'Supernatural'

What can I say that hasn't already been said about this powerhouse of a show? I don't know, but I certainly can try. I ended up coming 8 years late to the party. I wish I watched Smallville back in 2005, so I could have watched this wonderful show and say I've been part of the SPN family since the beginning, but that's the thing. I've found no matter when you were adopted into the SPN family fandom, it doesn't matter. You are a member for life, no matter when you joined. That is the beauty of a fandom that is so accepting and a show that supports its fan base like no other.

Supernatural (if you haven't seen it) is a show about... ultimately... family, in my opinion. It follows the adventures of Dean and Sam Winchester, two brothers who traverse the country, "saving people, hunting things, the family business" as Dean so eloquently says in season 1, episode 2 "Wendigo." They save the world from the creepy crawly monsters, like ghosts, vampires, werewolves, witches, wendigo, demons, and other such things. I particularly was surprised when they introduced angels and the concept of God in season 4, especially since Dean was such an atheist—well... more of an agnostic.

I fell in love when I first watched season 2, episode 1 "In My Time of Dying." My heart broke seeing Dean on his deathbed, but man it was a crash course into watching the show. I would later learn, as all of us would, that Sam and Dean are constantly killed and brought back, soul or no soul. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your point of view, it became kind of a trope for the show. It even became an overarching trope for any character. I think it adds a kind of charm and humor to the show. Seeing characters die is always sad in any show, but with Supernatural, it's nice to think that maybe you'll see some of your favorite characters again.

I soon found out when I was looking up Supernatural on the internet that there are many people who love this series. The whole fandom is called The Supernatural Family fandom or SPN Family for short. I have to say when I meet any other family members, they are always so nice. It's nice to be able to see someone at a store wearing some Supernatural merchandise and walk up to them and begin to talk about Supernatural. That camaraderie and friendship are nice. I have been a part of other fandoms and some of them can get quite toxic (Please read Geeks: "Group Infighting" for more on that). I don't think I've met a Supernatural fan who wasn't nice.

The best thing about this fandom is how the showrunners, cast, crew, and stars all embrace our fandom as a family. When they announced that season 15 was their last season, they broadcasted it to all of us. They made sure to make a video about it and post it to Twitter, and were honest with us.

What other show does that? I have no idea. Even Jim Beaver who played Bobby Singer put out a tweet that said: "Family don't end," a truncated version of a quote said by Bobby Singer to the boys "Family don't end with blood, boy!"

We are so spoiled by our fandom and it's wonderful! No other fandom of a show, book, movie, video game, et cetera embrace (literally and figuratively) their fan base the way that Supernatural has. Their 200th episode was a love letter to the fans. I love that episode—it's even called "Fan Fiction." Jared, Jensen, and Misha have always been so kind at many fan meet and greets (not that I've ever been to one... but all of the fan pages I visit say so), and they're willing to go and give someone a hug if they start crying during a greet or a panel. I am so in awe by this cast and the people who work on this show.

The show is ending at the end of its 15th season. It's bittersweet. It's about time, but at the same time, it's sad to see it go. I feel like I've just begun. The series just started for me seven years ago, and I had to cram seven to eight years of content into a month! I could do it because I had nothing better to do, but it rushes the feeling of getting to know a fandom. I will be missing seeing new adventures with Sam, Dean, Castiel and now Jack. Jack thus far has been a nice addition to the team. He is a good kid in spite of his origins. I feel like I should be writing this when Supernatural goes on its last and final hiatus. I want to write it now because of the overwhelming emotions I have about this show and its fandom.

I want to write my own love letter to the show and my fellow fans alike. We have been through a huge journey so far. We have fought Azazel, closed the gate to hell. We have seen Dean go to hell; we have seen him "rise from perdition." We have started and ended the apocalypse. We have fought the "Jefferson Starships" and Leviathan. We have gone through purgatory and fought hell hounds. We've tried to cure a demon and have fought the knights of hell. We have seen Dean become a demon, we have seen Sam become Lucifer. We have seen a Nephilim to Lucifer be born; we have seen Dean become Michael, and there is still more to go! We still have the rest of season 14 and all of 15, it's going to be a hell of a ride!

We've had some really cool episodes, like "In My Time of Dying," "Changing Channels," "The Mystery Spot," "Dog Dean Afternoon," and "The French Mistake." The second one might be more of something I like—I'm big into meta episodes. We've rocked out to countless rock songs, like "Renegade" by The Styx, and of course our favorite rock song by now "Carry on my Wayward Son" by Kansas. I loved rock and roll music before this show and was delighted at its inclusion. We've had some really good quotable one-liners like, "I'm Batman!" "Pudding!" "I lost my shoe..." "I hope your apple pie was freaking worth it!" and of course "Son of a bitch!" I don't think the pop culture landscape will ever be the same after this show is gone.

We've had some great guest stars. We've had Jefferey Dean Morgan, Lauren Cohen, Felicia Day, Curtis Armstrong, Osric Chau, Kurt Fuller, Katie Cassidy, and many more. We have gotten so lucky. I feel so lucky we've gotten to see so many great actors on screen. I'm happy that JDM and Lauren Cohen moved on to The Walking Dead, and that Katie Cassidy had moved on to the Arroverse show Arrow to play Laurel Lance and her Earth-2 doppelganger. It's amazing to see where many of these actors end up.

I am so happy to be a part of this fandom. I can't wait to see what Jensen, Jared, and Misha get up to after the series is done. The great thing about our technology today is the episodes of Supernatural have been immortalized on the internet, digital recordings, and in various other ways. We can relive the journey again and again if we want. That is the blessing our time in history has given us. Dean, Sam, Castiel, Jack, Bobby, and the others will live on in our hearts, blu-rays, DVDs, and digital downloads forever. We will never technically be without them. If we have a bad day, we can pop in a disk, or pull up Netflix and put on our favorite episode.

I am so thankful to Eric Kripke for coming up with these lovely characters and a universe for them to live within. It gave us another point of view on the myths and legends we have heard our entire lives. It has given us monsters and ghouls we had never heard of. I personally had never heard of a wendigo before Supernatural. I am thankful to Jared, Jensen, Misha, and the rest for bringing these characters to life and making them real people. I am thankful for all their horsing around behind the scenes so we could listen to funny stores at conventions and in convention videos.

Thank you, Supernatural. Thank you Supernatural Family Fandom. Thank you Jared, Jensen, Misha, and Alex for giving us such iconic characters. Thank you, The WB/The CW for giving Eric a chance to share his show and his story with the world. Thank you to all the crew for making it possible. Thank you. I am so grateful to have been around when such a fantastic show has been on the air. I am so thankful to be involved with such a loving, supportive, funny fandom.

This is my love letter to all that is and will ever be Supernatural. Thank you for reading. I am happy to put my thoughts into words about this wonderful show.

If you like my work, please consider leaving me a tip. Have a great day and remember, "Family don't end with Blood."