#spnwin season 1 finale

[emisirrelevant]

The Winchesters/SPNWIN Season 1 Finale Review Thoughts

So I was able to watch the final/finale episode of The Winchesters Season 1 today- and here are my thoughts. Like I mentioned from the very beginning since I started watching this show, I never watched the original Supernatural series.

However, despite that, I still enjoyed this show somewhat without having knowledge of all the lore.

I thought this episode did a pretty decent job tying things up (for a prequel) and especially on a good note (despite the fact- which I now know from consulting a friend who DID watch Supernatural- that John and Mary are going to end up dying no matter what). I liked that we finally saw Dean interact with his parents- and some other familiar faces like Jack and Bobby showed up.

I'm not sure if this show will get renewed, but if it doesn't, I think that they ended it in a way that could just be left there.

If it does, I'm excited to see what they could do with a new season. There's definitely some good storylines that could be followed from the background of the characters we learned about.

Finally, if The Winchesters does get a second season, I only have one suggestion. I absolutely LOVED seeing Carlos and Latika's dynamic together in this show. I want to see more of that with different pairings of the core four for this show. We saw a bit of Carlos and Mary, and Carlos and John. But something that always slightly irked me is that they never showed lots of Mary and Latika.

Now before I get jumped, I UNDERSTAND the focal point of this show is John and Mary. They are the main relationship, yes. This show was about Dean's parents, not the side characters. But it always bothered (for lack of better words) me that we even saw some more moments with John and Latika than we did with Mary and Latika.

I'm not 100% sure and I don't want to assume, but maybe they didn't show us Mary and Latika moments on the same level as the others' dynamics because of the most obvious reason. At this point, I don't care if it would have upset people. They CAN show platonic female relationships. I just feel like I didn't get enough of that with Mary and Latika.

Alright, that's it. That's all she wrote. For now. If Season 2 of The Winchesters/SPNWIN happens, I know what I want to see. And if this is the end of the road, then I will just say that this show was good at giving me something to watch every Tuesday. And hopefully Meg Donnelly gets even more gigs after this. She has so much potential. As do the rest of the actors, they all did great as well. I just wish them all success.

Thank you CW for another show to get invested in. I'll miss seeing these people on my screen (especially my kin list- Ada, Millie, Latika, and Carlos) but I thank you for bringing them into the world at least, and not cancelling the show before it started.

See y'all next time. Until the next mildy average CW show comes along.

[strawlessandbraless]

The Winchesters Season 1 Finale

The Winchesters Season 2

[imayauu]

I think the only thing I wish was different in the finally was Cas not being mentioned at all… he is helping/helped Jack rebuild Heaven, and now what…

Is he full on avoiding Dean? Because he confessed thinking that he wouldn’t have to deal with the aftermath? Are we dealing with EMBARRASSED Cas ?!??! (That could actually track 🤔)

I miss the Angel… Why are tptb hiding him away?! 😭

[wigglebox]

Thoughts on the SPNWIN Finale

Okay so I’m gonna divide this into two parts: Implications for the future of where this show will go, and then implications for a potential continuation. 

**This is me writing after only seeing the episode once and then popping through here and there to try and remember things, but I may mis-remember or misinterpret but I wanna get these first thoughts out of the way!**

First off, just to quickly summarize my thoughts at the top: I really loved it. 

They had a hard hand dealt with this show, which is, only 13 episodes and no promise of a season 2. Because of that, they had to write it in a way that both closed this season but kept the door cracked open for more season. It’s a very very hard balance to do, but I think they still did it. 

To me, I have a lot of questions, but I LIKE having questions because that draws me back for season 2. And, if done properly, it can also lure people into the continuation. 

Implications for the future of SPNWIN

This episode was a whirlwind so I apologize if I mis-remember anything! 

I think the key thing that I took away from this in terms of future potential was the journal. They have Dean’s journal in the sense that Dean and Sam had John’s journal. 

John and Mary take off in the end but I have no doubt in my mind Lata, Carlos, and Ada will all come back and play a part some how as well. 

