Supernatural- A Farewell Tribute

This post is different from what I normally write, but I really needed to pay tribute to one of my all time favorite TV shows Supernatural.  For those of you who don’t know, Supernatural is about brothers Sam and Dean Winchester, aka the boys, who take up the family business of hunting monsters with the plotlines becoming increasingly complex from there. The show has been running on the CW (formerly the WB) since 2005. Now after 15 amazing seasons it’s coming to a close. Here’s a list of ten reasons why I love the show and will miss it once it ends.

1. The characters

Brothers Sam and Dean Winchester are the foundation of the show and the reason we all started watching. But angelic best friend Castiel and the boy’s surrogate father Bobby are two of the many characters that kept us watching. This show also introduced us to other great characters like the hilarious archangel Gabriel and badass cop Jody Mills. Even the show’s villains like Crowley and Lucifer managed to win viewer’s hearts. Then some characters like Rowena and Death were so awesome that we didn’t care which side they ended up on, as long as they kept showing up on our TV screens.

2. The cast

While plenty of shows have amazing casts, Supernatural’s cast seems to be in a league of its own. The cast members have become akin to family to each other and are known for their charitable works. They also gift us with hilarious blooper reels each season and I can’t help but wonder how they manage to get anything done on set with all of their crazy antics. Fans can also meet the actors at the show’s annual conventions (just be prepared to pay an arm and a leg for it, haha). Here’s a photo of me with actors Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester), left, and Jared Padalecki (Sam Winchester), right:

3. Baby- the show’s unofficial mascot

This show would not be complete without the Winchester’s 1967 Chevy Impala, lovingly called “Baby” by Dean. Baby is more than a car though; she’s the brothers’ home, giving them a place to stay when they had nowhere else to go. Baby has been with the brothers throughout their many ordeals and stays with them even when she gets horribly damaged. She’s really another member of the Winchester family. She even got a whole episode dedicated to her and deservingly so.

4. The soundtrack

While Supernatural’s orchestral score is good, what really makes the soundtrack shine is the show’s use of classic rock songs. From Dean driving up in the Impala to “Rock of Ages” by Def Leppard to stop the apocalypse to “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” by Blue Öyster Cult playing while an actual reaper chases someone, we were given plenty of memorable musical moments. The most memorable song, however, will always be “Carry On Wayward Son” by Kansas. This song plays at the beginning of each season finale and when this song comes on the radio, I can’t help but think of the boys. There will be plenty of fans crying when this song plays for the last time during the series finale.

5. The show scared us

Maybe not so much the later episodes, but the earlier ones certainly were creepy. The first season alone had episodes that could compete with some of the scariest movies. These early episodes featured a decaying haunted asylum, terrifying clowns, and the ghost of infamous serial killer H. H. Holmes. Some of the scariest episodes involved something all too possible: humans being evil. “The Benders” was about a murderous family and “Scarecrow” had a town that was determined to make human sacrifices.

6. It made us laugh and wasn’t afraid to “jump the shark”

Supernatural always kept a good balance between drama and humor. There were plenty of well written comedic lines and situations to make us laugh. But the episodes themselves could be downright goofy, like “Changing Channels” where the brothers are forced to play roles in various TV series that parodied real life shows. The show also had plenty of episodes that seemed to come out of left field, but we ended up loving it all the more for taking such risks. For example, it featured the episode “Scoobynatural” in which Sam, Dean, and Castiel literally become animated characters in Scooby Doo. For any other show this type of crossover may have been a step too far, but for Supernatural it was the perfect kind of weird.

7. It made us cry

The show had plenty of heart wrenching moments for its viewers. We had to suffer through watching the boys die repeatedly (even though we knew they would be back). And it’s a credit to Jared and Jensen’s acting skills that the brothers’ various trials and grieving for each other always got us in the feels. One of my favorite emotional moments is when Sam admits to Dean that his greatest sin was every time he let his brother down in the season 8 finale. You can feel the simultaneous love and anguish of the brothers. The show also had a bad habit of killing off supporting characters we came to love. Fortunately, some of them came back because, after all, this is a show about the paranormal.

8. It broke the fourth wall… repeatedly

The show was also not afraid to break the fourth wall and address the fans directly. The episode “The Monster at the End of this Book” actually reveals that the brothers’ lives are being written about in a series of books by a prophet named Chuck Shirley. In this episode, the show outs its fans love of writing slash fan fiction, which is pairing up the main characters in romantic relationships in fan created stories. Very few shows would dare openly discuss something like that within its fan base in canon.  This plot is revisited in the “The Real Ghostbusters” which features a fan convention and people cosplaying as Sam and Dean, mirroring real life. For its 200^th episode, the plot revolved around a group of students putting on an entire musical dedicated to the Supernatural books from the above episode and they sing a heartfelt rendition of “Carry on Wayward Son.” This episode was both a tribute to the Winchesters’ story and the fans. But one of the most memorable episodes is “The French Mistake.” The name is taken from Mel Brook’s Blazing Saddles which should be a clue that this episode completely tears down the fourth wall. The brothers actually become their real life selves in this one, having to pretend to be actors Jensen and Jared as they try to act in the TV show Supernatural. Like seriously, what other show would have the guts to do this? It’s what makes Supernatural so freaking awesome.

9. The Fans

Outside of Star Trek, Supernatural probably has the biggest and most loyal fan base of any TV show. Dubbed the “SPN Family,” the fans have been watching this show for 15 years and they’re probably the main reason it stayed on so long. The fans don’t leave any stone unturned either when it comes to showing their love for the show. As mentioned above, they write fan fiction, collect and make all sorts of show related merchandise, and create fan videos and gifs. They also make sure Supernatural’s annual conventions get sold out quickly, especially some of the more popular photo ops.

10. Family

The relationship between Sam and Dean, and the chemistry between actors Jared and Jensen, is the main reason that viewers like me love this show. The brothers’ bond is deep and they always have each other’s backs through thick and thin. Even when they hit their roughest patches and separate for episodes at a time, they still love each other deeply. It makes all of us wish we had someone like that in our corner. There really is no Sam without Dean and vice versa and when they work together, they’re pretty much unstoppable. It doesn’t just end with the boys though. In addition to Sam and Dean’s parents, John and Mary, the characters of Bobby, Castiel, and Jack truly came to be members of the extended Winchester clan. Plenty of other characters in the show came to be like family to the brothers too, and ultimately to all of us, making the line “Family don’t end with blood” the backbone of this show.

So there’s my list. I’m hoping the season 15 finale will be as strong as the season 5 finale “Swan Song” and that it leaves a lasting impression. I started watching this show as a teenager and it has stayed with me ever since. I’m going to miss it, but I’ll be sure to binge watch it all over again. So congrats on fifteen seasons and thanks for all the memories Supernatural!

Get the box set for seasons 1-13 at Amazon here: https://amzn.to/2S6dUSO

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