Meta Essays

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A meta essay, or meta (short for meta-analysis) refers to an essay that explores the text of a show in more detail than an episode review or recap. Broader themes, or deeper analysis are investigated, often with supporting evidence in the form of screencaps, pictures or charts.

See other entries in the Meta category for books and academic essays.

Meta Communities

In the first two seasons of Supernatural, the Supernatural community spn_heavymeta on Livejournal followed a set regime, where members would submit essays for each episode on Dean, Sam and John. After Season Two this structure was abandoned, and the community simply provided a central place for people to link to their metas.

The forums on Television Without Pity (now closed) and supernatural.tv as well as blogs like The Winchester Family Business often contain meta discussion, as do the comments sections on many media sites.

• This is a link to a masterpost of the Monday meta digest a weekly round up of Supernatural meta
• Masterpost of meta recs by orange8hands

Meta Essays

Dean

• For s1 and s2 meta: SPN Heavy Meta and Some of Us Really Do Watch for the Plot

Sam

• For s1 and s2 meta: SPN Heavy Meta and Some of Us Really Do Watch for the Plot

John Winchester

• For s1 and s2 meta: SPN Heavy Meta and Some of Us Really Do Watch for the Plot

The Winchesters

• For s1 and s2 meta: SPN Heavy Meta and Some of Us Really Do Watch for the Plot

• Mirror Mirror on the Wall by hearseeno (15 parts, Feb-May 2009); archive link
• Noone, Kristin. 2010. "What are little ghouls made of? The Supernatural family, fandom, and the problem of Adam." Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 4. https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2010.0136.
• Rosen, Lugene. 2014. "Who's your daddy? Father trumps fate in Supernatural." In Supernatural, Humanity, and the Soul: On the Highway to Hell and Back, edited by Susan A. George and Regina M. Hansen. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/librarian_books/2/

Castiel

• A Boy and his Angel . . . by karenmiller (May 2009); archive link
• Spedding, Amanda. 2009. Castiel: An Angel in the Trenches. Innsmouth Free Press, September 9; archive link
• Where Do Castiel's Loyalties Lie? by darksilvercat (October 2009); archive link
• Dicks with Wings (Castiel character meta) by sistermagpie (October 2009); archive link
• The Evolution of Castiel's Humanity by missyjack (January 2010); archive link
• The darkest hour by saucery (May 2011); archive link
• Thoughts on Cas at the end of S6 by morganlucas41 (March 2012); archive link
• Supernatural’s depiction of Castiel’s mental health condition in Reading is Fundamental by ihavealittlefeminism (May 2012); archive link
• castiel and the symbolism of the bee [July 2012 by jimmynovaks (July 2012); archive link
• On Castiel, Identity and Metrical Analysis by lifeinabox66 (November 2012); archive link
• an eternal tuesday afternoon: the symbolism of Castiel’s favored heaven by outpastthemoat (January 2013); archive link
• Characterizing Narrative: Thoughts on Castiel by rootsunknown (January 2013); archive link
• “In the Beginning He Was Really Splendid" -- Castiel as Toy by subjecttochange8 (February 2013); archive link
• Second Star to the Right, and Straight on Till Endgame: Castiel as Peter Pan, and What That Means for His Fall by sarasarai (April 2013); archive link
• The Path To Becoming Human by daughter-of-a-badass (June 2013); archive link
• Proportion: How your eyes trick you into thinking Cas is shorter and thinner than he actually is by mischeviousart (July 2013); archive link
• Calling All Angels and Demonstration Angel by bardicvoice (July 2013); CAA archive link, DA archive link
• A categorical refutation of Cas being a "tool" by pocketsized-prophet (September 2013); archive link
• In which the Winchesters are humanist messiahs and Castiel is worth more than many sparrows by susurrantpetrichor (October 2013); archive link
• An attempt at a neuroscientific examination of Castiel’s human experience and why it changed him by feandra (January 2014); archive link
• Castiel as the reluctant messiah by beespatellas [thussaithcastiel] (February 2014); archive link
• The Route of Flowers: Symbolism and Castiel by thevioletcaptain (March 2014); archive link
• Dot R. 2014. “I’m Nothing”: Castiel in Supernatural 9×14, and His Road So Far. The Geekiary, March 4; archive link
• Untitled meta on BAMF!Cas in 4.20 by cuddleslutloki (April 2014); archive link
• Cas’ Trench Coat Meta by floatingaboveclouds (October 2014); archive link
• Cas' Trench Coat Meta - 4x01 edition by floatingaboveclouds (November 2019); archive link
• On Castiel and gas stations (Untitled) by dancing-phoenix (November 2014); archive link
• Castiel's Tattoo: A failure in a show's mythology by warkitt3nz (April 2015); archive link
• Cas and his shadow by amwritingmeta (December 2018); archive link
• Cas pops into Scooby world and immediately examines his hands, turning them over... by nox-lee (March 2018); archive link
• (SPN) Castiel: Angel or Man? by Annelie Widholm (February 2020; originally posted March 2018); archive link
• Untitled Meta on Castiel + Free Will in 15.12 [March 2020 by norahastuff; mittensmorgul (March https://norahastuff.tumblr.com/post/612960599826153472/mittensmorgul-norahastuff-oh-boy-were 2020); archive link
• Funny thing about her plan though. She didn't say anything about needing you by norahastuff, neven-ebrez (March 2020); archive link
  • Selections TK from Cas + Television and Cas + Water

