Transforming Supernatural: What if John Winchester had died on the ceiling in the pilot episode?

The Supernatural pilot saw the deaths of two women. What if a man replaced one of those women? How would Supernatural have transformed had John Winchester been one of those deaths?

When Supernatural began, we got a taste of the heartache to come. Mary Winchester and Jessica Moore were both killed in the same way – suspended on the ceiling, surrounded in flames. However, that wasn’t originally going to be the case.

At one point, John Winchester was going to be the one killed on the ceiling at the end of the episode. This would have completely changed the focus of the first season. So, on this #TransformationTuesday, how about we look at the way things could have been for the show? What would have changed?

A drive for revenge

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While Sam’s journey was filled with revenge in the first season, it was also filled with the need to find his dad. At the same time, Dean needed to know where John was.

The first season gave us a lot of heartbreak. In the moment the Winchesters returned home to face ghosts of the past, Dean called for John. That scene wouldn’t have happened had John died on the table. Instead of Dean feeling like John had abandoned him, Dean would have felt lost and alone. In a way, it could have helped settle some of the ill-will some fans have against John for leaving his boys the way he did.

With both parents killed by the same demon, the Winchester brothers would have been on bigger mission for revenge. Dean could have even had more focus on killing the Yellow-Eyed Demon instead of purely going from one case to another because of the journal John had left behind.

A different type of search

Finding the demon that killed Mary and Jess wasn’t the sole focus for the Winchester brothers in the first season. Supernatural delivered a story of two brothers looking for their father.

Their path would have been focused on a different type of search. They would have been consumed with finding the demon that had killed their mother and their father.

While they would have still helped people throughout the journey, their path would have been different. It had been John who told them about the Colt and that it could kill a demon. The Winchesters would have had to find out about the Colt in a different manner. Who would have told them? Would it have been mentioned in John’s journal?

A different feel for us

With seeing John for a couple of episodes, we got to know him. There was a chance to see the bond between father and sons, as well as that drive to get the demon that took his wife. We wouldn’t have had the chance to see any of that had John been one of those killed on the ceiling.

It would have been a completely different show for us. The Winchesters would have both been fresh in their grief – the first season was mostly about Sammy’s grief – and there wouldn’t have been that connection seen in later episodes. It was this connection that made us feel for the brothers when John was killed in the second season premiere and it was what made us miss John.

With John gone so early, there would have been other changes needed to the show. The final couple of episodes of the first season couldn’t have focused on Yellow Eyes possessing John. Who would he have possessed instead? One of the brothers? Would the journey to choosing family over revenge have bee the same?

I’m not sure the series would have been as good as it was without John Winchester being there at strategic points.

Of course, this is assuming John would replace Jessica’s death. How could things have changed if John had died instead of Mary? That’s for another time!

How would Supernatural transform in your mind if John had died in the pilot episode? What would you have liked to see happen? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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