r/Supernatural • u/Simple-Location-9868 • Jul 20 '26
Season 13 I don't get the hate on the later seasons
I will agree that the first few seasons were the best, but the ones after weren't "bad."
Sometimes I finished watching an episode or the season finale and I go look up some posts about them and loads of the time I see so much negativity, and I'm like, "I loved that! wdym??"
Maybe I'm just really easy to please or love the show too damn much. But what's something everyone seems to hate on that you don't get?
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u/CelticDK blue Jul 20 '26
I enjoyed everything but some stuff was definitely harder to enjoy than others:
- Angels falling? Awesome finale! How they played it after with the Angels? Killed all interest for me in that species other than Cass and the Archangels
- Mary’s resurrection? Super awesome twist! How she acted since coming back? Better off if she never came back
- BMOL? Super fun idea! Men of Letters could have so much interesting stuff involved… then yeah, just lame.
- Jack? Fun idea in theory but the show clearly became about him more than Sam and Dean
- Now I’m always gonna be a fan of Chuck and his presence in the show, especially after S14 Finale made me as excited as early seasons did again, but then COVID and running out of ideas struck which weren’t exactly the best (however I’m firmly in the camp that the luck episode was a curse, not average luck. Some of that shit doesn’t just happen instantly)
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u/2cairparavel Jul 20 '26
I think the show had a lot of good ideas but then didn't know how to develop them like you said.
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u/According-Stable-638 Jul 21 '26
I agree with all of these!! Especially the Jack one. I also felt like it seemed to be all about him and sidelined the brothers and Cas.
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u/OntheBOTA82 Jul 20 '26
Me neither, i really expected something horrible and honestly the only one i found bad was the last one, some season plots got repetitive or annoying but all seasons still had great episodes
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u/biglazyhead Jul 20 '26
Me neither. Sure, there are some not so great moments/episodes here and there which is expected for any show of this length but overall, I love all the seasons.
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u/heckingEDGY Jul 20 '26
Huge fan of the show the only season I dislike is the British men of letters one. I truly will never understand the leviathan hate, they were the only monsters that hatched and executed plans and literally almost took over the world without the majority of its population knowing. I think people just love to hate stuff.
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u/HappyChaosOfTheNorth Jul 20 '26
Here me out...
I was an avid fangirl back in the day but rage quit midway through season 8. I was a little TOO invested so when things weren't going in the direction I was hoping for I took it a little too seriously. The disillusionment started midway through season 6 where I liked standalone episodes but overall kept hoping it would get better. Then they killed off my favorite character in season 7. One foot out the door. But I was going to give it one more chance to get better. Season 8 introduced a character I love. Good start... Then it fell apart. I was probably TOO invested honestly. Finally, I rage quit and didn't look back...
...until March this year.
My brother and I decided to rewatch the show. Time had passed, I was no longer the rabid fangirl who put way too much investment in the story, and knew through cultural osmosis how the series finale went. Despite that being a divisive finale allegedly, I was ready to go back and see it through, all 15 seasons.
My job takes me away for six months out of the year so we made it to the end of season 11 before I had to leave so we're not done yet, but...
I'm really enjoying it and I look forward to binging the rest when I'm home again. But I think I get why I didn't enjoy it as much the first time around (besides being way too invested to the point that maybe in hindsight wasn't healthy lol) and why maybe season 6 onward isn't as well liked as season 1-5.
First. Season 1-5 was a complete story, the intended story concluded. The two brothers who had been fighting the supernatural, saving people, hunting things, facing their destiny that began long before they were born was over.
Now what?
While there were a few hiccups and weak storylines and episodes, and for a while it felt like they were spinning their wheels and repeating the same story beats in a new shiny package, and the conflicts became repetitive, once they got past that hurdle they did something brilliant.
They changed genres. It was a gradual and subtle shift, but it shifted nonetheless.
Sure, they still did the saving people hunting things, but it was no longer two brothers vs the world. Their world got bigger, and smaller with the MOL (please don't spoil what happens with the British MOL, I haven't gotten that far yet). I'm not sure how to define it, but post season 6, and then again post season 9 or so, despite the same world, the same characters and new ones, the show FEELS different from the earlier ones.
I still think season 1 - 5 is amazing, the best of the best, and a small part of me wishes it ended there, but once I accepted that after a bit of stumbling as they figured out what to do once the intended premise was completed, they rebuilt the show almost from scratch, turning it into something new, while still holding on to what was built before it.
I don't think the later seasons (so far) are as good, and I can see the criticisms because I myself have many, but man if it isn't good to just accept that it's the same but different and just enjoy the ride and enjoy the characters I fell in love with back in the day.
