It was one year ago today that Supernatural filmed its final episode. I don’t know how that’s possible, because in some ways it seems like yesterday, and yet when I think of everything that has happened since, it seems like maybe it was even longer. Jared has filmed a whole season of Walker and is starting another. Jensen has filmed a whole season of The Boys. Misha has recorded a podcast season and published a poetry book. Some of my friends in the fandom have moved on, found other shows to love, even if they will always have a soft spot for this one. Some got pulled into this drama or that drama and walked away disillusioned or disappointed. Some, like me, are still here – I’m grateful every single day that the SPN Family still exists and I can still hop on social media and find people who want to talk about Supernatural and how much we love and miss it.
A year ago, I was already anticipating how much things would change, and of course they have. I knew that life would feel different just knowing that Jensen and Jared and Misha and the crew that felt like family too were no longer up there in Vancouver making magic for us to enjoy. I knew I’d miss Jason Fischer posting the Quote of the Day – it started out my every day for so long, a part of my daily routine that I cherished. He probably doesn’t know how good it felt, to know that everyone in my little corner of the world (ie, the Supernatural fandom) was starting out their day with that white board too.
It was something they shared with us simply because they wanted to – and it helped us as fans feel a part of everything they did. We knew when the day started, when the day was slated to end, what scenes they were filming. I miss that feeling of connection that was pretty unique in the world of television.
A year ago, as the cast and crew headed to work for their very last day of shooting, they wanted to share that with us too. Jared and Jensen both candidly shared their emotional reactions to their last day being Sam and Dean, taking the time to post something for the fandom even as they had to do the actual filming of those final scenes on the bridge.
I don’t know that there’s ever been a show and a fandom so closely tied that the fans got to ‘know’ so many of the behind the scenes people who made Supernatural so special, not just the actors. So many of those people wanted to show us where they were and how they felt as the last day spun out. It made it a little easier to deal with my own feelings when I knew they were shared by all these talented and hard-working people.
It was rare and special that so many of the crew worked on the show for nearly its entire run – when everyone said it was a family, I think they really meant it.
Supernatural was so special, in fact, that cast who had been on the show throughout its fifteen year run came to social media on its final day to share their emotional reaction to its ending. People who had moved on to other things long ago still considered this show important enough that they wanted to express their gratitude and send their good wishes. Not to be maudlin, but it was a little like a funeral, when people show up out of the woodwork and you suddenly realize just how loved this person was and how many lives they touched. Supernatural was like that.
Of course, Supernatural’s creator Eric Kripke shared his emotions, and so did Misha Collins.
#ThankYouSupernatural trended pretty much all day, all over the world, as fans and cast alike tweeted their heartfelt gratitude to the show that changed all our lives.
And countless guest stars chimed in with their thanks. Many of these actors wrote chapters in either Family Don’t End With Blood or There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done, describing just how dramatically the show and the fandom have impacted them. I know they are grateful.
Writers and producers weighed in.
The bands that are forever inextricably linked with Supernatural joined in – Louden Swain and freaking Kansas!
I posted my own gratitude and good wishes for the cast and crew, through lots of tears.
It sounds dramatic, but I knew my life would be changed once my show was no longer filming, and it has been.
And then I savored that last day, as much as I could.
I was online, waiting, when the final tweet came through that Supernatural had officially wrapped. It seemed somehow appropriate that it was called like the traditional ‘time of….ending’, because it felt a little like that.
I’m grateful for every exciting thing that has happened since, from behind the scenes photos from new projects to virtual conventions to zoom get togethers with my fandom friends or some of the actors I miss seeing in person. That has helped a lot, but there’s still nothing like knowing that Sam and Dean and Cas and Jack were still out there. That the Impala was still cruising down the highway and there were more adventures around the next bend in the road.
I miss them. One year later, and I still miss them every day. And maybe now, with the benefit of twelve months of living without Supernatural, I appreciate even more how special the show was, and how special the fandom that grew up around the show was. I’m still indescribably glad that I took the time to savor it while I had it. And I haven’t given up hope for more in the future!
Until then, as always, love you Supernatural.
— Lynn
You can always remember just how special
Supernatural is, in the words of its actors
and fans, in ‘Family Don’t End With Blood’
and ‘There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done’.
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Thanks for the flashback Lynn and for continuing to offer a place we can meet to share our thoughts. Everyone’s lives have changed in the last year, crew cast and us, but the continued sharing and mutual support goes on and that’s what keeps this family together as we make our own future.
