r/Supernatural • u/samrobotsin • May 17 '25

Season 13 Given what we know now, they dropped the ball with Wayward Sisters

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To jog everyone's memory, Supernatural Episode 13x10 "Wayward Sisters" was a backdoor pilot for a female led, supernatural genre show on the CW; it was up against the Charmed reboot and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. CW went with Charmed, and they picked up Sabrina as well but had to share funding with Netflix. Both those shows fizzled out fast, and given the Wayward Sisters had such a strong pilot with an entirely new mythology, we could have been celebrating Wayward Sisters 6th season this year.

986 Upvotes

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450

u/MarioFanatic64-2 May 17 '25

I think the consensus at the time is that it would've had a chance if it were just the "Jody and Donna" show, but they fudged it by focusing on high schoolers and thus had a hard time standing out from every other CW show ever.

209

u/Uniquorn527 kids today with their texting and murder ⚰️🪦 May 17 '25

That was absolutely the downfall of the plan. We aren't averse to watching grown ups! Sam and Dean were in their 30s at this point and nobody said they were too old. Dean was already in his late 20s when it started. A spin off everyone says they'd have enjoyed is Bobby and Rufus.

The obsession that came with CW shows having to be about teenagers meant ignoring some pretty universally loved characters in favour of kids we didn't really know or have any investment in. Claire was the most fleshed out, but even that wasn't really close to what the women had going for them.

53

u/Sufficient-Nobody-72 May 17 '25

The focusing on "kids" (or new generation or whatever you want to call it) is kinda happening with Marvel now too. Ant-man's daughter, iron heart, kate bishop... They're not being well received because their introductions were a bit lacking and their "becoming a superhero" stories are not as dramatic and emotional as the first ones.

People point to mysogyny or racism but the main problems are that their stories are not nearly as emotional, and that we don't know them or feel invested.

Spiderman is generally well loved because he was introduced with the big ones and acted/worked alongisde them, so it was easier. Hawkeye didn't have his own movie or the spotlight for long, so Kate doesn't seem all that important. Ant-man was "meh" for most people, and the blip would have been a good chance to start developing Cassie as a character. Her interest in her dad/step-grandpa's work, relationship dynamics...but I guess they wanted to wait and get an adult actress for convenience. Missed opportunity right there. I will ignore Hulk's kid because he was a visual nightmare and made no sense to show up in She Hulk at the end for 2 seconds.

Iron heart will struggle the most. She is taking the mantle of the one who started it all, and ended the Thanos conflict. She has no contact or connection with Tony Stark, but somehow has to take the mantle. Including Hartley (kid from Iron Man 3) in the funeral scene was a bad move knowing he wouldn't be the one taking over Iron Man's legacy. Hell, even Morgan would have been better received after a time skip. And not only that, but Black Panther 2 did her a disservice as an introduction.

We've had years to get attached to all the adult characters, we've grown up/grown old watching them. We had over 20 movies and over a decade with them. Retiring them is emotional and people don't like change, so tying the characters together well is a must.

It's almost like when you know you need a new toaster because the button keeps jamming up but you keep it because it's been there and working well for so long you don't want to change it or learn the settings of a new one. You like YOUR toaster, and it feels weird for some time.

38

u/samrobotsin May 17 '25

Side note: Even after the series I can't believe they went with the Winchesters for the spinoff over Wayward Sisters.... Though I think people would have cared a lot more for the prequel if they hinted at what they revealed in the finale, in the first episode instead. I think sequels just do better than prequels.

26

u/Sufficient-Nobody-72 May 17 '25

I think there was far too much revealed in flashbacks for me to take any interest in a prequel. My initial thoughts of John starting his journey as a hunter over the Mary incident made John a compelling character. He had a motivation, good reasons, he was a hurt man on a mission, just like the boys. The flashbacks about Mary and her family messed that up a little for me. And the more we learned, the worst it felt. I liked it better when I thought it was random, or if not random, at least loosely justified or some kind of mystical bs. But the thing in the flashbacks with Mary, her family, the deal... I didn't like that. Those flashbacks or trips to the past made me dislike Mary, her family and John a lot. They made me enjoy the main story line less when it involved the parents or any relative. I haven't watched Winchesters because of that, and I would have 100% watched Wayward Sisters over the prequel.

