We Streamed Supernatural (2005) on Cocoflix – Full Watch Test

Diving into the Winchester's World

Sam and Dean Winchester should have a normal life, but monsters killed their mother forcing their father to train them to hunt monsters. Now, they travel across the country in their iconic 1967 Chevy Impala on hunts against demons, spirits, vampires, werewolves, etc. There is no easing you into this show. The first episode shows you American legends and Folklore in a way that no other show has before. The story focuses on the bonds of family and the curse that is their destiny. It is an excellent blend of Mystery, drama, and fantasy. The structure of the show is the classic monster of the week, but the focus of the show is on the central elements and conflicts to create the bigger picture. The show starts you off on an adventure that will take you across America to experience the supernatural. This is a rollercoaster of an adventure and if you board, be prepared for a dark and complex mythology to rope you in.

The Grind of the Hunt: Pacing and Episode Flow

Each Supernatural episode is 45 minutes, which is a great length for a monster-of-the-week episode and especially for earlier seasons. The individual episodes are handy for fitting into busy schedules. The show has great flexibility with its tone, and throws in slapstick, scares, and drama, all within the same episode. It can also maintain a great balance for dramatic and comedic episodes, so viewers don't get bored, and the episodic structure is nice and compact. Watching 15 seasons of anything is a test of the viewer's commitment, especially with a show that is primarily episodic. Early seasons set a great precedent with great standalone episodes that also build the mythology of the show. The long length of the show does spoil things. Later seasons' episodes feel longer with the extra layers to the lore. This leaves lots of space for a second screen. Emotional beats get old and the plots begin to feel old, and the attention span for a season falls until you are a committed fan and care about the twists.

What Stuck with Me (Good and Bad)

Something that I have always appreciated about Supernatural is the undeniably magnetic chemistry between Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. Their interpretation of Sam and Dean has set the emotional standard of the show for all audiences and has created an emotional hook that goes beyond the monster of the week plot line. Brotherly bonds, rich with depth and soul, and a strong supporting cast have made the series’ wild and outlandish plot lines feel grounded. The show’s first few seasons, known as the ‘golden age’ of the series, are the best representation of this, with a dark and cinematic visual style with playful, yet rich, homages to films of the past, intermixed with carefully crafted episodes that poke fun of the show’s tropes. It’s ability to solidify non-biological family units serves as a strong narrative pivot as well. Looking at the show as whole, the most nitpicky critique I can give, is that growth of arc character depth is a mixed blessing, as the plot in the latter seasons felt like the plot was made up as the writers went along. The lore grew increasingly complex and convoluted and eventually became overwhelming. Things, like the continual tug on the relationship between Sam and Dean, while original and effective at first, becomes a tedious and cheap plot device. Introduced in following seasons, an increasingly large supporting cast, while shockingly successful, became a distraction from the core brother duo; diminishing returns for those dedicated to the core duo, the Winchesters, became the appeal.

Screen Test: Where the Hunt Feels Right

With its episodic structure and 45 minute episodes, Supernatural is surprisingly flexible across different media with some exceptions. For example, while you are on a transit commute with Supernatural on your phone, singles episodes, especially from earlier seasons,capture self contained story arcs so the individual episode has a clear beginning middle and end which makes Supernatural a great choice for pick up and play on your Cocoflix app. Considering that Supernatural has a lot of episodes and a dense story spanning a lot of seasons and plot lines, Supernatural is also a great show to binge on a PC where you can stop the episode and look up stuff on the internet to keep up on the story. Finally, Supernatural can also fill an action-drama-comedy slot for TV family night for older viewers. There are elements of horror, so Supernatural might not be the best pick for family of all ages, but moments of banter between and with the brothers help break up the horror for an action adventure family TV show. The seasons Supernatural shines brightest on are the earlier seasons and the later seasons should probably be saved for your personal devices because they are so complicated and long.

The Final Call: To Download or Not?

Will Supernatural be part of your Cocoflix downloads? Definitely. However, you need to know what you’re signing up for -- it’s a marathon. An easy case can be made for at least the first few seasons of the show. Compelling tales of the week sure got a boost in this show thanks in large part to the incredible cast. A dynamic, spooky, and witty show is more than likely unheard of now, but Supernatural embodies that. If you like your shows involving fantasy, mystery, and character driven, you’ll like these earlier, golden seasons. If you want to try out this show, know that the pacing and quality of the story will change as the seasons progress. The show still does the Winchester brothers justice, but the execution of some story lines and overall show plot gets to be a lot. Still, the peaks of the show are worth the ’evolution,’ show extensive download. To call the show legendary and to use words like thrilling and deep to describe it, but keep those manageable expectations throughout its lengthy span of seasons.