The Winchesters Season 1 Episode 1 Review: Pilot

The Supernatural fandom can be a blessing and a curse for The Winchesters.

Many of us will watch The Winchesters Season 1 Episode 1, “Pilot,” with expectations. We may want a prequel with the same spirit, tone, and comfort as the original show. However, we also want this project to not stray too far from the already-established canon.

Then there are other fans of Supernatural who will embrace the new CW show as its own endeavor. And finally, some of us have no ties to the original series and think the show looks fun.

Whichever way you approach this prequel series, it gives plenty to excite and some things to cause worry. 

Most pilot episodes struggle to find the perfect balance between introducing us to this new world and telling an entertaining story. Unfortunately, The Winchesters is the rule and not the exception.

At times, the pilot episode feels cluttered with details.

We’re overwhelmed with information about the characters. First, we meet John, then Mary, then a demon. Next, we learn of John’s personal demons from his time in the Vietnam War, and we know of their missing fathers, and — oh, here’s another monster.

The first half of the pilot feels a little imbalanced with pacing.

We understand this is a show with lots of action, so fight scenes are a must, but creating the episode, so it feels more like the second act makes for a more substantial introduction. As a result, the second half of the pilot feels more confident and lets us experience the world without having everything explained.

It is always good to remember that pilots are made to sell a TV show. Unfortunately, this often means it’s not a good indicator of what viewers can expect. Instead, it’s to demonstrate a TV show’s potential.

The Winchesters‘ pilot episode does many things to give us a glimpse of what could become of the first season. First, it establishes an intriguing season-long mystery and the potential main villain. It also provides us with a ton of longing glances to begin to see the budding romance between John and Mary.

It also gives us characters we know we’ll love, Carlos, Latika, and Ada. The show also does an excellent job of allowing the show to stand on its own.

This introduction has plenty of references that make Supernatural fans giddy, but it does enough to exist as its own paranormal show.

We hear Dean at the beginning and see him at the end, but his presence isn’t overwhelming or suffocating in a way that will stop the show from growing beyond its ties to the original.  

As much as there is to admire about The Winchesters, it does have some other glaring flaws that hopefully work themselves out over the season.  

It plays it too safe with dialogue and jokes. So many lines are easy to predict because they follow a standard network TV dialogue pattern. As a result, the comedy fails to spark a reaction.

It’s more like, okay, we can see why that should be funny, but it isn’t going to get a laugh or even a chuckle. 

Given this is the first episode, it’s understandable the show’s writers may choose safe dialogue and jokes to sell the show.

We hope The Winchesters can step out of its comfort zone regarding dialogue and jokes in future episodes.

Overall, this pilot does a solid job of creating intrigue with the characters and mystery but doesn’t execute everything smoothly. Hopefully, as the show progresses, it will find more of its voice and direction.

Other Thoughts

• I love the casual way that the show introduces Carlos as a queer character.
• Latika being a seemingly nerdy character is wonderful because she doesn’t fit the typical look of nerds on TV.
• I cannot wait to learn more about Ada because we barely get to know her in the first episode.
• For those worried about Supernatural canon being erased, Jensen Ackles has already stated in numerous interviews that this won’t be the case.
• Is it just me, or is the show trying to set up a love triangle between John, Mary, and Latika? Because if so, I don’t like it.

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What did you think of the first episode of The Winchesters? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Winchesters airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW. 

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