I continue to look forward to your posts and your coverage of The Boys and Walker. Thank you for all your hard work on our behalf.
Thank you so much, that made my day!
My, my, now I’m in tears again. Thank you for all these sweet memories. It’s unbelievable how much a TV show may mean to so many people from so many countries and continents! I like reading your recaps of SPN and look forward for more!
Thank you – it is almost unbelievable, isn’t it? In the best of ways.
Thank you Lynn for being my voice when I seem to have a hard time finding the right words. This Little Show that could is and will forever be with me! I miss them; Sam and Dean. I miss the entire bunch! And even though I have the DVDs it’s still not the same as seeing these two guys grow and develop before our eyes week after week. But knowing they (Jensen & Jared) are out there doing what they love and being with thier families makes it better. Knowing they’re happy makes me happy.
Totally agree with this comment…couldn’t have said it better myself!
Thank you!
I think many of us will miss Sam and Dean forever, but we also developed a genuine affection and respect for the cast and crew who brought their story to life, so yes, we’re happy when they’re happy!
Thank you for this! I commemorated the final day of filming by watching the series finale again. It was the third time I’ve watched it and it still makes me ugly cry. I miss this show. I think it’s been harder because we haven’t had any in person cons with Jared and Jensen in a year and a half. This weekend was supposed to be the Orlando con which i had a ticket to but it was canceled. I’m glad it was canceled since Florida is such a mess right now, but I long to see Jared and Jensen in person again (I know, first world problems).
Like Marion mentioned above, thank you for giving us a space to talk and reminisce about the show we love.
I think we’re all looking forward to conventions again, when it finally is safe again – it’s another form of connection that we had grown used to over time. Fingers crossed the world improves soon!
The part that hurt the most was Jensen in the foreground while the bunker was being dismantled. Ohh that one hit hard!!
That one was hard to watch, but I also take comfort in knowing that they are/were just as emotionally attached to this show and these characters (and Sam and Dean’s home) as we all are/were.
Replying tp Kelly N. I must have cried for a month when they dismantled that. Seeing their emotions broke me! You see it’s not the tearing down but their emotions.
Most of my replies start out “Thank-you, Lynn” because, like Marion said, you give us a place to talk with each other about something we love and miss, don’t have to apologize for it, and can trust that it’s one place where we can share our thoughts without fear of someone giving us a hard time. The past eighteen months have been difficult with so much loss and change, and having to live without the unfolding story of the Winchesters every week has added to that. I look forward to every Supernatural review you do, especially since my husband and I are doing a once or twice a week rewatch like so many other fans, and I also enjoy your Walker recaps and anything else you share, like this lovely piece. I hadn’t realized that the one year anniversary had crept up on us until Mr. Ackles so generously took the time to remind us, and that evening, while reading the Jack and Jill nursery rhyme to our almost three-year-old granddaughter, my husband, who knew I was listening over the baby monitor, said that Jack and Jill were actually knocked down by the vengeful spirit of the body dropped down the well, and Sam and Dean had to go down in there, get the bones, and salt and burn them. I’m yelling down the hall, “That’s not age-appropriate!” while laughing and thinking, “That would’ve been a good episode!” (the spirit in the well part, not Jack and Jill–lol). Please keep on sharing with us, Lynn, and we’ll see what the future brings!
Thank You!
I’m late to the party
Finding & watching the Show only half year ago…..reading your thoughts about it helped a lot.
I’m from Hungary where the life is not easy.
I’m not even perfect in English, so sorry for my mistakes, but I wanted You to know I found here a Special place, where I can learn, feel and escape.
The Show is Special. The bond what they built is so strong and unique I fell in love with the brothers quite deep.
The life what they live… what they experienced, so many loss and sorrow.. And despite all of that they grow, they never give up – always keep fighting.
And that is why Sam & Dean are my heroes.
Just like Jensen & Jared who are so in sync with the fans in real life that forged a family. Helped many of us survive loss and hard times.
They are beautiful human beings in-and outside. If I could I would Say to them – Thank You
I’m grateful for You, Lynn cos You are my guide in this journey and this is the place I feel I’m not alone. I will never be able to meet them personaly but I can always read your rewiev and feel included.
I love this Show and all of You
in this Supernatural family and I know I’ll Always keep fighting and will never losing hope.
Thanks to You
Welcome to the family! So glad you found the show and the fandom and that it has been an inspiration to you, like it has for so many of us.
Sending you big hugs!
Lynn