Concerning Supernatural

So here's the thing...

Huh. 

Wow, this is harder than I thought it was going to be!

Anyway.

Hmmm.
 
It has come to my attention that a lot of people have started watching Supernatural because of me.

PLEASE DON'T DO THAT!!  JUST DON'T!!!! 

Because, here's the thing about Supernatural:  I actually really kind of hate it. 

"So why are you still watching it, and obsessing over it, and posting gifs?" you ask?
To which I reply, "Because I love Dean and Sam!!!"

Let me explain.

The first three seasons were really good! (And this is coming from a girl who doesn't go in for paranormal scary stuff normally. You ask me to watch something like The Grudge with you, I will giggle like a hyena who just inhaled helium and politely decline.)

The first three seasons of Supernatural deal with Dean and Sam hunting down monsters and demons and sending them back to hell. Which I thought was really cool. Who doesn't like it when bad things get their own? There was a clear-cut line between good and evil, which doesn't happen a lot in modern shows, and it was crystal  clear. The demons, werewolves, vampires, and other manner of horrific specimens were evil, and the good guys were actually good guys.

It showed how heroes don't always, if ever, get happy endings. Being a hero is hard, and requires a considerable amount of self-sacrifice. Doing the right thing isn't always easy. Family is important.

And it also showed that hell is not a nice place at all, and that the things you do will have consequences.

Bing, bang, boom! I liked all that.

But then they had random and unnecessary dirty scenes, and inappropriate conversations. However, the show is rated TV PG14, so I guess that's to be expected.

On top of the goodness of the stories, Dean and Sam were freaking awesome. Quite honestly, they are some of the best characters on television. Everyone I know who has made the mistake of joining the fandom agrees with me on that note. They are the best brothers ever. Their story is cool.

Right, are you with me so far? I got obsessed with the show really quickly, and watching seasons one through three fueled my obsession.

And it was too late for me to turn back. 


BUT THEN WE STARTED SEASON FOUR.

And the moronic writers decided to introduce angels and God into the mix.

And I went from lovingly drooling over the boys, to going:

It is by far the worst portrayal of God and the angels that I have ever seen. I mean ever. 

The sad thing is, I started out liking the angels. Castiel, or Cas, as everyone calls him, was cool. Everyone, the monsters and demons included, were afraid of the angels. Good start. 

But Castiel went rapidly downhill from there. He starts doubting God.... yeah.

Quite honestly, I can't list all the things that the writers got wrong, theologically, but I'll give you the basics:

Over the course of season four and the ones after that, you find out that:

The angels need to possess people to be able to have a form on earth. Excuse me? Say what? Angels are more powerful than that. The people the angels possess (formally called "vessels") do need to give their consent, but still. What the heck? Angels are able to manifest however they like. It should be easy for them to manifest as a human. They do not need an actual human body to possess.

Angels will give up their grace and willingly leave heaven because earth is happier. (Excuse me?)

Lucifer is apparently an archangel, not a Cherubim.

God has lost control of heaven.

God is in hiding.

God doesn't care about anyone but Himself anymore. (Yeah. Right.)

Angels are rebellious little twerps that act just like sleazy politicians.

Demons aren't fallen angels, Lucifer created them.

Angels will lower themselves to making a deal with the King of Hell (who, weirdly enough, isn't Lucifer) in order to become a god and take over heaven. (Yeah, that happened.)

Purgatory isn't a place you go to be cleansed before you go to heaven. It's where really bad monsters live.

And apparently there are still a crudload of fallen angels in heaven.

And that's just the major stuff! There's bunches of little things that grate on my nerves.

To be quite honest, if I had known even half of what was wrong with Supernatural, I probably wouldn't have started it. I came so close to just throwing my hands in the air and giving up on the show during Season Four.

In fact, the only reason I didn't stop was because I had a friend (who's opinion I trust very much) who was a season ahead of me. She informed me that after Season Four it did get better. If I hadn't known, much as I loved Sam and Dean (and that is a lot), I would given up on the show, because the writers got so much wrong, heaven wise.

The really frustrating thing is, it's obvious that the writers did a load of serious research to do the show. The demons, and Lucifer were perfect: evil, manipulative, cruel liars.
The writers, then, did enough research to know that the way they were portraying God and His angels was abysmally wrong.

How dare they use the Bible and pick and choose what they want to portray accurately? I'm sorry, that's my Bible, and my religion, and my God that they  are portraying as silly and cowardly. They have a lot of nerve, taking people's religion and messing around with it to suit their story. It makes me really, really mad.

So, why am I still watching it?

Because after season four, it didn't make me as furious.

But mostly it's because I am head-over-heals in love with Sam and Dean Winchester. And not just because they're excessively attractive. (Though, that's true too.)

See, I love brother stories, and friendship stories, even more than I do romances. But there aren't a lot of brother stories out there. Normally you have a good brother story and one of the brothers dies, or they both fall in love and end up hating each other. Same thing with friendship stories, although they're a little easier to find.

Dean and Sammy have the best brother relationship in the history of ever. (Again, everyone who has watched Supernatural agrees on that.) They bicker and fight like normal people, but underneath they have an unbreakable bond. They're willing to die for each other. (And they do, frequently.) They will tear the world apart to keep each other safe. They're willing to sacrifice everything for the other (and they do that frequently, too). They've both lost so much over the course of the show, they keep getting closer, and it's a wonderful sibling relationship. I want need them to have a happy ending.

They really are the only reason I'm still watching Supernatural. If they had been less cool, or if they were different characters, I would not have considered it worth the pain and frustration.

But they are that cool, and I can't help myself, I love them too much to stop now.

However, if you're considering watching Supernatural because of me, please don't. Just don't. It would be better for you all around if you didn't. (Not to mention how much emotional trauma you will avoid...) I can't recommend the show anymore without cringing at the idea that someone is going to get as angry as I did about the theological issues in it.

I really don't want people to go, "Oh, Treskie likes it! It must be good, she usually has good taste," and then watch it and be scandalized.

If you've read this post, and still feel like you wouldn't mind watching the show, please, please let me email you a list of episodes to watch and skip. I would feel better about it.

I just really needed to get this off my chest, because I think I've mentioned Supernatural so much that it's a necessary warning.

Anyway, I hope I haven't shocked or scandalized anyone with this "ALL MY FEELS" post.

I just needed to let you know.

And now you know.

So cheers and God bless!

Treskie