I have always been a sucker for shows involving magic and the supernatural. As a child, I badgered my yayas for folklore and I was also encouraged by my grandparents who were into the occult. Even when I was in college, I researched on the Wiccan tradition and arranged my Monday nights around Charmed, which used to be on Studio 23.
On a Saturday night last December, I watched my first episode of Supernatural on Studio 23. I was alone in our ancestral home in Cagayan de Oro and I couldn't help but look around and see if there were ghosts near me. I desperately needed excitement in my life so last February, I toddled over to the local "video store" and bought a complete season.
Supernatural, is about the quest of two brothers to look for the creature that killed their mother 22 years ago and to look for their father who suddenly disappeared while he was hunting. When they say 'hunting', what they mean is looking for supernatural beings and destroying them.
Dean, played by Jensen Ackles and Sam, played by Jared Padalecki, were taught by their father how to hunt at a very young age. Their father's obsession started on the night when he found their mother stuck to the ceiling, dead and bleeding. Sam, was still an infant and Dean, was four years old then.
In Charmed, there were three beautiful and sexy sisters, while, in Supernatural, there are two handsome(as repeatedly declared by the female leads in the series) and sexy brothers. The sisters had a Book of Shadows, that contained information about demons and other creatures and how to vanquish them, while, the brothers have their father's journal that has instructions on how to torch the suckers. The sisters defeated their enemies with their powers, spells and potions, while, the brothers deal with their quarries with shotguns, pistols, salt, holy water and lighters. If Charmed was for those who fancy themseleves as witches, Supernatural, is for those people who'd like to be ghost hunters or supernatural investigators.
I learned a lot of trivia from the show, like, the only way to get rid of a vengeful ghost is to salt and burn its remains. Ghosts, are also around if the lights and everything electronic flicker or malfunction. This is because of the electomagnetic disturbances created by their presence.
The thing I like most about the show is how they interweave sibbling squabbles and father issues into the plot. I have grown up with two older sisters and my experiences with them are totally different from those who have brothers. Supernatural, gives me a glimpse of how it is to live and grow up with a brother through the interactions of Dean and Sam.
Dean, is the older of the two. He is rough, cocky and stubborn. He always follows their father's orders found in the journal and he constantly wants his father's approval. As older brothers are apt to do, he constantly picks on Sam. He drives a black Mustang, wears a leather jacket, plays Black Sabbath on his stereo and hums Metallica when he's nervous. He is the better fighter and shooter of the two and he also supresses his emotions because he does not want to have chick-flick moments.
Sam, the younger brother, is sensitive, perceptive and rebellious. He left home as a teenager because he didn't want to hunt and have anything to do with his father and brother. He wanted a normal life but his girlfriend was killed by the same creature that killed their mother. He was about to go to law school on a scholarship at Stanford when his girlfriend died. He also constantly questions Dean's blind obedience to their father's orders and chafes under Dean's alpha male personality. Part of the show's mystery is the gradual development of his psychic powers on which Dean commented, " Who is the hotter psychic? Jennifer Love Hewitt, Patricia Arquette or you?"
The two of them operate as a single unit. Dean, having the brawn and Sam, having the brains, they travel across the US shooting poltergeists, vampires and other creatures while following the trail of their father.
Supernatural, is fun to watch but I only watch it during the day so that I wouldn't have to imagine a ghost with empty eyesockets sitting beside me. The plot of every episode is predictable. An episode usually starts with a person or persons going missing and then Dean and Sam appear on the scene and start figuring out the mystery. It's supernatural detective work with occasional flirting with the female leads. The episode ends with either Dean or Sam burning or blasting away the bastards.
The show didn't give my brain a workout with its simple plots and dialogues. But, as the series progressed, I realized that it is also about things that I only have theoretical understanding of, like, loyalty, family and love. Dean and Sam, have to work together despite their squabbles and differences to accomplish their mission and make their family whole and safe again. Whether they succeed is something to look forward to in the next season.
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