Supernatural (TV series)

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Supernatural is an ongoing TV series that began in 2005.

It follows two 20-something brothers, who, following in their missing father's footsteps, travel across the United States to fight monsters and other supernatural villains, while trying to avenge their mother, who was killed by a demon when the younger of the two brothers was an infant. The series' developing family drama and the emotional connection between the two brothers hides under a tough, roadtrip-and-rock'n'roll macho exterior.

Season summaries
  • Season 1 - The guys reunite, looking for their father; Sam starts having visions, connected to the death of his mother / girlfriend via the Yellow-Eyed Demon.
  • Season 2 - Sam's visions are getting more intense; it turns out that a lot of other kids in the same circumstances are also developing powers. The season culminates in a face-off engineered by the Yellow-Eyed Demon, and Sam's death; Dean makes a crossroads deal to bring his brother back to life.
  • Season 3 - Sam & Dean try to thwart Dean's deal with the Devil, to no avail.
  • Season 4 - Dean is brought back from Hell by the Angels, in order to fight against Lilith's effort to bring Lucifer back to Earth.
  • Season 5 - The Apocalypse is on.
  • Season 6 - Soulless!Sam, and then Eve, and Castiel's mysterious behavior ....
  • Season 7 - the Leviathan ...

Premise & Treatment of Female Characters

The show's premise is unabashedly patriarchal: two guys on a roadtrip solving supernatural crimes, while they try to avenge their loved ones' deaths, and dealing with their father-son/brother relationships. The historical founding motivation for the series was the deaths of the boys' mother, triggering their father's quest and their own unusual upbringing. This was "bookended" by the death of the younger brother's girlfriend, triggering the brothers' reunification on a related quest. "One of the original ideas was for Sam's girlfriend Jessica being revealed as a demon, which prompts him to join Dean on the road; however, [creator Eric] Kripke felt it was more appropriate for Sam's motivation to be Jessica's death, so he had her killed in the same manner as Sam's mother, making them the "right bookends"."[1] This is an exemplar of the sexist trope, identified and named "women in refrigerators" by Gail Simone.

In execution, the show is something of the anti-Buffy, where the men fight the monsters and women are motivators or support. (There was even an episode that openly mocked Buffy fandom, by including clueless male geeks who wondered what Buffy would do in a given situation.) The major living female characters are supporting characters: Ellen Harvelle and her daughter, Jo Harvelle. The series makes a few attempts at avoiding the damsel-in-distress cliché in its weekly storytelling, but has also been significantly critiqued for use of misogynistic language ("bitch" is routinely used by the brothers both to insult female antagonists and within playful banter with each other) and graphic violence against women, often sexualized women. The show's focus is on male-male bonding -- brothers, on a roadtrip, often dealing with their father-son issues, while they try to avenge or solve crimes relating to female loved ones.

Fan-Fiction / Slash / Vidding

Several fan writers have taken to slashing the two brothers, who are played by very handsome actors and share an intense relationship onscreen -- a slash fandom known as "Wincest" (Winchester / incest). Fandom of the two as children is known as weechester (wee / Winchester).

At least two significant vids have focused on gender issues, including the frequent use of misogynistic slurs, violence against women, and sexualization of women. These include:


Women in Production Roles

While a significant proportion of episodes (8/22; 11/22; 7/16; 9/22; 8/22; 7/22 - total, 50/126 or 39.6%) have been written or co-written by women, the producers have done a much poorer job of hiring women directors -- only two women, Rachel Talalay and Jan Eliasberg, have ever been hired to direct an episode of Supernatural, in all 126 episodes. Executive producer Sera Gamble took over as showrunner beginning with the sixth season, and stepped down after the end of the seventh season.

Characters

Regulars
  • Sam Winchester (b. May 2, 1983), the younger brother, played by Jared Paladecki
  • Dean Winchester (b. Jan. 24, 1979), the older brother, played by Jensen Ackles (previously from Dark Angel)


Recurring family
  • John Winchester, the father, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Season 1 primarily; recurrent in other seasons)
  • Mary Winchester (d. Nov. 2, 1983) (in dreams & flashbacks mostly)
  • Jessica Moore (Sam's girlfriend; in episode 1, and then occasionally in dreams & flashbacks)


Recurring demons, spirits, supernatural characters, etc.
  • Meg Masters - a female demon, the daughter of Azazel (Season 1 primarily; occasional in seasons 2, 4, 5)
  • Azazel, the "yellow-eyed demon" responsible for death of Winchesters' mom, and others
  • Trickster (see supernatural-fan-wiki.com)
  • Crossroads Demon - appeared as a woman in most episodes (Seasons 2 & 3) until Sam shoots her in the head.
  • Ruby (demon) - demon / former witch (Season 3 & Season 4)
  • Lilith - demon (seasons 3-4)
  • Castiel - angel (beginning with Season 4)
  • Uriel - angel (season 4, 5)
  • Anna Milton - fallen angel (season 4-5)
  • Zachariah - angel (season 4-5)
  • Lucifer - fallen angel (season 5)


Recurring hunters, associates, allies
  • Ellen Harvelle - owner of the "Harvelle's Roadhouse", a gathering spot for Hunters (Season 2 primarily; also 5)
  • Jo Harvelle - daughter of Ellen Harvelle (Season 2 primarily; also 5)
  • Ash (Season 2)
  • Bobby Singer (beginning with Season 2)
  • Gordon Walker (hunter; season 2-3)
  • Pamela Barnes (psychic; introsued season 4 episode 1)


Recurring other characters
  • Texas "ghostfacers"
  • FBI / killed S3
  • Bela Talbot - thief (Season 3)
  • Lisa Braeden - a former liaison, yoga teacher, mother of Ben; appears in flashbacks, memories, etc., Season 3, after The Kids Are Alright

notes

  1. ↑ "Supernatural (TV series)", Wikipedia entry, visited 2011/08/31 ... citing Nicholas Knight, (Season 1 Companion), p.13.


Further reading


Feminist discussion


Entries in reference databases


Supernatural wikis
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