Ending one Supernatural Journey… and Beginning Another
Editor’s Note: As the end of Supernatural approaches, each member of the SPNFamily must deal with the emotions generated by this change in their own way. A few weeks ago, The WFB published a beautifully empathetic, therapeutic visit that our writer Gail envisioned having with Sam, Dean and Castiel as she struggles to accept losing them. Guest writer Beacon of Hope has found a different way to cope, one that associates losing Supernatural with something we have all experienced (or will someday experience) in our lives. Maybe her thoughts will bring you peace of mind as we all anticipate the ending that is inevitably coming.
I have decided to look at this next year as a senior year. Let me explain.
When I look back on how my senior year was for high school, remembering the memories, keepsakes, looking at the pictures, etc., the feelings and emotions come back, too. Whether they are happy, sad or angry, they come back.
When the guys announced the show was going to end, I, with 99% of the SPNfamily, had a cry and felt sad. A show that I have clung to, a show that has brought me back from the brink, was ending. After the initial sting, my feelings began to return to an upright position, and my mind began associating the emotions with something I had experienced before so that I might understand how to process and find the positive aspects and light of Supernatural ending. That’s when it hit me…… The last time I felt excitement, sadness, and eagerness all at the same time about what was to come was my senior year. Though it was many, many years ago, the emotional roller coaster of that year will never leave me.
So, the end of season 14 was like starting the summer after your junior year, when you are excited for the beginning of summer but realize the “lasts” of things that felt so routine are starting. You’re excited for senior year to begin, yet sad because you won’t see the people you have been around for so many years as much. Even though you will still speak with them, not seeing them as much will be different. The whole idea of me associating these events together is realizing that I can be sad that the show is ending, excited to see where the cast will be going in their life experiences, and remember the memories that the show has provided.
Similarly, the episodes are our yearbooks. Each season we have seen the boys grow up, we have seen the people that come and go, and the new kid that moved here during season 4. My photo ops, autographs, and different mementos each have their own memories and emotions with them, too. Just as looking at pictures from prom or homecoming, concert tickets and friendship bracelets carry memories and emotions.
Embrace these things. Cherish the memories from conventions, watch parties, group chats, etc. When the final episode airs, it will be graduation day for Supernatural. Feel all the emotions – sad it’s over, happy that the hard work paid off, excited by what the future holds. Just because we aren’t getting any more new episodes, no continued story, the show really isn’t going anywhere.
I know by this point you are probably thinking, “What is this woman talking about?” My point is that the show will remain with us if we allow it to. The family that has been created because of this show will still here as long as we allow it to be. We can still watch the episodes whenever we want. We can speak to our sisters and brothers whenever we want. So, really, Supernatural isn’t ending in any way, shape or form. It’s beginning a new chapter that doesn’t need new episodes on T.V. because we are all ready to begin writing the story ourselves. Take pride in that. Take pride that the show created a fandom that we all made into a family. Embrace what we have done and what we are going to do. Nothing is ending, nothing is stopping – it’s just taking a new road that we pave ourselves. We hold our heads high, put smiles on our faces and begin the new journey….
Did Beacon of Hope’s analogy help you at all? Do you see other parallels between the transitions out of school and the ending of the show? Please share your thoughts in the comments!
If you have found a unique way to deal with the show’s ending, or if you have thoughts to share that might help others, feel free to write an essay and submit it to us via “Contact Us.”
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- I’m the Co-Editor-in-Chief, Social Media Manager (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram), Live Tweet Moderator, reviewer and feature writer for The Winchester Family Business. Before joining the Supernatural Family, I worked for 22 years at a global consulting firm, but after years of long hours, high pressure and rigorous demands, I quit corporate life to raise my children. After my first Supernatural convention, I was driven to share my shock and awe in a two-part essay that The WFB was brave enough to post, and my second life calling, that of being a writer, began. My first published book, Fan Phenomena: The Twilight Saga was released in late 2016. Please share in my cross-fandom excitement by following its Facebook page @FanPhenomenaTwilight and my personal Twitter account @LSAngel2. You can read about this whole miraculous transition in my chapter in Family Don’t End With Blood, published in May 2017.
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