The Supernatural winter finale was a tense one for Sam and Dean as they searched for Jack (and their mother) only to be met with ultimate disappointment on both fronts. Rather than reuniting with Mary or sticking with Jack, Sam and Dean were sent to some alien world where dinosaurs seemingly still roam the earth. Meanwhile, Jack and Mary were stuck in the apocalypse world that was introduced in the season 12 finale. The situation is far from ideal for Sam and Dean but it’s one that should benefit the audience because Supernatural truly needs to embrace the multiverse concept in season 13.
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The season 12 finale had a lot of bombshells dropped on the boys and the audience. With all the character deaths and the birth of Lucifer’s son, there was plenty to contend with at the start of season 13. Perhaps the most interesting wrinkle added, other worlds existing out in the universe, has been all but ignored in season 13. The apocalypse world seemed like a huge and game-changing move for Supernatural but it’s only been touched on in the briefest of moments, being revisited in very brief moments with Mary and Lucifer, in scenes spread out over several episodes.
While the apocalypse world is potentially promising a new villain in the form of an alternate version of Michael, that’s not much. The world of Supernatural has been opened up to an insane degree with infinite possibilities. Yet the most the show has done is offer is a potentially “new” villain who is the same as an old one, just in a different body.
This is why, as unfortunate as it is for Sam and Dean to be lost in a world of dinosaurs, it’s good for Supernatural as a whole. It’s true that Sam and Dean’s stay in the The Bad Place probably won’t last that long. In the photos for the midseason premiere, which will also be the backdoor pilot for the Wayward Sisters spin-off, Sam and Dean can be seen with the Impala back at home in their own world. Sam and Dean’s absence might give the Sisters a moment to shine but Sam and Dean won’t be dealing with dinosaurs for the rest of season 13.
Still, Sam and Dean being sent to a world that’s not their own and is not the apocalypse opens the door for Supernatural to tell weirder, universe-spanning stories in season 13 and beyond. The Scooby-Doo “crossover” episode is still coming and it’s likely that will involve the multiverse in some capacity. An animated Sam and Dean should just be the tip of the kooky iceberg for Supernatural.
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The show has fallen into a bit of rut in season 13 as the same conflict between angels and demons is being revisited over and over. It’s been a very long time since Supernatural had an inventive and off-the-wall episode like “Changing Channels,” “The French Mistake” or “Plucky Pennywhistle’s Magical Menagerie.” These weird and experimental episodes used to be common and part of the joy of watching Supernatural but the closest the show has gotten is season 11’s “Baby” — an episode that was only interesting in the way it was shot, not because it was something that had never been seen or done before on the show. The previous weirdness has been traded in for the now-mundane plot of angels and demons hunting each other with Sam and Dean stuck right in the middle.
The multiverse is a way to get back to the fun and free insanity. There’s no storyline that should be off-limits to Supernatural. As long as Sam and Dean are at the center of the madness, the show always feels like the show. So it’s time to embrace the multiverse for all it’s worth and not settle with just a dinosaur world, an apocalypse land and an adventure with Scooby-Doo. If a world of endless possibilities is open to Supernatural, the show needs to act like that’s the case and get up to some, if not a lot, of inter-dimensional travel.
But what do you think? Should Supernatural embrace the mutliverse in season 13? Would that just be too weird? Do you think the show needs more weird episodes or are you happy with the angels versus demons conflict?
Supernatural season 13 will return on Thursday, January 18 at 8/7c on the CW. For more SPN updates, follow BuddyTV’s Supernatural Facebook page.
(Image courtesy of the CW)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Derek is a Philadelphia based writer and unabashed TV and comic book junkie. The time he doesn’t spend over analyzing all things nerdy he is working on his resume to be the liaison to the Justice League.
