Supernatural: It Really Is
OKAY, Okay, I am doing this, because I've done a "OMG GUYS WATCH THE SHOW/KEEP WATCHING THE SHOW IT'S AWESOME" post for Stargate: Atlantis and haven't repeated the favour for Supernatural because I love it so much THERE AREN'T ACTUALLY WORDS FOR IT but in this post I will valiantly attempt to find some close equivalents.
Warning: This post contains spoilers for all five seasons up to 5x04, will cripple a dial-up connection, and does not contain Yo Momma jokes.
1. Intro
(How I Found Supernatural)
2. The Seasons
(From Ghosts To The Devil)
I. Season One - Two Guys, One Car
II. Season Two - All Hell Breaks Loose And Sam Gets Naked
III. Season Three - Dean Tries Not To Go To Hell, Fails
IV. Season Four - Angels And Demons And Seals, Oh My
V. Season Five - The Story So Far
3. The Boys
(Jensen, Jared and Misha)
4. Beauties And The Beasts
(The Goodies and the Baddies)
5. One Fine Lady
(The Impala)
6. The Music
(In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida Honey)
7. Conclusion
(The Bit Where I Give You A Peck On The Cheek And A Pat On The Bum)
1. Intro
Once upon a time at university, being a hardworking student I was diligently looking up blooper reels for Angel the series as I had yet to start hating that show and it clearly taught me a lot about supercomputers. Amused, but not sufficiently so, I started looking at other blooper reels, and came across the blooper reel for a show I'd never heard of featuring two Very Attractive Boys.
Click to viewNow, I am ashamed to say that being something of a television hermit who sat on a rocking chair watching bits of maybe one show a month while yelling "Damn you kids, get off my cave porch", I did not at this moment in time start watching the show, nor did I look up the two Very Attractive Boys in earnest. As ever, it was my little sister, a veritable Anna Wintour of determining what is worth watching and what is not, was the one to first go "I'm going to torrent this bitch" and make me watch the show with her.
Four or so years and five seasons later, I do not regret her decision, or generously letting her buy the seasons as they came out on DVD. And, if you'll permit me, or even if you don't (our show did help revive the career of the man who played The Comedian after all), I would like to take you on a journey through space and time of the reasons I will never be able to thank my sister enough for finding this show and why this is one of only three shows where I have knowingly watched every last episode.
2. The Seasons
I. Season One - Two Guys, One Car
Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemory, all alone in the mooooooooooooooooooonlight...
Supernatural season one had one of the best promos I've seen for a TV show in the UK since that bizarre and beautiful Lost promo with the dancing on the plane-crash beach, not just because it sticks in your head but because it sums up reasons for watching the show; pretty women, prettier boys, awesome monsters and even better music. About the only thing missing as a hook is our beloved Impala.
And a pilot with an ending that made you care about the rest of the season and what these two boys got up to in future:
But as with most shows, the very, very earliest episodes felt more like they were getting to grips with the characters, and it was more like a taste tester for where the show was going to end up.
The first episode that really, really swung me from mild interest into YES. THIS IS THE SHOW FOR ME?
Oh, wait, how did Dean's chest get in there? I meant;
Skin. A shapeshifter, but not just a "And now I look like you and will do evil things" shapeshifter, but one who can pull up memories from the person he's become a doppelganger of. And our shapeshifter had history of his own; briefly alluded to, but not a real reason for being as evil as it was. Dean with a knife was a visibly very, very sexy thing, the shapeshifting itself was deliciously gory, and the shapeshifter's interactions with Sam were... er... interesting, and also made me start to think that, okay, maybe it wasn't just videogame incest that I shipped, although at this point I was still in the "Well, that's interesting but NO, NO I MUSTN'T" stages.
Skin was also entertaining because it introduced us to Sam's greatest power. Greater than the ability to nuke Lilith, even.
The puppy-dog eyes.
Dean: Look, sorry about your buddy, okay? But this does not sound like our kind of problem.
Sam: It is our problem. They're my friends.
Dean: St. Louis is four hundred miles behind us, Sam.
WOAH, DEAN, DID YOU JUST PROTEST.
BECAUSE SAM REMEMBERS THAT TIME YOU ATED HIS COOKIE. HE REMEMBERS. HE KNOWS.
Dean reconsiders.
The end result is obvious.
After seeing the shapeshifter pull up Dean's repressed resentment in that episode, it was only fair Sam get a turn of his own;
And we also got our first glimpse of the fact that evil Sam is seriously, seriously hot.
However, as much as I adore Skin and Asylum, and find them exceedingly rewatchable, this is the episode that swung me from "highly interested" to "hooked":
Faith wasn't just good, it was brilliant. It felt like a mini-movie, and it still exemplifies many of the traits that made me fall in love with the show; Sam's need for hope, Dean's distrust of it and acceptance of death, a seriously badass monster, and emotional points that actually hit.
Plus, Dean's "ill" make-up was fantastic, and this was one of the first episodes when Jensen and Jared's irl friendship made the love between Dean and Sam (whether you view it as platonic or otherwise) feel real, not just played. You cared if Dean lived or died here.
