Let’s Discuss: Should There Be Another Season of Supernatural?
Collider went and did it. They opened up a can of worms that quite frankly, needed opening since Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles hinted at the Supernatural convention in Honolulu during the Gold Member Panel that some ideas are being bounced around. It sounded really preliminary, and maybe not totally serious, but it was certainly enough to raise some fan fervor. To quote Jensen: “Yeah, stay tuned on that. There are conversations regarding that conversation that are being had.”
The author of this Collider article has taken the position that Supernatural doesn’t need another season. I’ve got to say, it’s a pretty sound argument. The main idea is that, “15 seasons is more than enough. There’s nowhere else for this show to go.” I personally couldn’t agree more. The later seasons were very painful, and any reboot would have to involve creative personnel that were not involved with the final seasons, who I think drove the whole series into the ground. Who knows, they may have already done too much damage.
I get that when you get a bunch of creatives in a room anything can be done, but how do you unravel the ending that seemed pretty definitive? Sam got his life. He had a son. Dean died and went to Heaven waiting for him, stirring up some trouble in between as shown on The Winchesters. Short of time travel undoing the ending, which would kind of suck for Sam and jeopardize the Winchester legacy continuing, not to mention disrupting the “natural order”, the only other option is exploring untold stories within the original timeline. The Winchesters even went the AU route and the results were lukewarm at best. What else can be done? The only thing I can think of is carrying on the story of Sam’s son hunting and Dad’s and Uncle Dean’s ghosts popping in for support. But would fans be happy with that? I think not. There’s also Sam and Dean hunting together in Heaven. This seems like the most likely choice.
Still, Jared and Jensen have more than once hinted that there will be a Supernatural reunion or sequel. Whether they’re doing that to tease fans or if they’re really serious that remains to be seen, but it’s certainly raising enough speculation where I felt it worth discussing here. I’ve listed three reasons for and three reasons against the series return.
Against a return:
- It’s been 3 years. A lot of viewers have moved on. The studio may have moved on too. The timing or interest doesn’t seem good right now. Are there enough fans or fan support left to make this successful? It’s possible we just got too much of a good thing and some fans don’t know how to let go?
- What network or streaming service would take this on? The CW is gone in terms of a possibility due to the new owners. The only two possibilities currently are Netflix, which is streaming Supernatural reruns, or Max, which is owned by Warner Brothers Discovery, who owns Supernatural. Right now all entertainment studios and services are tightening pocketbooks, so what is presented to them has to be a sure fire hit. Right now, Supernatural does not come across as a sure fire success business wise or story wise.
- As the Collider article pointed out, the risk for retcon is HUGE. It already got bad in the later seasons of the series, let alone as a returning series, limited series or movie. The damage of a poorly done plot could ruin the whole legacy of the franchise, even worse than what the later seasons did.
For a return:
- Supernatural has always been destined to carry on as a movie or set of movies after the original series ended. The franchise did create a legacy. Unfortunately, the ending didn’t leave a lot of room for Sam and Dean to carry on. It more opened the door for the next generation. Perhaps they can find a way to bridge the gap between the two much like ST: TNG did, or find a plot that can extend the franchise that makes fans happy. Okay, the latter is impossible, but there’s hope! Either way, this franchise needs to expand much like other successful series.
- It’s been done successfully by other franchises. The X-Files returned for two limited seasons. The only problem was, it wasn’t very good. It did close up a couple of loose threads though like what happened to Scully and Mulder’s son William, and a few of the episodes were exceptional (“Rm9sbG93ZXJz” stands out for me). I also enjoyed seeing those two together on my screen again, even if the quality wasn’t up to snuff. However, airing that limited series was pretty easy considering the show was owned by 20th Century Fox and they just happened to have a network to air the series on. Also, the show initially ended with plenty of room for more.
A more successful recent example was the reunion of the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast on season three of Picard. Talk about a perfect sendoff! I was absolutely furious over that shit show Star Trek: Nemesis and couldn’t understand how that was considered to be a suitable ending for that franchise, or even the first two seasons of Picard, which were also really crappy. This was a sequel I forgot I needed after all this time and I was so glad to see it. It was clever, paid great attention to continuity, and bridged the gap beautifully between the older and newer franchises. The show also had a huge cinematic quality, feeling more like the movies rather than the original series. I was super surprised to see it! It goes to show after all these years injustices can be reversed. This should be the blueprint for how to close out a successful franchise.
- There were enough loose ends that Supernatural could be explored in a limited series or movie. Like how did Castiel end up from the empty into Heaven helping Jack? What happened to Heaven in general after Jack became the new God? Are there more angels? What happened to all the souls in The Empty? Were any others released? What happened to Hell under Rowena? Did Dean ever visit Sam the entire time he was in Heaven? There was nothing in the series finale that said he didn’t. But that goes back to the initial argument I made in this article, is that what fans want to see? Can something be done that will be satisfying?
I think I’ve said enough on the subject. Your turn. Should there be more Supernatural? Will a prequel plot, a new generation plot, or an AU plot be satisfying? What do you want to see? Has Supernatural run its course and shouldn’t be revived?
Okay, let’s discuss!
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