Which, by the way, the fact that this Carlos was THEE Carlos that was referenced in a Robbie episode a million years ago is so amazing, idk why. Robbie you madman! 

But, now we more or less have the confirmation that this isn’t truly our world, however we are going to be sticking with these characters in the future. Therefore, I don’t know if that means they’ll be universe hopping too, I don’t know if it means they’ll uncover more mysteries from Dean’s journal? I think that’s likely. I also think that will be fun. 

I also ALSO think that will provide more world building for the continuation, like this season already did. 

There is the obvious issue in the room of that being there were only 13 episodes and this may have felt more like a mid-season finale rather than a finale, however not being promised a season 2 has had to have been thee most annoying thing to write around. 

But, for a first season, it set up some solid base foundation work for them to continue to explore more stories while also not screwing around with canon. 

There are still questions I want answered and who knows when or if they’ll ever be answered. The biggest one, however, is what on earth is in that journal?

I have more questions but I need to rewatch the show to form them so they’ll be in a follow up post most likely. 

Another question I have is: Was that really Dean from start to finish? The hair is the biggest thing for me bc J finished filming Big Sky and there was no reason not to cut it, or use a wig of some kind [lol]. But also in general it felt different a little bit. Like it’s still him but also it didn’t feel like him from the pilot and from the photos we were seeing. But it really may well be him all along! I imagine that’s part of the mystery. 

I don’t think we’ll see him again, or if we do, it’s not going to be the same version. I think he served as a launching point. Several friends have made this point already but basically he laid the foundation for all this multi-verse stuff and now the kiddos are on their own and there’s a lottttt to explore. 

Again, I have to rewatch in order to fully form my thoughts on the future for the show. 

My question is gonna be basically are they going to explore different universes? And, how, if Chuck kinda offed all of them? But I’m okay with my questions for now because I like to go with the flow of the show. I don’t want to figure everything out right now. 

Implications for a SPN Continuation

I’ll talk about this first since I have some frens who were disappointed that 1) Cas wasn’t with Jack and Bobby and 2) Cas wasn’t mentioned. 

If you’re new around here, then I’ll cut to the chase now: I am a full on “Cas Is Not In Heaven” believer. There are several reasons why. I am also a “Chuck Won” and “Jack is Chuck” believer. Also several reasons why. 

I don’t believe Cas is in Heaven because they never showed him getting there. “Well Jack got him out of The Empty,” is one of those things that I’ll believe it when I see it, because otherwise, it’s too shady for me. Cas was last taken, alive, to an Empty where everything else was awake and alive and taken on behalf of a deal, not because he died. The Empty has wanted Cas for a while, and has been pissed that he’s gotten out. Cas is a PRIZE for The Empty so I don’t really see it giving up Cas any time soon for any particular reason. 

Especially if that reason is Jack. 

I don’t believe The Empty likes Jack either, especially after their last interaction being so bad (Jack exploding in The Empty, waking everything up). I don’t feel like The Empty is willing to do any favors for him. 

God isn’t supposed to be able to influence The Empty but I think, since Lilith and Lucifer were brought down, that Chuck and The Empty had an arrangement. And from 15x18 to 15x20 I had literally no reason to believe that Cas, a threat to Chuck, would have been let go for any reason, even if Jack was “God” now. 

It would have been sloppy story telling, in my opinon, if they tried to explain how Cas got into Heaven in such a short amount of time, and would have extremely taken away from the emotional magnitude of 15x18. 

And that’s how I felt with 1x13 of The Winchesters. 

If we had seen Cas I would have been upset, I think. Because again, there’s no explanation for him being there. If it wasn’t going to be a *wink wink nudge nudge* thing like “We’ll explain it in the continuation” then I didn’t want it. 

The reason why I feel so passionate about this is beacuse of the Chuck Won theory. And because of that theory, and how Cas’ role evolved over time in Supernatural, I don’t believe Chuck can “recreate” Cas. Because Cas exists outside of Chuck’s narrative, and isn’t beholdened to Chuck, that means Chuck can’t reproduce Cas. It’s just never going to happen. 