And did I mention that the monster was awesome? Because seriously, the monster was awesome. I loved Tessa and all, but more of this style of reaper please <3.
We also had my favourite canon love interest (though not actually a girlfriend or wife) of all five seasons to date in this season:
And it helps that the actress was completely gorgeous and adorable in the outtakes too.
But Monster Of The Week will only carry a show so far: It was time for MORE PLOT, and although Home gave us wonderful snatches of it with Missouri (<3 <3 <3) and John -
Missouri: John Winchester, I could just slap you! Why don't you go and talk to your children?
John: I want to. You have no idea how much I want to see 'em but I can't, not yet. Not until I know the truth.
- not to mention the curiosity of Mary Winchester apologising to Sam and a thread where we were left waiting four seasons to finally find out why she made that apology in full!
So John returned:
Hi Sir!
And with him we learned of The Colt:
And to be quite honest, it's my favourite blatant plot device EVER. I love everything they've done with it. I love that it was a key to the Devil's trap; I love that it can kill ANYTHING; I love that it can be wielded by anyone; and I love, love, LOVE the backstory to it. The idea of Samuel Colt working with hunters still thrills me today because really, I'm a fangirl of cowboy movies (blame Clint Eastwood) for all their flaws, so that idea and all the little ideas that stem from it still makes me grin like a nut.
So, we get to the end of season one, and go OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL WHAT THE HELL WHAT THE HELL at the crash, and our boys are assumed dead; but as we later learn, our boys are a little more durable than death would appreciate.
II. Season Two - All Hell Breaks Loose And Sam Gets Naked
HI STAN AZAZEL YELLOW EYED DEMON :D. Around this time I started reading kroki-refur's episode recaps because she made me laugh until I was ill and although real life is now being friendly enough to her she's not had much time for fandom anymore, there were three and a bit seasons of hilarity and they're still totally worth reading, I reckon. If only for her unending love for Sam's nose.
ANYWAY. Yes. So. This season was all about Sam's powers and we met special kids like -
YEAH I'M SORRY, I was about to cap Andy and then Dean was gorgeous, let me return to the job at hand:
Special kids like Andy, who could control people's thoughts but was completely awesome unlike his dickwad brother, and who anyone with a heart would adore. I miss our little stoner with the heart of a five year old kid, big and simple and wonderful and more than a little bit silly. &hearts!
Naturally, Humans Are Bastards and people who find out about/already know of Sam's powers don't entirely trust him, leading to whump and to concerned!Dean, a family favourite:
We also get our neon proof that Sam is HOTASS when evil after he gets possessed in the middle of the season, and okay, the nitpicker in me ponders why Azazel's daughter was trying to get Sam killed if he's an integral part to the Lucifer storyline but I'm going to handwave it as vengeance for his exorcising her earlier because if she hadn't done it, we wouldn't get this:
PUPPYDOG EVIL, and:
~My daddy shot your daddy in the heaaaaaad~
FFFFFF. YES. EVIL SCHOOLGIRL RHYME SAMMY. GET THAT IN ME NOW. Plus the whole teasing Jo's hair with a knife thing is really creepy-hot.
There was also another episode in this season that caught people's interest.
I mean, I'm not entirely sure why.
I think it's because Dean cried a single shiny tear at the end or something.
But I don't know. And although in a fit of lameness youtube's had to remove the sound from this clip for ZOMG COPYRIGHT, it is actually worth watching, although obviously is better with sound if you can get it:
And the above? Is even more AWW OMG if you bear in mind the fact Jared pulled up the crying imagining he was having to put down one of his dogs, and Jensen cried BECAUSE JARED WAS CRYING. I don't ship J2 but I adore their bromance and this makes me d'aww every time on account.
But, y'know, crying once is not enough for Supernatural. Supernatural will not be happy until it TEARS YOUR HEART OUT. And I can't actually make myself watch this all the way through because I instantly D: all over the place and WHAT THE HELL SELF IT'S JUST A T.V. SHOW and maybe if I keep saying that enough, someday I'll stop crying on reflex at it.
So Sam died, and as death is Not A Good Thing, and Dean has major codependence issues that he's FINALLY STARTING TO FIX YAY, Dean sold his soul to get Sam back. Thankfully, this was also one of the first moves from "Must not tell each other secrets ever, EVER" to "Okay well maybe I'll tell you some things" in that Dean only hid the soul-selling from Sam for part of one episode before telling him what he'd done. Sadly, our boys still haven't quite learned "secrets that tear you up on the inside are bad" yet, but they're making baby-steps, and I approve.
III. Season Three - Dean Tries Not To Go To Hell, Fails
Even if I don't like this season as much as the other four, I think it did well for something that got cut so short. I was angry at Dean when he was all "lalala in denial in denial Hell's going to be so much fun lalala" and then sniffly when he went "actually yeah, dying is lame and I'm scared", but it's Sam who I really felt for this season.
As if it's not bad enough losing his brother, he even loses his shoe. Artist's impression of the event:
Tell me that is not tragic.
