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Why I Quit Supernatural

Supernatural poster

A handful of you follow me on Twitter, so you might be aware that tonight, after the ninth season finale, I quit Supernatural–a show I became aware of two years ago and then promptly became so disappointed in that I threw in the towel before the show even got canceled. Well, if only for my own sanity, I’m going to tell you why.

Because when I started this show, it was about two brothers fighting evil, not two brothers fighting each other over the same issue over and over again.

Because when I started this show, it was about both Dean and Sam, not just Dean and how “awesome” the writers and the fandom think he is.

Because it used to make me think, make me feel, make me laugh, make me cry, make me hope, make me wonder.

Because Dean Winchester used to be a complicated, sympathetic big brother with Daddy issues, not a selfish, cowardly, arrogant prick who constantly thinks he knows better than his “little brother.”

Because Sam Winchester used to be an angry boy trying to step out of his brother’s shadow, and now he’s an angry man who keeps a holding pattern in a destructive, abusive relationship with someone incapable of letting him go.

Because it used to stretch up into the stars and pluck out ideas and spread them out on a map and make us chase after them to find the answers they left for us.

Because it used to have memorable, important, vibrant characters from all walks of life.

Because it used to respect the female gender and wrote women with purpose, great backstories, fantastic delivery, and colorful personalities instead of the same boring women copy/pasted and killed off just to make the Winchesters guilty.

Because it used to be able to keep up with its own continuity and wove in threads between seasons like a great tapestry should.

Because it used to have one-liners that made me laugh so hard, I had to pause the video and tweet about it.

Because it used to creep me out so badly that I couldn’t look in a mirror for weeks after watching “Bloody Mary.”

Because it used to know how to break the fourth wall, or paint it, or lean on it, without having to rely on memes or outdated pop culture references.

Because it used to have monsters I never heard of from all kinds of cultures and (except for those lame-ass vampires) made them bold and intriguing.

Because Sam left his own brother in Purgatory for a year just to hook up with some bland girl and a dog.

Because Dean chose a stupid, uninteresting, stereotypical Cajun vampire over his brother because “Benny never betrayed me” despite the fact that Dean has only lived this long thanks to his real brother.

Because Dean constantly chooses to “die alone” instead of trusting the one person on this earth who has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he has the strength and intelligence to fight and save the world.

Because the writers are so busy trying to wink at the camera with Meta-Metatron that they don’t see what a pathetic, badly-paced, horribly written, sickeningly sexist script they wrote for season nine.

Because I used to look up to this show and proudly wear the t-shirts my brother bought me for my birthday with Dean, Cas, and Sam on them, and now I shove them to the back of my closet in shame.

Because Sam and Dean were once two normal guys with a bad home life trying to make things right, and now they are just hollow zombies of what they once were because the CW doesn’t want to lose 12 million viewers rather than ending a show that shouldn’t have made it past season seven.

Because I would rather quit now, when I hate everything this show has become, than force myself to see how much more terrible it can become before the end.

Because as much as I love Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins, and Mark Sheppard, I’d rather put the series to rest than risk losing respect for them as actors for continuing to work on such a rancid show.

Because I loved this show when I started it, now I couldn’t care less about it.

Because I just watched a psychotic angel stab Dean Winchester in the chest, and I felt absolutely nothing.

Because there is no more wonder for the Winchesters to explore.

Because it is the only show on network television in 2014 that does not have a main female cast member (and I don’t care if it’s the studio being cheap, the fandom being a bunch of nasty bitches, or the writers being sexist, that is fucking unacceptable).

Because I’d rather not see if the writers sink low enough to make “Destiel” canon just because majority the fandom says that’s the way it should be.

Because it hurts to see a show I once respected in the highest regard for its originality, zest for the occult, and unapologetic tinkering with well-known tropes fall so far and continue to crawl through the mud like a mongrel.

It is for these reasons, and so many more, that I say goodbye to Supernatural tonight. You were great, once upon a time. But I can’t do this anymore. I can’t pretend that you aren’t a ghost. So I will burn your bones and salt the earth to let you go.

After all, you’ve been dead for years.

You just didn’t know it.

R.I.P.

Sincerely,

Kyoko M.

 

Things Supernatural Taught Me About Writing

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If you’ve never seen Supernatural, shame on you. Go sit in the corner and think about what you’ve done. Now.

If you have seen Supernatural, then you are one tough son of a gun. Supernatural is known for a lot of things—creative monsters, the world’s hottest main cast, hilarious dialogue, unapologetic Fourth Wall breaking—but the reason it was recommended to me by my writing sensei was because it had a lot to teach me about writing. Plus, my angsty Winchesters and their emotionally constipated angel friend Castiel are returning to the airwaves tonight, so let’s get started, shall we?