Other Characters

• For s1 and s2 meta: SPN Heavy Meta and Some of Us Really Do Watch for the Plot
• Ruby & Castiel as avatars for aspects of Sam and Dean by missyjack
• Better the devil you know: illustrated meta on Ruby through seasons 3 & 4 by missyjack
• Illustrated meta on Anna by tirra-lyrra
• Anna Milton Meta: The Lioness, the Leader, the Sacrificial Lamb by arcadianambivalence
• An Anna Milton Meta by susurrantpetrichor - A multi-part analysis of Anna's character, including feminist and theological readings.
  • Part 1: Why Would an Angel Fall?
  • Part 1.1: Bonus Content! Too Off-Topic for the Main Post! Now with more theology and possibly a small feminist rant.
  • Part 2(A): Forgiveness and Love
  • Part 2(B): It’s Time to Think for Yourself
  • Part 2(C): Agency and Ambiguity in “The Song Remains the Same.”
  • Part 2.1: Blasphemy, Doubt, Agape, the Beloved Community, Etc., Etc. (more religious-y bonus content)
  • Part 3: The Madwoman in Heaven’s Attic, the Angel in the Impala
  • Part 3.1: “She Prophesied True Things”
  • Part 4: Useless Speculation
• "Long Live the King" - How Crowley Has Changed Over the Seasons and Where His Character Can Be Expected To Go Next by by neven-ebrez
• The meaning of Lucifer's wings by fallcnintohell
• Jack Kline Novak Winchester: Son, TFW Mirror, Trinity and Key; Quaternity, Ouroboros, Caduceus, and Harbinger of The End (meta masterpost) by drsilverfish

Mytharc Meta

• Supernatural and Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey - Meta
• Angels, spirits, spirits and planetary talismans by reasearchgrrl
• Season 3 Episodes 15 & 16 - An analysis of Sam and Dean's contract by stare-at-walls
• Meta analysis on Season 3 by albydarned
• On the Head of a Pin: there's no going back by bardicvoice
• Questions on the angel hierarchy by schmevil
• Zeke 9000 - A 2014 Supernatural Odyssey: parallels between Sam/Zeke and Dave/Hall from 2001 by larinah
• Angels, Demons, Dean and Posession in Supernatural by dontturnitoff
• Demons, Devils, and Dicks: Supernatural and Post 9/11 Angst by bookdal
• 9x11 Parallels - Dean/Cain, Sam/Abel & Castiel/Colette by queernatural
• The Meta of Supernatural & The Many Meanings of “God as the Author” by by magicoolsassyphoenix
• Folklore and Supernatural (masterpost) by prairiedust

The Impala

• Dean's Emotional State and The Condition of The Impala" (S1) by anteka (September 2006); archive link
• A Tribute To The Impala a.k.a. Metallicar by raloria (December 2006) archive link
• Dean's Emotional State and The Condition of The Impala" (S2) by anteka (January 2007); archive link
• Wilkinson, Jules. 2009. Back in black. In the Hunt: Unauthorized Essays on "Supernatural," ed. Supernatural.tv with Leah Wilson, 197–207. Dallas, TX: BenBella; archive link
• George S.A. 2014. A Man and His 1967 Impala: Supernatural, U.S. Car Culture, and the Masculinity of Dean Winchester. In: George S.A., Hansen R.M. (eds) Supernatural, Humanity, and the Soul. Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
• Stewart, Mark. 2014. A Black 1967 Chevy Impala: Fan Shibboleths as Cultural Password. FlowTV 20.2; archive link
• Knowles, Thomas. 2016. The Automobile as Moving Castle. Ed. Melissa Edmondson. The Gothic in Supernatural: Essays on the Television Series. McFarland Press.
• 10 Baby Facts for SPN Fic Authors by durenjtmusings (August 2017); archive link

Supernatural & Its Visuals

• Kripke and His Camera: Pastels, Flowers, and Symbolism in WIAWSNB by bowtrunckle
• Blue Velvety Smoothness: Visual references in WIAWSNB
• Red Demons and Yellow Psychics: Color Association and their Role in Supernatural's Visual Language Part 1 by bowtrunckle
• Red Demons and Yellow Psychics: Color Association and their Role in Supernatural's Visual Language Part 2 (This part focuses on Sam and his connection to demons) by bowtrunckle
• The Supernatural Color Wheel by hearseeno
• There's a Reason To Hope: The Cinematographic Use of Lighting & Shot Composition in SPN 5.04 by zimshan
• The Balance of Red & Blue: Color Symbolism in context of Fate & Free Will in Season 5 by zimshan
• Picspam tribute to Kim's directorial work on Supernatural by bellanut
• "...a storyteller who spoke with his camera..." Part One and Part Two. A picspam looking at Kim Manner's direction of Season One and Two episodes by coltshot1
• The Angel in the House: On the Presence of a Higher Power by sadelyrate
• Supernatural Title Cards and the 5 elements by blacklid
• Supernatural Title Cards and their meanings by meiou-set
• Visual Tropes and Call-Backs in Early Season 5 Episodes by hearseeno
• Statues in Supernatural by tirra-lyrra
• The Writing On The Wall: a study of the graffiti in The End by andreth47
• A Visual review of Two and a half Men by Ardeospina
• Visual review of Like a Virgin by Ardeospina
• Supernatural Noir: season six in review by Jules Wilkinson
• Comparison of Jensen's choice of shots in The Girl Next Door with Hitchcock's Stranger on a Train by bowtruckle
• Tracking the Visual Story: The Saga of Red & Blue Continues... by zimshan
• Comparative Directorial Styles: Edlund, Rohl, Singer, Scgricca, and Manners by bowtruckle
• Season 8: Dissecting Visual Drama by bowtruckle
• Visual Motifs - Flowers: Mystery, secrets, and things yet to be revealed by hearseeno
• “Why Do You Dress Me In Borrow’d Robes?” The Role of Costumes and Mirrors In 8x11/8x20 And What It Might Mean For the Character Development of Dean Winchester by sikai