I'm in tears.
Dean understands Sam's pain.
And is impressed by it, clearly.
But anyway; this series did follow in Supernatural tradition by killing off awesome bad guys, albeit in awesome ways, like, I don't know...
Having one of them turn into the thing he hates most before getting his head removed with barbed wire.
And there were awesome touches, like a dreamwalking episode which I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO LIKE, where we all shed a tear for Bobby's tragic past, and then OMGWTFed at dream demon!Dean who was more SERIOUSLY BUG-EYED AND CREEPY AND FREAKY than hot like demon!Sam, probably because Dean has beautiful big round eyes whereas Sam has beautiful wide almond/cat eyes and WHAT STOP LOOKING AT ME THAT WAY.
But more than anything, this season's main highlights were the return of the Trickster (who I choose to believe is Anansi's american cousin or something because I love Anansi) -
And Dean dying in Sam's arms A LOT -
And Katie Cassidy as Ruby/Lilith (... accidental femslash pairing ftw!):
And then it was kind of over. Damned writers' strike; but they did very, very, very well with what they had, and THANK GOD, didn't get cancelled, because lets face it, if Supernatural had ended with Sam broken and Dean in Hell, BITCHES WOULD REQUIRE SMACKING.
Btw, before did I talk about Dean dying in Sam's arms a lot? Because I did mean A LOT.
IV. Season Four - Angels And Demons And Seals, Oh My
YES.
YES AND YES.
YES AND YES AND YES. This? Was the start of something good. Something better than good, something AMAZING. This was the reason I stuck out the episodes of season three that made me sigh and why I'm glad the awesome episodes of season three were awesome enough to maintain my very, very fickle interest in T.V., because if I'd stopped watching Supernatural before this season, I would have kicked myself, and because it prepared me for season five's EPIC WIN. But. Anyway. Lets start off slow, although you can get a longer summary over here if you like because this was the first season SO GOOD it drove me to picspamming. Well, that and it was the first season where I had VLC player to making capping easier, /pimp.
So, anyway, Dean was as poor at staying dead as his brother, thank goodness, and we were all WELL COME ON HOW IS HE NOT DEAD, and waiting, and waiting, and windows started exploding and Dean's ears started bleeding -
- and we were all COME ON STOP TEASING STOP TEASING WHAT HAPPENED and then THIS HAPPENED:
And we were all "Oh."
SO. Yes. Dean continued to be amazingly hilarious:
And in case we weren't laughing hard enough already he did this:
OKAY OKAY, maybe I'm being a bit cruel. The first time I did sniffle for him. More than sniffled, actually, Supernatural continued in a grand tradition of tearing my heart out and tapdancing on it and I went OH, DEAN quite a lot. But the second and third and fourth times the "I am watching a fictional character, not a real one, I can be cruel" nerve hit and I started having more than a small slice of schadenfreude every time he wept.
We also FINALLY got our answer in full for Mary's apology to Sam in Home, although really:
If Mitch Pileggi was my dad and had yellow eyes and made me kiss him I'd be making EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD apologise to me PERSONALLY, not the other way around D:, just saying. Although this is further proof of my "Mitch Pileggi has creepy sexual vibes with everyone and everything ever and this is awesome" theory.
Anyhow. Although I LALALALA loudly while covering my ears during the actual main plot of the episode, It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester had not only an amazing title but it had:
Castiel and Sam and the most awkward introduction ever -
"HI OMG I HAVE JUST MET YOU AND I LOVE YOU"
"HELLO HAVE YOU STOPPED BEING DEMONIC YET YOU DEMONICALLY DEMONIC THING"
"UH MAYBE"
And it had:
Our soon-to-be-OT3 being menaced by Uriel and his tentacles because Uriel was so badass and awesome that he never appeared in the show again and was completely unsmited. THIS IS MY CANON NO ONE CAN TELL ME OTHERWISE.
Dean and Castiel also had a very touching mutual Forrest Gump moment and my shipping tendencies moved more than a little from "Dean/Sam broken and heartrending with some Castiel being beautiful and aloof and molesty of Dean on the side" towards "MUTUAL RESPECT IN MY SUPERNATURAL WHAT IS THIS Dean/Castiel with Dean/Sam on the side" and this was new and exciting and my god were we getting some good fic already for the shiny new thing and some heartbreaking tragic awesome fic for the existing thing. Basically, for a panshipper, things were pretty darned sweet.
We also found out what Sam had been up to while Dean was busy being dead, and yet again all of us with a Jared Padalecki crush went OMFG HE JUST SORT OF THROWS HER AROUND LIKE A RAG DOLL I WANT HIM IN ME NOW and it was awesome:
And some of us went "OMG EW NECROPHILIA" and others went "NOT REALLY" and further others went "I LOVE NECROPHILIA" and the kink memes smiled benevolently as per always. Oh, and other-other-others were distracted by SAM'S CROSSROADS DEMON WHO HE IS SUPPOSED TO FIND ATTRACTIVE IS A DUDE. A fairly hot dude too, to be fair. And although we haven't had an incubus episode yet because this is a rated 15 show at max, maybe, we did get a siren who coerced Dean into this:
And who was a dude for Dean. Because Dean needed a brother more than a girl. Yeah.
