The Winchesters gave audiences another character-focused episode this week that helps people feel more attached to the new leads in the SPN universe. The story focused mostly on John, but featured some new developments for Carlos, Mary, Lata and Millie Winchester.
Episode 4 dove deeper into John’s time in the military and the PTSD he’s experiencing from his time in the Vietnam War. In a surprising twist, the show revealed that Carlos was also in the military and served in the Navy, catching John and viewers off-guard.
The Winchesters consistently divulges information about the rest of the monster hunting gang from John’s point of view, only showing pieces of the puzzle to viewers at the same time John discovers it. It’s a big change of pace, since Supernatural kept John at arms length from his children and from viewers.
Fans of the original series spent most of their time playing catch-up alongside Sam and Dean, trying to figure out what John was telling them through his cryptic messages while the Winchester boys chased him down. For the entire first season, John was practically a mythical being and his presence in the series was mostly limited to the conversations other people had about him.
He died shortly after the boys managed to reconnect with him, so Supernatural fans got a very limited glimpse into the life of John Winchester. Discovering the world of hunting through his perspective in The Winchesters is a massive shift from the original series.
The Winchesters still keeps some of the characterization John was given in Supernatural, like his stubbornness, his reckless desire to run head-first into danger, and his struggle to open up about his emotions. But it also definitely offers a new viewpoint on his character and makes him more sympathetic than he was in Supernatural, which is no easy task.
Working through his issues with Carlos was also a great bonding experience for the boys. John has obviously already found a way to bond with Mary, but forming a deeper connection with Carlos further integrates John in the group, and emphasizes the “found family” themes present in Supernatural.
Carlos is steadily becoming one of the best characters in the series. He provides plenty of comic relief and sarcasm in every episode, and his annoyance at being shoved in a body bag this week was quite funny. Now that there’s been some darkness and complexity added to his character, Carlos is one of the most well-rounded characters in the show.
Mary worked through some more of her issues, as well, finally facing the death of her cousin when she and Lata went into Maggie’s old room. The scenes with Mary and Lata were a great contrast to John and Carlos working through their military trauma, showing that while the boys were fighting political wars, the girls were battling the war on monsters and suffering through their own losses back home.
The monster of the week was a little ridiculous, since he was supposed to be a god but looked like a weirdly dressed guy in a funny mask. Although he lacked a visually threatening presence, the twist that he was actually one of the supposed veterans looking to recover was unexpected.
His fight with John also connected to the other plot lines, since he was supposedly trying to prepare John to fight the Akrida. So, the scene was beneficial for John in the sense that he finally got some redemption by saving Carlos from the landmine and served a purpose for the looming battle against the world-destroying Akrida.
Getting John’s mom involved in the hunt was also unexpected and perhaps Millie will be taking on a bigger role in the family business as the season progresses. She and John seem to be growing closer after working on their lingering issues in episode 2, and it would be nice to see more of them together.
Supernatural didn’t give the main characters much time to bond with their mother, since Mary was absent for the first 10 seasons and didn’t return until the season 11 finale. Even when she was brought back to life, it took her a while to warm up to the adult version of Sam and Dean, since she died when they were just kids.
Exploring a positive relationship between mother and child in The Winchesters is a refreshing breath of air, since so many characters in the SPN universe have strained relationships with their absent fathers or are missing their mothers entirely.
Overall, it’s reassuring to know that The Winchesters is able to explore the layers of the characters while also remembering to keep building up the other hunting-centric storylines. Not much was said about Mary’s father this week and Ada’s absence was definitely felt, but episode 4 was still a strong one.