Gender and Sexuality

Gender Performance and Masculinities

• More bark than bite - Dean and Attitude by astri13 (July 2006); archive link
• Less Campy: comparisons of gender depictions in Buffy and Supernatural by monkeycrackmary (August 2006); archive link
• Manly man in TVLand: Gender in Supernatural by astri13 (August 2006); archive link
• Masculinity in Supernatural by lefefuge (August 2006); archive link
• Musings on Dean's masculinity by missyjack (June 2007); archive link
• Bruce, Melissa N. 2010. The Impala as negotiator of melodrama and masculinity in Supernatural. In "Saving People, Hunting Things," edited by Catherine Tosenberger, special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 4. https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2010.0154.
• Looking at Dean Winchester: The Gaze In Supernatural by missyjack (October 2010); archive link
• Supernatural and Homophobia by thegreatestdragon (January 2012); archive link
  • Related: actually the show is very homophobic by various (December 2011); archive link; link rot repair: [gifset about how "non-homophobic" SPN is]; "I already made that gif set"
• a bitch of a term by flutiebear (February 2013); archive link
• Sam Winchester in a Traditionally Female Character Role and Why People Don't Like That by i-see-the-light (April 2013); archive link
• Asher-Perrin, Emily. 2013. Supernatural’s Dean Winchester Dismantled His Own Machismo -- and That’s Why We Love Him Tor, May 17; archive link
• Sam is written as like a female character by theongreyjoy (August 2013); archive link
• "I said, you're pretty" (Untitled) by sarisleah (September 2013); archive link
• Somewhere over the rainbow: a queer reading of slumber party by missyjack (November 2013); archive link
• O’Malley, Sheila. 2013. Breaking Down the Schtick: Jensen Ackles, Physical Comedy, Objectification, Consent, and Other Supernatural Topics Inspired By Three Seconds of Footage. The Sheila Variations, December 22; archive link
• Ain't I Tough Enough: Dean Winchester’s Gender Performance by dorkilybeautiful (June 2014); archive link

The Wittier Rape

• Better a Friendly Refusal Than Unwilling Consent: Possession and Sex in Supernatural by chasingtides (September 2009); archive link
• Meta: Angels and Demons: Thorns and Stings by chasingtides (September 2009); archive link
• Swapping Spit and Satin Panties: Sexual Objectification of the Male Characters in Supernatural by blubird-pie (February 2010); archive link
• Torture and rape in Season 6 by amonitrate (December 2010); archive link
• Male Sexual assault in Supernatural by hells-half-acre (November 2011); archive link
• Sexual Violence In Supernatural: A Study Regarding Sam and Dean by mithrilwren [fansofcollisions] (January 2013); archive link

Women's Work

• Women's Work vid by luminosity, sisabet (2007); archive link
• Micole. 2007. Women's Art and “Women's Work”. Ambling Along the Aqueduct, August 29; archive link
• Something about Mary by spg (January 2008); archive link
• A feminist take on Supernatural by fanishliss (February 2008); archive link
• Hell hath no fury like a woman born by deadbeat_nymph (February 2008); archive link
• Women in SPN Season 3 -- a look at the one-shot characters by marinarusalka (May 2008); archive link
• Meta on 3.2 "The Kids are All Right" (Motherhood and Misogyny) by fannishliss (June 2008); archive link
• Heavy Meta ON 5.17 Warnings: Little squee here. Dr. Fannishliss gets serious about the Language Problem in the recent episode. With love. by fannishliss (April 2010); archive link
• Gender bias in Supernatural: the cold hard stats by ash48 and bythedamned (June 2011); archive link
• Supernatural’s depiction of consent issues and rape by lihavealittlefeminism (April 2012); archive link
• The Sexualization of Violence Against Women in Supernatural by todisturbtheuniverse (May 2013); [1]
• On Media, Fandom, Female Characters, and the Clusterfuck-Combination of All Three (Or: It Sucks to be a Woman on Supernatural but it’s Hard to Explain Why) by effingdavis (May 2013)
  • Part 1; archive link 1
  • Part 2; archive link 2
  • Part 3; archive link 3
  • Part 3; archive link 4
• Supernatural Bechdel test by centrumlumina (May 2013); archive link
• Some numbers re: female vs male representation among recurring characters by womeninfiction (October 2013); archive link
• SPN by the numbers by persephoneshadow (January 2014)
  • (Part 1); archive link
  • (Part 2); archive link
• Supernatural and Consent: Why Season 9's Writing Team Has No Excuse by undead-feminist [thatonesnorlax] (February 2014); archive link
• Turn Left, SPN by greekedtext (October 2014); archive link
• Season of Women: Season 10 of Supernatural by fozmeadows (December 2014); archive link
• Abaddon's death(s) are sexualized by livebloggingmydescentintomadness (May 2015); archive link
• Did everyone just wake up on the stupid side of the bed this morning? by defilerwyrm (May 2015); archive link
• Exorcising Emily. 2015. "Supernatural: A History of Violence against Women." The Geekiary, May 26; archive link
• Carroll, Audrey. 2015. “Banished to Oz: The Vanishing Ladies of Supernatural.” Popmatters, June 15; archive link
• Lane, Carly. 2015. "Supernatural's Ongoing Fridging Problem Isn't a Laughing Matter." The Mary Sue, July 15; archive link
• as of 11.10 death stats by gillasue345 (January 2016); archive link
• I considered writing a post about Supernatural ep 12.21, but I've got to head into the office for the day so I'll just share a few thoughts by horrorfemme (May 2017); twitter archive link, tumblr archive link
• Fisher, Natalie. 2017. Dismantling the ‘Supernatural’ death toll – is there a better way? Hypable, May 17; archive link
• in. re. the thing Supernatural has done a couple times this year where they are bringing back alternate-universe versions of fan-favorite characters that were unceremoniously disposed of a few seasons ago: it's not working for me. by yarnyfan (April 2018); twitter archive link; tumblr archive link

