Supernatural - Review

Carry On My Wayward Son – a review of Supernatural. 

Spanning over 300 episodes across 15 seasons, you can’t deny the impact Supernatural had. Starring Jared Padeleki and Jensen Ackles as brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, the show was about saving people and hunting things – the family business. Featuring demons, angels, vampires, werewolves, and a whole array of monstrous creatures and ghosts, why was Supernatural so popular and how did it remain on our screens for 15 seasons?

Comparing season 1 and season 15 shows just how much time had passed between the beginning and the end. Not only in terms of how young Ackles and Padalecki look in season 1, but the whole show adapted and changed. Supernatural season one was a monster – a – week show, showing the brothers hunting monsters and investigating ghosts, with the overarching theme being the “yellow eyed demon”, the demon responsible for killing their mother and setting themselves and their father on the path of being hunters originally. By the last season, the yellow eyed demon feels like much less of a threat; by then, the boys had come up against the King of Hell Crowley, the Arch Angel Michael, Lucifer and even God himself.

The longevity of the show has much to do with its fandom. Supernatural was so beloved that meeting Misha Colins at MCM Comic Con a few years ago cost me well over £100 total, although in my mind it was well worth it. With the actors appearing at conventions the world over, including the massive San Diego Comic Con, it’s unsurprising to hear how widespread the fandom truly is. There are even conventions dedicated to the show, “Cross Roads” being a 3-day convention dedicated purely to the show and with entry tickets costing hundreds of pounds, it’s clear that despite ending, the show is still hugely popular.

Family is an intrinsic theme in Supernatural, with brothers Sam and Dean being literally willing to go to hell and back for each other. Having stood by each other from season 1, they have undeniable love for each other, and their late-night chats in Deans beloved “baby”, his chevvy impala, are some of the most moving and relatable scenes in the whole show. The pair often also tease each other, have arguments, deliberately annoy each other and come across like real siblings who ultimately have each other’s backs no matter what.

Found family is important too, with characters such as the hilarious and beloved angel Castiel, lovable and nerdy Charlie (who becomes something of a little sister to the boys), and Sam and Dean’s father figure Bobby reminding audiences that “family don’t end in blood boy, and it don’t start there either.” The character development throughout the show is fantastic – who would have ever guessed an Angel of the Lord and the King of Hell would ever team up to work together? Or a witch named Rowena could be so flirty? Not only this, but it’s often likely that a character who seems insignificant will end up being absolutely pivotal to the story – I’m looking at you, Chuck.

Supernatural blends horror, drama and humour to create a compelling narrative. It deals with difficult subjects, such as grief, trauma and loyalty, and yet it still has room to make you laugh after it ripped your heart out. The music of the show is another highlight, with Deans love of classic rock forming much of the soundtrack, and “Carry on my Wayward Son” becoming the anthem of the show.

The villains of Supernatural are one of the other highlights, with characters such as Crowley and Lucifer being fan favourites. Even the “good guys” are often morally grey at best – after all, Sam and Dean don’t have a trunk full of weapons for no reason – but the depth and complexities of characters who are neither completely good nor completely evil make Supernatural such a compelling watch.

Unfortunately, Supernatural is not a perfect show. There are some seasons which just felt drawn out, such as season 12 which deals with the British Men of Letters, a secretive organisation which investigates the supernatural. Whilst this should have been fascinating, it ended up including some of the most irritating characters, and it felt about twice as long as it actually was. Even the return of Mary Winchester couldn’t save it – in fact, Mary returning is one of my least favourite story lines of any TV show ever, and Mary is one of my most disliked characters ever. The best thing about this season is Sam and Dean moving into the bunker, as we finally see the brothers share a permanent and pretty awesome home instead of watching them bounce between shady motels.

The ending of Supernatural isn’t amazing either, but I err on the side of giving them grace. After spending over a decade as the Winchester brothers, Ackles and Padalecki made the difficult decision to call it a day in order to be able to watch their children grow up – just in time for a global pandemic to hit. The original ending would have seen the boys reunited with some fan favourite characters and sounds like it would have been fantastic, but due to Covid the ending had to be adapted. Whilst I don’t hate the ending, especially not as much as some fans do, I definitely would have preferred in an ideal world the filming to have been delayed so that we could have had the original plan. With that said, I do not blame anyone involved for wanting to help the actors finish this chapter of their lives quickly so they could start spending more time with their families.

Reviewing Supernatural is a difficult task, because I have so much love for it but unfortunately it feels like it ran just a little bit too long. Whilst it didn’t disappoint quite as badly as certain other TV show endings (cough Game of Thrones cough) the quality of the later seasons really doesn’t compare with the quality of the earlier ones. Nevertheless, Supernatural remains a true comfort show, a show I can always return to and feel safe with, a show guaranteed to cheer me up or have me bawling my eyes out. Despite its flaws, Supernatural is well worth a watch. It’ll make you laugh; it’ll make you cry, and it’ll make you happy. In the words of Dean Winchester, “You know, who cares where happiness comes from? Look, we’re all a little weird, we’re all a little wacky – some more than others – but… if it works, it works.” And you know what? Supernatural works.

Written by Tam Page

Posted by Mr. Tomney

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