In a show, that revolves around supernatural elements, character deaths are almost certain, and CW’s Supernatural was no different. Amidst many memorable send-offs to its beloved characters, one death that shook fans was Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s John Winchester, father of Jensle Ackles Dean Winchester.
But it wasn’t the death itself that had fans divided, as the writers’ decision to kill him off at the beginning of season 2 didn’t sit well with everyone, and writer John Shiban later clarified why they swung that way.
John Shiban Elaborated on the Decision To Kill off John Winchester
Touching on John’s death in the first episode of season 2, John Shiban addressed that the decision stemmed from the difficulty of handling two parallel storylines. With the boys still in search of their dad, the writer added it became difficult to focus on both their and John’s scenarios.
We realised very early on that it kind of split the show in season one, and that the boys were looking for Dad, and they were looking for a monster of the week, whatever that is, whatever case crosses their path. It became difficult, because it was like – ‘what is Dad doing? Is he doing more interesting things than the boys are doing, or what?’
In order to tackle the issue, Eric Kripke hoped in and made the decision to have John lose against the demon, even though they had planned the “confrontation with the demon for the end”.
Not only his death was impactful, as it displayed John’s affection for his kids despite his issues, but his presence was also felt throughout the season following the bargain he made with the demon.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan Wants an Onscreen Resolution With Jensen Ackles
Despite his early exit from the show, Jeffrey Dean Morgan got to reunite with showrunner Eric Kripke on Amazon’s The Boys. With season 5 now set to be the final chapter in the story, Morgan hopes to share some scenes with his long-standing partner Jensen Ackles before the whole thing wraps up.
I want to have scenes with everyone that’s part of that show, but I obviously have a long-standing relationship with Jensen, especially. He’s like my brother. And then Jim is one of the coolest people in the world — so yeah, of course.
With Soldier Boy set to return for the final installment in the acclaimed show, it’ll be interesting to see how Morgan and Ackles’ dynamic will play out if they reunite onscreen.
Supernatural is available to stream on Max.
The Boys is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