Wayward Daughters

• Tannenbaum, Emily. 2018. How Supernatural's All-Female Spinoff, Wayward Sisters, Was Born: From fandom to canon: six characters and thousands of fans willed a new show into existence. Elle, Jan 17/May 11; archive link
• Day, Betty and Riley Santangelo. 2018. Wayward: The Movement and the Power of "Casual Female Viewers". Medium.com, January 17; archive link
• [needs development, work in progress]

Discussions of Characters' Sexuality: Sam

• brief meta on Sam being demiromantic by mustiep999 [bossydean], bangingpatchouli (December 2013); archive link
• Anonymous asked: What's your opinion on the possibility of queer!Sam, as in pansexual, bisexual, or any variation of queer? by backinwyoming (January 2014); archive link
• I think this scene is actually just a little indication that Dean knows Sam is not completely uninterested in guys (Untitled) by lukearnold, optimisam, samwinchesterappreciation (May 2014); archive link
• Sam Winchester and Demisexuality by twinkjaredarchived-blog (December 2013); revised version by bottomnoctis (May 2014); archive link, revised version archive link
• Untitled meta on Sam’s demon blood addiction read as a parallel for the 80s AIDS crisis by pocochina (July 2014); archive link
• Your Demon Lover: Sam and Brady by safiyabat (July 2014); archive link
• Queer!Sam Week Day 1: Favorite (potential) Queer!Sam moment(s) by bananadaiquiri (July 2014); archive link
• demi!sam makes so much sense and the writers really need to look into it! by hunterinabrowncoat, bornunderabluemoonbaby; more by cassyswinchestergospel (August 2014); archive link, archive link
• Demisexual and queer Sam by kerasines [kimchesters] (November 2014); archive link
• okay, but seriously, sam has never explicity stated his sexuality. ever. (Untitled) by transgendersam [subbyjared] (December 2014); archive link
• Reply to an ask on Sam + Crossroads Demons by samwinchesterappreciation, safiyabat (December 2014); archive link
• It’s Not Just One Crossroads Demon by safiyabat (December 2014); archive link
• bullet point post: #sam is bi #queer!sam #feel free to add your own [September 2015] by nelliespector [novakspector] (September 2015); archive link
• Sam Winchester’s backstory is like a laundry list of allegorical queerness by nelliespector [novakspector] (October 2015); archive link

Discussions of Characters' Sexuality: Dean

• The Story of My (non) Existence: Bisexuals and Genre Television by chasingtides (February 2009); archive link
• “Well, You Are Kind Of Butch”: The Bisexuality Of Dean Winchester by waterofthemoon (March 2010); archive link
• In which Anne Over-analyzes Frontierland by perpetuallycaffeinated (April 2011); archive link
• Pink and Satiny: An Exploration of Dean Winchester's Bisexuality by sobrans [lotstradamus] (April 2012); archive link, tumblr, archived tumblr link
• Dean Winchester and "On the Road" Parallels by metalicar (August 2012); archive link
• Why Dean Winchester would make a great bisexual character: an essay by me by silvenhorror (January 2013); archive link
• The Fucking Badge Scene by agentmapal (February 2013); archive link
• The Subversion of Dean’s Masculinity by defilerwyrm (February 2013); archive link
• "Hi. I'm Tom, I'm a queer man, I'm not a shipper, and I’ve been increasingly certain that Dean Winchester is a closeted bisexual since season 2..." posted by lotstradamus (March 2013); archive link; originally posted as a comment on Let's Discuss: Dean Winchester - Bromance, a Gay Thing, or Other? The Winchester Family Business, 2013 Feb 10. archive link
• On season 8's build-up to Dean being openly bisexual by katnisstiel (February 2013); archive link
  • Hannah. 2013. The Shipping News: Marauder's Era Fanfic and Dean Winchester, Bi-Curious? ‘’AfterElton’s The Backlot’’, February 18; archive link, excerpt on tumblr, archive link
• Arguments for straight Dean need to work a little harder by superwholockthecomic (February 2013); archive link
• I have no doubt Dean likes the ladies. But I also have no doubt that he likes dudes too. (Untitled) by thefuckingtrenchcoat (March 2013); archive link
• Let's take a look at this statement: 'Dean is not canonically queer until made explicit' by mekbuda (March 2013); archive link
• Good Stuff, Big Things: Who is Dean Smith, really? by defilerwyrm (April 2013); archive link
• On Dean Winchester and His Repressed Bisexuality: Evidence through the Seasons by ashkiryn (April 2013); archive link
• Dean’s Gay Friend - Representation is not only on the screen by cutecuddlyvampirate (April 2013); archive link
• Thoughts on the Siren Episode ("Sex and Violence") by fansofcollisions (May 2013); archive link
• On gender stereotyping and analisys of Dean's biseхuality by silvenhorror (August 2013); archive link
• when Dean is ‘’vehemently’’ protesting about being straight in canon, it’s important to take hunter culture into consideration (Untitled) by saltfree, thickney (November 2013); archive link
• Bisexual Dean Winchester: History in the Making by ahubofreadersandmagicians (May 2014); archive link
• Dean’s “Intense Fling” and the Narrative Purpose of Sex in Supernatural by thoughtlessthinkythoughts (July 2014); archive link
• Greyro and bi meta from Sex and Violence by mustiep999 [bossydean] (July 2014); archive link
• Dean Winchester as Greyromantic Part 1: The Quick and Dirty by mustiep999 [bossydean] (August 2014); archive link
• Masculinity and Queerness in the Media: A Meditation on Dean Winchester by peter-pantomime (April 2015); archive link
• bi!dean by episode by jenmisheel (November 2015); mirror link
• Arguments Against Bi!Dean Are Bad by argumentsagainstbideansuck (April 2015 - February 2017)
  • But the Writers SAID, archive link
  • That’s Just Your Opinion, Man,archive link
  • Bisexuality & Its Discontents,archive link
  • Dean Said He's Hetero, archive link
  • False Equivalences, archive link
  • It’s not evidence of Dean's queerness because…, archive link
  • The Shipping Accusation/Problem, archive link
  • Misc., archive link
• The Dean Is Bi Meta Masterpost by elizabethrobertajones (August 2017); mirror link, archive link

