Supernatural's Angels Have Been Demoted to Celestial Errand Boys
Supernatural is one of those shows that feels like a gift that keeps on giving when it comes to cool characters.
Fans have loved to hate the slew of overpowered baddies that Sam and Dean have had to deal with in each episode. The writers seemed to have no limit to their imaginations when it comes to devising antagonists for the Winchesters to battle, and that is one of the many reasons the show managed to persist for a staggering 15 seasons.
But some fans have pointed out that not all of Supernatural 's meta-beings have earned the same treatment over the multiple seasons.
Angels were shown early on to be immensely powerful. Truly a force to be reckoned with, near unstoppable and feared by every other superpowered being. But strangely, there seems to have been a shift over time.
Redditors have noticed that angels somehow became less threatening. When first introduced, they were strong, capable, intelligent, and certainly a dangerous opponent for Sam and Dean. There was no question of them trying to fight an angel without any kind of magical assistance, to do so would have been almost laughably suicidal.
Yet, as time went on, angels somehow lost their edge. They became weaker and far more easily defeated without any plausible explanations. It has baffled Reddit users who are of the view that they have been cheated out of stronger writing and more believable character evolutions. Redditors have drawn a parallel between angels and demons, noting that this phenomenon applies to them as well.
But the angels example holds far more weight and contention given that angels were also shown to be far stronger than demons at first. Yet by later seasons, they inexplicably became far weaker and more manageable in several fights. Sure, there was some use of magic here and there, but no reasonable explanation for the sudden shift in their power. Dean and Sam were suddenly able to go fist-to-fist with them and hurt them when they previously could not.
Reddit users have proposed a few theories for this demotion of the angels in the Supernatural universe. But the most popular, and indeed, unfortunately, the one that seems to have the most compelling evidence, is that the writers had to make all creatures gradually less powerful to avoid writing themselves into a corner.
If they kept all beings at their original power levels, Sam and Dean would never have been able to enjoy as many victories as they did. Which would have ultimately meant some very dull viewing for fans and most likely a massive loss of popularity for the show.
It may sound like a harsh view to take, but the writers of Supernatural are not the first to do this and they will definitely not be the last. Shows that delve into the superhuman need to be able to take a measure of licence in terms of power levels and skills, or everything would feel far too formulated and dull. And even the harshest Supernatural critics would have to agree, the show has never been dull.