So Bobby came to the rescue because really, someone had to.
Anyway. ANYWAY. So. Stuff, it happened, and I hear there was an episode 4x15, but I was too distracted by On The Head Of A Pin, the only episode of anything I've picspammed on its own because OH. OH. YES.
Dean got off on torturing Alastair.
Alastair got off on being tortured (and this is almost-canon, because Christopher Heyerdahl &hearts &hearts &hearts said as much at yet another convention LIKE I DIDN'T LOVE THE MAN ENOUGH ALREADY FOR SAYING TODD THE WRAITH IS IN LOVE WITH JOHN SHEPPARD).
Castiel did not get off on being tortured. Or, well, hauled onto a spike through his spine and nearly sent back to Heaven.
Sam was sick of all the torture porn and said FUCK YOU ELI ROTH and zapped Alastair into nothing, and I was OMG YAY at Sam's powers and OMG BUMMER at Alastair dying.
Even Anna got to really stand her own ground as an interesting and kick-ass character in this episode. It was just all-out win.
Then It's a Terrible Life happened, Sam/Dean fans squicked by their being brothers (it happens) had a field day, and we got to laugh:
And laugh:
And, y'know, I was all pre-shagged out from those two episodes like a Norwegian Blue after a long squawk, but then we got to The Monster At The End Of This Book Is Real and we got this:
Where I was going LOLOLOL and then "Ooh, and now they've got the idea..." because I'm a ficcer at heart and just, erm, yes.
And! And, and we met THE PROPHET CHUCK -
Who if you don't love already, well, I don't know, I'd go get that checked, because omg d'aww he is such a dork and if he weren't so pathetic he'd probably be a little bit skeevy but as he is kind of pathetic it just makes him ALL THE MORE ADORABLE. Plus, like pretty much 95% of Supernatural's bit-part cast across seasons four and five in particular, he's ROCKED the bit-part role.
But, but, but, that wasn't all. We got this.
And I was just "OKAY I CAME BUCKETS" because Castiel was being all sneaky and ridiculously gorgeous and caring about Dean liking him and Dean wanting to trust Castiel and I was just OKAY. OKAY. I WAS ALREADY SOLD ON THIS SHIP AND NOW I AM EMIGRATING TO CASTIEL/DEAN-ISTAN. Although I'm bringing Dean/Sam and Uriel/Castiel with me. YOU CANNOT TAKE AWAY MY TOYS.
And basically then things start to get blurry because it's around that point that my face became permanently stuck like this:
But we still had time for heart-breaking, so much so that The Rapture was the first episode I teared up at properly since season two, although I managed to resist shedding a tear. Barely. But there were two moments that were so, so worth the heartbreak. Or, two be more accurate, two expressions:
Castiel's first expression on possessing Jimmy. It's breathtaking. The world IS that stunning. But anyway, yes, so we had that, and my heart exploded, and then we had the first ever instance of Castiel's best expression ever - namely, the "Que?" face, or as some term it, the "Bzuh?" face. I totally prefer "Que?":
And then and then and then THE ANGELS WANTED LUCIFER TO RISE ALL ALONG and SAM OH GOD LILITH KILLED HIS DEAN AND HE WANTED REVENGE FOR IT AND IT WAS STUPID BUT UNDERSTANDABLE AND OH GOD BOYS and and and then, then CASTIEL, CASTIEL TURNING ON HIS BOB ROSS FOR DEAN:
NO HAPPY TREES FOR YOU ZACHARIAH.
BUT BUT BUT IT WAS TOO LATE AND OMG OMG OMG HE'S COMING:
AND IT WAS THE BEST SEASON EVER. EVER. EVEN KANYE WEST WOULD AGREE. Or was it? WE'RE STILL FINDING OUT.
V. Season Five - The Story So Far
HELLO SEXY.
So, Sam and Dean stayed alive, and Castiel was un-deaded, because apparently he's thankfully inherited their ability to not stay dead. OMG ARE THE WINCHESTERS VAMPIRES? OR ZOMBIES? OR VAMPIRE ZOMBIES?
We met Lucifer's first vessel, and were introduced for the first time to Lucifer's favourite habit; being a flaming homosexual taking the 'seducing to the dark side' thing to its logical conclusion. i.e. literally seducing everyone. It's awesome. And he's being played by Mark Pellegrino who you should already know from Dexter, and if not, watch the first season of that because the first season of Dexter is a damn good show too. And who definitely hasn't been in a porno like John Winchester.
Anyway, yes, so, initial episodes have so far consisted of Sam and Dean COMMUNICATING LIKE ADULTS :O and Bobby being awesome as per usual and Castiel being awesomer. We also got rib-carving :D -
And okay, real life logic aside (for the carvings to be lighter than the bone, Castiel would have thinned the boys' ribs, not strengthened them), that is AWESOME. I'm kind of tempted to memorise some of the symbols used here like I did with the Dungeon Master spell symbols (I HAVE A WEAKNESS FOR FICTIONAL RUNES OKAY) but more than anything I like to imagine what they say. If there isn't a line about Dean's eyes sparkling like emeralds I will cry.