• Emily E. Roach, "Supernatural: Wincest, Destiel and Dean Winchester's Bisexual Panic" in Queerbaiting and Fandom: Teasing Fans Through Homoerotic Possibilities ed. Joseph Brennan (University of Iowa Press, 2019).
  • Preview on Google Books: 65-65, 67-68, 69-70, 71-72, 73-74, 75-76, 77-78, 79-80, 81

Discussions of Characters' Sexuality: Cas

• “If the pizza man truly loves this babysitter, why does he keep slapping her rear?” It’s a lulzy joke, but the more I think about it, the sweeter it is… by neraiutsuze (September 2011); archive link
• An Asexual Interpretation of Castiel by bookkbaby (August 2013); archive link
• Why I Think Cas Shouldn’t Be Canonically Straight: and No, it’s Not Because of Destiel by poedamyron (August 2013); archive link
• Cas and intimacy: (Part 1), (Part 2) by outpastthemoat; ladyofthesilent (August 2013); archive link 1, archive link 2
• Let’s have a serious talk about ace!Cass. His experience with sex on the show is just shattering. by castielculator (September 2014); archive link
• blessedhunk asked: Um...hi! Can you do the list thing for ace!Cas? I ask because on your page there's a cartoon of Cas saying, "So ace." Also, I have my own evidence for Cas being ace, but I want to see if I missed any, and what other people have noticed. :) by jenmisheel (July 2015); link
• Castiel’s Sexuality by gneisscastiel (January 2018); archive link

Shipping

See Pairings for a list of all Supernatural character ship pages

• Hartinger, Brent. 2010. Has Slash made the world better for gay men? After Elton, August 11; archive link
• Hypable Staff. 2013. Breaking fandom taboos: Let’s talk about slash shipping. Hypable, May 7; archive link
• The Art of the Answer: How Showrunners Speak About Shipping by sarasarai (July 2013); archive link
• Davies, Morgan Leigh. 2013. A Brief History of Slash. The Toast, September 19; archive link
• Coy, Olivia. 2015. Fifty Shades of Yellow: Tinhatters keep the early paranoid dreams of internet forum-based fandom alive. The New Inquiry, June 22; archive link
• Shipping as a meditation on love by agentfreewill (September 2015); archive link
• McCulloch, Gretchen. 2015. A Linguist Explains the Grammar of Shipping. The Toast, September 30; archive link
• Jackson, Gita. 2017. Overwatch Incest 'Shipping Tests The Limits Of What's Permissible In Fandom. Kotaku Australia, May 11; archive link
• Coelho, Steph. 2017. 15 'Supernatural' Couples We Wish Had Gotten Together. TheThings, April 4; archive link
• Donaldson, Kayleigh, 2018. Inside the World Of Real Person Fanfiction. SyFy Wire, June 4; archive link

Fandom Stats

• What we write - an analysis of genres and pairings, and changing trends in Supernatural Fanfic from 2005-2009 by missyjack (May 2010); archive link
• AO3 Census Project by centrumlumina
• AO3 Ship Stats Project by centrumlumina
• Shipping Stats by destinationtoast

Fandom Surveys

• McCollum, Ashley. 2013. Best Thing Ever of the Day: What Are The Chances Destiel Will Be Canon? ‘’MTV Geek News,’’ September 27; archive link
• re 1 percent claim of the Profound Bond Census by Fandom (de)Bunker (October 2013); archive link
• HuntForAnswers Fan Survey by ancestorbound (mid-October to mid-November 2013)
• Survey of the Supernatural Fandom by fandometrics (April 20th-23rd, 2014); archive link
• I saw a fandom survey going around that could in no way whatsoever cast objective results and decided to make a better one because I'm a huge nerd. Here are the results - Part 1 by inkbleeder (May 2018); archive link
• SPN Fandom Survey Results, Part 2 - Shippers Who Ship All The Ships by inkbleeder (May 2018); archive link
• SPN Fandom Survey Results, Part 3 - THE DRAMA! by inkbleeder (May 2018); archive link

