multiple Supernatural spinoffs to emerge. The Winchesters had a tough time living up to Supernatural, though. The spinoff was interesting, but The Winchesters' worst flaw far outweighs those of Supernatural, with one still hard to understand, even after a few years.

Running from 2005 to 2020, Supernatural lasted an impressive 15 years. Showrunner Eric Kripke introduced the Winchesters in Supernatural - Jensen Ackles as Dean and Jared Padalecki as Sam. Their parents, John and Mary, got more and more involved as the series went on. Robbie Thompson was right to develop The Winchesters off the back of this strong family unit and explore its past and background. But it went wrong when it started confusing audiences, and this was inevitable in its sharp U-turns from Supernatural canon.

The Winchesters' Inconsistency With Supernatural Canon Was The Worst Of Its Problems

The Winchesters Didn't Have To Be An Alternate Timeline

The Winchesters was not faithful enough to Supernatural to live up to its predecessor or answer the queries pending from the original Kripke series. After the Supernatural season 15 finale, the question on everyone's lips was how the franchise could continue, and The Winchesters arrived to answer the question in October 2022. However, the spinoff made things way more complicated because it deviated so much from canon. It was sometimes barely recognizable as a part of the Supernatural canon, meaning it missed the mark with quite a few fans.

For instance, Mary and John knew about the Men of Letters, which was a spanner in the works of Men of Letters arcs in Supernatural. In Supernatural, the Men of Letters were so secretive that nobody knew about them. Sam and Dean finding out about them was a huge deal, so it seemed very odd that John hadn't communicated about this to his sons. It also drained some of the power of both shows. Relationships in Supernatural were always tricky, but The Winchesters also had John knowing about Mary's hunter status, retconning what had been a big secret in Supernatural.

I'm Shocked The Winchesters Thought Being A Multiverse Story Would Go Over Well

The Winchesters Should Have Been A More Traditional Prequel

I would have thought that The Winchesters would have played more into the natural strengths of his show and teased out more elements of the Supernatural lore instead of going full alternate universe. There were so many monsters, gags, and simmering tensions left for The Winchesters to pry into without having to retcon too much.

Instead, the show only makes sense after the alternate timeline reveal. Another key example was how hunters knew more about demons in The Winchesters than Dean and Sam Winchester in Supernatural.

This Is Just One Issue That Contributed To The Supernatural Spinoff's Cancelation

The Winchesters Had A Few Problems

The Winchesters' Supernatural retcons and being an alternate timeline bothered me, but there were many other issues with the show. The show's villains, the Akrida, weren't up to scratch. They certainly weren't Supernatural standard, and this was jarring for fans and critics alike. The Akrida were set up as something supposedly worse than God himself, but this lacked credibility, given how high the stakes felt for Sam and Dean battling God in Supernatural. The Akrida were also just not as despicable as God or some of his minions.

Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki can be heard voicing original Sam and Dean lines in certain episodes of Supernatural: The Animation.

Meanwhile, the real reason The Winchesters failed may have been because many fans actually intently disliked John Winchester as a character. Jeffrey Dean Morgan was exceptional in the role in Supernatural, and Drake Rodgers was charismatic as John in The Winchesters. However, John was a terrible father in Supernatural, and a huge part of the power of Supernatural was in following Dean as he overcame the neglect of his father and stepped out of his shadow to become something better. The Winchesters glorified John, perhaps distastefully - it was always a little hard to get behind him fully.