For almost three years, I've been in love with the CW series "Supernatural." I love the plot, the mix of horror and fantasy, and the beautiful character that is Dean Winchester. The fandom, which can be fanatic at times, has proven capable of helping others during their time of need and building a community based off a common interest. Unfortunately, the show is far from perfect. It has been airing episodes since 2005, and has yet to truly progress during its' 11-year run. Because of this, problems that seemed small in 2005 are now nearly inescapable in 2016.
The number one issue? The main cast consists primarily of white, cishet men, with writers teasing the idea of bisexual representation via subtext in order to please fans (also known as queerbaiting). While other shows have added new female and minority characters, "Supernatural" tends to use the same tropes to ignore representation and hurt marginalized fans. This problem hasn't turned me away from the show, but it is OK and often necessary to critique things you love in order to improve the medium and make it more inclusive to others.
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As stated above, "Supernatural" is one of the only shows on TV with a main cast primarily of cishet white men. There are occasionally women, queer people, and POC, but they are often used for "Supernatural's" favorite trope, fridging. Fridging is a trope in which a character (often a female character) is killed off for the main purpose of furthering the plot or emotional development of the male character. It's lazily used as a catalyst, instead of actual character development and motivation. "Supernatural" started out with this trope, killing off the boys' mother and Sam's girlfriend in the pilot episode. I would've been able to forgive it, but it has fridged a female character in seasons four, five, eight, 10, and 11. In season nine, the show's only POC was fridged and in season 10 the show's only queer woman was also fridged. Fans of the show have argued that every character around the Winchesters, including the Winchesters themselves, have died, which is true. However, not every one of those deaths fall under this trope, and most of the characters who were brought back were male characters. For queer women like myself, our representation is gone and most likely won't come back unless a new character is introduced.
The second major problem "Supernatural" has is with queerbaiting. Queerbaiting is when a show teases the idea of a main character being queer, often with obvious sexual chemistry between two presumably straight characters (this example is the ship Destiel). Shows do this in order to look like they have representation, but they don't follow through in order to appease conservative viewers. The problem is, this queerbaiting isn't real representation, and time and time again whenever someone brings up the chemistry between Dean and Cas, they're mocked and made to look stupid. On a show with no LGBTQ representation, this hurts fans who are pining for real representation. With "Supernatural," it especially hurts because the writers often tease that Dean is bisexual, a sexuality rarely represented in mainstream media. This also treats sexuality as if it's a joke, something that can be played around with to mess with fans. While the CW as a whole has gotten better with including queer characters, "Supernatural" still needs to confirm what they've been implying for so long, that Dean Winchester is bisexual and in love with Castiel.
The most irritating thing is, "Supernatural" has been called out on this many times. While some people were fairly rude, other people have had valid concerns regarding how the show is written and produced. However, the CW will either shut down the conversation like they did with #AskSupernatural, or they will improve for a little bit just to kill off whatever amazing representation they just included. Fortunately, people are catching on to the problem. There was a glorious moment at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con where one of the main writers of the show was called out for killing a female character, just to mumble in front of thousands while the actors looked away.
I still love "Supernatural." The show and the fandom have gotten me through hard times and has done what it intended: entertain and distract me from real life. However, if the show wants to continue and be remembered positively, it has to include everyone. Female and minority fans matter, and our story deserves to be told. All I ask is that the show I love so much listens to its hurt fans, and mends the damage it's caused before it's too late. It's a good show, but it could do better.