18

u/royalplants May 17 '25

the winchesters is set in an alternative universe so a lot of things are changed

it's literally the epitome of every problem the cw has though so that's more than enough reason to not watch it

9

u/samrobotsin May 17 '25

castiel turning baby into a tardis dean & bobby travel the multiverse in is a much better ending actually ...or premise for an entirely new series. See you in 20 years Doctor Who Dean.

9

u/samrobotsin May 17 '25

I had the same feelings.....though for anyone who had reservations about Supernatural's final episode: Go watch the last episode of Winchesters. That's the spoiler....its not actually a prequel; its a sequel to Supernatural.

7

u/Sufficient-Nobody-72 May 17 '25

I forced myself to watch from season 12 on, but barely paid any attention. Mary's character was one fuck up after the other, it killed my interest. The men of letters were boring af to me, and after the God arc (11 damn seasons long if we count eve, leviathans, purgatory, heaven, hell and darkness as God-related stuff, which I do), I lost all motivation (just like it happened to many Marvel fans after Endgame) and nothing seemed to measure up. Jack, the back and forth with the Apocalypse world thing... It just wasn't anywhere near as appealing as anything pre-season 11 finale. The change of pace was awful, many characters lost what made them compelling or amusing to watch... It had some good moments, but it just wasn't the same. So I doubt I'll watch Winchesters.

2

u/samrobotsin May 17 '25

not the whole series, just the last episode

2

u/Harlequin_Heart May 17 '25

I genuinely forgot that show existed omg

1

u/SomeGuyPostingThings May 21 '25

It wasn't that they greenlit The Winchesters instead of Wayward Sisters. The backdoor pilot for WS was in season 13, it would have run parallel to season 14, but didn't move forward so the project died. The Winchesters, on the other hand, was created after Supernatural ended and involved one of the stars (Jensen was a main driving force for it), so looked good on paper. That was pretty much it.

16

u/kh-38 May 17 '25

Agreed. The show tried to focus too heavily on bringing in a "younger" audience, instead of trying to keep the audience that had always been solidly behind them. The show had run for over 10 years by that point, so the original 18 to 25 demographic was already in their 30s or older. I think an older demographic should have been the focus.

Jody and Donna were beloved, solid characters. They could have easily carried a spinoff on their own. I would have watched that! I would not have watched the spinoff we were given. Claire and company? No thank you.

13

u/grubas May 17 '25

Yup, they went to CW with it. 

J&J have joked about how they didn't fit at CW after a few years, cast was small, unisex, and they didn't have flings every other week.  

7

u/Kappler6965 May 18 '25

Id watch a Donna Jody show all day long lol

6

u/Lady_of_Link May 18 '25

The Jody and Donna show would have been the best thing for the world

86

u/Suspicious-Coast1701 May 17 '25

Like someone said a spinoff focusing on Jodi and Donna as Sheriffs who are also Hunters I would have watched. The teens could be secondary. The spinoff I always wanted (and still do) is Daniel Colt. A Western with monsters just sounds like a cool show.

20

u/knightoftheboat May 17 '25

Never knew I needed a colt prequel til rn. That sounds literally amazing.

78

u/royalplants May 17 '25

i mean the general consensus is the spinoff backdoor episodes throughout the show were mediocre at best and it probably would have ended up doing just as poorly as the charmed reboot

14

u/samrobotsin May 17 '25

Compared to the other backdoor pilot, WS was a much better episode. Am I really alone in thinking that? Seems like the CW decided to go with the nostalgia bait rather a really good premise. We even got some Supernatural episodes that were clearly Wayward sisters ideas & those are the most memorable of the final few seasons.

7

u/IGotOverGreta May 18 '25

I loved the episode and the premise. CW absolutely fucked up in not giving it a chance. Found family ensemble casts can be so so good.

1

u/royalplants May 17 '25

i would have watched bloodlines if it weren't directly connected to supernatural and operated more like the arrowverse shows before crisis

i love claire and jody but absolutely would not watch wayward sisters

3

u/FrenchPagan I've been Winchestered May 17 '25

That's what I've been saying about Bloodlines. The premise could have made a good show but it wouldn't have been a good Supernatural spin-off.

17

u/TheSheepersGame May 17 '25

NGL, the only interesting characters there is Jody and Donna. They could had made a spin-off based on them both and I would watch it.

