#i'm becoming fanlore at this point girl help

[steveyockey]

Can you explain the eras of spn to me I’m newish and don’t understand which seasons correlate to which writers 😔

“eras” refers to who was showrunner for that season! quick hit breakdown of how this works out

kripke era: seasons 1-5

the show was kripke’s brainchild and as such the kripke era demonstrates the most fealty to a united vision, for good and ill. on a very literal level, the first three seasons of supernatural were shot on 35mm film, which gives much of the era its distinct grainy look. you can check out kripke’s original pitch to get an idea on the sort of tone he was aiming for as well as observe the self-seriousness of his approach that would ultimately lend to the show’s soap operatic feel. supernatural at its rawest and edgiest.

gamble era: seasons 6-7

gamble wrote for the show since season 1 at a spry 21 and was picked to take the reins after kripke’s finale because why not keep making money if you’re making money and already signed six-year contracts with your actors. a decent writer who was not equipped to manage an entire arc, but it would have been hard for anyone to figure out what happens after the apocalypse. more recently reappraised in particular for godstiel, but ben edlund is the one who really managed to salvage that with tmwwbk.

carver era: seasons 8-11

carver wrote for the show from season 3 to season 5, left to go do his own show, and then came back to showrun 8-11. 8 seems to have largely benefitted from ben edlund's influence, but edlund left at the end of 8 to go write for a failed kripke joint so 9-11 are pure carver. 9 is a tough hit and 10 doesn't really walk it off, but 11's standalone episodes more than make up for a mediocre arc, signaling the shift from supernatural The Show to supernatural The Live Action Battle Among The Writers For What Story We're Telling.

dabb era: seasons 12-15

dabb got on this train in season 4 and stayed on for the remainder of the ride. the sitcomification of supernatural. they're planted in the bunker. the orange lighting has taken over. they have a teenage infant son to look after who is also the antichrist. the specific stylings of individual writers has never been more apparent, again, for good and ill. as an anon maj got a while back said, anything that happens here is "a small price to pay for jack and dadstiel."

#i'm becoming fanlore at this point girl help #anon #answered #spn #this is DEEPLY one 101 but just in case anyone needs it i guess sakdflajdslajkfs