#theres supernatural to be watched

[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

[thebiggestmenace]

[samsno1]

i think constantly about the fact that sam let cas stay in his room with no exitation, better yet, OFFERED his room for cas to stay in while he recovered when he tells dean, his brother, to stay out of it

[hbo--spn]

OK THERE IS A PEAK OF ANOTHER CHAIN-NECKLACE UNDER DEAN'S SHIRT IN 2X4 AND I MUST KNOW WHAT IT IS

[luxurystark-jackson]

i have to genuinely ask. what is the point of the last episode??? they just. killed dean to make us sad. five straight minutes of dean dying and saying gayer shit to his brother than the angel he was supposed to be in love with. sam being miserable. what. was. the. point.

[cupidswurld]

thinking about supernaturals circular narrative. how i don’t (and won’t) watch sitcoms because of the conventions of a circular narrative.

the parallels of how characters are reduced into one-dimensional imitations of who the audience perceived them to be, boiled down into their most defining, dividing traits— a phenomenon exclusive to the intrinsic nature of sitcoms. thinking about how everything that is learnt in one episode, is forgotten in the next— how there is no progress, how there is no change and everything will always, always stay the same for the sake of the audience where nothings new.

part of why dean felt he wouldve been better off dead, about why he didnt deserve to be saved, was because he could never make any difference. how they were trapped by the same story, over and over again, that nothing mattered no matter what he did, because he'd just end up in the very same position he was 15 years ago. even before the insertion of chuck's storyline, before freewill, the pervasive hand of the writers have always held them down from the very first episode

[manichewitz]

rewatching supernatural season one is such a trip bc seeing sam and dean talk about following the orders of their father when he's not even around to give them, only having a leatherbound book he wrote to decipher what he wants, and arguing over whether or not they should have faith in him, when i know what i know about how the next several seasons play out, is like. wow. god really is just another absent father

[fanguysworld]

Hi! Person who is still getting used to tumblr after being a reddit user….

I just finished fantasy high season 3 and i really liked it, i loved all of the characters’ storylines and was so surprised by how good it was.

I understanded fundamentally that becase Beardsly is an openly queer afab person they receive unwarranted hate but when it first came out reddit was really gross and hating on Kristin’s behavior this year

Shes odd! And makes a few bad decisions! But one of my favorite things about the bad kids is how even in fantastical situations they act so awkwardly human! So stupidly humanly lovably teenaged! They capture the panic of social situations as an unprepared child whos being told theyre suddenly an adult beautifully! i really love them !! Kristen and Gorgug and Fabian and Riz and Adaine and Fig all had complex well rounded amazing stories that fit with real world problems and experiences teens have and put them into a crazy fantasy land!

And i put off watching for a rlly long time and im apologizing to myself cause its awesome

[bloodngutsr]

thinking about oil driller!sam and cowboy!dean.

thinking about dean who's known pretty well in the rundown little town of lawrence. he works for cheap, takes the odd little jobs when he's not herding cattle or helping fix the newest leak in someone's home or lending a hand at ol' bobby singer's farm.

dean whose dad pops in and out of town every few months to get drunk and ask for a couple of ten dollar bills - until, out of the blue, he stops showing. until dean gets a letter declaring him dead, with nothing but his journal full of scattered notes and his hat to show for it. dean doesn't even get to see his father's body.

but the town holds a funeral, because john may not have been a good man, but he had a family and a place in their church. and someone contacts dean's half-brothers - brothers he didn't know, by the names of sam and adam.

sam and adam come to town for a few days, making arrangements to stay with dean. unfortunately, sam and dean meet and immediately clash. dean rarely shaves his stubble and drinks while he works and whistles off-key tunes loud enough to make your ears bleed, while sam wears suits as pristine as the desert will allow for and tucks his head for prayer when the priest bids john goodbye and uses fancy language that grinds dean's gears. they're too busy squabbling to acknowledge that the heat that boils inside of them whenever they see each other might not just be anger.

by the time the few days are up and the funeral is over, both of them are all too ready to never see each other again. adam left as soon as the funeral ended, prepared to get away from his bickering brothers. dean makes it very clear that he wants sam out of his house as soon as possible.

sam is going out for a walk on his last morning in the town when he notices oil seepage down some of the more scenic paths. it's half out of spite that he buys some land in town, just enough to set up a drill and hire a few boys. he has the money to spend, even if it doesn't end up being anything good. unfortunately, most of his best crew can't get out there quick, not on the half-hearted chance of a good well.

he asks around town for the strongest men with the cheapest prices, and nearly everyone offers dean as the most reliable choice - and he ends up ruling out almost everyone else - maybe they're not fit to do the job, maybe they're just not interested in oil work. dean has been strapped for any bigger jobs since the spring roundup has finished up, so when sam disdainfully offers him a job, he has little choice but to agree.

it ends with the two of them stuck together in a little well, maybe 4x4 feet if we're being generous. sam doesn't usually get so hands-on - not anymore, at least - but he feels bad leaving dean down there alone.

there's oil bubbling up over their boots and onto their pants, coating the bottom lungs of the ladder they've messily hammered into the wall. the air is thick with their shared breath and the heat of their bodies as they drive the drill deeper into the rock. sam's overjoyed with the vein they've run into and dean is feeling the satisfaction of effort well spent and they're almost pressed together in that little space, heaving chest to heaving chest - and they're kissing before they're even thinking about it, adrenaline and unclean air and unfiltered heat pushing them against each other.

they're tangled in a sweaty mess, and dean's shirt is coated in oil and dust from where he's been pushed into the rock wall behind him and sam's bangs are stuck to his forehead with sweat, his fingers coated in thick, dark fluid that drips like pure shadow.

when they break apart, dark shadows cast over their faces and noses still brushing each other's, sam tries to swipe the oil off of dean's cheek with his thumb.

all he does is rub it in.

[love-songs-for-emma]

im actually amazed i cant find this;

SPN FRIENDS HII

do any of u know where i could find a gif of dean saying the iconic quote of "You know who wears sunglasses inside? Blind people. And douchebags." from s9 e5 "dog dean afternoon"

i SWEAR i had it saved years ago but i cant find it. pls help. xoxo

[silly-little-guy-and-co]

fell down the superwholock aunt to ourgoodshadows niece pipeline

[thebiggestmenace]

yk something I find interesting is how Castiel became "Cas" to the other angels. we know he became Cas so quickly to the boys, but don't angels always call each other their full names? yet, Anna (and I think the ones at the playground) called him Cas

idk it's interesting to me. like, was this them acknowledging that Cas lost his need to serve Heaven and him gaining a sense of humanity?

[tiny-pteranodon]

anyone into spn fandom needs to tell me why the destiel revelation was so unsatisfactory. i know it happened in the last season, was it the last fucking scene of the whole show?????

[enginator2000]

friendship ended with not drawing supernatural fanart, now jack is my best friend

[fanfictiongreenirises]

now that I'm almost five seasons into x-files, I absolutely get why the bug episode on spn exists