I came into this season’s premiere of Supernatural a little wary – the end of Season 11 brought with it a lot of changes to the show, including the departure of showrunner Jeremy Carver, some of my favorite writers, and even some long-time crew members. So I was guarded in my expectations, but hopeful because every time I talked to lead actors Jensen Ackles or Jared Padalecki about the new season, they seemed to be happy with the start of the season and where the early episodes were taking them. So, in I went, with tissues and pie and glass of wine at the ready.
Supernatural fans are a bit different than other fans – we’re a fandom that has been around for a long time, and we appreciate all sorts of little things that the casual viewer might not. Case in point:
a) The Show is now back on Thursdays, where it began on another network eleven years ago. That felt special to me, and added to the anticipation.
b) We love the crew of our show and the miracles that they work, so most of us were not only anticipating the show, but the new title card! And it didn’t let us down – I gave a little squee to see it.
c) Music is important. Sure, sure, there’s no singing in Supernatural (untrue, btw…) but there has always been music. Great music. The classic rock that Eric Kripke loved and passed on to his fictional boys, Sam and Dean. This season kicked off with the sort of kickass classic rock montage that we’ve come to expect from Supernatural, ratcheting up the excitement and reminding me of what an amazing show I fell for.