And I feel strongly about Chuck not being able to do that SPECIFICALLY because when all is said and done, I don’t EVER want Dean to look at Cas and wonder if he’s real or not (throwback to 15x02 anyone?). 

Therefore, I did not want to see Cas in The Winchesters except for very very very specific ways that I knew deep down wouldn’t happen because this isn’t the show for that. 

And I’m sorry I wish I could go along with the Cas in Heaven memes because they do make me laugh — but also the thought of him being there with no explanation and still not showing up makes me more sad than not. 

And that’s another thing—

With 15x20, and no Cas, there had been conspiracy after conspiracy for the last two and a half years as to why, everywhere between network censorship to Misha secretly filming and then them not showing anything. I’m personally more inclined to believe a mixture of: Censorship (Dean can’t reciprocate so what’s the point) and a deliberate choice on behalf of Dabb. But that’s for a different post because this is already very very long. 

But, him not being in the finale — while it fed into the Chuck Won theory — it also didn’t have enough stability to truly land on one theory or another because COVID restrictions were also blamed (in whatever manner people saw fit to blame it). 

However, NOW — with Cas NOT showing up next to Jack and Bobby — even tho in 15x20 Bobby said that Cas helped Jack — was very LOUD to me. 

So what does that imply, to me?

1) No Cas until they have the time and space to put the story and emotions into it that it deserves. AKA — since I’m a Cas Is In The Empty believer — A rescue, by Dean. Even Jackles at JIB11 said that he’d want to explore that. Both of them have expressed an interest in exploring a follow up to 15x18. They can’t do that in the season finale of a spin off show that hadn’t mentioned them virtually at all (apart from parallels) all season. 

2) No Cas because Cas isn’t there. I’ll get into my “Jack isn’t Jack” thing in a second, but because there was also this choice not to have Cas there — once is a mistake, but twice? Now it’s starting something. Especially since this time, they DID have Jack there. It’s like they’re showing us a Cas-shaped puzzle piece missing. The piece may be missing but you can clearly see the hole and know what’s supposed to be there (kinda like Dean’s reciprocation!).

To me these are interesting storytelling tactics. And that’s what this is, storytelling. 

I feel like maybe we lost the plot a little bit, we being The Fandom, in terms of long-term storytelling efforts. 

Cas being in The Empty still really does open up a TON of plot ideas for a continuation. Is it sad he’s not with Dean right now? Absolutely. But I’d rather have them apart than have a flimsy, unexplained reunion just to have a reunion. 

“They didn’t even mention Cas,” and yeah, maybe they could have, but as friends in Discord servers have pointed out, that also locks them into a story that they may not be able to tell so it’s better to keep it like how it was in 15x20 where Dean never spoke his name. That is, it adds to the uncanny valley of it all. 

Jack isn’t Jack 

Look at this lovely post. This reminds me of the first time I was ever exposed to Chuck Won, Chuck is Jack theory way back in ... I want to say December 2020. Someone had compared Jack’s clothes to Chuck’s, and here we are again. 

Also these tags from @clarkenting​

Jack didn’t feel like Jack. He hasn’t felt like Jack since 15x19. 

I already freak out and ramble a lot about Chuck Won when it comes to Becky’s Notes in 15x04 about “no one even mentions Cas” and the line about rock music and the like. But another note she made was regarding the villain’s monologue at the end and how it kinda sucked. Jack had a monologue at the end. Jenny, in 15x20, said 8 words. 

So Jack post-15x19 has always been suspicious to me! And last night was no different, especially since it’s the most Chuck Like he’s looked. 

Also, another thing that got me, was the reference to Carry On (the Kansas song). It felt super duper pointed and not just an Easter Egg but like — hey this IMMEDIATELY reminds me of 15x20 and how Dean was like, weirdly, “I love this song!” a little too out of character in heaven as he began to drive off. 

