The Winchesters Tease Connection to Supernatural, But Is It Enough?
Can the charm of the original show save the prequel?
It's quite clear that The Winchesters is going to be heavily tied to Supernatural — even if we don't get all of our favorite characters back the way we wanted, there will definitely be plenty of connections, which has already been proven by the trailers.
Among such references is the book with "Men of Letters" written on it that young John Winchester dusts off, as well as less than subtle hints at Carry On My Wayward Son. Plus, the mere presence of Dean Winchester, portrayed by Jensen Ackles who also exec produces the series, is in and of itself the biggest connection to Supernatural.
"Don't know about you, but I always watched SPN for Dean and to me Carry On My Wayward Son was about Dean's journey (and he by far went through the biggest developments) and The Winchesters is part of that journey so you know." – @saltydeanstan
The new details come from a fresh teaser shared by the showrunners on YouTube.
On Supernatural, Men of Letters were shown as a group of "preceptors, observers, beholders, chroniclers" of mysteries, whose knowledge on dealing with monsters and all things supernatural, accumulated through years, saved Winchester brothers repeatedly. Sam and Dean even ended up living in Men of Letters bunker, and it was revealed on the show that one of their ancestors, Henry Winchester, was one of the initiated Men of Letters members, so there's a family connection right there.
However, no matter how rich in references and Easter eggs The Winchesters will be, it might not melt the hearts of some Supernatural fans that are still mad about the prequel retconning the original story.
Others, however, are pretty excited and ready to trust Jensen Ackles on what's coming. Speaking with TV Line, the Dean Winchester actor highlighted that the show is "not the washed version. It's not the sugar-coated version of how mom and dad met. This is like what really happened."
Apparently, The Winchesters is going to address whatever changes it makes to the canon, and many people hope that Ackles has a plan to follow and make the new show work without completely ruining the legacy of the original.
The Winchesters is set to premiere on The CW on October 11.