Supernatural is more than Sam and Dean, but family and community too
Supernatural is about more than just Dean and Sam – and it has made the show richer for it as it heads into Season 14.
When Supernatural started, it was a story about family. Two brothers to be exact. They were opposites, with one invested in the family business and the other escaping that life to pursue more normal activities. Their journey was the center of Supernatural, especially when the writers revealed they had been destined to face one another as the vessels of Michael and Lucifer.
But after Season 5, their purpose changed – and slowly Supernatural changed as well. While Dean and Sam are still the center of the show, it became more about the family they built around them and we began to care about more than just the Winchesters.
There’s been Castiel, Crowley, Bobby, Mary, Rowena, Jack, Jody, Claire, Chuck, Gabriel, and Baby … just to name a few. We have found ourselves invested in their stories throughout the series. We cheered for their triumphant returns and wins, and cried or threw things at the TV in their deaths.
More from Supernatural
- Jensen Ackles and The Winchesters cast kick off #SaveTheWinchesters campaign
- Will The Winchesters be saved? (Can Supernatural fans save the prequel?)
- Did The Winchesters get renewed? (Is The Winchesters season 2 happening?)
- Is a new episode of The Winchesters on tonight? (March 14, 2023)
- The Winchesters Season1 finale explained: Did it connect to Supernatural?
We banded over Wayward Sisters, even though the show didn’t get picked for a series. But Wayward Sisters and the support it received shows just how far Supernatural fans have come. Yes, the brothers are the thing that ties it all together, but not every story needs to be about them.
During Season 13, it seemed there were some episodes where the Winchesters weren’t front and center. It didn’t detract from the series, it made it stronger. Given Dean and Sam a large support system and growing their community strengthens the show.
It doesn’t need to be a full ensemble cast where there are too many people to tell a proper story, but characters popping in and out of their lives feel normal. I don’t spend every day with my friends, but I certainly see them enough to have an impact.
Heading into Season 14, Dean is a focal point because he’s been taken over by Michael. But we care about Jack and his loss of powers, about Mary and Bobby’s hinted-at relationship, and the effect of Dean’s absence to Sam and Castiel.
Next. Wayward Sisters are headed back to Supernatural. dark
Showcasing other characters on Supernatural makes the show richer and brings about a community that shows the brothers don’t live in a bubble, even if it feels that way sometimes.
A while ago, I wrote a post about how great Supernatural could be if they brought together a family of a rag-tag bunch of folks. It seems the writers have gone in that direction more over the last season and will, hopefully, last through Season 14 and the series run.
Supernatural’s Season 14 debuts on October 11 at 8/7c.