TV Show Review

TV Review: SUPERNATURAL Season 10, Episode 5: Fan Fiction [The CW]

Rob Benedict Supernatural Fan Fiction

The CWs Supernatural  Fan Fiction TV Show Review. Supernatural: Season 10, Episode 5: Fan Fiction was an incredible 200th episode and a “love letter” to the fans. In my earlier articles, I made quite a few predictions about how Supernatural’s 200th episode might go. While we didn’t get to see any series regulars sing, and though neither Misha Collins (Castiel) nor Mark Sheppard (Crowley) was in the episode, I can safely say that “Fan Fiction” was still every bit as good as I hoped it would be.

For a show that expected to end in its fifth season to still be going in its tenth is an incredible feat; but the fact that Supernatural has the enormous fan base it does is even more amazing. With this episode, the Supernatural writers sent a “love letter” to their beloved fandom.

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I have to admit that, as excited as I was for this episode, I was also concerned. As someone in the fandom, I’ve seen how different fans can turn against each other, especially when many people have vastly different views regarding what they’d like to see in the show. As such, I had my doubts that “Fan Fiction” was going to be able to appease every fan. After watching the episode, I’m happy to report that Supernatural didn’t let me down.

From a variety of seasons’ title cards at the beginning, to the brothers driving off in the Impala in the end, “Fan Fiction” truly was a love letter to all Supernatural fans. In this episode, the monster-of-the-week was haunting a high school musical – a musical based on Supernatural, of course. We watched as Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) reacted to one fan, Marie (Katie Sarife), and her interpretation of Chuck Shurley’s Supernatural book series based on their lives.

The beauty of this is that Marie’s musical incorporated the ideas of real life Supernatural fans. From Wincest and Destiel to the samulet to a hilarious mention of Adam Milligan (the Winchesters’ younger half brother who’s still trapped in the cage with Michael and Lucifer) the musical had it all. Watching our favorite characters react to all of it was truly a wonderful thing.

I want to take a moment to talk about how fantastically the concept of shipping was handled in this episode. For anyone who doesn’t know, “shipping” is the term used when fans take characters and pair them up – generally romantically, but sometimes platonically as well. The Supernatural fandom is rife with a multitude of different “ships,” but the two most commonly mentioned are Wincest (Sam and Dean, previously alluded to in other meta episodes, including “The Monster at the End of This Book”) and Destiel (Dean and Castiel) – both of which were talked about in “Fan Fiction.” Now both Wincest and Destiel and their fan-interpreted subtext within the show can be very sensitive subjects in the Supernatural fandom, which is why I think how this episode handled them was so fantastic. While we saw Dean’s very in-character reactions to both ships – as well as a hilarious unscripted bit in which Jensen Ackles broke the fourth wall to stare at the camera, which was my personal favorite moment of the episode – he also turned around later in the episode and said to the cast, “I want you to put as much sub into this text as you possibly can.” The fact that fans got to see their favorite characters not necessarily breaking from who they are and wholeheartedly agreeing with any of the fan theories presented in the musical, but acknowledging that they exist and that fans have every right to continue to embrace them, was absolutely wonderful.

The return of the samulet, a necklace Sam gave Dean for Christmas when they were kids, was also a heartwarming aspect of the episode. After a few seasons of ups and downs in the Winchester brothers’ relationship, to see such a huge fan-symbol of their bond return was, in my opinion, very important. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t the original samulet either, as it still represented the same concept. In fact, it’s probably better that it wasn’t the real artifact, as we found out in Season 5, glows hot in the presence of God – who may very well have been in the musical’s audience.

Of course, I’m talking about the end reveal of Chuck Shurley, who we last saw in Season 5. Since his fade-away exit in “Swan Song,” fans have theorized that Chuck is God within the Supernatural universe. In a September interview with SpnUK, Rob Benedict (Chuck), offered up his own theory that Chuck represents Erik Kripke, whose exit from the show after Season 5 mirrored the characters disappearance. Either way, Chuck’s commentary on the musical as “Not bad,” means so much more for fans. Tying into the larger message of the episode – that it is okay – encouraged, even – for fans to embrace their interpretations of the series, no matter what they may be – Chuck’s comment just gives added approval to this idea. In this way, the episode truly becomes a love letter to the show’s fans.  Also, if that rendition of “Carry On Wayward Son” combined with the Winchesters’ reactions didn’t make you at least a little bit misty-eyed, you’re lying.

Still, as with any Supernatural episode, once it was over, I found myself filled with an endless stream of questions about the rest of the season. The most concerning one, to me, is: will the happenings of this episode carry on into the rest of Season 10? Particularly, what will happen now that we’ve seen Chuck return? My greatest hope is that we will finally get answers about his true role in the previous near-apocalypse. Of course, in true Supernatural form, there is no way to tell, but this episode has definitely left me even more excited about where this season may go.

Leave your thoughts on the 200th episode of Supernatural  and this review below in the comments section. For more Supernatural photos, videos, and information, visit our Supernatural Page, our Supernatural Google+ Page, subscribe to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, or “like” us on Facebook for quick updates.

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