The Winchesters' Villain Reveal May Finally Prove Its Connection to Supernatural
Supernatural fans have been waiting with eager anticipation for the prequel, The Winchesters. So far, critics and fans have been united in one thing; their uncertainty about how the two shows are linked.
While the two main characters in The Winchesters are quite clearly the parents of Sam and Dean from Supernatural, some rousing questions have emerged given the seemingly massive changes to the canon
The most obvious is John Winchester becoming a hunter while his wife, Mary, is still very much alive. Key to Sam and Dean's backstory was their father only taking up this mantle after Mary was killed by Azazel. Instead of showing this established lore, The Winchesters has John and Mary working as hunters side by side.
Fans have been speculating why this could be.
Some have written off The Winchesters for changing the canon, while others have stuck with it, searching for possible explanations. It was initially felt that writers were simply using artistic licence to create the show as they saw fit, paying no mind to the established backstories. However, new information has come to light that could reveal the true reason behind the discrepancies.
Henry Winchester has made a surprise cameo in episode seven, and along with him comes the revelation that the main baddies, the Akrida, come from a parallel universe. Needless to say, this has blown everyone's minds.
While the alternate reality idea was explored to an extent in Supernatural, it seems The Winchesters will be leaping into the plot point head-on, by bringing it in as early as season one.
How does this explain the staggering changes to John Winchester's established backstory? Simply put, it opens the door for the possibility that The Winchesters is occurring in a different universe to Supernatural.
While the two series are inextricably linked through their characters, having the two shows happening in parallel realities creates near-endless possibilities for storytelling.
With the power of hindsight, the clues have been present from the very first episode of The Winchesters that it was not the same universe as Supernatural. Ada Monroe's comment about the Akrida not being "of this world" was hint number one, with the various changes to the canon offering more evidence. But Henry Winchester gets the credit for providing the biggest clue of all; the truth about the Ostium that was discovered in the very first episode. It is not a weapon, as previously thought, rather, it is a transport device between realities whereby the destination is dependent on what powers it.
This creates the incredibly exciting possibility of the Ostium allowing for direct crossovers between The Winchesters and Supernatural. All The Winchesters need is something from the Supernatural universe to power it and they could come face-to-face with their future sons.
One thing is clear, the fans that bailed early on The Winchesters due to the canonical differences are going to miss out on one hell of a show. The writers have managed to create something fresh and surprising, while also providing a strong link to the original show, and allowing a myriad of potential ideas for crossovers. An expert mix of the old and new, colliding to create brilliance that it, turns out, is actually staying true to its source material, after all.