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The Winchesters' Biggest Problem is Its Unlikable Characters, Not Retcon

The Winchesters' Biggest Problem is Its Unlikable Characters, Not Retcon
Image credit: The CW

Retcon issues can be fixed with the "alternate reality" card, but what if the characters simply don't click with the audience?

It seems that The Winchesters needs to worry more about how to make its characters compelling enough for people to like them, rather than how to justify the show's push to retcon the original Supernatural storyline.

As Supernatural fans turn to The Winchesters to somehow recreate the atmosphere of the original show, they fail to find anything to keep them watching – even if they really want to like the prequel.

"I am having trouble finding most characters likeable and I think the acting is over the top, [or] trying too hard," Redditor waitingforthedogto mentioned.

At the moment it seems that many fans are still watching The Winchester purely out of love for Supernatural, but the acting and writing seems to be really holding it back.

It doesn't ruin the show completely, not a by long shot, but it's clear that the prequel is not as special to fans as Supernatural was.

"Perfectly watchable, but it is missing "something" that made SPN so enjoyable. Maybe it's just because a prequel is less compelling since we know how the story ends for the two main characters, but it's just kinda meh," Redditor HelloCompanion suggested.

As yet, it is unclear how the show will explain its apparent retcon of John and Mary Winchester's history. In the original series, John only began hunting monsters after Mary died at the hands of Azazel; in the prequel, however, Mary introduced John to the hunt herself.

The Winchesters' Big Bad Might Not Be What You Think

Despite criticism of the retconning, star and executive producer Jensen Ackles has vowed to remain faithful to the Supernatural canon.

The Winchesters has 13 episodes in its first season, and it's unclear whether The CW will renew it for more. What concerned fans was the fact that the network never ordered an extended Season 1, despite The Winchesters being a spin-off of one of The CW's most popular projects.

New episodes of The Winchesters air on Tuesdays on The CW.