Things I Love: Supernatural

I've never been one to follow a TV series for longer than 5 seasons and that's IF the show even lasts that long. It usually gets too tedious to watch after a while but Supernatural has become that exception.

Image credit beata101 on deviantart

Supernatural is the story of two brothers, Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam (Jared Padalecki) Winchester, who are carrying on the family business of  "saving people, hunting things". Their journey begins 22 years earlier when their father, John, wakes up in the middle of the night to find his wife, Mary, pinned to the ceiling of their baby's nursery, bleeding from the stomach before bursting into flames. John was able to save his sons, 4-year old Dean and 6-month old Sam, but the loss of his wife left him devastated. He set out on a mission to find the being that murdered his wife and, as a result, raised his sons to fight all things supernatural.

200 episodes and 10 seasons later, the boys (yes, the Supernatural fandom will always refer to Sam and Dean as "the boys", no matter how old they get) have been through hell and back, have died and been brought back to life, have killed everything from monsters, demons, angels, gods, all the scary things that inhabit your nightmares, and more. And despite the neverending life and death situations the brothers get themselves into, there is humor. A lot of it. Plus classic rock.

That said, the show isn't perfect. It definitely isn't groundbreaking television. For me, they peaked in season 5 but that somehow didn't stop me from still watching each and every episode. And the reason, I think, is the Winchester brothers' bond. No matter where the show takes its audience, at the core, it's still about family and that's something we all can relate to. I've become emotionally invested in knowing how it all turns out for Sam and Dean at the very end.

Sam and Calliope's short convo in episode 200 also helps sum up the mythos of Supernatural:

Sam: "So why this story, huh? Why, uh, 'Supernatural'?"

Calliope: "Supernatural has everything. Life, death, resurrection, redemption. But above all, family. All set to music you can tap your toe to. It isn't some meandering piece of genre'd wreck. It's... epic."

Listening to: Carry On Wayward Son