#spn rewatch is done!!!

[s0fter-sin]

one of my favourite aspects of supernatural that you very rarely see in paranormal shows is that sam and dean are already versed in the world they live in. there’s no sudden discovery of ghosts and demons and now they have to learn about them along with the audience; they are born into it and already know all about it. it allows the audience to follow their personal story instead of also trying to figure out this new world and its rules

the first season is full of knowledge we never see them learn; “w*ndigoes are in the minnesota woods or- or northern michigan. i’ve never even heard of one this far west.” […] “great. well then this [his gun] is useless.” (1x02), “you don’t break a curse. you get the hell out of its way.” (1x08), d: “it’s a god. a pagan god, anyway.” […] “the annual cycle of its killings? and the fact that the victims are always a man and a woman. like some kind of fertility right.” […] s: “the last meal. given to sacrificial victims. d: “yeah, i’m thinking a ritual sacrifice to appease some pagan god.” (1x11)

almost every episode in the first season is a monster they’ve faced before that they then explain to the audience in a way that should feel patronising; like it’s the same speech given over and over again but instead, the audience almost feels included in the knowledge. it’s stated with such an innate confidence and comfort in said knowledge that it feels like we already knew it too; “spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. if they want inside, they just go through the walls.” […] “the claws, the speed that it moves; could be a skinwalker, maybe a black dog.” (1x02), “it's biblical numerology. you know noah's ark, it rained for forty days. the number means death.” (1x04), “no no no, not the reaper, a reaper. there's reaper lore in pretty much every culture on earth, it goes by 100 different names.” […] “you said it yourself that the clock stopped, right? reapers stop time. and you can only see 'em when they're coming at you which is why i could see it and you couldn't.” (1x12)

they already know and, at least in the first season, already have what they need to kill whatever they’re hunting; already know to salt and burn bones for spirits, fire for a w*ndigo, exorcisms for demons, a silver bullet to the heart for shapeshifters. there’s only three times in the entire first season that they run into something new to them; 1x14 when sam gets his first vision that leads him to another psychic, 1x16 when dean calls caleb for help on the sigil he put together and he tells him about daevas, and 1x20 when they find out vampires are real- and they only don’t know that bc john thought they were hunted to extinction and not worth mentioning

(there’s also technically two half instances if you count one of them knowing something the other doesn’t - sam figuring out the tulpa in 1x17 and dean already knowing about the shtriga in 1x18 - but those still rely on sam and dean having prior knowledge)

even when they’re uncertain about facing something, it’s not bc they don’t know what it is; it’s precisely bc they know what it is and acknowledge that it’ll be a difficult hunt (“i don't know, man. this isn't our normal gig. i mean, demons, they don't want anything, just death and destruction for its own sake. this is big. and i wish dad was here.” 1x04)

so much of the tension in paranormal shows typically comes from the main character(s) not knowing what is happening to them/the people around them and having to find out how to resolve it. supernatural is unique in that it operates more like a police procedural. the tension comes from solving the clues and identifying patterns to figure out who (what) the killer is and intercepting before they can take another victim

it’s such a different tone to go for when compared to other shows that came both before, during, and after its run. it sets sam and dean on even footing with each other since they both have the same knowledge going in, and it puts them in a place of authority usually reserved for an outside character

the shows i compare spn to most is charmed, buffy and teen wolf; every main character in those shows are brought into the paranormal world knowing nothing, putting them on the same level as the audience, and they have their mc interact with others already knowledgeable about that world in order to overcome their problem/monster of the week. the audience organically learns about this new world as the characters learn about it. it’s a sound writing strategy that prevents “as we already know”-style exposition but something that complicates it is if your world building isn’t unique or intriguing enough, this slow introduction can become boring

we’ve seen shows like these before; sitting through the same tropes of characters learning to use their powers, struggling with no longer feeling normal/relating to the regular world around them, and not knowing how much they can trust the people already involved in this new world gets repetitive. all three shows eventually reach the same level of comfort with their new world that spn starts with but if the characters aren’t enough to draw you in, you can end up dropping it before they reach that point (and often, before the overarching plot can really kick in and evolve the show beyond the villain of the week format)

it’s the superhero origin movie in tv format; dragged out and overplayed. dropping the audience into an established world of course comes with its own problems but you also have the benefit of pre-existing established character dynamics that let the audience slot in like they’ve always been there instead of just getting to know all the characters while the characters also get to know each other

sam and dean already knowing about the supernatural lets the audience immediately get to the core of the story; the conflict between sam and dean, the search for their father, and the mystery of what killed their mother

