Supernatural is a supernatural drama and horror series created by Eric Kripke. It stars Jared Padalecki & Jensen Ackles as Sam & Dean Winchester. When Sam & Dean were very young their mother Marry was murdered in an incredibly bizarre way inside their home. After seeing what happened to his wife John Winchester, Sam & Dean’s father, took his kids and tried to track down who or what killed her. Flash forward 22 years later; the Winchesters have yet to find what killed Marry and John is now missing, so Dean and Sam must set out to find him. Since the death of Marry the Winchesters have become a family of monster hunters, so while Sam & Dean do their best to follow their dad’s trail they also hunt and kill every monster they can find. From classic monsters like Spirits and Demons to ones you may have never heard of like Wendigos; Sam & Dean are constantly facing new challenges and evils, which keep the show fresh, exciting and fairly scary.
The show is partly a horror show and relies on the traditional pop-out and grab you sort of horror as opposed to the new sort of horror, which is just a lot of gore all the time, which I think is great since I don’t care for the constant gore. The show may be creepy at times and even scary, but at its core it is about the characters. In a way the show is sort of procedural, since every episode sets the brothers out on a new case hunting new monsters in a new town, but it never really feels that way and you can’t just jump in every few episodes because the show focuses so heavily on developing its characters. Every episode is an important part of the show’s story because it reveals more and more about the Winchesters, both the sons and the father. Sam & Dean despite being raised to kill monsters, which is very different from what any of us spent our youth doing, are very likeable and relatable. One of the ways that they make the characters so appealing is by showing their relationship as brothers and having light hearted and really funny moments to break up all the dark and depressing moments that fill their lives. Despite being a very serious show the humour never feels forced except for the times when Dean, the more laid back of the two, tries to force jokes at which point Sam always gets annoyed and tells him to knock it off because it isn’t appropriate. So you never get those mood-breaking jokes that all the characters just gloss over because the writer really wanted to use the joke or pun he just thought up. While the Winchesters’ characters are constantly being developed more and more throughout each episode, the writers also do a fantastic job of writing the story and lines of all the characters that Sam and Dean come in contact with in each and every episode, making for some very memorable characters despite the fact that you only see them in one episode. Another thing about the show that I love is the lore that they build for it. The writers search through tons of real world lore about each monster in the show and they take the best pieces and add some of their own to make the monsters different from previous iterations that you might have seen elsewhere. The monsters are always entertaining to see and the action scenes are great; the very first episode features a great fight between Sam & Dean that really sets the stage for how badass these guys are and the visceral action scenes to come.
Supernatural has a cast of just two people so even if they find a lot of great people, which they do, to fill all the other roles that change from episode to episode it all rest with Jared and Jensen. Luckily they are great actors that can handle carrying the show on their backs. They are both very talented and I don’t think I can say which of them is better because they both did a fantastic job, but the story tends to focus a little more on Jared’s character so he does have slightly more pressure. They both give great performances detailing a wide range of emotions because their roles are so expansive as the only cast members. They really do a stellar job of making the audience connect and sympathize with each of them. Plus their phenomenal chemistry together enhances their scenes above what each of their individual performances would be, especially in the more dramatic ones.
The first season does a great job of introducing Sam and Dean and showing off their strengths, weaknesses and relationship with one another as well as with their father. It has a lot of great stories that take place in self contained episodes as well as an interesting overall story arch in the search for John that really impacts Sam & Dean in every episode because they are constantly wondering if he is alright and it gets really interesting to see that towards the end of the season. There is also another story arch that starts to develop as the show approaches the middle of the season that I won’t give away that raises a lot of interesting questions and is very intriguing.
First seasons are always tricky because they have to basically lay the ground work and try out some things so that the seasons to follow can learn from any mistakes and build upon what worked. Yet somehow in its very first season Supernatural immediately finds its style and tone and just fires on all cylinders. It blends dramatic scenes with scares alongside humour then adds action and somehow none of it ever feels forced and it all works in some amazing synergetic way. The show has great acting, characters, writing and even the directing is fantastic enough that I feel I should mention it. If you have yet to check out this show you must buy the first season right away and if you jumped in late and have yet to see how it started then you really should go back through the whole series from the beginning, I did and I am incredibly glad about that decision. The first season is an incredible triumph, the best beginning to any show I have ever seen.
Score: 4/5
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