The Supernatural Storyline Fans Wish Had Lasted Longer
From 2005 to 2020, the CW series "Supernatural" ran for an impressive 15 seasons, earning the praise of millions of fans and building one of the prime success stories of broadcast network television. In the years since it went off the year, fan enthusiasm for the property hasn't dwindled. In fact, the enduring success of "Supernatural" even inspired the network to greenlight a spin-off in "The Winchesters."
"Supernatural" follows two brothers, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) as the two brothers travel all over America, battling paranormal creatures and demons along the way. Though the plot and focus of the series began humbly enough, the story eventually grew to see the brothers facing apocalyptic threats from the forces of heaven, hell, and everything in between.
Of course, when a show runs for as long as "Supernatural" did, it's going to go through a lot of storylines. While some of these plot lines may have overstayed their welcome from time to time, there are also those that fans wished could have lasted just a little bit longer.
Fans wanted more of Demon Dean
On the r/Supernatural subreddit, fans debated which storyline was too short-lived, and there was a very clear front-runner. "I honestly wish we'd seen more of Demon Dean," u/dels79 wrote in a thread. "Jensen played that amazingly well, and I would have liked to see what havoc he really could've caused."
In Season 10 of "Supernatural," Dean becomes a demon after dying while afflicted with the Mark of Cain. As he pals around with arch demon Crowley (Mark A. Sheppard), the elder Winchester brother breaks bad in a number of entertaining and hilarious ways. These out-of-character moments are spread far and wide, including one that sees Dean take it upon himself to beat up a random barfly at a strip club. In another set of scenes, Dean downs copious amounts of alcohol and delivers karaoke renditions of "I'm Too Sexy" and "Imaginary Lover."
Many fans were quick to agree that this plot didn't last long enough. "Demon Dean ended way too quickly," read the top-voted comment from u/kavalejava. Similarly, u/RebaKitten chimed in by adding, "Came to say Demon Dean and it was the first comment!" Notably, u/hiMynameIsPizza2 had even more beef with how quickly this comedic storyline wrapped up, writing, "After seeing him as Soldier Boy, it further angers me that we got so little of Demon Dean."
Of course, the user is referring to Season 3 of "The Boys," in which Jensen Ackles plays the villainous Soldier Boy, a character that evidently reminded plenty of former "Supernatural" viewers of Dean's Demon persona.
Jensen Ackles wasn't sure about the series finale
Speaking of things that fans didn't want to end, "Supernatural" itself came to a close in 2020 (via IMDb). While the ending of the series split fans with its divisive storytelling choices, Jensen Ackles sat down in January 2022 with fellow CW alum Michael Rosenbaum to talk about the series finale (via Inside of You).
"I don't think there's a wrong opinion about it," Ackles said. "I think that the people that had problems with it are validated, and I think the people that enjoyed it are validated. I was in both camps." It's surely reassuring for fans of both stripes that someone so close to the show understands where they're coming from.
Ackles went to on to explain that he initially didn't like the ending but came to terms with it after discussing it with his wife, Daneel Ackles, and "Supernatural" creator Eric Kripke. "It just put things in perspective for me," Ackles said of his conversation with Kripke, "and from then on I was on board." Even if some fans weren't crazy about how the show ended, Ackles will be returning to narrate "The Winchesters," so at least there's more of Dean Winchester coming in the future (via Deadline).