[ananke-xiii]

dude, sam winchester has been addicted to demon blood, possessed by lucifer, in the cage in hell, soulless, mentally abused by satan, possessed by a psycho angel, tortured by the MoL and yet

If asked what's the worst he had to go through

I'm 100% positive his answer would be:

"Living in a secret bunker with my closeted brother and his not-so-secret-husband angel and having to be the peacemaker in all their stupid quarrels"

I tell you, this man is DONE, i can't understand why the writers didn't give him a scene where he just screams at them. I would.

[bloodfreak-boyking]

and you feel your heart taking root in your body, like you’ve discovered something you didn’t even have a name for.

[supernatural, 2x5 "Simon Said" // richard siken, "You Are Jeff"]

[lazarrusrising]

Also that post that says Cas would have snapped if he ever had to watch Dean die the number and ways that Dean had to watch him die is so on the money, he watched Dean choke on a little spell and he's proposing euthanasia. I also wonder how much of this has come from that time Naomi made him kill Dean over and over again as conditioning?

[youchangedmedestiel]

Favorite shot of Dead in the Water (1x03):

Dean sort of looking at his young self, scared and voiceless. Either because he's not talking or because nobody is listening, but Dean does listen here. He's being the ear and comfort he needed when he, himself, was young.

[sammy-the-boyking]

dean sending sam a fake text from amelia in s8 and showing absolutely no remorse about it (and in fact, sticking by it and saying he made "the right call") is fucking insane actually

[dotthings]

Haha spn yes covering this with a thin of veneer of it’s supposed to be funny but Dean is awfully flustered and adorable about Aaron flirting with him and the way the scene with Aaron is filmed has some things that…like, give me pause. What it emphasizes. Then in the next scene there of course has to be line where he refers to the two hot women from the volleyball team because nothing to see where whatsoever yup right *WINK*. Because if they push too hard on this for Dean, the corporate suits will get alarmed. So spn had to use Hayes code style hijinks. And Sgriccia and Edlund (the ep writer) on the DVD commentary talking about the potentialities of Dean being a “love in all places” kind of person.

[jijikuroneko]

headcanon: sam stops being a bitch in s8 and benny is actually resurrected once he saves sam from purgatory, he joins the winchesters and help them shut down the gates of hell🤞🏼

after that he sitcks around and helps them hunt down other monsters too I DON’T CARE HE DESERVED BETTER

[monstermoviedean]

full-on crying at this. he deserves to be wrapped in hugs every single moment of his life.

[sammygender]

sam winchester / “black hair” - alex g

[bloodfreak-boyking]

*sighs* its been 1 0 days since our last 'how to look at your brother' incident

[babygirldeansblog]

his face when he realized he was the first seal, that he started all this. On the head of a pin is the worst and absolute cinema at once, I hate how he blames himself for it, but like i don't, i need to hug him 😔

[stanfordapartment]

rewatching the pilot and holy shit you forget what good dialogue is like. we're 10 minutes in (4 of those minutes dedicated only to the prologue sequence) and so many lines have been iconic foundational character lines.

[youchangedmedestiel]

Favorite shot of Hook Man (1x07):

This is the first time a grave is opened and the bones are burned. And Dean is alone doing this while Sam is with the girl. Look at him, all dirty and looking like he's making fire with his fingers, while the flashlight is under his other arm. Ain't he a cutie!

Anyway, it also looks a lot like the t-shirt he's wearing when he's in Hell.

[moonysmagicwand]

"It's like there's a light at the end of the tunnel"

"It's hellfire, Dean"

S3 x ep1 I present you Supernatural in two lines