16 Years Later, It’s Time to Admit 1 of Supernatural’s Highest-Rated Episodes Made the Show’s Most Frustrating Trend Even Worse

16 Years Later, It's Time to Admit 1 of Supernatural's Highest-Rated Episodes Made the Show's Most Frustrating Trend Even Worse

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Throughout the 15 years Supernatural was running, every fan had a different type of episode that became their overall favorite. Some of the most popular installments are the comedic relief, such as «Mystery Spot» and «The French Mistake,» highlighting how important humor was in this often serious narrative. Other viewers lived for the dramatic season finales, such as «All Hell Breaks Loose» and «Swan Song.»

The drastic difference between fan-favorite Supernatural episodes emphasizes how complex the show was, providing a wide variety of themes, tropes, and plot devices that many different viewers could enjoy. However, some of the most common tropes in the show grew unpopular the more they were overused. For one highly-rated episode, a shocking turn of events that successfully left the viewers emotionally stimulated is now looked upon less favorably because it started arguably the least liked trope in the series.

"Abandon All Hope…" Features Two Tragic Deaths

16 Years Later, It's Time to Admit 1 of Supernatural's Highest-Rated Episodes Made the Show's Most Frustrating Trend Even Worse

In Season 5, Episode 10, «Abandon All Hope…» of Supernatural, the Winchesters and their allies team up to face off with Lucifer and try to stop him from starting the apocalypse. This episode is known for introducing fan-favorite character Crowley, a demon and the King of Hell, who willingly gives the Winchesters the demon-killing Colt to aid in their fight against the devil. However, the episode is also well-known for featuring one of the most heartbreaking Supernatural scenes in the show’s 15 seasons.

When Sam and Dean arrive in the town of Carthage with Castiel, Ellen Harvelle (Samantha Ferris), and Jo Harvelle (Alona Tal), they learn that Lucifer is trying to release Death from their cage in Hell. Before they can face off with the devil himself, the demon Meg confronts them with a pack of Hellhounds. During the fight, Jo Harvelle is mortally wounded and, when all hope seems lost, Ellen and Jo choose to sacrifice themselves, detonating a bomb to kill the Hellhounds and offering Sam and Dean an opportunity to escape.

This was a tragic event that killed off two of Sam and Dean’s closest allies and friends, but it was even more heartbreaking that they did nothing to thwart Lucifer’s plan, eventually having to be rescued by Castiel. In an emotional final moment, Bobby burns the photo they all took together the night before, symbolizing the death of their found family members. While there are many tragic moments throughout Supernatural, this continued an unpopular trope that would become the most controversial among fans.

This Continued a Horrible Supernatural Trend

This was not the only devastating episode of Supernatural that featured the death of Sam and Dean’s loved ones. In the second season, the brothers faced with the tragedy of losing their father, John Winchester, who was their last known living blood relative. However, they didn’t have to rely on each other for the rest of their lives, developing a dedicated found family that would stand by their side through harrowing monster hunts, dangerous battles with angels and demons, and seemingly impossible world-saving missions.

Unfortunately, the viewers had to witness the life and death of all of Sam and Dean’s found family, leaving fans with very little hope for the supporting characters of Supernatural. In Season 7, they lost Bobby Singer, their surrogate father for many years, and then in Season 10, they lost their friend Charlie, who had become like a sister to them, during a battle with a powerful shapeshifter family. These key character deaths were not just devastating because they were fan-favorite characters, but because they added to the emotional stakes of the series by creating a loving atmosphere within the Winchesters’ unfortunate lives.

Even though some characters, like Castiel, were repeatedly brought back, and others, such as Charlie and Bobby, returned as alternate versions of themselves from Apocalypse World, the constant loss of Sam and Dean’s family members became an extremely unpopular trope. In the final couple of seasons, it was revealed that God (aka Chuck) had granted the Winchesters plot armor, which explained why they kept living (or coming back to life) while their friends died. Still, this excuse did not satisfy most viewers, especially those who thought the demise of beloved found family members was overused and unnecessarily utilized for shock value.

The Family Theme Fell Flat After This

16 Years Later, It's Time to Admit 1 of Supernatural's Highest-Rated Episodes Made the Show's Most Frustrating Trend Even Worse

Perhaps the most iconic quote from Supernatural is «Saving people, hunting things, the family business,» which describes the Winchesters’ dedication to hunting monsters and preventing innocent people from becoming prey. This theme was established at the beginning when viewers learned John Winchester raised his sons to be hunters, and was expanded on in later seasons when it was revealed their mother, Mary, was from a family of hunters. Even following the loss of all their immediate family members, Sam and Dean remained dedicated to this cause, seemingly keeping this core theme throughout the storyline.

Unfortunately, one of the harsh realities of being a Supernatural fan is that this theme fell flat the longer the series went on. As the brothers developed a strong and extended found family, which also featured characters that lived to the finale, such as Jodi Mills and Claire Novak, the «family business» seemed to also extend to non-blood family members. All the people closest to the Winchesters were as dedicated as they were, helping in various ways, including doing research, hunting monsters, and protecting Sam and Dean when they needed backup.

This was a great way to expand on the popular theme of family bonds in Supernatural, but it failed to impress viewers when Sam and Dean’s loved ones kept being killed off. Now, one could argue that the core family in the narrative was Sam and Dean, both of whom always put the other before anyone else. However, constantly adding dedicated members of their family only for them to be killed off was an unreasonably tragic trend that made this theme less impactful than it was in earlier seasons.

There Is Still Time To Remedy This Supernatural Failure

16 Years Later, It's Time to Admit 1 of Supernatural's Highest-Rated Episodes Made the Show's Most Frustrating Trend Even Worse

In the five years since the show concluded, there has been constant talk about a potential revival of Supernatural, which has become more likely as the creators and main actors express an interest in returning. With this in mind, there’s still an opportunity for the storyline to address some of the biggest fan complaints and offer a satisfying ending for other characters besides Sam and Dean. It would even be realistic, with cooperation from the actors, to resurrect beloved characters such as Ellen and Jo Harvelle.

While resurrection has become a contentious topic within the Supernatural fandom, there’s no way around the trend in a reboot, especially since Sam and Dean Winchester’s stories ended with them both dying and going to Heaven. Therefore, it’s completely reasonable to resurrect various found family members from the series, from earlier deaths like Ellen and Jo to later demises such as Kevin Tran and Charlie Bradbury. It may be unrealistic for viewers to expect all of Sam and Dean’s loved ones to return for a revival, but bringing some of these fan-favorite characters back to life would be a wonderful way to embrace one of the most crucial themes in the show.

Throughout the fifteen seasons of Supernatural, Ellen and Jo Harvelle’s deaths are just two examples of tragic demises that broke viewers’ hearts. This didn’t decrease the ratings of earlier episodes because unexpected tragedies added to the emotional stakes of the storyline. However, as the show went on, these repeated tropes proved to be problematic, creating an overall morbid tone that often overshadowed the intended impact of a given plot.

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