Dean’s favorite band isn’t Kansas, it’s Led Zeppelin. 

Also, the reference felt like a fourth wall break, something that Chuck would do. 

So no, I don’t believe that Jack was Jack last night. I’m sure if I go through the dialogue, which I plan to do lol, I’ll find even more reason to believe that. 

Another thing that confused me was Bobby being there. Dean drove off, alone, and was continuously shown alone, throughout his drive. But BOBBY was there last night? Confused I am. But in the good way. 

We know now that Baby can hope planes of existence so I really really hope she can hop into The Empty. 

I’m someone who believes that Dean’s “Heaven” is in reality just The Empty. Or, as sometimes my friends will hear me call it, Chuck’s toy shelf. I am also someone who believes we DID see Chuck in 1x08 as part of the band and it wasn’t just a Rob cameo. Rob’s character has too much implication to just casually toss him in as a background character. 

--

This is super duper long, and I apologize but also not really! 

Some final thoughts (for now) (any follow up posts I make also will be under #spnwin thots):

I think this finale set up things for both a season 2 AND a continuation. I’ve been a contination believer since literally the SPN finale finished airing. At first it was a way to cope, but then it became a full blown belief for me the more and more first Jackles talked about it, and then the rest of the cast. 

I’m really excited for season 2 of The Winchesters should it happen. I really hope it does. I personally believe it has a high chance of migrating to HBO Max for a home — and if that’s the case that’ll be awesome bc I also believe that’s where a continuation will go. 

All of our favorites of the season will be in season 2 as well. We will see Carlos, Lata, Ada, Millie, Betty, Tony, etc. back. There are still questions about their characters too that we need answering. I’m still suspicious of Betty! 

I liked that they contained this just enough for the finale just in case they don’t get a season 2, but still left dangling plot threads to catch for a season 2 (which felt very season 15 of SPN to me. In my eyes, they really did leave some things dangling for a continuation.)

What kind of potential world building will we get now that we know space and time is but an illusion, lol. I like the prequel being used to expand worlds more and expand the canon more, especially when it comes to hopping planes of existence. 

Is The Empty really the big villain, or Chuck? I personally think so, and I personally think that this will help funnel some stuff into a continuation. 

“What about Destiel” yes what about Destiel? That’s a continuation problem but one that I know Jackles and Dee and whoever else will be involved will ultimately tackle as well. I may have more faith and optimism than others, but that’s because I know from past experiences from SPN that I won’t be burned no matter what happens — so if you need me to clown for you, I can! 

What about the Akrida? Do they just stop at this place? Why this particular storyline? What’s going on? We already have alternates to our own timeline that is the Akrida did not finish off our Men of Letters, Baby got into John’s hands via a car dealership (well, according to Chuck anyway), John didn’t know about hunting in our world, etc etc. 

So what else is different? Will they see OUR world? Who is dead, who is alive? Is Chuck gonna send them to other places too?

Only time will tell I guess! 

Time to light those manifestation candles for season 2 and a continuation! 

[ltleflrt]

I’m disappointed they didn’t even mention Cas. 

Now here’s the thing. I didn’t think spnwin was Going Destiel. I haven’t thought so at all from the very beginning.  I’m not surprised there’s no Cas, I’m not surprised there’s no mention of Cas, and I 110% agree with the positive fandom takes floating around that it wouldn’t have given us a fleshed out reunion scene, which is what we Hellers really want.  Tho, I wouldn’t have minded seeing them together, and then getting the reunion in another season or spinoff.  There’s room for things to happen out of order.  We’ve got time and universe travel, so linear storytelling is kinda boring when you’re playing with those tools.

But the thing is, I didn’t want The Winchesters.  I hated John, I didn’t care about Mary, and I didn’t see how this prequel could heal the still open wound that 15x20 left me with.  But I gave it a chance, and I really love it!  I have learned to like John and care about Mary, or at least this version of them, and there’s so many more characters outside of them that I have fallen in love with.  I even really like how season 1 wrapped up!  It was well done, and not just because of Dean’s presence.  This whole season has been a romp, and the finale was no different.  And I really really really want more seasons!  Just for more stories about the Winchester Gang.