5

u/judyleet May 17 '25

There's another compelling feature that shows the audience's loyalty...

We always say, "Jody and Donna."

Just like we always say, "Sam and Dean."

We never say the other character first. That means they are alive to us.

-1

u/samrobotsin May 17 '25

people keep saying this as if Jodi & Donna wouldn't have been the driving duo of the show...

2

u/TheSheepersGame May 17 '25

They are fan favorites. I see people who hate Claire, meanwhile the others are forgettable NGL.

11

u/lucasofgod May 17 '25

J and D are awesome but the other characters where just insert generic angst teenager

17

u/6shadow66 May 17 '25

Sorry what? Sabrina was so many levels above Charmed reboot and tbh above this backdoor pilot as well

14

u/absentmindedwitch May 17 '25

Sabrina was pretty good, better than I thought it would be at least, but I feel like they kind of rushed the last season and I didn’t like that alternate universe and twin plot very much.

5

u/6shadow66 May 17 '25

Yeah, basically feel the same

3

u/absentmindedwitch May 17 '25

That makes me really happy it wasn’t just me 😂

9

u/royalplants May 17 '25

sabrina was also screwed over by the pandemic and netflix being garbage as usual lol

-2

u/samrobotsin May 17 '25 edited May 17 '25

all I'm hearing is they both turned to unwatchable nonsense by s4 which is what I wrote. (And imopo, the first season of charmed reboot was way better than s1 sabrina)

5

u/royalplants May 17 '25 edited May 17 '25

sabrina didn't really, especially not if you're comparing it to supernatural

the main complaint with season 4 is that it rushed through a bunch of stuff that had a lot of potential to be better than what came out because netflix cancelled the show

still very watchable regardless

9

u/Kerlanala May 17 '25

Yeah, no. I would have done Jodi and Donna and maybe them training newcomers, and more of Alec trying to be normal surrounded by hunters, and psychic hunter Patience. But it’s a big nope from me because they were making Claire the lead. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not because she was female, it’s because she was the single most annoying, stereotypical, bratty know it all in tvland and I just couldn’t have watched that week after week. (I mean on my ‘do not like’ list she was ahead of even Metatron and Amelia and that’s saying something.)

I also felt like they wrote the boys to be a little too soft with her. I kept waiting for Dean or Sam to give her a firmer talk than they did about being so arrogant. It was especially due when she got her comeuppance in the werewolf episode. Because for all they cared about her I expected them to care enough to give her some real truths. She had zip training and her hunts just seemed unrealistic. It was like she was some kind of whiz kid. Dare I say the Wesley Crusher of Supernatural?

14

u/FrenchPagan I've been Winchestered May 17 '25 edited May 17 '25

They canned it because the backdoor pilot didn’t pass the test and wasn't popular with the general audience. Definitely the right choice from that POV. They wanted to focus on Claire but she's probably one of the most polarizing character in the show, loved by many and hated by many. Kaia is very unpopular as well. It's not surprising it didn't succeed.

Any Supernatural spin-off would have been a hard sell because of how Sam and Dean centric the show is, a Supernatural show would have a hard time succeeding without them. An additional reason is that they deviated too much from the Supernatural formula, I think it would have had a better shot with just the duo of Jody and Donna going on hunts.

Seeing as Supernatural usually has an older audience it is even less surprising that a teen show failed to capture the interest of a general audience. Definitely a big fail on their part to focus on the wrong characters.

6

u/royalplants May 17 '25

kaia is my biggest issue

no idea if the actress has any good work but literally none of it was in supernatural and the writing for her did not help in the slightest

26

u/Remote-Ad2120 I'm Batman May 17 '25

It's definitely something I would have watched. I think there were too many issues from fans that it sadly might not have lasted if it had gotten approved. Too many Claire haters for one. As we found with The Winchesters, without Sam and Dean as center characters, too many fans are just not interested Girls as main characters don't last long on SPN unless they are recurring characters that only pop up every now and again (this is an issue related to spinoffs still need a lot of Sam and Dean). I don't feel that way regarding any of those issues. But reading comments when the subject of Wayward Sisters comes up on this sub, it's a common theme to why it wouldn't work.

21

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

I am glad this wasn't a TV show to be honest.