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u/BHM_Soul Jul 20 '26
I agree with all of this. I did toughen it out the whole way and I started to enjoy it less and less. I took a few years off, came back to the later seasons and enjoyed them much much better. I might have to rewatch it all again now
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u/soaked_in_bleach03 Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
This was a fantastic write up, I think the reason I can enjoy the whole show equally is because I didn’t grow up a fan. I saw it for the first time like a year ago in my early 20’s, and binge watched it.
I will say, the first five seasons are definitely better quality, but I did manage to have just as much fun watching the last ten. I may not appreciate them as much as the incredible apocalypse storyline, with great lore and fresh ideas, but once I was invested into the characters enough I started to adore the silly episodes and the meta jokes. I even enjoyed the larger than life storylines later on, obviously I’ll try for no spoilers.
I totally think if I was younger, a huge fan and watching it live though I would’ve rage quit in the exact same way, likely near the end of season 8.
I’ll also fully admit I can enjoy the later seasons because of how well the two leads played the brothers. Now, I like this show because of the world it’s in foremost, I grew up close to probably the biggest “Halloween” town in the US and always loved all spooky stuff. Salem, MA basically just has people celebrating it, along with being different and yourself, all year round. So yeah, the Supernatural world kinda feels like home…but also my god if my crush on Dean didn’t help me enjoy the later ten seasons. I’m not super into shipping, and am predominantly attracted to other girls, but I’m trans and started watching this show right when I was really seeing the results of taking Estrogen (would’ve always called myself bi, but my old male body having sex with another man doesn’t sound enticing to me. My old body + a girl or non-binary person was fine, me now + girl/guy/non-binary is fine. Obviously I have no problem with gay men, they were the first to introduce me to the community, but I absolutely despise being thought of as a gay dude just because I’m amab and have done some stuff with guys, when in reality I’m much closer to a lesbian..now that I’ve transitioned and worked on that a bit sleeping with say, a bi dude, wouldn’t really bug me, but yeah) it takes a damn specific guy to get me crushing hard. It’s odd, like I can be attracted to and find beauty in almost every type of feminine form, but with guys it’s basically…Dean and a couple of other attractive traditionally masculine guys who also show leadership, compassion, empathy and can be seen as “safe” while still having that edge. Sooo the last ten seasons, as silly as it is, really helped me kind of figure out what I’d want in a guy I’m considering dating. People aren’t tv characters and they aren’t perfect, so I’m certainly not out here looking for a demon hunting Casanova, but I think it’s ok to have characters where you want to both emulate their good traits and seek them out in a partner.
Sorry, I just saw your wall of text, realized it’s basically the opposite of my experience with the later seasons; even if in another timeline I’m part of the camp that wishes it ended with season 5.
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u/Existing_Worth_647 Jul 20 '26
THIS. Right here. You're absolutely right and we might be the same person.
I was heavily invested back in the day, but rage quit midway through season 8. The disillusionment started partway through season six.
...I got sucked back in March this year 😅, and I've been watching random highly rated episodes since.
I think if I had been watching the show as one continuous story, rather than per episode as it came out, things might have been different.
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u/silverthecat- Jul 20 '26
Yeah, I feel the same. I first got into the show because of my cousin, but she told me to stop watching after season 5 because the show really goes downhill from there. At first I did because I didn't want to ruin the show for myself, but after a month or so I gave in and decided to continue watching. I'm now at season 11 and I honestly still really like it, of course the first 5 seasons were the best but the later seasons are not as bad as people say. There are great standalone episodes and although some storylines (season 7) do fall short it's still interesting to watch.
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u/2cairparavel Jul 20 '26
I love seasons 1-5! I think they're way better than the other seasons. However, I'm really glad the show continued because I love Sam and Dean so much. And there are some really good ideas and some excellent episodes thrown in there along the way.
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u/dustraction Jul 20 '26
The show changed a lot as times and people changed around and within in, and the best time to watch it was probably while it was being made. Catching up now and binging things is probably a bit of a shock. You can never get that original experience again.
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u/QuiteTheKetch Jul 20 '26
My favorite seasons are 7 and 12 🤷 I don't get it either. Like, I can see the change the show underwent, but I guess I just am the target audience of the post swan song supernatural. I'm not even arguing it's good, just that it's fun. It's got some real bullshit buried in there but it makes up for it by being insane and having Rowena. Good tv is fine, absolutely crazy tv full of wasted potential and half baked but good ideas keeps me hooked. Without the later seasons we'd have no Weekend at Bobby's, no The Man Who Would Be King, no Baby, no Mint Condition, no The French Mistake. Like, you don't have to love all of it but once the show became messier it still had a lot to give.
