Rewatching Supernatural: 10 things that feel outdated now

Supernatural premiered in 2005 on The WB but later shifted to The CW. The era it emerged in was an era dominated by crime procedurals, teen dramas, and high-concept thrillers.

Created by Eric Kripke, the show brought a fresh breath of air with its horror-road-trip formula, blending urban legends, American folklore with a dash of family dynamics. Two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles), were at the heart of the show, did their ghost-hunting travels in backroads in a '67 Chevy Impala.

The thrilling tale of hunting ghosts, demons, and all things supernatural generally followed a “monster-of-the-week” structure. It then gradually expanded into deeper, complex mythological territories: from alternate realities, angels, to biblical prophecies, and alternate universes.

It quickly developed a loyal fanbase and became the longest-running American live-action fantasy series with a 15-season run. However, revisiting Supernatural in 2025 after almost 20 years after its first airing, may appear out of time. Modern viewers and their expectations in 2025 are shaped by dynamic visual effects, more nuanced storytelling, evolved fashion, and emotional depth.

Here are 10 elements of Supernatural that haven’t aged well:

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1. The early 2000s aesthetics and fashion

In any visual media, fashion plays an important role. This is why the fashion of the show, when it first aired, may appear outdated 20 years later.

The low-rise jeans, bootcut pants, thick leather jackets, and layered T-shirts defined the era, while the colors were largely desaturated tones—murky greys, greens, and browns. These shades may appear monotonous now.

While the aesthetics thrilled viewers, suited the horror-road trip theme, modern viewers are attuned to HD visuals, and more coming-of-age wardrobe styling may find it visually outdated.

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2. Gender roles and lack of female presence

The show had a few recurring actors like Charlie, Jo, and Rowena, but even so, Supernatural has often received critical opinions due to its treatment of women characters.

Female characters often serve only as plot devices and are killed off to extend the male character’s storylines. One of the key tropes used again and again in this is the “woman in the refrigerator” of the earlier seasons.

But, in today’s landscape of inclusivity and complex female storytelling, this treatment may not sit well with viewers.

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3. The cellphone era gap

During its early seasons, the Winchester brothers relied on payphones, paper maps, and analog tools to conduct their communication or investigations. Not to mention these means were appealing for the mid-2000s era but come off as anachronistic today.

During the 2010’s flip phones were used, but in 2025, viewers are more accustomed to smartphones, which rarely appear in the show. Given the advent of newer tech, GPS, and apps, and how inseparably they shape our reality today, the cellphone era gap feels real to the modern audience.

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4. One-note villains and monster stereotypes

While Supernatural brought in a plethora of folklore-inspired monsters, many early antagonists are written as one-dimensional.

Vampires, werewolves, and demons written without much nuance are often only portrayed as bloodthirsty or seductive, without much mythological context. Modern-day viewers are more accustomed to watching expert characterizations in newer shows like The Witcher or Buffy’s spiritual successors.

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5. Repetitive story arcs

At times, Supernatural’s story arcs were flat and repetitive compared to what modern shows have to offer. Across 15 seasons, the show heavily leaned on set plot devices: characters died and got resurrected, good and bad at war, the world coming to an end, and so on.

The dynamic arcs occur in seasons 6–12, but even these appear formulaic to modern binge-watchers. Modern-day TV shows and OTT series that prefer tighter, more layered story advancements are seen in series like Stranger Things.

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6. Overuse of pop culture references and outdated humor

The show relied on pop cultural references, but given the dynamic nature of the pop cultural scene, some of the allusions appear outdated to today’s audience. While the allusions brought a quirky charm then, in the age of video game adaptations and nuanced supernatural shows, these references come off as irrelevant to younger audiences.

Some jokes age poorly, not because they’re offensive, but because context is largely lost. This brand of dated, sometimes slapstick humor has not aged well.

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7. Treatment of mental health

The more sensitive themes like grief, trauma, and PTSD are central to character arcs and their appeal. However, Supernatural often tackles them in a simplified manner.

The show could bring a touch of nuance with methods of healing and coping mechanisms against the evils of addiction, like alcohol abuse and emotional shutdowns. In contrast, contemporary shows portray a much wider picture of healing and mental health compared to the era from which the show belonged.

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8. Singular male trope and emotional suppression

Dean Winchester was largely portrayed as a tough guy and showed resistance to showing emotional vulnerability. While the show did evolve to include more emotional sensitivity into its male characters, particularly in its later seasons, early Supernatural heavily walked the other way.

Today’s audiences are more receptive to emotionally nuanced protagonists, with characters that follow multi-dimensional emotional paths.

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9. Lack of narrative closure for supporting characters

The show had a 15-season run, and it had a huge number of supporting characters like hunters, angels, demons, and civilians, anybody who could assist or work as a key pathway to the demon hunt.

However, many of these aids were written out without proper closure. Characters like Gabriel, Eileen, and even fan-favorite Bobby were given farewells that did not resonate with audience expectations.

While episodic television of that era often treated secondary arcs as expendable, today's OTT-heavy era pays attention to every detail.

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10. Villain-of-the-week structure in early seasons

The first two seasons stuck to a monster-of-the-week formula, with a dash of serialization. This approach has its own merit, making the episodes more self-contained

But with more layered storytellers like Stranger Things in mind, modern-day audiences may find it to be lacking in narrative complexity.

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However, despite having some aspects that make the show come off as outdated today, let's remember what the show brought: thrill, a lot of supernatural exploration, and fun.

Also read: Why did Jimmy become Saul Goodman in Better Call Saul? His transformation, explained