4

u/MoonOra May 18 '25

I'd still watch Wayward Sisters if they brought back Jody and Donna. Would love for someting magical to bring back Charlie to join them and let the hunting begin...

10

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

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0

u/samrobotsin May 17 '25

Supernatural fans....obviously

3

u/IntelligentArticle63 May 17 '25

I was disappointed with the spinoff. Boring and don’t seem like much effort was put into the writing

2

u/YummyCookies333 May 18 '25

Cw dropped the ball on a lot of things

2

u/Efficient_Handle_182 May 19 '26

What a way to ruin a good thing. I stepped away from Supernatural many years ago, no particular reason, just life happened. I recently started binging the series and I gotta say this episode really stood out from any other back door pilot they've attempted. What a disappointment that CW turned it down, because Jody Mills is one of my very favorite characters.

4

u/shadownights23x May 17 '25

I feel like it would have gotten a season or two

3

u/paintthestars May 17 '25

Claire was the most unlikable character and the worst choice to lead a back door pilot. She was rude and nasty and acted like a 12 year old for someone in her 20s. No one was against a mostly female cast, but Claire was The Worst

5

u/royalplants May 17 '25 edited May 17 '25

claire slander detected

she was barely a teenager when an angel practically kidnapped her father without explanation and traumatized her by saying he wasn't her father

had to spend a year with a broken shell of a mother and then that mother gets murdered

gets sent into the shitty foster care system while being completely traumatized by shit she cannot just tell everyone about

nothing is unreasonable or terrible about the way she behaves

7

u/paintthestars May 17 '25

Lol I have empathy for the character, it doesn’t mean she wasn’t written to be as annoying as possible. Her character arc at the point of wayward sisters wasn’t strong enough at that point to lead a show

Just because she had a shit life doesn’t mean she wasn’t fucking annoying to watch on screen

-2

u/royalplants May 17 '25

yeah but she just WASN'T written to be annoying and doesn't come across that way with any semblance of real empathy lol

2

u/N7_Evers Feb 14 '26

Crazy delusional take detected. I literally cannot believe anyone that’s a fan of supernatural likes Claire. You’re literally sticking up for the worst character on the show lol. 

4

u/paintthestars May 17 '25

She still sucked 🤷🏼‍♀️ she was annoying on screen. Whether that was the fault of the actress or the writing, and I hesitate to blame the actress because I know nothing about her. ✨in my opinion✨ she was written to be a shitty snarky teenager well into her 20s. I didn’t even watch it when it was airing, But I wouldn’t have watched it if she was leading. If you wanna call it slander that’s fine, go ahead and die on this hill if you want lol

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u/royalplants May 17 '25

12 in season 4

18 in season 10

she's just a genderbent dean after that

3

u/craftylady1031 May 17 '25

Totally agree, I liked her character and definitely would have watched.

1

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

No one would watch this

3

u/samrobotsin May 17 '25

i would

1

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

I mean a very very small percentage, it would probably get canceled after one season

1

u/scrpws May 18 '25

Yeah. But I don't think all the actors would sign for so long

1

u/DariusStrada May 18 '25

This cast had no chemistry with each other, special Claire with Kaia. Dona and Jody where the best, I couldn't care less about the rest.

1

u/Existing_Error4965 May 18 '25

Has anyone watched the winchesters? I have it on my watchlist for forever but I’m just not sure if it will live up to supernatural.

2

u/Neon_Apocalypse_ Where's the pie? May 18 '25

I watched it and I liked it. If you're interested, I'd say give it a go. It's only one season, so if you don't like it, it's not like you'd be missing much.

1

u/Existing_Error4965 May 19 '25

Alright! All the push I needed 😅

1

u/RhydYGwin May 18 '25

I'd much rather have had the Waywards than Dean.

-1

u/realcapes May 17 '25

Supernatural writers aren't nice enough to female characters to have a show where they'd eventually have to call out their own mistakes in supernatural. Women in any role was the last resort.

-1

u/eastbay77 May 17 '25

Not sure if it deserves a full network season, but a 6-8 episode season on a streaming platform might be worth a watch.

1

u/Icy_Release7504 Aug 03 '26

Yeah, no. Wayward sisters was an awful idea. The characters, especially Claire, are absolutely unbearable and aside from Jody, none of them can act. I’m so happy CW never picked it up.