From 2005-2020 “Supernatural” aired on the CW with 15 seasons and a dapper cast. The topic that this show was said to cover is horror, and I love horror. Honestly, I’m way too scared to watch things like “Annabelle” by myself (the jump scares make me shake at night), but I love the drama in CW shows. 

Famously known for shows like Riverdale and DC adaptations, every CW show that I’ve watched is drama filled adventure. Supernatural, which had an all-white cast for the longest time and only started to introduce more POCs in the lead, as well as women (mostly white, but it's the thought that counts), and even fewer queer characters. Despite the lack of good representation for both POC and queer people, the show has an unusual amount of ride-or-die fans. The only reasons that I enjoy this show is because its queer representation (or lack there of), as well as its depictions of mental health (accurate or not). Queer-bating is harmful because it invalidates the feeling of acceptance and removes equality. This show has queer-baited its viewers for at least 10 seasons (years), as well as over-looked the mental health of the characters. 

There is a specific pairing that has been under scrutiny for queer-baiting, Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak. Considering the fact that there are 233,521 fanfictions written about Supernatural on popular fanfiction website AO3, and 95,031 of those fan-fics are about Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak, means they’re a highlight of this show. That is more than a fourth of the fics about these two men. Meaning, that more than half of the people that are writing about Supernatural are hardcore DeanCas stans, and write about the paring because of the lack of representation from the writers and other media outlets. When the finale aired, it gathered over 1.38 million views, and thus generated attention due to a “love confession” that was rendered redundant to the overall storyline. Which is proof, that time and time again, queer-baiting generates the most views and oddly enough, support. 

Specific mental health issues are brought up in the show. For example, there is a theory that Dean has BPD and it is canon that he has depression. His younger brother Sam has chronic anger and their father figure has PTSD. Child abuse and neglect are a common theme, having to raise his younger brother Sam from a young age, but the writers never dive into the lasting effects of it. This is the case for many plots in the show; they’re often glanced over and ignored for the sake of something new that would be “more exciting”. But moving on so quickly is the thing that works. People want to continue to watch for the chance that they could see the plothole be revisited, sometimes others stop watching because the “good depiction” has ended. But we all know that eventually, people are going to watch it again, just to relive the scene or for nostalgia. 

Seeing in some episodes where they do show the effects of the characters' experiences-like the loss of a loved one-be depicted without glossing over their grief, gives many people, including myself, a sense of acceptance. Learning that taking longer to go through something is normal and should be accepted, or that your anger can be channeled properly for the greater good, gives hope, and personally it spreads a feeling of warmth in me. 

Overall, poorly representing a group gets the views needed, and keeps a show going. Learning more about the show, as I continue to watch, and seeing the audience take it to websites like Twitter and Tumblr to educate people on the struggles that the characters represent. All while fighting for the better representation that people deserve to see. Teaches me that eventually, with enough rallying for the right subject things can be done, to make a change.