But it didn’t do anything to make me feel better about 15x20.  In fact it made me feel even more upset about it.  And unlike many lucky people in fandom, I can’t pretend the finale didn’t happen.  Which means that I can’t rewatch SPN anymore.  For the better part of a decade, I watched the show on repeat.  It was the background noise of my life.  I cross stitched with it playing in the background, I cooked and cleaned with it playing in the background, I wrote fanfiction with it playing in the background.  I can’t do that anymore.  I tried to rewatch it in 2021, and I just kept getting angry.  I was losing sleep over it because I was so angry all the time.  And the only way I could stop being angry was to never watch it again.

I miss it so fucking much.

But even watching one episode a few months back caused me 4 days of depression and lost sleep, even though it was one of my favorites.  I cannot watch SPN again while 15x20 affects me like this.

And I was hoping The Winchesters would give me something to help.  It didn’t. And I don’t resent that, because I understand that the season was short, Misha was busy, Jensen’s really hoping to do more someday.  But the thing is...he may not get to.  There may not be a S2.  There may not be a reboot mini series.  This may be all we get.  And so I’m sad, because if there’s no more, then I may never be able to rewatch SPN again.

I’m depressed as fuck about it today, and I can feel the underlying rage coming back, and I already popped awake at 3am and lost sleep over how easy it could have been to include Cas in 15x20 or to mention him in 01x13. 

I’m going to bury myself in Dragon Age for a while.

See y’all next week for GK.

[carryoncastiel]

SPNWIN 1x13 - Season 1 Finale Thoughts

I have avoided all spoilers, let's see how this goes!

Oh it starts with the flashback of John coming back from the army

He's just sitting there for hours apparently

"John Winchester?" HEY I KNOW THAT DEEP VOICE

John: "Sir, can I help you". He calls him sir! That must be so weird for Dean lol

OMG Dean looks like a sailor! He has a turtleneck!!!

…and he gives John the fated letter from Henry

BOBBY!?!?!?

"We're not supposed to meddle with things, idjit". Oh so it is heaven shenanigans?

I cannot deal with Dean wearing that outfit, it looks so very not him lol

"One last hunt, huh?" "One last hunt." hmmmmmmmmm

Oooh the title card is different. It gets sucked into some interdimensional thingy or something? Well, I like it.

Henry has a lead on "the guy", apparently some hunter named Joan saw him. And Mary doesn't wanna go to that one college. The future without hunting is scary.

John wears the bad red plaid!

If Mary leaves hunting, what does it mean for her and John's relationship? Will we ever find out

Carlos looking at that Dean pic again:"Whoever he is, he is ruggedly handsome" 😏 Everyone has the hots for Dean and who can blame them (gonna be awkward once they find out who he is though…)

So either Dean has to kill the Akrida (since he is "not of this earth") or Ada has to burn her soul with the crystal. Decisions, decisions.

Lata is gonna look for a way to save Ada's soul if she has to use the crystal. My girl is gonna find a way!

So Joan who knows about Dean is also dead(or whatever state they are in)? Or she is some other being. Interesting.

Wait, Joan threw Dean and the Impala through the Akrida portal??? And only John's journal is left? What's going on…

Joan is the queen ooooooh. Now it makes sense.

John, don't stop her monologue, I wanna know more about her being human once!

Joan: "Join me, OR DIE." Girl, that's no choice.

She does the finger snap and is gone. Interesting.

Y'all didn't know Lata is still in the clubhouse that just got raided by the Akrida? Bad oversight.

Lata actually attacking the queen with a knife, breaking her pacifist streak. Sadly it doesn't do anything.

Joan Hopkins lived in 1673, wanted out of hunting and that's why she turned on her own kind.

Joan: "I lost my parents, my brother, all my family to the cause. And then…I lost my William." ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT I SEE

So because there was always more to fight, always a new apokalypse and all, Joan decided mankind is the problem. Because they always need saving and hunters are the ones paying the price….. That's one way to look at it I guess.

