Summary
The replacement forBuffy The Vampire Slayer’s Watchers inSupernaturalmade one fatal error thatBuffyavoided. While it introduced a few interesting additions to the lore, season 8 is considered one ofSupernatural’s worst seasons. This was partly due to thedragged-out storyline regarding the brothers' falling out after Dean’s (Jensen Ackles) return from Purgatory.That being said, another aspect of the story that fell flat was the season’s main villain, resulting in one of the series' less popular stories.
Supernatural’s Men Of Letters were meant to be a counterpoint to the hunters, as they were a set of academics who studied the supernatural as well as hunted it.However, as time went on, it was revealed thatthe surviving British branch of the organization did not share the same values as the Winchesters and other hunters.The Men Of Letters' fully evil outlook hurt that particular storyline, something thatBuffy The Vampire Slayer’s Watchers were able to avoid due to one simple fact.
10 Ways The Vampire Diaries & Supernatural Copied Each Other
Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries share a lot more in common than just the network they aired on, and some major details are repeated in both.
Supernatural’s Men Of Letters Went Fully Evil; Buffy’s Watchers Didn’t
Buffy’s Watchers Developed More Complex Outlooks On The Supernatural
Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s Watchers had a more complex and morally ambiguous approach, contrastingSupernatural’s Men Of Letters. The Watchers, while a strict organization, had room for individual approaches to teaching Slayers.Sunnydale’s Watcher Giles (Anthony Head)was an example of this, as he was tasked with teaching the titular character about the supernatural according to the Council’s rules. Despite this,Giles also allowed Buffy to have a personal lifeand developed a strong bond with her, causing him to question the Council’s methods and call for change.
That lack of complexity made this storyline less effective as, unlike the Watchers, the Men Of Letters became blanket villains with very few examples of defiance.
Supernatural’s villain group, by contrast, had little room for that kind of complexity as almost every member was purely evil and devoted to the cause. When the Men Of Letters' black-and-white outlook on the supernatural was questioned by an outside force,their response was to double down on their beliefs. That lack of complexity made this storyline less effective as, unlike the Watchers, the Men Of Letters became blanket villains with very few examples of defiance. This made them feel less compelling as villains compared to theirBuffycounterparts.
Why Supernatural’s British Men Of Letters Didn’t Work As Villains
Their Hypocrisy And Lack Of Nuance Made Them Ineffective Villains
Supernatural’s Men Of Letters did not work as villains as their blanket obedience and hypocrisy made them seem out of place in the series' approach to the supernatural. Both of these series are some of thebest paranormal procedural showsbecause of their approaches to monsters and mythology. Each set of heroes was flawed in many ways and most of the monsters they fought were, morally speaking, as human as they were. TheMen of Letters' belief that all supernatural powers must be destroyed because they were all evil made them one-dimensional bad guys, resulting in a less intriguing narrative.
Additionally, the Men Of Letters' use of magic inSupernaturalwas a bit hypocritical, lessening their ability to work as villains.The Men Of Letters practiced magic to accomplish their goals,which clashed with their inherent hatred of any creature who used it. It made their anger at the Winchesters' befriending of creatures and use of magic incongruous, as they were doing almost the same thing. That hypocrisy added to the lack of nuance, resulting in the Men Of Letters becoming almost cartoonish and mostly defeated despite their vast resources in season 8 ofSupernatural.
Supernatural
Cast
Supernatural is a television series that follows brothers Sam and Dean Winchester, who were raised by their father to hunt and combat supernatural entities after losing their mother to a demonic force. Traversing the American landscape in their ‘67 Chevy Impala, they face numerous paranormal threats.
