A Snapshot of "Supernatural"

Supernatural is an American horror television show that deals with the paranormal and the supernatural. The show's creator, Eric Kripke, cites works such as Neil Gaiman's The Sandman and American Gods as major influences on the show.

The two main characters, Dean Winchester and Sam Winchester, are brothers who spend their lives investigating and battling the supernatural. Dean and Sam travel all around the country hunting down paranormal events and other inexplicable things (many of which are based on myths or urban legends, such as vampires, werewolves, demons, zombies, ghosts, etc.). Dean is the older brother and is very protective of Sam. Dean actually at one point sells his soul in order to save Sam from going to Hell. Sam has both telekinetic and precognitive powers throughout the show. He has many dreams that become real life and help them solve cases and kill demons. Sam's visions ended when they killed Azazel at the end of the second season. However, now he has shown signs of his powers returning to him.

The plot of the show has changed from season to season. During the first season, the plot consisted mostly of Sam and Dean searching for their father and killing supernatural beings along the way. By the end of the first season, they have found their father and now start to hunt down a yellow-eyed demon called Azazel. Azazel killed Sam and Dean's mother twenty-three years ago. During season two, they hunt down Azazel and eventually send him back to Hell, but only after Azazel opens the portal to Hell and lets loose innumerable demons into the world. The third season's plot consists mainly of Sam and Dean hunting down the demons they let out into the world along with trying to save Dean from a deal he made that will send his soul to Hell in one year. Along with those things, there is also a lot of clues that hint towards an impending war between good and evil. The fourth season is in progress right now and deals with a demon's plan to break the 66 seals that would let Satan walk free.

Supernatural is full of symbols and has many key elements that are important to the plot and understanding of the show. One of these is a handgun, referred to as The Colt. The Colt was made in the 1800's and thirteen bullets were made with it. These thirteen bullets can kill anything that they shoot, no matter how strong the demon. The last of these bullets is used to kill Azazel. Another of these is Dean's car, a black 1967 Chevrolet Impala. This car is a prominent part of the show because Dean protects it fiercely and doesn't let anyone else drive it.

The series has a lot of references to religion. As mentioned earlier, many of the supernatural beings that Sam and Dean battle against are demons who have escaped from Hell and they always end up sending those demons back to Hell. Because of this Sam and Dean both obviously believe in Hell. But a major theme throughout the show is whether or not there's a Heaven or angels. Sam believes there is while Dean doesn't believe in Heaven or angels. Many of the episodes have some minor hints to their being angels while others have demons who pretend to be angels.

The cosmology for Supernatural consists of the material world as we know it and also the supernatural parts of the world that nobody knows about. Another possible realm of the shows universe is Hell, although it is only mentioned and talked about, never actually shown to anyone.