The monster essence drove her mad. Don't pump yourself full of monster juice kids!

OH NO LEAVE LATA ALONE D:<

Carlos having an amazing idea. Use the journal Dean left behind and the Osteum to get Dean back through the portal. Well let's go!

Poor Lata got posessed by the Akrida.

The Akrida were made by an "angry God" as a failsave to wipe out all existence. Yeah, that sounds like Chuck.

DO NOT THREATEN LATA I'M SERIOUS

Damn, Ada had to use the crystal to save Lata. I mean it was obviously gonna be used but still :(

They can only bring Dean back from the monster world at midnight. Of course.

John, are you really trying to get Mary to stay behind because whoever is gonna face the queen is probably not gonna come back? My dude, this never works.

John:"If we save the world then you're free." Such a meaningful line for this franchise…

So Mary actually does stay behind. Oh well

THEY HAVE SWORDS. SPN definitely needed more hunters using swords!

OH SHIT THE QUEEN ALSO HAS A SWORD. And the Akrida too. So many swords!!!

They really got the Impala through the portal! …but no Dean apparently. Eh, whatever we got the car that is also not of this earth. Vroom vroom bitches

Joan says she wiped out all the MOL. Wait a minute…

BABY TO THE RESCUE. Run her over

…But the Queen opens the portal just in time for Mary to drive the Impala through. Oh nooo

John falling to his knees. I'm sorry I'm getting destiel flashbacks again.

…of course the portal opens up again and Baby comes back. But now with a suspicious figure driving. WHO COULD IT BE

Oh hey Dean. Mary isn't back though. Hmm

No, she was in the Impala for the dramatic reveal. Okay okay.

Dean: "She[Baby] kept us save. Of course, there's not a lot that can tear me apart. I'm already dead" DUN DUN DUN

Dean was stuck in the world between worlds. Like Limbo you mean

NOT AMERICANA *sobs*

Dean was going for a drive in heaven, with a detour through the ~multiverse~. But what was he looking for?

"I was looking for my family." Yeah, we all were during that terrible excuse of a series finale…

"See, I come from a long line of hunters.I guess I was hoping somewhere out there was a earth, that has a version where my family had a shot at a happy ending." So here we have it. That ending was not a happy ending and Dean is looking for a better one.

So the Akrida were one of Chuck's last creations. Shocker.

Dean: "Now that the Akrida are gone, you can chose your own destiny. Write your own story". I wanna see that CW, give me season 2!!!

JACK!!!! OMG IT'S JACK. And Bobby again too.

Bobby: "This is all kinds of weird. Seeing Samuel witha full set of hair" LMAO

Dean is all "Sorry Jack I meddled with world. Guess I don't deserve heaven. I'm definitely not saying you should put me back on earth" lol

So Dean is gonna give other world John his own hunter's journal. THEY CAN USE THAT IN SEASON 2

Dean to Mary: " I know you think about quitting hunting. Believe me I understand. But you need to do me one favor. Keep an eye out for a yellow eyed demon" DEAN JACK SAID NO MEDDLING

He gives her The Colt!?!??! DUDE

Mary: "Your family…did you ever find a world where they had a shot at a happy ending?"

Dean looking at all of them "I think I did."

James Heffield(Hepfield? Jensen stop mumbling!). Is this some significant kind of name Dean is using?

And they are gone. Maybe we'll see them again…

Lata did find a way to restore Ada's soul. The mighty LORE strikes again.

Mary saw every possible version of herself going through the portal but she's gonna find her own path.

John: "Do me a favor?" "Anything." "No Goodbyes"

But one last kiss

John is all sad while the others talk about the next case. But look, Mary is "not leaving here without you" (sorry). She wants John to come with her. ROADTRIP

They are in the car and want some music.

