It’s time for the CW to let go of two of its longest running and most beloved shows. They say all good things must come to an end, its cliché, but in the world of television it’s absolutely true.
“Supernatural” and “The Vampire Diaries” have both had respectable runs, but it’s time to close the doors on both before all good things have nothing good left. I say these things with a heavy heart, I’ve been there since the start with both of these shows, but that’s also why I need to say it. Because as a fan who’s been through it all with these shows I don’t want to be watching them one day and absolutely hating what I’m seeing.
“TVD” began when I was 16; it was my go to high school series that happily followed me into the college years. It hasn’t been perfect by any means, there have been horrible storylines and I’ve watched my favorite characters, Bonnie and Enzo, get mistreated for years until finally getting their deserved spotlight this past season. But through it all I’ve stuck with the show, caring what happens to this crazy fictional crew of vampires and witches the whole way.
Now we’re nearing the eighth season and like a lot of shows that have the good fortune of being on this long “TVD” is suffering from cast losses. After original cast members Nina Dobrev and Michael Trevino exited at the end of season six the worry set in. Somehow, the show managed to thrive without them, bringing a surprisingly fresh seventh season though. Now however Zach Roerig is out and both Kat Graham and Ian Somerhalder have said that the eight season will be their last. And I can’t see Michael Malarkey sticking around without the two actors he’s worked with the most. That leaves only three lead cast members, which isn’t much of a show, or at least isn’t the show I’ve loved.
I know showrunner Julie Plec loves this show and I hope she loves it enough to let it go out on a high note with one final great season. With it gone she’ll still have “The Originals,” even though it’s been annoyingly shoved to mid-season to make room for more DC crossover.
“Supernatural” is a different story, it’s not suffering from cast losses at all; actually it seems that their cast will contently do the show until their old and gray haired. Not to say that Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins haven’t done some stellar work on this series, because they have, it’s been breathtakingly impressive at points (i.e. Ackles performance in the latest run of episodes).
Much like “TVD” I’ve been there since the start with the Winchester Brothers and much like the former it has been far from perfect at every turn. The later seasons have been a little rough, the Jeremy Carver run years have been filled with a number of missteps, season 10 was in my opinion a damn mess and this season (the shows 11th) could have focused more on the overarching storyline instead of monster of the week tales. But I’m still here; I’ve been in it too long to not see it through till the end.
The end which should be nigh. I don’t find myself as excited for weekly episodes as I once was, I see monster of the week episodes and they feel like episodes that I’ve already seen, I watch characters I love get mistreated and underused (cough, cough Charlie and Castiel) and I don’t want to find myself watching just to say I’ve been watching it still.
I also have to question where in the hell they go from here? They’re facing down the beginning of creation the start of the light and the dark. Big bads don’t get much bigger than that. All that’s left is finally taking down Crowley.
12 seasons is by no means a small feat, “Supernatural” is the last WB series standing, its broken longevity records and inspired an extensive fandom. It’s done great things and it’s time for the Winchester’s to take that last ride into the sunset with a give em’ hell attitude.
We’ll have to wait and see what the future holds for these shows, it’s still very likely that “TVD” will be announcing it’s ending this year, but “Supernatural” really could go either way. I love these shows and I want to see them end strong, not drag out to a point of no redemption.
The Pop Culture Type 