For those of you who haven’t seen Supernatural, after their mother’s death due to the supernatural, the Winchester brothers, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles), live a life on the road hunting supernatural creatures. Along the way, Sam and Dean save innocent people, fight creatures and ghosts, and are eventually joined by Castiel (Misha Collins), an angel of the lord.

I am a huge, huge Joss Whedon fan. I love his storytelling and have loved everything that I’ve seen him do. So when I say that Supernatural is essentially Buffy a decade later, you should definitely take me seriously. The characters, the  acting, the action, and the storytelling, everything I loved about Buffy, I love about this.

Sadly, my love for this show cannot blind me to the disappointment that has been Season Nine.

Season Nine has been a filler season.  Episode after episode have served only to take up space and set up what comes next.  In Season Eight, I appreciated how every episode steered the characters towards one ultimate goal:  close the gates of Hell.  That can’t be said thsi season.  Viewers are dealing with a new angelic threat and a new demonic threat, two species that have been the main villains of the show for several seasons.  The season has thus far resolved none of these rehashed issues yet, and with only five episodes to go, I’m asking myself more than ever where this is all going.  Season Nine also seems to be repeating plot issues from Season Six.  Sam has something wrong with him, so dean does something stupid to make it better, but he can’t tell Sam about it because it might endanger him.  We’ve been there before.

Show creators have already said that the master plan in Season Nine includes and ends with Season Ten, and while that explains a lot of things, Season Nine could be so much better.  Cut back on all the plot points that the brothers are dealing with and make it simple again.  Return to the simple, heartfelt story arcs of the first few seasons.  Treat the character of Castiel better by not having him constantly confronting random issues that prevent him from helping out the brothers.  Make Crowley (Mark A. Sheppard) a starring cast member or kill him off already.

Finally, and most importantly, really spend time thinking about how the series should end and what fans want to see.  Do not make the ending a cop-out (i.e. Dexter) or a resolution that is unsatisfactory to long-time fans (i.e. How I Met Your Mother).