Wincest

• Erotically Co-Dependant: A Dean/Sam Manifesto by slytherinblack and kissedbythegods, at Ship Manifesto (December 2005, updated through season 5); archive link
• Emotional Intimacy & Communication by destina (October 2006); archive link
• Justifying Sam/Dean by monster-of-hope (March 2007); archive link
• Could Dean kill Sam? by destina (March 2007); archive link
• Redemption narratives and kissing by missyjack (May 2007); archive link
• Why I write Sam/Dean even though I've never liked incestfic (Untitled) by setissma (August 2007); archive link
• Wincest and Romanticism by fannishliss (February 2008); archive link
• Things That Are Completely Fantastic About Sam/Dean by setissma (March 2008); archive link
• Wincest Manifesto by Sarah on Supernatural for Grown Ups (circa 2008); archive link
• Incest in my Canon? by chasingtides (October 2008); archive link
• Tosenberger, Catherine. 2008. "The epic love story of Sam and Dean": Supernatural, queer readings, and the romance of incestuous fan fiction. Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 1. https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2008.030
• Hellekson, Karen. 2009. Catherine Tosenberger talks about "Supernatural." Karen Hellekson, April 6; archive link
• Chan, Suzette. 2009. Catherine Tosenberger on Sam and Dean's Transformative Love Story. Sequential Tart: A Comics Industry Web Zine, April 6; archive link
• Wincest: transgressive taboo or conservative construct? by missyjack (February 2009); archive link
• Analysis of Sam's love/devotion for Dean by laurificus (May 2009); archive link
• Wincest! The Musical by coyotesuspect (December 2009); archive link
• Young, Katie. 2011. Psychotically, irrationally, erotically co-dependent…the obsessive bromance of Supernatural. Katie Young Author, June 18; archive link
• A Wincest Manifesto by nana (circa 2012); archive link
• What is Wincest and How Do I Ship It: A Comprehensive Guide by brothersintheimapala (April 2013); archive link
• Sam & Dean: Soulmates by spnmonster (July 2013); archive link
• Why Wincest is canon by rabidbehemoth (October 2013); archive link
• Torrey, K. T. 2014. Writing with the Winchesters: Metatextual Wincest and the provisional practice of happy endings. Journal of Fandom Studies 2: 163-180.

Destiel

• Because God Commanded It: Dean/Castiel by vichan (February 2009); archive link, page 1, archive link, page 2, reposted on tumblr (April 2017), archive link.
• SPN meta: The Lack of Unconditional Love by vasiliki (June 2011); archive link
• The secret relationship theory by pinkandsatiny (April 2012); archive link
• Dean and Cas Purgatory reunion by lurea (October 2012); archive link
• Supernatural and Queer(ed) Canon by rootsunknown (November 2012); archive link
• Destiel & pro-canon Destiel shipping meta masterpost by silvenhorror (December 2012); archive link
• 5:04 Future!Dean and Cas are Lovers and the Whole Camp Knows It by lurea (October 2012)
  • part one; archive link
  • part two; archive link
  • part three; archive link
  • part four; archive link
  • 5:04 End!Verse Characterization - Dean and Cas (January 2013); archive link
• The Supernatural Lover: Fairy Tale Archetypes and Destiel by outpastthemoat (March 2013); archive link
• An Argument in Tropes – A Destiel Meta (Part One) (Part 2) by octoswan (April 2013); archive link 1, archive link 2
• Casual Viewers noticing Destiel by silvenhorror (April 2013)
  • (Part I | archive link I)
  • (Part II | archive link II)
  • (Part III) | archive link III)
  • (Part IV | archive link IV)
• The Great Season 7 Rewatch by flutiebear (Sepember 2012 - April 2013)
  • (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 6.5) (Part 7) (Part 8.1) (Part 8.2) (Part 8.3) (Part 8.4) (Part 8 coda) (Part 9)
  • Author's note, April 2014: For many reasons, I am no longer in the Supernatural fandom, and I will never finish this meta series. While I leave the GS7R up for posterity's sake (and because I worked too hard on it to take it down), you probably shouldn't bother following me for more SPN meta, because it won't be coming. Ever.
• Supernatural and the Love Narrative: A Non-Shipper’s Perspective on Destiel by sarasarai (April 2013)
  • (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6)
  • Special "Clip Show" Edition (May 2013)
  • Author's note: This meta was written prior to season 9, which has in my opinion quite clearly and distinctly moved the relationship back to platonic.
• On the Nature of the Profound Bond by defilerwyrm (June 2013); archive link
• The Romance Narrative v. The Bromance Narrative: When slash ships transcend crack ships by heaven-is-my-hell (June 2013); archive link
• Extended Cain & Dean Parallels by pondlifeforme (January 2014); archive link
• Parallels - Dean/Cain, Sam/Abel & Castiel/Collette by queernatural (January 2014); archive link
• Canon Queer: Deconstructing Destiel Theory by honestbrooklyndirt (March 2014); archive link
• The Weight of the World Is Love by thevioletcaptain (April 2014); archive link; mirror link
• Narrative Negative Space: How What’s Not There Says as Much as What Is by s-cornelius (April 2014); archive link
• The Divine Reviews Collection by neven-ebrez (Oct 2013 - Aug 2014); archive link
• Draped in the Flag of Heaven, All for One Man: Castiel's Creed amagicbeyond (August 2014); archive link
• The Rule of Three in "Heaven Can't Wait" by obsessionisaperfume (September 2014); archive link
• Summary of Destiel + POV by elizabethrobertajones (November 2014); archive link (updated September 2017, archive link)
• Queerness, Tropes & Proof Of Love: Why Destiel Is Canon by fozmeadows (April 2015); archive link
• The Three Day Deancasversary by mittensmorgul (September 2015); archive link
• SPN 11x23: They think they’re family by charlie-minion (June 2016); archive link
• Why the SPN mixtape scene from 12x19 is screenwriting gold, and should be taught to the next generations of screenwriters everywhere - analysis by margarittet (May 2017); archive link
• It’s never too late to start over again by k-vichan (November 2017); archive link
• Singular vs Plural “You” by charlie-minion (January 2018); archive link
• This Is the Song That Never Ends by sisabet (July 2018)
• Destiel - The Intimacy of Touch and Holding Hands by bluestar86 (December 2019); archive link
• Understanding the Closet in Narrative - Healing Hands/ Holding Hands in 15x08 Our Father Who Aren't in Heaven by drsilverfish (December 2019); archive link

