2. ELIMINATING KEY CHARACTERS
Although Supernatural is a show where nobody stays gone forever. It always finds a way to bring back deceased character in some way. Demise of characters is almost never permanent on the show. However, there have been instances where certain important or fan beloved characters were written off and were never brought back again. Certain characters were never brought back after their demise, Crowley’s actor Mark Sheppard had a falling out with the show runners and vowed that he would never return back to the show. Nicki Aycox who originally played Meg wanted to reprise the role, the writers were also on board with it, but eventually for the story line purpose, they decided to cast a new actress for the role.
1. TOXIC FANS
While what makes Supernatural so unique as compared to various other shows is its fandom. The fandom of Supernatural is one of a kind. The fan base of the show is its greatest strength and also its weakness. Often times, the fans of the show can engage in a toxic sort of behavior where they would target not only the fellow fans due to differences over shipping and romantic pairings, but also target the actors of the show. The shipping of characters by fans is an important aspect and privilege of every fan community. However, such shipping disagreements often escalate into ship wars due to differences among the fans over their beloved character pairings. This has resulted in online targeting of other fans and bullying. Like the shipping, fan fiction is another privilege of the fans, every fan has the freedom to have their own version of the show. They have the freedom to express their love in anyway they want, but this has led to writing fan content which isn’t very healthy. Fan fiction consisting of inappropriate themes which isn’t accepted by the majority and makes the majority feel nauseated.
Even the actors have not been spared from the criticisms and frustrations of the fans that have been directed towards them. Actors have received negative and hate filled messaged, they were targeted for the decisions which were made by the writers and show runners. While possessing knowledge about your favorite show is something every fan wishes to have, but there are certain fans who assert their superiority due to their dedication and knowledge of the show, and this results in an exclusionary attitude where the casual or new fans feel left out.