Hepfield was adamant on one thing "Driver picks the music…" Ah the famous line

That was it. Finale of season 1. I really hope we get a second season! I don't want to lose these characters yet :( I'm not entirely sure what to make of the whole Dean bit. On the one hand they did give me "the finale was not a happy ending" but then it's all about blood family again and not even a tiny, subtle mention of anything Cas related. I don't want to be too disappointed, since they gave us destiel parallels again but man I just miss Cas :((( I have to think about it more.

Bonus:

Bobby's face is my face when i saw Dean in that outfit. It weird lmao

[thetiredstuff]

Oh shit are shows usually picked up quickly?

hi anon!! idk hahaha i have no clue how this business works. idk like last time i remember cancellations happening that made noooo sense were of lucifer, which got picked up by netflix & brooklyn 99, which got picked up by nbc. 911 got cancelled but it got picked up by abc before the news was even made public. and while i don't remember it well i believe b99 got picked up like a couple of days after fox canceled it (yeah just looked it up. b99 news got out may 10 and got picke dup by nbc may 11). lucifer took a bit longer i believe (just looked it up. it got canceled may 10 and apparently only got picked up by netflix june 15 so took more than a month?) those are the only two shows i remember getting canceled by one network and then getting picked up by another (or a streaming service) but b99 was incrediblyyyyyyy popular and already had 5 seasons. and lucifer was also really popular and had multiple seasons under its belt as well.

edit: okay so @sunglassesmish just reminded me manifest got canceled by nbc in june and then got picked up by netflix in august (lol why did i forget this? i literally watch this show??) it took about a month and a half for it to get picked up so seems like between now and about 2 months is the time frame we should be getting an answer butttt manifest also had multiple seasons already.

the winchesters only has 1 season. i mean it seemed to be doing really well on hbo max internationally and domestically so i would hope that hbo max would pick it up but i would have liked to already gotten that news by now.

on the other hand. both windy and kung fu were canceled and both the news articles about these shows state that WB had looked at other homes for these shows but didn't find any. the winchesters on the other hand by the looks of it is being heavily shopped around behind the scenes given that they started the hashtag campaign and also a lot of news outlets are writing about this hashtag campaign and cancelation. news outlets love writing about whatever but it makes me wonder how much of them are writing about it because they got a press release from WB and or CM which would be another indicator of shopping it around.

but they tried shopping windy and kung fu around as well before the news of the cancellation broke yet no biters. so i'm guessing this hashtag campaign is more so because there is a potential interested partner to pick up the winchesters, which i would guess is hbo (i wouldn't know where else they'd possibly go) and this campaign is like the final push to them to show that there is ample interest. or the deal is basically as good as done and this is just like added campaigning for their newly-required product which will then boost the products' numbers once a new season airs.

idk but i don't like this limbo and even looking at b99 and lucifer or other shows that got canceled and then saved by another network or streaming service, this is occuring during a writer strike. that throws a massive wrench in any plans for scripted television. (i am on the side of the writers tho!! fuck the studios whoarding money and not willing to pay that 3% extra and fuck them wanting to use AI scripts and fuck their day-rate writer idea). but when the writer strike in 2008 happened, it saw an uptick in reality tv because you don't need writers for that or for those who say reality tv is scripted, you don't need as many writers for that. it's why the cw is going for their fuck boy and fuck girl island show. it's cheap. so i don't know. this stuck in limbo shit while a writer's strike is happening and with studios being assholes makes me nervous because i love spnwin but moreover, spnwin is part 1 of what i'm sure is jensen's plan to expand the spn universe. but if spnwin gets canceled after 1 season and doesn't get picked up, it's gonna be a lot harder to make an spn universe.

but again i am saying this when i know nothing about anything

[scoobydoodean]

where would you place spnwin season 1 in a supernatural cinematic universe season ranking? (ik s15 would probably be last)

It's hard for me to even say ngl because to me it does feel very different from spn? Like it feels very distinct from SPN to me until 1.12 and 1.13. It feels more scooby gang than gothic horror + redneck dragon ball Z. Less angst, more fun, which probably should be refreshing... but I guess I like the disease. Like just generally, I'll say I don't find spnwin as compelling as SPN? But it has a great soundtrack, and I did like Carlos and Latika, and this AU John and Mary were also interesting to watch in the same way 4.03 and etc were interesting. The writing was solid (it had to be with the episode constraints involved) and knew what it wanted to say.

