#FlashbackFriday to the time of monster-of-the-week episodes in Supernatural

Supernatural has adapted over the years to make sure it’s been able to survive. Let’s take a look back at the monster-of-the-week format that started it all.

Things have certainly changed for Supernatural over the years. It’s had to adapt to make sure it could survive, but there are times that the older episodes are missed. For #FlashbackFriday today, I thought it would be fun to look back at the older episodes, that monster-of-the-week format.

Many genre TV shows in 2005 and earlier opted for a monster-of-the-week format. You just have to look at the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the first couple of seasons of Charmed. While there were some overarching elements, each episode was a standalone for the most part. That’s the format Supernatural initially adapted.

It wasn’t until Season 3 that the overarching storyline really played an effect. But even then, the overall storyline of Dean going to Hell was just mentioned here and there. Season 4 was the first time we really saw more episodes that took place within the main storyline, the breaking of the 66 seals.

Why a monster-of-the-week format?

Why would Supernatural take on this old-school format? Well, at the time, it was just the done thing. It was also a great way for the first couple of seasons to introduce the main characters.

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With a show like our, there was a lot to introduce at first. We had the Winchester brothers, their backstory, the current storyline pushing them forward (John going missing on a hunting trip), and the world of monsters, ghosts, and more to explore.

The easiest way to set the tone of the series was to use the monster-of-the-week format. With a simple storyline of finding John, it made it possible to focus on the individual episodes to give us the various tales of lore. The show had a chance to develop real mythology and twist it for its own purpose.

Within that, we got plenty of development for the Winchester brothers and their bond. Within two or three episodes we could tell that Dean was a family guy—he wanted to find his dad and he couldn’t do it without his brother. We could tell that he was more like a dad to Sammy than an older brother, which gave us more of that backstory.

As for Sam, we understood that he wanted out of the hunter’s life. He was on a path of revenge, and that’s all that was driving him forward with Dean. The two brothers were estranged, but we saw their bond develop throughout the episodes.

Moving on from the monster-of-the-week format

While this format works for the start of Supernatural, the show had to move on eventually. And that’s exactly what it did. After a while, the monster-of-the-week format can become stale. It can limit the character development in a way, which is one of the reasons I prefer shorter seasons that focus on one specific storyline like The 100 and American Horror Story offer.

An overall storyline drives us forward. We know that there has to be a specific ending—whether it’s good or bad. With Supernatural Season 4, we knew that the ending would be either preventing Lucifer from being released or releasing him (and the show went for the latter).

Of course, this can become a little stale, too. It becomes predictable. It’s not surprising that the show has twisted it on its head in recent years. Thought Asmodeus was going to be the Big Bad of Season 13? He was dealt with before the season came to an end in a rather anticlimactic way. It made us sit up and realize that we had no idea where this story was going.

There is still a need for a monster-of-the-week format. With 22 episodes, a break from the overall storyline is necessary. Season 4 knew that, bringing us episodes like “Yellow Fever” and “Family Remains.” Each season has the odd episode that is its own story, like “The French Mistake” in Season 6 or “LARP and the Real Girl” in Season 8. “Lebanon” in Season 14 was a monster-of-the-week special to mark the 300th episode milestone.

Sometimes, those monster-of-the-week episodes have a connection to the overall storyline. “Changing Channels” and “My Heart Will Go On” are two examples of that from the earlier seasons.

Supernatural has always tried to do something different. But that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate the standard monster-of-the-week episodes from the earlier days.

Which monster-of-the-week episodes are your favorite? Which style do you prefer for the series? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Supernatural Season 15 premieres on Oct. 10 at 8/7c on The CW.