Queerbaiting

Definition and history of Queer Baiting on Fanlore

• Dear "Slash" Fandom by effingdeixis [thequixoticbedhead] on Fanlore (May 2013)
• Romano, Aja. 2013. How One Question Triggered a Supernatural Meltdown. The Daily Dot, May 6; archive link
• On Queerbaiting and Misha's Comments at NJCon by t-eyla (June 2013)
• Veronika K. 2013. "Supernatural -- 9.07 -- Dean and Castiel's Reunion and Queer-Baiting." SpoilerTV, September 20. archive link
• Baker-Whitelaw, Gavia. 2013. Did Supernatural Just Give Fans the Queer Romance They've Been Hoping For? The Daily Dot, October 15; archive link
• Romano, Aja. 2013. WB executive deletes Twitter account after angering 'Supernatural' fans. The Daily Dot, October 24; archive link
• Regarding Chad Kennedy by The Fandom (de)Bunker (October 2013); archive link
• Pajor, Samantha. 2013. 'Supernatural' Needs to Admit Dean is Bisexual Mic, October 25; archive link
• Chan, Suzette. 2014. Fangasm: Supernatural Fangirls Katherine Larsen and Lynn Zubernis. Sequential Tart, March 10; archive link
• Schrödinger's Queerbaiting by khaleesiofthegreatdairystate [amyrat151] (June 2014); archive link
• Cruz, Eliel. 2014. Fans take Supernatural to task for "Queer Baiting." Advocate, July 17. archive link
• Destiel: One of the Most Effective Queerbaits in TV History by snuggydeamon (June 2014); archive link
• Romano, Aja, Diana Michelle, Dori Koogler, and Jessica Mason. Queerbaiting in Genre Television: Representation or Exploitation? Geek Girl Con 2014. Panel description, panel recap, some of the slides used.
• Gennis, Sadie. 2014. "Supernatural Has a Queerbaiting Problem That Needs to Stop." TV Guide, November 17. archive link
• Rachel A. "Queerbaiting and Dean Winchester." YouTube.com, 22 Feb 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNl4ElrW54E
• Aparicio, Rachel. 2015. Supernatural Needs to Pull the Trigger on Destiel or Castiel (And They Need to Do It Now). The Daily Fandom, March 20; archive link
  • Limiting a character to being one half of a ship is really fucking gross by pathsofpassion, destieldrabblesdaily (March 2015); archive link
  • Making Cas the Scapegoat of Destiel is Reductive (Untitled) by anon, bittercasgirl (March 2015); archive link
• Supernatural + Polysemy (Untitled) by rainbofiction, f-ckyeahfutbol, fireintheimpala, impostoradult (March 2015); archive link
• Kelly, Geneva. 2015. Fans vs fiction: Queerbaiting in "Supernatural"? Biscuit, March 6; archive link
• Not shipping it is anyone's prerogative. But to say it hasn't been queerbaited just falls into the realm of willful obtuseness. (Untitled) by some-people-call-it-tragic, bombshellsandbluebells, impostoradult (February 2016); archive link
• Campbell, Anna. 2016. Queerbaited: Homoeroticism & Homophobia in Supernatural in the Age of the Internet. Medium, February 20; archive link
• Marty Stu. 2016. Why Dean Winchester's Bisexuality Matters. FAN/FIC Magazine, September 8; archive link
• Johnson, Hannah. 2016. Supernatural's Scariest Monster: Bisexual Erasure. Btch Flcks, September 30; archive link
• Mary Sue. 2018. Dean Winchester is the Bisexual Hero Supernatural Deserves. FAN/FIC Magazine, August 2; archive link
• Queerbaiting and the blame ping-pong ball by chili-legilimens (March 2019); archive link
• Anonymous asked: Why do you think Supernatural has such a large LGBTQ+ following? The representation of queer people ist piss poor and most of the time non-existent. Is it because of the IMO queerbaiting or are there other reasons? by postmodernmulticoloredcloak, floral-lumberjack (July 2019); archive link
• Roach, E 2019. "Supernatural Wincest and Dean's Bisexual Panic" in Queerbaiting and Fandom: Teasing Fans Through Homoerotic Possibilities. Brennan, Joseph (ed). University of Iowa Press.

