The Winchesters, a prequel to Supernatural, follows the story of Mary and John. We see how their love story begins as they save the world around them by defeating supernatural monsters. As a huge Supernatural fan, I was a bit afraid of what The Winchesters would bring. On the one hand, it's a prequel to one of my all-time favorite shows, which is produced by Jensen Ackles, one of my favorite actors and Supernatural's lead. On the other hand, it is very difficult to be equally as good as Supernatural. I also had my doubts about the story. John and Mary hunting supernatural creatures together? It's stated in Supernatural that John didn't start hunting until after Mary's death, so how could he have been doing that at a younger age? I wanted to have faith in Jensen Ackles and showrunner Robbie Thompson, who was also involved with Supernatural, but I was quite skeptical about it.
So the story in The Winchesters revolves around Mary Campbell (Meg Donnely, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) and John Winchester (Drake Rodger) who, together with their friends Carlos (Jojo Fleites) and Latika (Nida Khurshid, Danger Force), hunt monsters. It would be very easy to use already existing monsters from Supernatural, but luckily new monsters are introduced. In addition to the monster hunt, we see how John deals with his PTSD and how Mary searches for her father Samuel (Tom Welling, Smallville). And in the middle of all the monster fights, John and Mary slowly start falling in love with each other.
The young actors are doing a fine job. Especially newcomer Jojo Fleites portrays Carlos very well! The world in which the characters find themselves is well established and I am also very happy with the music choices. Because the protagonists are a little younger than Sam and Dean, The Winchesters is a lot less mature than Supernatural. That doesn’t make it bad or something, but it does feel like The Winchesters is intended for a younger audience.
My favorite moments are the moments when we get to see familiar faces from Supernatural.
My favorite moments are the moments when we get to see familiar faces from Supernatural. And there are quite a few! In addition, there are also enough parallels with Supernatural. Yet this first season does not reach the level of Supernatural. I do believe that this show has the potential to grow and I hope The CW gives the go-ahead for a second season. But even if it ends with just this season, I'm satisfied. The last episode is well put together and feels like the finale Supernatural deserved, but unfortunately didn't get due to covid restrictions. For the people who haven't watched 15 seasons and 327 episodes of Supernatural, don't worry! You can safely start The Winchesters without any knowledge of Supernatural.
The Winchesters season 1 consists of 13 episodes and can be seen on The CW. It is not yet known whether the series will get a second season.
About the writer, Sharon Vermeesch
"Be careful not to get square eyes," Sharon has been told since childhood. Watching television shows for hours on end is nothing new to her. Sharon can completely lose herself in good storylines, she cries along with her favorite characters and dreams completely new episodes at night. Also, she knows all the latest news about actors, castings, cancellations / renewals and gossip ? After studying Journalism, Sharon chose the financially stable corporate job, but after craving some more creativity, she handed in her notice. 2023 has started for her without a job, but with a lot of dreams and time to figure out her next step. Oh and she is also writing a tvshow. You can watch this on one of the major streaming services next year (she hopes).
Clear review Here is another Supernatural fan who started this series quite skeptically. And I still kind of am. The series is solid and there is certainly potential, but that will have to work out. Now I especially sat up when veterans passed by and I hope that if there is a second season I will also get that feeling without veterans passing by.
