Supernatural Season 16: Can the Akrida Save the Day (or Ruin It)?
Supernatural's Ending: A Controversial Conclusion and a Prequel's Problems
Supernatural, that iconic monster-hunting show, ended in 2020 after a record-breaking fifteen seasons. The ending, though dramatic, really divided fans; some liked the finale and many others disliked those plot choices. This created plenty of room for rethinking what could possibly have been, and what really happened at the ending of Supernatural. Then Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester) announced The Winchesters— a prequel spinoff – but this totally changed once Dean shows up! This makes the show an alternate universe story instead! A huge twist which may end up changing a lot concerning this narrative. That creates more confusion than initially anticipated – which only leaves further lingering questions about this production! These early mistakes could lead to disastrous consequences which affect everything.
And this alternate universe is where things got wild! The Winchesters introduced the Akrida, these super-powerful creatures created by God to wipe out the multiverse if He failed! Since Sam and Dean defeated God in Supernatural season 15, those creatures were unleashed, causing havoc in The Winchesters' storyline – setting the stage for their possible appearance in Supernatural season 16. But can they really work, though?
The Akrida: Too Small for Supernatural's Stakes Problem?
A Supernatural season 16 using the Akrida as main villains would be a big mistake. Why? Because Supernatural had a notorious “stakes problem.” Season 1 saw Sam and Dean facing relatively common monsters. By season 15, those same brothers battled God himself! That’s a seriously massive shift.
The Akrida, as God's creation, aren’t big enough, and these aren’t new enemies in the Supernatural verse; there's already established criteria surrounding powerful foes and its established lore, these creatures fall below God (Jack and Chuck versions!) making them inadequate. The stakes have to be enormous. These villains lack the sheer power to generate excitement for returning audiences. To bring a satisfying storyline for fans to see; the next villain must necessarily be more powerful than God; showing an even more threatening prospect that could never be achieved in the last storyline, unless, perhaps, the Akrida has those extremely potent, unexpected capabilities which have remained unexamined until now.
Addressing the Akrida (Without Making Them the Main Bad Guys!)
A hypothetical season 16 can address the Akrida— without necessarily making them the big bad! This also presents possibilities that would never exist without bringing a storyline which examines this kind of powerful entity! Since The Winchesters got canceled prematurely; there’s still a lot we don’t know about the Akrida! Using this, it means there could potentially be very powerful elements that would necessarily need addressing.
This could however allow for a new type of threat, or another formidable antagonist. For example: Maybe Jesse's return! His backstory remains incomplete, with his opposing powers and his conflict with Jack could’ve presented an opportunity to really bring everything together; but requires the showrunners to rethink those very core elements, rather than simply going to what was initially presented. We could explore how other potential characters appear on this larger, complex stage to add other new developments! But it's extremely unlikely that we can achieve those elements in this sequel, as those stakes might remain too small in many respects.
The Winchesters' Akrida: Underwhelming by Design?
The Akrida in The Winchesters weren’t scary, they were just shown simply to fail! Why? Supernatural used many horror tropes to build its intensity and to generate thrills. Those jumpscares, that slow creep…this is not used in The Winchesters! Those scary details that help make a successful scary storyline. Focusing on a thriller narrative creates that serious lacking of potential in many respects: Those same plot elements that did previously exist are lost; replaced with something completely inferior.
The spin-off's premature cancellation seriously hindered its chances! Supernatural had fifteen years to make God into an incredibly big bad. The Winchesters was cancelled after one season. They just didn't get time; hence many crucial elements are lost; meaning it had far less space to make the Akrida properly terrifying; resulting in this failure!
Conclusion: A Hypothetical Supernatural Season 16 – Will it be possible?
Supernatural season 16 would be immensely risky. Those massive issues remain with that very powerful villain selection. The Akrida could work as something smaller. A completely different, much bigger enemy; or even introducing newer storylines, potentially revisiting previously existing characters who have been impacted and creating even deeper implications within the greater Supernatural plot!
Starting fresh in a new universe (a reboot)? It's much more likely. A complete reset helps solve the stakes problem; meaning the Akrida could be that secondary thread that ultimately still provides an additional plot arc which only enhances the ongoing story.
