Summary
Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki shared flawless chemistry throughout the fifteen seasons ofSupernatural, butthere is one character that I wanted to see more of. Since launching in 2005,Supernaturalfinally finished 15 years later, in 2020, making it North America’s longest-running sci-fi series in history. Creator ofSupernatural,Eric Kripke successfully fleshed out America’s urban legends via the Winchester brothers all the way up untilSupernaturalseason 15. I was always sold on the brothers' dynamic, but the show could have developed it further by spending more time on supporting characters.
Dean Winchester’s Chevy Impala may have been the third Winchester brother and was, at the very least, the most important and prevalent setting throughout the whole show, which was essentially a serialized road story. Played by Ackles, Dean’s drama with his brother Sam took place mostly within the confines of the Impala. Not even having to challengingly tie off fifteen years worth of this complexity in theSupernatural series finalemade me less convinced by the brothers' arc throughout the show. However,one small adjustment may have explained a little more about Jared Padalecki’s tortured Sam.
Supernatural: The Most Powerful Creatures, Officially Ranked
Dean and Sam have battled many dangerous creatures on Supernatural. These are the most powerful beings they’ve faced yet.
Supernatural Should Have Utilized Jess More (Especially In Its Early Episodes)
Jess Was A Missed Opportunity
Jessica Moore, played by Adrianne Palicki, was Sam Winchester’s girlfriend inSupernaturalseason 1, but I wanted a bigger role for her in the show. Jess provided the eye candy in the show’s first episode, allowing Ackles to introduce himself as the morally unconventional flirt of a brother to Padalecki’s Sam.Sam pushed Jess asideon his way out to find his dad with Dean, as she helplessly asked if he could at least tell her where he was going. This wasn’t my problem, this was key to Sam’s grief, because his dismissal would haunt him.
Jensen Ackles helmed aSupernaturalprequel spinoff released in 2022 titledThe Winchesters.
This, plus the otherbrief setup that episode 1 did with Jess, didn’t show me much about herother than her beauty and support of Sam. The show put her on a pedestal, an idealized lost love, doomed to mystery forever. This was poignant, but more detail about whySam and Jess were perfect togetherwould have contextualized the coming episodes better for me. Sam’s dismissal would haunt him because the next time he saw Jess, she was pinned to the ceiling, dying in the same way as his mother.Supernaturalcould have worked more toward this pivotal moment.
I Don’t Think The CW Series Handles Sam’s Grief Over Jess Well At All
Sam’s Grief Doesn’t Quite feel Earned
I appreciated the cyclicality of the deaths in episode 1, with Jess following Mary, butperhaps episode 1 could have spent longer on Jess, or the show could have waited until episode 2 or 3 to kill her. As the Winchester brothers' dynamic proved,Supernaturalnever needed long to create a powerful emotional connection between myself and its characters. Spending more time establishing this emotional connection between me and Jess would have had me grieving along with Sam after Jess died.
Sam Winchester’s mistakesweighed heavily on his mind after Jess died in episode 1, and he went on to show his grief for her loss in the coming episodes.Neglecting to show details of Sam and Jess’s love meant that I didn’t understand quite how much love Sam had lost, so his grief could have felt more earned and convincing. To add to this,Supernaturalwent on to focus more on its primary premise, the hunting of monsters. This episodic focus put Sam’s grief on the backburner and glazed over his feelings about Jess, missing an opportunity to deepen his character.
How Supernatural Could Have Worked Jess Into More Episodes After Her Death
Jess’s Death Didn’t Have To Mean Her Absence
I may have preferred Jess’s death in episode 1 ifSupernaturalhad considered giving Palicki’s Jess more screen time afterward. Many characters were revisited in flashbacks, proving that there could have been more Jess flashbacks. Additionally, being a show about the supernatural,Supernaturaloften involved plot devices that enabled the exploration of the past or of dead characters. AndPalicki did return in a few episodes, but not in a way that felt significant. Supernatural teased Sam’s fixation on Jess, but it wasn’t prioritized.
Jess was included as a dream in episodes in seasons 1 and 2, which helped me see the lingering effect of her passing, but it wasn’t sufficient.Supernatural"fridging" Jess, to use the Hollywood terminology for killing off a female character to motivate a male character, was actually revealed to be self-aware and in very fair intention as the show went on. You could say thatSam was arguablySupernatural’smain character, so the psychological realism of his mourning and goals was important. SoSam’s grief and motivation could have been developed further.
Supernaturalcould have employed hypothetical scenes earlier or more often to more aptly communicate Jess as the formative influence that she was.
Supernaturaldid touch more on using a Palicki reappearance to deepen audience sympathy for Sam. WhenDean saw Sam and Jess in a dream-world created by a djinn, I was taken along with Dean on his journey into Sam and Jess’s relationship. Both Dean and I started to understand the tragedy of Jess’s death, seeing the potential of their love, stable and approaching an engagement.Supernaturalcould have employed hypothetical scenes earlier or more often to more aptly communicate Jess as the formative influence that she was.
Supernatural
Cast
Supernatural is a television series that follows brothers Sam and Dean Winchester, who were raised by their father to hunt and combat supernatural entities after losing their mother to a demonic force. Traversing the American landscape in their ‘67 Chevy Impala, they face numerous paranormal threats.