We also learned that Castiel can stand up for himself:
And is winning the one-liner race with Dean:
And that "My family now want me dead and oh, yeah, I've already died for you once and you ended the world BITCH" is a persuasive argument in anything. Ever.
ELLEN CAME BACK AND WAS AWESOME AND STAYED NOT DEAD!
AND GOT DEAN WET!!
AND JO RETURNED THE FAVOUR WITH SAM!!!
Are we loving these women yet? BECAUSE I'M LOVING THOSE WOMEN.
And, and, we had War, who wasn't a red-haired chick but who was pretty frigging awesome and I CANNOT WAIT FOR MORE HORSEMEN EPISODES, SERIOUSLY YOU GUYS, even if they do ride muscle cars rather than motorcycles.
And Castiel is canonically terrified of women who are not Anna. Which... is interesting. AND REALLY KIND OF PAINFULLY ADORABLE. LOOK AT THAT FACE. If Jared is a puppy, Castiel is a kitten. I mean, you don't even have to make an effort - Catsiel!
And we met Raphael who was just... epic.
ELECTRICITY WINGS. ELECTRICITY WINGS. And the actor playing him just - the voice, the eyes, the intensity, that almost, almost sympathetic nature twisted by misery in the absence of God, he was just phenomenal, and Dean was virtually holding Castiel's hand through interrogating the guy who BLEW HIM UP last time they met and it was amazing.
Anyway. Anyway. Yes. So, Castiel has acquired a phone and in between giving us opportunities enough to amuse ourselves imagining Castiel attempting to PURCHASE said phone, continued winning the one-liner race as well as the "awwwwww" competition:
And we found out that in the future mishaland is real:
So Misha does actually have minions, but more importantly it's actually TRAGIC AND SAD D:, because only Supernatural would make having orgies while stoned off your face TRAGIC AND SAD. I love this show. Did I mention that? Because yeah, I really, really, REALLY do.
Anyway, future-Lucifer-Sam is a pretty cool guy, eh wears loafers and doesn't afraid of anything.
Including snapping future Dean's neck, and all of us with foot fetishes and necrophilia fetishes go "I AM CONFUSED AS TO HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS".
He is also pretty and likes to stroll through gardens caressing roses and killing bitches because he's just that awesome.
And apparently his outfit is distracting because it's different shades of white but I CAN'T TELL D: I just thought it was pretty and awesome and blinding and apparently I have colour identification issues, darnit. ANYWAY. YES. In summary, Lucifer wants to be inside Sam, and Sam has smooched Lucifer's neck while Lucifer pretended to be Sam's dead girlfriend, and LOOK I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY THERE ISN'T A METRIC TON OF FIC OF VARYING QUALITY FOR THAT PAIRING YET.
(Although what I've read of it so far has been awesome)
Also in season five, yet more awesome guest stars:
HI PAUL MCGILLION :D WE ONLY HAD YOU FOR LIKE TWO MINUTES BUT YOU WERE ADORABLE AS ALWAYS, and:
HI PARIS HILTON YOUR PERFORMANCE WAS AWESOME AND YOU ARE AWESOME and I actually forgot about your adorable and blatant crush on Jared during the show, I am impressed.
ANYWAY. YES. I can't actually form coherent words about season five to date because every episode has been amazing, especially for a panshipper (Dean and Sam moments! Dean and Castiel moments! Lucifer and Sam moments! Castiel and Sam moments! EVERYBODY WINS), and really, we're lucky to have the show after the number of times it was almost cancelled, and the fact our show continues to go from strength to strength instead of disappearing up the backside of its own assumed cleverness is yet another reason why I am still in love, still going strong at five seasons in, and no one will ever persuade me otherwise.
3. The Boys
Jared Padalecki
Best bits:
As Sam: In a funny way, even though I adore the others, I think Sam's the character who at heart I love the most. I want Sam to be happy and I'm probably more emotionally invested in him than anyone else because he's the character who, more than any of the others, never gives up hope or his faith in humanity. And it makes him vulnerable - has had him killed, and broken him over and over again as people keep letting him down - but in his heart he's still a good person and achingly open to manipulation on account of it, through people going "If you do this you'll protect them, if you do this you'll save them, if you do this you'll avenge them" and it's tragic and amazing. Also, he has puppydog eyes made of win and awesome, and a gorgeous sympathetic voice; I know I'd be a mess sobbing on his shoulder and needing a cookie if he pulled out that soft-spoken calming-people-down voice he sometimes uses when they need someone to talk to them who isn't really in the mood to do so. Also also? Angry Sam is epic because it's a rarity and because he always pulls this tense, quiet calm just before he explodes at people, and it's all kinds of ridiculously sexy as well as effective.