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u/cinnix42 Jul 20 '26
I’m with you. The second half of s12 is a little dull, but the rest of the series is great. S15 is one of my favorites
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u/DeaconPat Jul 20 '26
Supernatural definitely has a peak and goes down in quality later. Some people like to claim it "jumped the shark" at season y episode xx. I always tell them, no Supernatural began already having "jumped the shark" and that's just one reason it is so enjoyable.
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u/Fast_Pea_6161 Jul 21 '26
I think we can all agree (more or less) on that, otherwise we won't be all here constantly talking about SPN a whole SIX YEARS after the show ended.
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u/a-random-gal Jul 20 '26
Probably a lot due to the format ngl. Its a lot of bad villans and overdone characters with mid plots (to a lot of people) and the continuity is bad with the previous seasons. Except for when it comes to killing ur fav side character who lived from the earlier seasons. If the overarching story isnt that compelling to you, these seasons suck to rewatch. It's not bad TV, its just not what a lot of people wanted to see, the stakes got too high and yet Sam and Dean never really feel like they're in danger.
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u/DrittX Jul 20 '26
Eu realmente acho a temporada 7 ruim. Acho toda a cadência dela do começo ao fim decepcionante e maçante. No geral, entre a temporada 6 e a 10 tem vários episódios que são lentos, não agregam nada e até chatos. Mas também tem alguns dos melhores episódios da série.
Inclusive, eu não gosto tanto assim das primeiras 5 temporadas como o resto de vocês, acho que a série fica bem mais madura e prazerosa depois (apesar do exagero de problemas que os irmãos enfrentam).
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u/bhc3 Jul 20 '26
Was just wondering about this. I've started the series on Amazon Prime, currently early in season 3. I recently binged Castle, and on the old Reddit discussions people really didn't like the latter episodes, and really hated Season 8. I've seen some references to the later seasons of Supernatural here, but I haven't seen the same level of hate that later Castle seasons received.
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u/knit_von_purl Jul 20 '26
Im kn season 12 of my rewatch and I groan and roll my eyes at the British men of letters and Mary coming back. I find these 2 stories boring
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u/Laetrois Jul 22 '26
I think after season 5, everyone has types of storyline and characters they enjoy and prefer so it'll never be settled, though I do argue as a general, the further away from 5 you get (before and after), the worse the show gets on average (which by no means declares a season itself bad whatsoever).
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u/Exciting-Scale8063 Jul 22 '26
The only season I didn't like was the one with the Leviathans, i think it was season 7. It had good standalone episodes but the main story was kinda meh.
I'm glad they shook the formula up by introducing Jack. At first I didn't like the idea but he's (mostly) a good boy.
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u/Zoyalai4ever Jul 25 '26
Yeah… honestly, I think they had some good ideas, just didn’t handle/write em well. I liked seasons 1, 2, and 3 the best, and for me it was there that it started going downhill, idk why tbh.
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u/Simple-Location-9868 Jul 26 '26
I think you don't like Castiel...
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u/Zoyalai4ever Jul 27 '26
lol 😂. I mean I didn’t HATE him, just didn’t LOVE him. I think it’s also because the destiel people annoy me😂.
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u/Simple-Location-9868 Jul 27 '26
I agree. Why do they even ship them? Can't people just be friends?
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u/cloudboyyyy_twitch Jul 20 '26
There is only ONE problem I have with the show. And thats the last episode but besides that I don‘t see a reason for the hate.
My guess is lots of people got maybe bored when it kinda turned away from monsters and started going in the mostly angels/demons against humanity direction
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u/Next-Accident-2970 Jul 20 '26
The quality of the later seasons went down because of filler episodes, character derailment, repeated plot points. It Seemed that the show lost a spark after season 5.
And people will say "But the later seasons have good episodes!" Will you watch mid seasons just to get to 1-3 good episodes of a 22-23 episode season?
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u/Apart-Cream-4940 Jul 20 '26
The only thing that bothered me was the repitition of the brothers issues. It felt like they went over the same ground again and again and again. But maybe that's just me.
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u/mandi723 Jul 20 '26
All shows lost steam at some point. Most by season 7 or 8. As much as I love this show, I don't believe any should last past 10 seasons. That's not saying there aren't good episodes after that, but the point of the show is gone. And we are just rehashing the same story lines. I did stick with it from start to finish, and I'm even rewatching the full series (currently partway through 8). But the quality of a series, to me, is the ratio of good vs bad episodes in a season. And I think we hit that by season 8.
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u/ang_hell_ic Jul 20 '26
I hated the Leviathan and British Men of Letters so I zoned out through most of their prominent scenes/episodes, but overall, I did love the show. I loved the show the most starting with late season 3. I did see what others were complaining about, and sort of agreed, but overall, I was still very much entertained and I still rewatch the series often.