The CW ordered 22 episodes for the season, but interference from the 2007 08 Writers Guild of America strike ultimately limited the season to 16 episodes. Some storylines were thus postponed, which Kripke felt ultimately benefited the season by forcing the writers to focus on saving Dean.
With 14 previous seasons to get through, most running 22 to 23 episodes each, catching up with Supernatural in time for the series finale is not only a Herculean feat in binge watching, it's also impossible.
