Angels and demons, pagan gods and urban legends — this action horror tragicomedy of a show has it all. For 327 episodes and 15 seasons, Supernatural took us on a ride aboard a sleek 1967 Chevy Impala, chasing mysteries, solving murders, hunting things, i.e., the family business. But, at its core, it has always been a show about family. We’ve known this from the start, from the very moment when Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki) first stared down his big bro, Dean (Jensen Ackles), when the latter literally forced his way into the former’s life and home. The connection was undeniable, the chemistry electric.
From the Pilot itself, it was all about the two brothers. But apparently that wasn’t the original plan at all. In fact, it took creator and showrunner Eric Kripke and producer Robert “Bob” Singer quite a few episodes to realise what viewers knew from the start — that it was never just about hunting down the monster of the week in modern Western-style settings. It was about family, and how far you’d go to protect it.
Fate, Freewill, Family, & the Supernatural Saga
Back in 2009, in an interview with Maureen Ryan for the Chicago Tribune, Kripke revealed that his original plans for the show weren’t centered around the two brothers and their unshakeable bond come hell or high water. In fact, they were supposed to just serve as a way to explore the many colorful myths and urban legends that make up the American lore.
“When we started out, we were going to make a horror movie every week. It was about the monsters, and it was about Hook Man and Bloody Mary and the urban legends and the boys, honestly, in the beginning, Sam and Dean were an engine to get us in and out of different horror movies every week,” he says. It took around four or five episodes for him to notice what had been staring him in the face. So, they went from asking, “What’s the monster?” to “What should we put Sam and Dean through?” And, honestly, thank Chuck for that. Because, hundreds of episodes later, we cannot begin to imagine what it would have been like if they had stuck to their initial plan.
Before the show had even gone into production, Kripke’s original plans had already undergone multiple alterations. He began with two tabloid reporters driving in and out of cities, decrypting urban legends. It then became about two gunslinger brothers, oozing masculinity and Han Solo energy, driving into towns to face local supernatural fiends, kissing girls, and riding off into the sunset. While that does sound fun to be fair, it doesn’t seem like something that could even begin to hold a candle to what the show eventually went on to become. In Kripke’s own words, “The story is about ‘Can the strength of family overcome destiny and fate, and can family save the world?’” It’s fate vs free will. It’s about two boys who always have each other’s backs, even and especially when they each believe they don’t deserve it. It’s about redemption, salvation, hope, and heartbreak. And that is so much more poignant than chasing cool new monsters every week.
Supernatural has always been about its characters and the connections they share. While the Winchester boys and Castiel (Misha Collins) are inarguably the heart of the show, the people they meet, love, and lose are equally important to the narrative. From Crowley (Mark Sheppard) to Charlie (Felicia Day) to Bobby (Jim Beaver) and Sheriff Jody Mills (Kim Rhodes), these people form the emotional core of the series. Getting to take down wendigos and women in white adds flavor, but it’s definitely not the main course. Because, at the end of the long, long road, when we look back, we don’t remember epic battles between angels and demons and feverish fights against fearsome fiends. We remember how we giggled at “Pudding!”; melted when Sam went, “I lost my shoe”; did a spit-take when we heard “You married fake Ruby”; and choked up when Bobby first said, “Family don’t end in blood.”
We remember Dean, ever the protective big brother, who would literally go through the circles of hell to protect his brother, but didn’t believe he deserved redemption. We remember Sam, once plagued by a demonic destiny, running away from the trauma of a childhood lost, and somehow finding his way back home. After all, it’s just as Kripke said, “…The only thing that matters is family and personal connection, and that’s the only thing that gives life meaning. Religion, gods, and beliefs…it all comes down to your brother. And your brother might be the brother in your family, or it might be the guy next to you in the foxhole, it’s about human connections.”
And that, in the end, is what Supernatural has always been about. Nothing more, and definitely nothing less.
You can re-watch Supernatural on Netflix.
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