  1. People love to be emotionally gut-punched. And boy, Supernatural does NOT pull its punches. It introduces you to an entire rainbow of interesting, three-dimensional characters, makes you care about them, makes you bond with them, and then snatches them right out of your hands like a bully grabbing a kid’s lunch money. The relationship between Sam and Dean is Emmy-worthy because there are so many layers to the boys’ personalities. They are constantly bickering, constantly arguing, constantly not trusting each other, and yet they will die for one another at the drop of a hat. Several times, mind you. Supernatural is addictive because it barges its way into the watchers’ hearts and then proceeds to detonate like an atom bomb. This is something that all writers should strive to do. Even if your main character is an unrepentant a-hole of epic proportions, the readers should still find themselves attached to them and want to know what happens to them down the road.
  2. You cannot please everyone. Supernatural is also infamous for its loyal but rabid fanbase. Half of said fanbase is hilarious, thoughtful, and creative. The other half is full of angry, petty, self-righteous jerks. The Supernatural writers have done a lot of things over the course of the show’s eight seasons to appease the fanbase, but it is still impossible to make all of them happy. There are several examples of the writers trying to keep their fans happy. It’s no secret that the fanbase and the writers favor Dean over Sam after season five. He gets the better storylines, the better girlfriends, the funnier lines of dialogue, and is usually characterized as being “right” when the two of them are having an argument. He is also inexplicably popular because majority of the fanbase insists that he’s madly in love with Castiel. The writers have been playing to this angle ever since season six, and while the fans clearly enjoy the Dean-heavy emphasis, they still complain unrepentantly about Dean/Castiel (dubbed “Destiel”) not being “canon.” If anything, this has taught me that no matter what I write, someone will have a problem with it. Even if I acknowledge things that the readers want to see happy, I will still piss someone off. The key is to find balance. Find a way to write that makes both me and the readers happy. It is hard to accomplish, but many novels and shows have proven it is possible.
  3. Variety is the spice of life. Supernatural gained its popularity largely through the first four seasons. Its premise captured the interest of the audience because it adopted the idea that almost all myths, legends, and monsters exist within the same universe. The writers did their homework and dug up literally dozens of types of mythical predators and brought them into the real world with fantastic results. This is something I have tried to take to heart with my own writing in terms of the setting, the imminent threat, and the villain of my stories. No one wants to read the same novel with a different name. Even if it’s in the same series, the plot and storyline should move, evolve, and develop over time.
  4. Know when to quit while you’re ahead. Okay, this is going to be controversial so let me just get it out of the way. I personally think Supernatural should have ended a couple seasons ago. God knows I love Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Jim Beaver, Misha Collins, Mark Sheppard and company, but in my opinion, the last two seasons have been rather poorly done. I feel this way because Supernatural has covered so many stories, so many monsters, and so many conflicts between the brothers that they have honestly run out of ideas. For instance, season eight had a lot of recycled plotlines and moments between the brothers, and it also ended up casting them in an unflattering light. Sam not looking for Dean because he wanted a boring girlfriend and a dog was absolutely idiotic writing and completely out of character. They didn’t even attempt to justify his actions. He just…didn’t look for him. The seasons prior showed Sam’s desire to eventually quit the life of a hunter, but this season made him look like a total jackass. It worked in the other seasons because Sam knew Dean could take care of himself. With Dean in Purgatory, Sam knew he’d be in constant danger and yet he still didn’t do anything about it with no true explanation as to why. Then when Dean found out, he lorded it over Sam and acted as if Sam hasn’t saved his life a hundred times and died for him at least twice. To make matters worse, he starts treating the generic vampire Benny like his actual brother because he’s “never disappointed him” and basically acts like a stuck up, self-righteous douchebag for most of the season. Granted, all of this is subjective and many people will disagree with me, but the concept is what has taught me a lesson. It has made me examine my writing and decide if certain stories are going to be one off, have a sequel, or have the potential to become an entire series. One should know ahead of time if they have the fuel to go the distance of Alex Cross, Harry Dresden, or Sherlock Holmes before they accidentally stall out and end up stranded.
  5. Don’t fear the fairer sex. There are a bunch of ladies in Supernatural whom I completely adore—Pamela, Meg, Ellen, the list goes on and on. Yet, have you noticed something? The show has been on for eight freaking seasons and there is no female main cast member. That chaps my Bat-briefs. I do not understand why Supernatural is so unwilling to have a female main character who is a regular. Granted, it took them eight seasons just to add Misha Collins as a main cast member (seriously, what the hell) but I don’t understand. They also have a bad habit of mistreating all recurring female characters by killing them off just to make the Winchesters feel bad, but it still makes the writers seem like they don’t quite care for the fairer sex even though they clearly can write them competently. Now, my current theory is that the fanbase has a hand in the lack of ladies sticking around. As I mentioned before, the Destiel fangirls will cry bloody murder on any of Dean’s love interests but this female lead wouldn’t need to be a love interest. She could just be another hunter, or if they were smart, they’d make her a monster with a heart of gold who wants to help them. I actually would have liked Meg to join the main cast because she is so entertaining and she was starting to turn a corner before season eight ruined everything. I keep this in mind when I write. The character of The Black Parade tends to have a lot of male counterparts because the story is loosely based off of Paradise Lost, but I still make sure to find time for other ladies in her life. The first novel is still male centric, but the second and third ones depart from that. It can be hard sometimes, but I think it’s important for every writer to portray both genders equally and with all three dimensions intact.

Overall, I’m actually happy my writing sensei talked me into partaking in Supernatural. Even though I have problems with the current seasons, it has definitely taught me a lot of do’s and don’ts, and I believe I am more rounded writer thanks to them. Here’s to you, Winchesters.

-Kyoko