Eclipse Magazine: “Supernatural Creator Eric Kripke Answers Fan’s Questions – Part III”
For better or worse, Eric Kripke, the creator, Executive Producer and writer of CW’s popular series Supernatural has made the fans an important part of his show, and not just as ratings numbers. He has often stated that he has a roadmap for the series, a core story that he wants to tell, which he has never wavered from. “It’s the saga of the Winchester clan — who the brothers really are, who their parents really are, why Demons are so closely intertwined with them, and what their destiny really is. It’s an epic, emotional, family story at its heart.” Outside of that core story there are elements that come and go and his writing team is flexible enough to make those adjustments. He states that a decision to keep or discard a storyline combines elements of writers’ opinion, the realities of actors’ schedules, and even opinions of the fans on occasion. Fan response is valued such that when they overwhelmingly reject something across multiple online forums, it is given proper attention. “There’s always room to make the show better, and that means trying new things, keeping the things that work, losing the things that don’t.” (...) Q: Assuming that Dean will be saved at the end of this season, is there a significance to the fact that his life has been saved in every season?
EK: I would argue that that’s not entirely true. He had that moment with the Reaper, and then John made the deal to save him….
Q: Well, in Season 1 in Faith he was saved, then Season 2 he was saved by his father… so is he “special”… ?
EK: In reality I guess we keep going to that place because it’s a show about intense emotions and the dangerous, hellacious life that these guys lead. But in a show about life, death and the after-life, sometimes these characters die because it gives you good material to talk about as long as it happens in a different way or as long as something comes out of it that you can twist into angst and drama. Allow me to be the pretentious pr–k guy for a second… there’s this thematic of the show that the Winchester family has turned against the rightful path of nature and fate. They keep presenting themselves as targets because they are so obsessed about saving each other; they take self-sacrifice to this pathological level. It actually serves as a character flaw. What they are willing to do for each other is both a strength and a character flaw. And with each occurrence they keep turning further and further against nature. The right thing would’ve been to let Dean die, but they couldn’t do it. Things are getting worse and worse for the guys because they just can’t let each other go and so it becomes this ongoing thematic of their weakness. And you’ll see in the season finale how it’s about that in a lot of ways. They have an Achilles’ heel and we’re exploring that. That’s why we go there… in a show about brothers who are willing to die for each other, sometimes in our show… they DO. [source]