As Himself: OH MY GOD THE MAN IS MADE OF CANDY AND PUPPIES. Jared Padalecki is a six foot billion tall dork and he's so ridiculously cute I can't even start; whether it's talking about the time he crashed his car and thought "Oh my god, I'm dead, I've gotta call set!" or complaining because the chewing gum he's stuck on his coffee lid is making his coffee taste minty, or charging around set hot-glueing children's toys to people's hats, he couldn't be much more adorable. I want one in my life and he's one of those rare celebrities where I actually mean "He's so awesome I wouldn't even need to hump him to love him, he looks like an amazing mate" rather than "He's so awesome I want to hump him and nothing less will satisfy me".
Jensen Ackles
Best bits:
As Dean: HOLY CODEPENDENT NEUROSES, BATMAN. Dean is a perfect tragic hero; he's strong, brave, funny, sexy (when he's not being a bit skeevy albeit in an entertaining way), and he has 'doomed' written all over him. Everything Dean touches goes to Hell, sometimes literally, and his determination over and over and over again to save Sam - even in season five, after Sam's played the final card in starting the apocalypse, he still wants to save Sam from being possessed by Lucifer - it's heart-rending. Part of him is still definitely the near-toddler John told to look after his little brother and I don't think that's ever going to change, but what's so interesting about Dean is that he's probably the only Winchester who didn't have to do all this. The way he was raised and the criminal record he's acquired have suckered him in more and more, but Sam had the demon blood, John had vengeance for Mary written all over him, and really, Dean was the only one who ever had a real chance of getting out of it, but he's the one who chose it over and over again for his family and I will never stop loving him for it, however much he hates himself.
As Himself: Jensen is a very private person most of the time so I'm leaving this bit pretty much blank, although I do have to go "D'aww" at his nicknames and the fact Jared has referred to his dad as "Papa Ackles" while offering him skittles. It's kind of hard to not love these boys.
Misha Collins
Best bits:
As Castiel: ASDFLAKSJDFLKASJDFLKA. GOD. Okay. Okay. Right. When Castiel first stepped on screen, when I first heard him say "I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition", when the demon-knife didn't stab him, my jaw was on the FLOOR. This was even before I could cobble together enough brain cells and hormones to fancy him. My jaw was quite literally dropped. And then, "I'm an angel of the Lord" and my arms were UP IN THE AIR AND GETTING QUITE SORE FROM THE MUSCLE STRAIN AND I DIDN'T EVEN CARE. Because. Because holy crap, Supernatural was GOING THERE, and I've been waiting for something good with angels for FOREVER, and Supernatural was going to do this and SERIOUSLY. SERIOUSLY. So, that was Castiel's entrance to the show for me, so the fact I became a great big fangirl of him, not so surprising. But anyway; as the show has developed, Castiel has been absolutely, absolutely slaying me. The little head-tilts and questionable social skills and his mixture of love and concern for humanity has just been phenomenal to watch, and you believe his twists and turns, you believe every inch of his turning to Dean over Uriel or any of his other brethren for that matter, and you believe the choices he makes carry weight, real, heavy weight, and this is an angel that's basically taken the weight of the world on his shoulders and been screwed over for it as much as the Winchesters, and all in all, he's just a stunning, stunning character. And, in my own not always so humble opinion, I honestly think he's as interesting and complex a character as Dean and Sam.
As Himself: Misha Collins is a Mary Sue. Or possibly a Tulpa, or a mass fangirl hallucination. Apart from being pretty much certifiably insane, these are some facts from his irl canon;
* He smuggles himself into Tibet on occasion to retreat and meditate.
* He has built an igloo.
* He has built a HOUSE.
* He has campaigned against driving under the influence while wearing a crossdressing Santa outfit.
* He has published poetry.
* He gave up a software-producing company when acting proved more lucrative.
* He tries to teach other people to write goodly.
NONE OF THE ABOVE IS A LIE. He's also fascinatingly clever at directing questions and answers at the conventions he's been too, and even if he sometimes seems puzzled or confused by the ~particular oddities~ of some fangirls, he always takes it in good humour and there's something about his particular brand of nuttiness that makes me particularly happy for Jared and Jensen; Misha seems to completely know what he's getting himself into with fangirl-baiting (yoghurt bukkake, anyone?) and I honestly think in a funny sort of way he's protecting the boys, and it makes me feel all the happier about him. He's not just a show-stealer, he's part of the Supernatural family now, and I love him for it.
Together!
There are a million and one manifestos and essays and similar that cover the various pairings for the show and reasons for shipping at length, so I'll spare anyone my own attempts to cover them eloquently, and just do a quick one-sentence for a handful of my favourites. Again, feel free to squee in the comments about your own favourites, but not at the expense of others; we've got a lot of really, really hot boys and girls with fabulous canon interactions - and with so many toys to share, why try and break other people's?
Alastair/Castiel - Because as ashamed as I probably ought to be, Supernatural is a fandom that makes you shed shame, and it's hard to beat for dirty-bad-wrong a bit of demon/angel on the side from time to time.
Dean/Castiel - Because Castiel understands Dean without actually 'getting' him, and because Dean is the best sort of bad influence, and because it's a friendship we've watched growing.
