the way, but, occasionally, the series would spring a genuinely shocking character exit, and few proved as surprising as the death of Death itself.

The moment came in season 10, by which point Julian Richings' Death had evolved into a popular recurring Supernatural cast member. As Dean's connection to the Mark of Cain intensified, Death offered his own scythe as a mark of respect. Dean responded by using it to reap the Reaper himself. Given that Supernatural always treated the character as an immortal on the same level as God, Death dying so abruptly was most unexpected. The Death role would be inherited by Billie, but if Supernatural season 16 ever happens, Julian Richings' Death is the version that should come back.

Lisa Berry's Version Of Death Was Great, But I Need Supernatural Season 16 To Bring Back Julian Richings

Both Deaths Were Good, But It's Hard To Beat The Original

Both iterations of Death in Supernatural were great to watch. Lisa Berry's Billie brought a fire and attitude that the show sorely needed at the time, and her burning grudge against the Winchester brothers played out compellingly until the final season. Julian Richings was, however, a hard act to follow, and as the original article, there's an undeniable fondness for his portrayal. If Billie was the fire, OG Death was very much the ice. Callously neutral, constantly unimpressed, and infinitely dour, Richings played his role as close to a believable physical manifestation of death as any actor possibly could.

Richings' ominous presence was something Supernatural never quite captured with anyone else.

Beyond the hit of nostalgia that would come from seeing Death in his original form again, Supernatural season 16 would benefit from reviving the strained relationship he shared with Sam and Dean. Death typically appeared simultaneously disappointed and fascinated by the Winchester brothers. Revisiting that dynamic would be a worthwhile endeavor in itself, but especially now, in order to watch how Death's attitude has changed as a result of Dean betraying him.

It would be a stretch to suggest that Supernatural killed off Richings' Death too soon, or committed an injustice against him, as it did with Charlie and various others. Nevertheless, Richings' ominous presence was something Supernatural never quite captured with anyone else, and any future season 16 revival would present the ideal opportunity to reexamine a character who still had plenty of gas in the tank when Dean Winchester reduced him to dust.

How Supernatural's Original Death Could Actually Return In Season 16

Stranger Things Have Happened In Supernatural

According to Supernatural lore, Death is merely a role rather than any single individual. When Dean cut down the original version of it, the task fell to the next Reaper to die, Billie. While that seemingly gives previous versions of Death no way of returning, the fact that dead Reapers can be reincarnated implies the existence of a two-way street. If Billie was reincarnated after Castiel stabbed her, the original Death can surely be reincarnated after Dean reaped him.

When Sam and Dean defeated God and replaced him with Jack, the reset might have inadvertently reawakened the first Death.

This is especially true if the original Death currently resides within the Empty. As revealed in Supernatural's latter seasons, the Empty effectively serves as the afterlife for angels and demons. While not outright confirmed, the Empty - or a place like it - may do the same for reapers and ex-Deaths too, and as Castiel so ably proved, escape is possible. Supernatural has, therefore, set a plausible precedent for the original Death to somehow claw his way back to the world of the living.

Supernatural season 16 could even argue that God's defeat in the previous finale paved the way for Death's grand comeback. God and Death have always been inextricably linked in Supernatural, with the original Death once claiming that when time eventually comes to an end, only he and God will be left. After Sam and Dean defeated God and replaced him with Jack, the reset might have inadvertently reawakened the first Death. While very much within the realms of speculation, it is clear that Supernatural has plenty of believable ways of writing Julian Richings into season 16.

The Original Death Would Be A Perfect Villain For Supernatural Season 16

Supernatural Season 16 Would Need A Big Villain... And Death Fits The Bill

Exactly how annoyed Death will be about Dean killing him remains to be seen, but the incident could be used to make Julian Richings' Supernatural season 16's main villain. After God in season 15, there aren't many powerful antagonists for Sam and Dean to face in a revival, but Death ticks all the necessary boxes. He possesses enough power and cosmic status to avoid feeling like a step down from God, he has an established reason to be unhappy with the Winchesters, and he's a character Sam and Dean have never directly fought before.

The question "what happens to Supernatural's world when Death decides to go rogue?" sounds like a tantalizing premise for season 16 to explore. The reaper leader has always presented a neutral front in the past, working to maintain the spiritual balance of the universe. If Death returned as a vengeful, bitter enemy with an army of reapers willing to do his bidding and no God to answer to, Julian Richings would be able to portray a far more sinister Death in Supernatural, and season 16 would have a villain to make the series' return worthwhile.