Supernatural's America

• "Supernatural" - Kansas Burning by malkingrey (September 2006); archive link
• Notes on the Supernatural Underclass by vee-fic (April 2007)
  • Part 1, archive link
  • Part 2; archive link
  • Part 3; archive link
  • Part 4; archive link
  • Sidebar on Supernatural Underclass notes; archive link
• Masculinity and Social Class by vee-fic (May 2007); archive link
• A Cowboy, a Hero, and a Chevy Impala: American Mythology in Supernatural by aislinamara (April 2008); archive link
• Ron, Lyric. 2008. "Supernatural Politics?" MediaBlvd Magazine, July 23; archive link
• Wright, Julia M. 2008. "Latchkey hero: Masculinity, class, and the Gothic in Eric Kripke's Supernatural." Genders 47.
• A Striking Position to Take: SPN and economic instability by amonitrate (March 2010); archive link
• SPN and the Underclass series by laespada
  • Part 1 - Intro; archive link
  • Part 2 - Dangers of Underclass; archive link
  • Part 3 - Music; archive link
  • Part 4 - War; archive link
  • Part 5 - Clothes; archive link
  • Part 6a - Cars; archive link
  • Part 6b - Cars; archive link
  • Part 6c - Cars; archive link
  • Music 2- Return of the Meta; archive link
• Sam, Dean, and class differences by mekbuda (January 2013); archive link
• Winchester Accents: None of Them Sound Like They’re from Kansas by basiacat (April 2013); archive link
• Ireland, Brian. 2013. “All I saw was evil”: Supernatural’s Reactionary Road Trip. American Studies Today/Online: 14; archive link
• On the Acquisition of SucroCorp by Richard Roman Enterprises a.k.a., A Meta Post on Season Seven that No One Asked For and No One Will Read by chuckwinchester [apocalypse-patisserie, MajorEnglishEsquire] (March 2014)
• Supernatural's America - A series of Meta posts about the connection between US history and Supernatural in seasons 8, 9, and 10 by larinah (Oct 2014 - Jun 2015)
  • Part 1 - The Star-Spangled Banner; archive link
  • Part 2 - The South Will Rise Again; archive link
  • Part 3 - How You Gonna Keep ‘Em Down On The Farm?; archive link
  • Part 4 - The End of the Cattle Drive/Back in the Saddle Again; archive link
  • Part 5 - Ain’t That America/To Dream the American Dream; archive link
  • Part 6 - This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land/This is My Father’s World; archive link
  • The Star-Brite Theater; archive link
  • Funny, I'm in the business of making dreams come true…Rowena, Crowley, Gavin, and Seth and the pursuit of the American Dream; archive link
• SPN Hunters and Poverty by durenjtmusings, kayanem, wingstocarryon, ameliacareful, chiisana-sukima, drsilverfish, defilerwyrm (April 2017); archive link
• McGeer, Tess. 2019. An Undead Elegy For the American Dream: On 300 Episodes of “Supernatural”. Flood Magazine, February 7; archive link

Religion

• Angels in Hebrew and Christian scripture by fannishliss (November 2008); archive link
• Supernatural vs Christianity by fannishliss (April 2009); archive link
• Some thoughts on what Supernatural is saying about religion by missyjack (April 2010); archive link
• Supernatural’s Christless Christianity and Pagan People-Eaters by fannishliss (April 2010); archive link
• trivialization of Hindu gods in Supernatural episode by schmevil (April 2010); archive link
• The nature of Death of Supernatural by hell-half-acre (April 2011); archive link
• And of course the first time Wicca is referenced it's in THAT context by babblegirl (November 2011); archive link
• A Golem on Supernatural by Rabbi Elliot B. Gertel. Published in The National Jewish Post and Opinion, April 10, 2013; archive link
• Pop Culture Pagan by persephoneshadow (Nov 2013 - Feb 2014)
  • Supernatural and Sins of the Mother; archive link
  • Supernatural and Symbolism; archive link
  • Son of a Witch! Part 1; archive link
• a lot of the staff is Jewish so stop treating Christian readings of the show as more legitimate than Jewish readings by isthemachinesinging, drsilverfish, her-roses-never-fall (March 2015); archive link
• multiple jesus-es by postmodernmulticoloredcloak (April 2015); archive link
• 2-4-6-8 Time to Transubstantiate by welkinalauda (April 2015); archive link
• untitled post about the last supper [based on this post] by angel-afraid-of-falling (April 2015); archive link, archive link
• we need to talk about the stynes in this week's spn, excerpt of commentary in the post by hogwartsbitchcraftandmisandry (April 2015); post archive link; commentary archive link
• but i want to talk about miriam especially for a moment by firstdrafted (March 2016); archive link
• The problems with the first scene of SPN 14.01: tackling casual racism, and the history of disrespect to non-judeo-christian religions in SPN by sunkin-akh (October 2018); archive link

Ethnicity and Race

• Regional accents in Supernatural by ethrosdemon
• Race in Supernatural by The Angry Black Woman blogsite
• Winchester Accents: None of Them Sound Like They’re from Kansas by basiacat
• Supernatural: Kinda Racist by Alejandro Zuleta
• Is supernatural racist? by Lady Geek Girl
• An Open Letter to Eric Kripke by Alaya Dawn Johnson
• "Supernatural" Is Midwestern Gothic For The Google Generation by Annalee Newitz
• Dear Writers Of Supernatural by Nerdy POC
• If Sam and Dean were PoC by glockgal

Music

• Music (Original Score) (meta on themes and motifs in the music score by zimshan)
• Top fifteen music moments on Supernatural by quidditchkiss
• Chasing Rabbits: On the use of "White Rabbit" in the teaser to Hunted by gigglingkat
• Other music metas by gigglingkat
• Baby I’m Gonna Leave You: Dean and Led Zeppelin by feandra

Miscellaneous

• Somebody save me: the point of view of people in peril on the boys by astri13
• Free will & determinism in the Supernatural universe by technosage
• The long arm of the law by silver_spotted
• “Why do I hafta be some kind of hero ?": A Hero’s Journey Analysis of Supernatural by kentawolf
• How the writers' strike affected Season 3 by percysowner
• The Viewers Guide to the Pilot by bowtrunckle & hugemind (with emphasis on cinematography)
• Repeated language by weesta
• Brains trumps legs: Disability in Supernatural by chasingtides
• Vampires as a metaphor for denial in Supernatural by redrikki
• Chakras in Supernatural by meret
• Bitten and Baudrillard - hyperealism and Supernatural by astarloa
• Season Nine themes as told through its episode titles (spoilers) by neven-ebrez
• Establishment Culture, or Why Supernatural is Just as ‘Good’ a Show as Mad Men by fangirlingthebook

Fandom & Fan Works

• Move over alpha geeks, here come the fangrrls Portrayal of the many facets of fandom, particularly Supernatural
• The pros of cons by Emma Ryan
• This Content is Currently Unavailable: The Tyranny of Digital Distance, Updated by Mark Stewart
• Supernatural Fandom and Disability Awareness by David Perry
• A great look at the free speech debate in fandom and particularly around fanfic and AO3 by Elizabeth Minkel