Dean/Sam - Because they would do anything for each other - anything - and even if it's not the healthiest sort of romantic, it's still romantic.
John/Mary - Because their love started this whole mess and both of them were epic.
Lucifer/Sam - Because Lucifer wants to be inside Sam, and Sam's already smooched his neck.
The potential for pairings within the show is vast and tapped with joyous regularity for fic and fanart - 80+ episodes after all - but you don't just have fictional joy in Supernatural. Oh no; because our boys are just as happy making us squee in real life as they are on-screen. Bromance is epic, y'all:
All three hombres (SHUSH I TOTALLY HABLO ESPAGNOL):
Jared embarrassing Jensen as per usual:
And Misha letting Jared know who's boss:
4. Beauties And The Beasts
The Baddies!
After 80+ episodes, it's fair to say there are a reasonable number of goodies and baddies to favour; but as we're working within a 10000 word limit here and this is already approaching dissertation levels, I'm just going to go with ten of my favourite good guys, ten of my favourite bad guys, and let you ladies and gentlemen comment to add any of your personal favourites who you feel are tragically missing <3.
Azazel
If you watched seasons one and two... was there ever a question about this? Calm, sinister, smart, funny, awesome, and just everything any bad guy should ever be wrapped into one, and I still judge all the new bad guys alongside him.
Alastair
Alastair, I hardly knew ye, but within two episodes (sorry oh molestor of Andy Dufresne, but you cannot beat TODD THE WRAITH) I was so hardcore in love with you it wasn't even funny and then you up and DIED on me, albeit in a ridiculously awesome way. But! Anyway; again you were creepy, kind of charming in a horrifically insane sort of way, not to mention in possession of a wicked sense of humour and a wickeder glint of eye, and I adored you. I'd have given most anything to know more of your backstory despite my torture porn squick and you were fascinating, from your hatred of being on Earth to your vaguely disinterested faith in Lucifer (agnostic Satanism ftw?) to your questionable enjoyment of being tortured. It's your potential that makes you epic.
Meg
From teaching us about how demons break their toys to "My daddy shot your daddy in the head", Meg was pretty darned wonderful, gave us some of the most ridiculously sexy evil!Sam moments ever, and I actually squeed when she returned. She's definitely my favourite female bad guy, no question; and quite possibly, in my heart, my favourite female character on the show.
The Trickster
His actions speak for themselves. This is a man who does not need words.
Gordon
YESSSSSS A BATSHIT HUNTER. Our show is usually about as subtle as a brick to the head about "Look what you could become" but part of me loves that, the escapism and the parallels, and the contrast between Gordon's single-minded kill-first kill-later don't-ask-questions attitude and Sam's sympathetic nature, especially when Dean was initially somewhere between the two of them and closer on the scale to Gordon, it was pretty great. Plus he was actually genuinely threatening as a bad guy because he wasn't the type to stop and ask questions, he was the type to chase you down a public street shooting after you.
Uriel
One of the most notable victims of Supernatural's "I'm ambiguously good, I'm ambiguously good, I'm ambiguously good... ACTUALLY NO I'M EVIL AND blargh I am ded" policy, Uriel was snarkalicious, whooped ass, smacked up a few bitches and gave us yet another angelic thread to play with; angels don't just have the ability to doubt, they have the ability to stop believing altogether, and even managed to make Anna's character more interesting on reflection. Castiel might have doubts but he still has faith; Anna has doubts enough to stick with them as an angelic agnostic; and Uriel was an angelic atheist. Today's lesson, if you're a celestial being, probably shouldn't be an atheist.
Bloody Mary
So far the ONLY bad guy - or, in this case, girl - in Supernatural who has actually scared me. I've had ewwwwww moments at the show and I have jumped in the past, but Bloody Mary is one of those urban legends everyone knows, one of the reasons more people than will admit are kind of scared of mirrors (especially in the dark), and it was awesome seeing her done so, so much justice.
The Reaper
'Cause every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.
Ruby
She might have been virtually two different characters, but I love both Rubys for different reasons. Katie!Ruby (and maid!Ruby and car!Ruby) was kick-ass, exciting, fun and, as much as I normally don't like the word that much, spunky. Genevieve!Ruby took some getting used to but I think, funnily enough, it was the moments just short of her death that made her really click for me; she was selfish, and screwed up, and twisted Sam to her own wants and purpose, but really? I honestly, genuinely believe she loved Sam in her own messed up way and thought she was doing him a favour. It's broken and wrong and twisted and that alone is reason enough for me to love her all the more.
Lucifer
There will be yells of fury at the ranking, but at this moment in time, Lucifer is still strangely neutral territory; he's a bad guy who doesn't actually antagonise properly. He behaves above everyone else because in his pride and vanity he believes there is no possible outcome other than victory for him, and it's an aloofness that makes his sympathy towards others creepy, but not yet scary as Hell. He's the one I'm waiting on; and I hope season five does him proud because the potential I've seen in him so far to pwn the other bad guys for awesome is pretty darned epic.
The Goodies!
