Supernatural Season 13 review: Back to basics

Supernatural ended its 13th season last week. Let’s take a look at some of the things they did well, and some things they didn’t.

It’s hard to believe that Supernatural’s 13th season is already over. For a show that has been on the air for 13 years, it’s also hard to believe that they just had one of their best seasons creatively. And not only that, it managed to keep us excited week to week AND look forward to the next season. How many shows can do that?

It was a long season, and a lot has happened. So, I’m going to take some time to look back and talk about some of the things the season did well, and some of the things it didn’t do quite as well. And, I’m going to reveal who the readers think the MVP of the season was.

The good

Jack – This season we were introduced to a new character. Sometimes introducing new characters can go very wrong. And after the deaths of both Crowley and Castiel in the Supernatural season 12 finale, it would feel almost like replacing them. But, the introduction of Jack was actually a good thing. He brought out a lot of new characteristics in Sam and Dean. While at first they were leery of him, the brothers (and Cas) grew to care for him. They took on fatherly roles, which was a nice change. And Jack was a three-dimensional character.  It was nice to see him grow and change throughout the season.

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Back to basics – This season seemed a lot better than the last couple of seasons. And a lot of it may have been because it felt like earlier seasons of the show. We saw a lot more episodes with just Sam and Dean. We had a lot more monster-of-the-week episodes. The whole season didn’t focus on one overarching big bad. The focus was smaller. There wasn’t an apocalypse to stop. It was a nice change of pace.

The acting – Was it just me, or did everyone in the Supernatural cast step up their game this season? The acting has always been top notch, however, it seemed extra this season. It probably helped that the writing was stellar most of the time, which helped the character development. Jensen Ackles, Mark Pellegrino, Ruth Connell and Alexander Calvert gave some AMAZING performances this season.

The Not So Good

Asmodeus – He started out so promising. But then he fizzled out about mid-season. With the King of Hell seat left vacant by Crowley’s death, Asmodeus would have made an interesting long-term adversary. However, he was underused, and then (rightfully) killed by Gabriel by the end of the season. A lot of potential wasted.

Continuity – So, it seemed at times during the season the writers had forgotten some of the things that had happened in previous seasons. For most of it, they had seemed to forget that BOTH Sam and Dean had been to Hell and tortured. And that’s just one example. It’s never a good thing for writers to forget canon. I know the show has been on a long time, but that’s no excuse to ignore or change things from previous seasons.

Gabriel – He came back, and that’s a great thing. However, then they killed him off. For real this time. And that’s just…not cool. What was the point of bringing back the character only to kill him off? Bringing back Charlie and Bobby from the other dimension, basically retconning their deaths was pretty nice. It’ll be great to have them on the show again. But why kill Gabriel? And permanently at that?

Performer of the SEASON

So, I was originally going to do two of these, my pick and our reader’s pick based on a Twitter poll I conducted. However, they’re the same, so I’m just going to do one. Jensen Ackles is the MVP of Supernatural Season 13. This was his season. From the very beginning in the very first episode, his acting was top notch. The scene where he prays to Chuck to help him cope with losing Cas and his mom? Just hand the man an Emmy. The Supernatural season finale, letting Michael in in order to save his brother, and then COMPLETELY changing his mannerisms when Michael took over? Just give the man a Golden Globe while you’re at it.

Jensen has always been a stellar actor, something I’ve been reminded of as I rewatch the series. However, there was something about his performance this year that just moved him above and beyond. Not with just his dramatic acting either. He had ample opportunities to show off his comedic work as well. Wild West Enthusiast. Scooby Doo Fanboy. Jensen can do it all.

The season finale has set up Jensen playing Michael for at least the beginning of next season. I, for one, am really looking forward to seeing Jensen play someone other than Dean. I know that he’ll make the part unique and very un-Dean. He’s that good of an actor.

Next: Why Sam (annoyingly) couldn’t be the one to kill Lucifer on Supernatural

What did you think were the seasons good and not so good moments?  Do you agree or disagree with mine? I would love to hear from you in the comments below!

Supernatural will return Thursdays this fall on The CW. Meanwhile follow us on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with the latest news.