Alternate Timeline

Alternate Timeline 2014
Seasons	5
Boss	Lucifer
State	Erased

“	The angels aren't listening! They just left, gave up!	”
	— Alternate Dean to the Main Dean in The End

Alternate Timeline 2014 is an alternate timeline, where Sam Winchester assented to possession to Lucifer, thus granting the archangel victory and allowing the Apocalypse to decimate the human population. It is one of the multiple Alternate Timelines shown in Supernatural.

History

In order to show Dean the consequences of refusing to say "Yes" to Michael, Zachariah transports him to this alternate timeline.

This timeline occurred shortly after Sam and Dean went their separate ways, Sam decided to give consent to Lucifer, due to Dean's refusal Michael and the Host of Heaven eventually gave up and left Earth. Dean later regretted his decision and attempted to say yes to Michael, but at that point, it was too late. In possession of his true vessel, Lucifer was able to win the war between Heaven and Hell and reduce humanity to the brink of extinction.

Humans infected by the Croatoan Virus.

Dean tries to outrun a zombie horde.

Many humans had become infected by the Croatoan Virus and turned into mindless zombies.

The last line of defense against The Apocalypse was Camp Chitaqua, a group of resistance fighters serving under Dean Winchester of that timeline. The members included a near-human Castiel and Chuck Shurley.

Present Dean goes to visit the survivors at Camp Chitaqua, where he discovers the changes of not only himself, but also his allies. Future Dean later brings him on a mission to kill Lucifer using the Colt, and orders his followers to act as bait.

Future Dean is ultimately killed while Present Dean is taken back to his own timeline, safe and sound.

Aftermath

Despite Zachariah's intentions to get Dean to say "Yes", the journey only convinces Dean to reunite with his brother to avoid this future. It is averted when Sam Winchester throws himself, along with Lucifer, Michael and Adam into Lucifer's Cage, thus ending the Apocalypse.

In the current timeline, the demon Abaddon had became a threat in 2014 but was ultimately killed by Dean. After escaping again in 2015, Lucifer was killed by Dean in 2018 with the help of the Michael of another alternate reality.

Travelers (to here)

• Dean Winchester
• Zachariah

Inhabitants

Primordial Entities

• God (masquerading as Chuck Shurley)

Archangels

• Michael
• Lucifer

Angels

• Castiel (formerly, presumably deceased)
• Zachariah (referenced only)

Zombies

• Croatoan Zombies

Humans

Hunters

• Dean Winchester (deceased)
• Sam Winchester (possessed by Lucifer)
• Bobby Singer (deceased)

Regular Humans

• Yeager (deceased)
• Risa (presumably deceased)
• Sarah Palin (mentioned only)

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

• War (unseen)
• Famine (unseen)
• Pestilence (unseen)
• Death (unseen)

Appearances

• Season 5
  • The End

Major Changes

• Lucifer won The Apocalypse.
• Sam Winchester said "Yes" to Lucifer in Detroit and became his permanent vessel.
• The Host of Heaven left.
• Castiel appears to be permanently human.
• Sarah Palin is President of the United States instead of Barack Obama.
• The Croatoan Virus has spread across the planet, reaching Australia by the time Dean Winchester arrives in 2014.
• Sports have been banned in order to prevent mass groupings of people the Croatoan Virus can spread through.
• Bobby Singer's paralysis was never cured and he died at some point before 2014 in his home, apparently shot to death.
• Humanity is facing extinction.
• The Horsemen were never neutralized, and spread their carnage and chaos all over the world.

Trivia

• Castiel is human in this Timeline as of 2014. The main Castiel also becomes human temporarily around the Apocalypse but after his second resurrection by God he became an angel again and a Seraphim. Castiel later became human again for a matter of months after his grace was stolen by Metatron but regained his status as an angel after stealing Theo's grace.
• This alternate timeline is the exact opposite of Apocalypse World. In this timeline, Lucifer has won the Apocalypse and is leading the extermination of humanity. In Apocalypse World, Michael won the Apocalypse, killed his Lucifer and is leading a war of extermination upon humanity.
• There was mixed opinion among fans as to whether the future shown here is "real" or merely constructed by Zachariah to persuade Dean to become Michael's Vessel. Commentary on 5.04 "The End" on the Season 5 DVD by Ben Edlund and Eric Kripke supports that this is an alternate universe model, rather than time travel. On Twitter, Ben Edlund said that in his mind, "The End" universe is an alternate reality, similar to that in The French Mistake. This would make the place Dean is taken to by Zachariah a potential future of an alternate reality.
  • Originally it was supposed to be more an effect of time travel, as the future Dean would discuss remembering these events from present Dean's point of view, but the premise became so complicated that they changed it to an alternate universe instead.