Bobby
Dude. He's their Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Missouri
BITCHES BETTER RESPECT OR SHE WILL BEAT YOU WITH A SPOON.
John Winchester
I HAVE RARELY LOVED A DOUCHE THIS MUCH. Because... really, John is not a good father. But damned if he isn't completely sympathetic and heartbreaking and believable regardless of that. The anger between him and Sam and the way he shoved Dean into a mothering position in their messed up little family is so utterly broken and painful and believable but I don't think it's ever really questionable that really, under everything, he loves his family, it's him who Dean inherited the "protect family at all cost" gene from, and it's tragic and amazing.
Chuck
"I am the prophet Chuck!" <- and if you weren't sold there, you were NEVER going to be sold. Plus he gives toilet paper the love and attention it deserves. And you've got to love a dude who, when his characters turn out to be real, FREAKS OUT instead of going "Oh, this is awesome" or "I should write about their clothes falling off and see what happens". You actually believe his "OH GOD OH GOD THIS IS NOT HAPPENING" and there's something so hysterically cruel and amazing about the "I have a molar in my hair" moment. Chuck, you are made of win and awesome.
Ellen
On a random aside I do find it kind of interesting that the mother figures are almost invariably the most decisive and independent figures in Supernatural, where the younger women generally are sassy but tend not to be as kickass in practise. But anyway! Ellen is wonderful in that you genuinely believe she's the rock in the center of her own world, nothing's touching her or her daughter without her permission, and she's kind of like a stable, female John Winchester but at the same time a character in her own right and I adore her.
Sarah
I still kind of hope someway, somehow, Sam will find his way back to her at the end of everything, because she was awesome; beautiful and smart and unique and not just a Jessica substitute or someone useful for sexy funtimes, she's someone who Sam could have really, really clicked with, and I know he's changed since KIND OF A LOT, but part of me still ships the two like buggery and I would love them to wind up together somehow.
Andy
And now we're reaching the entirely sad affair of our final deceased four. Andy was SO ADORABLE and a stoner and he made Star Wars jokes and apart from the evil brother thing and the DYING TRAGICALLY D: thing, I kind of wouldn't mind being like him. He was just a pocket-sized wee beastie of cuteness and I miss him.
Hendrickson
Because Hendrickson suffered the reverse of many of the baddies - "I may have been ambiguously good but SECRETLY I AM EVIL blargh I am ded" replaced by "I may have been ambiguously bad but SECRETLY I AM GOOD blargh I am ded". And it's a damned shame, because he was a fun antagonist, and smart, and unlike an awfully large number of Supernatural's guest stars he doesn't go "WHAT BIZARRE HAPPENINGS well I guess I'll forget about the murder and grave-robbing and theft and fraud on your criminal record", he goes "Dude, I'm a representative of the law, and the law will be smacked down on bitches" and it was amazing. Also, he was kind of hot. Sigh!
Jessica
Because we learn so little of her but she's beautiful and smart and Sam was so, so in love with her and it kills me every time we see her, especially with the mirrors to John and Mary, and just... oh. Cupid and Fate, you are cruel partners.
Pamela
Oh Pamela, again we hardly knew ye, but what little we knew was made of epic win and awesome. You were snarky and sexy and cool, didn't sulk even when YOUR EYES WERE BURNED OUT OF THEIR SOCKETS WTF and you wanted a threesome with the boys. It will remain a tragedy to the end of days that said threesome did not end up canon.
5. One Fine Lady
Just look at that sexy lady. LOOK AT HER. Optimus Prime would ask her father's permission to tap that aft. She's Dean's beauty and anyone with a soul, or even possibly without, knows you gotta pay respect to a girl like that.
6. The Music
From The Animals to Muse, Supernatural really, really, really likes its music. Really likes it. Be it country, bluegrass or rock, there's something for every occasion, and trying to disassociate Hey Man Nice Shot from the visual of Dean's doppelganger shedding its skin is nigh on impossible. Renegade is a reminder of the boys kicking the ass of an armed SWAT team, and both Carry On My Wayward Son and Thunderstruck now carry the impossible excitement of seasons ending and beginning.
And emotional highlights aside, it's hard not to love a show where the soundtrack listings finally give you the answer to "What was that song I loved as a kid?" - the sort of soundtrack even your dad would approve of, though not so much your granddad.
7. Conclusion
Two brothers, one car, stripper angels and a whole lot of badass.
For all its flaws, which have been discussed elsewhere at length, and for all the amazing batshit that sometimes gets seen by the fandom (usually anonymously...), I love our show and 98% of the people I've met through it without reservation or remorse. I love the Dean-girls and Sam-girls and Castiel-girls and John-girls and EveryoneElse-girls, I love the Dean/Sam shippers and Dean/Castiel shippers and Other shippers, I love the gen-writers and the crack-writers and smut-writers and srs-writers, I love the lot.
It's a pretty amazing fandom to be in where you can run over to spnstoryfinders, request ANYTHING, and someone, somewhere, has probably written it.
It's not always that scary. But it definitely, definitely is sexy.