I think it's a solid season of TV (besides a little bit of a pacing issue in the Pilot). Like especially for a CW show. But it's probably not very accessible to people who didn't watch SPN, and given the way a good 2/3 of the fandom was immediately against watching it, I'm not at all surprised it didn't get renewed.

The episodes that interested me most were 1.09, 1.12 and 1.13, and it's because 1.09 and 1.12 are obvious criticisms of the SPN finale, and 1.13 gives me back MY Dean instead of whoever that guy in 15.20 was. So like. 100% it is a better season of TV than season 15 to me. But it also kinda feels like comparing apples and oranges to go beyond that, weirdly.

[queerbluebird]

Some spnwin season finale musings for my own benefit

The spnwin season 1 finale was actually the opposite of the spn 15.20 finale in every way I needed it to be. The more I think on it, the more I love about it, and that is such a relief and a pleasant change when I’ve spent actual years hating 15.20 more every time I think about it. 

All through watching The Winchesters I’ve had my reservations. Despite any and all positive signs, there’s always been the looming knowledge that 1) SPN had positive signs and they all got smacked down and ground into the dirt right at the very last minute and 2) we know where John and Mary end up. Spnwin 1.13 has eased those reservations so thoroughly that I finally feel able to be excited about it; to rewatch it and let myself be fully invested in the characters and the story. 

Some key thoughts…

Firstly, these are not the John and Mary we know. They are not bound to the story we have seen so far. Their choices matter! The family they’re building with Lata and Carlos and Ada and Millie matters! The ways they work to improve themselves and each other matter! Their future is wide open, and now they have the tools from Dean to make sure it stays that way. This is truly the healing SPN was building to; pulling together all the lessons Dean spent 15 seasons of SPN learning and having the opportunity to direct that new knowledge towards the future. 

Secondly, at long fucking last we get acknowledgement that Dean’s ending was NOT a happy one. Literally out of his own mouth right on our screen we got to hear him say that he went searching for a world where his family could find happiness. Which he wouldn’t have had to do if he had been happy! Dean’s ending as of 15.20 was misery and tragedy and waste and it feels good to have that 1) acknowledged and 2) undone just a little bit, because Dean is in “the heaven he deserves” but he’s not satisfied! He’s still helping people and still causing problems for The Powers That Be! Good for him!

Thirdly, (and Robbie Thompson I owe u big for this one) this is a finale that actually knows what a free will finale looks like!! Literally you cannot say “they have free will” and then slapdash skim over any possibility of making choices to go “they all died and ended up in heaven and it was great because heaven is great!” That’s not free will! Whereas this whole season was a love letter to free will! “These are the things we learn along the way, and these are the ways that knowledge affects our choices.” And 1.13 rounded it off with such a perfect balance of “we’re wrapping up loose ends, but keeping it open ended. The characters could go anywhere from here! It’s in their hands!” It’s beautiful. This is the “driving down an open road into the future” that Team Free Will deserved and brings me hope all around. 

Also there was Zepp! Amazing!

This was a great finale to The Winchesters season 1 in and of itself. And I think it also went such a long way to soften the blow of SPN 15.20 by re-opening doors SPN tried to slam shut. Dean does have agency in heaven, he has retained lessons he learned along the way (he is looking for family and it’s not John and Mary who live down the road in heaven!). 

I’m excited to rewatch the entire season now, and I’m excited that I get to feel that rewatch excitement when for so long spn 15.20 has ruined my ability to rewatch spn. Having The Winchesters season 1 gives me hope that someday we’ll get a story that brings back the joy of rewatching spn itself. The love felt for this show by the people creating it really brings me hope. And regardless of any of that, I’ll always have SPNWin season 1 now, and I appreciate that.