Supernatural should address one huge Dean Winchester fan theory if it comes back for season 16. Eric Kripke’s famous TV show ran for 15 seasons between 2005 and 2020, making it the longest-running live-action fantasy TV series in America. The critically acclaimed Supernatural season 15 may have finished off the show, but many fans would welcome a follow-up. Sam actor Jared Padalecki and Dean actor Jensen Ackles also expressed their keenness for a return, opening the series up to come back and finally tackle one big Dean family theory.
Dean Winchester had many love interests in Supernatural, but one, in particular, was a driving force throughout season 6. Played by Cindy Sampson, Lisa Braeden was the long-term partner that Dean always wanted to be able to have. Lisa ended up lost to Dean, like his every other romance throughout the show. Tragically, Lisa embodied the notion of sacrifice maybe more than any other character or element of the show. One fan theory positions Dean as the father of Lisa’s son, Ben. Lisa’s vital importance makes this crucial for Supernatural to examine, should it return.
If It Happens, Supernatural Season 16 Should Confirm Ben Was Dean’s Son All Along
Fans Deserve Clarity On Ben’s Paternity If Supernatural Returns
It is unclear if Supernatural will return for season 16, but if it does, it should confirm that Ben was actually Dean’s son. Lisa’s son was eight years old when he was introduced in the show. As it happened, it was about nine years previous that Dean had last been in town and seeing Lisa. Dean showed up on Lisa’s doorstep in Supernatural season 3, out of the blue, hoping to revive their old flame. But he got more than he bargained for when he met her son, Ben, who resembled him in many ways.
Related
Supernatural Season 16 Would Finally Answer The Sam Winchester Mystery Ignored By The Show’s Ending
Supernatural season 15’s ending posed a huge question about Sam Winchester’s life after the show ends, and a potential season 16 would answer it.
Lisa confirmed to Dean that Ben was not his son, but Cindy Sampson painted a different picture in Supernatural Then and Now, the podcast run by Rob Benedict and Richard Speight Jr. The two Supernatural actors, who played Chuck and Gabriel, respectively, quizzed Sampson on Ben. Sampson revealed that she played Lisa as if Ben was Dean’s son, despite Kripke having stated in a previous interview that he was not. Cindy believes, as many viewers did, that the script pointed viewers to this conclusion. Season 16 should acknowledge this if it happens.
Supernatural Season 16 Shouldn’t Happen If It Doesn’t Reunite Dean With Lisa & Ben
Dean’s Arc Must Address Lisa & Ben If Supernatural Comes Back
Supernatural season 16 should bring Dean and Lisa back together if it ever becomes more than a rumor. Kripke could have lied about Ben not being Dean’s son to redirect viewers, which many showrunners do when asked about the plot of their shows in interviews. Regardless, it seemed obvious on-screen that Ben was Dean’s son. It made sense logistically and the two had lots in common and made a great team. Dean not getting to acknowledge his potential son was a major injustice of the show and a huge pull of season 16 is fixing it.
Supernatural
was followed by the spinoff series
The Winchesters
in 2022.
Moreover, the obviousness of Ben’s paternity felt like a loose thread that Supernatural didn’t tie up. Dean’s relationship with Lisa and Ben is one of the things that Supernatural season 16 should change about the show. Sampson’s commitment to what was obvious on-screen – the fact that Ben was Dean’s son – proves how close the show could have come to taking this route. It almost seems like Kripke kept the option open if he wanted Supernatural to use Dean’s fatherhood as a plot device. Season 16 could finally do so.
Dean Being Ben’s Father Would Make Their Last Episode Together Even More Tragic
Dean Leaving His Family In Supernatural Was Heartbreaking
If Dean did turn out to be Ben’s father in a comeback season of Supernatural, it would make his last episode with Ben and Lisa even better. Dean’s last scenes with Lisa and Ben were easily among the most traumatic of the whole show, which was full of horror. Lisa is one of the underrated Supernatural characters who should return if season 16 happens. This would underline Cindy Sampson’s outstanding performance in season 6, episode 21, “Let it Bleed.” Lisa and Ben’s last episode with Dean deserves to be celebrated as one of Supernatural’s best.
Dean asked Castiel to wipe Lisa and Ben’s memories of him, precipitating his heartbreaking final scene with them.
When she was possessed by a demon in “Let it Bleed,” Dean was forced to listen to the demon describe Lisa’s thoughts about him, or rather, what the demon said were her thoughts about him. Stabbing herself while possessed, Lisa was eventually rescued and rushed to the hospital by Dean. Distressingly, Dean asked Castiel to wipe Lisa and Ben’s memories of him, precipitating his heartbreaking final scene with them. Dean gave them a made-up story about a car crash and apologized for crashing into them, enduring the lack of recognition on their faces as they chatted briefly before he left.
Supernatural
should reunite this broken family in a sixteenth season.
Jensen Ackles, Cindy Sampson, and Nicholas Elia, who played Ben, all shone in this episode, and Supernatural should honor it by circling back to it in a new season. Supernatural should reunite this broken family in a sixteenth season, doing justice to one of Supernatural’s biggest abandoned subplots. The dark fantasy show could finally confirm, once and for all, that viewers were not misled about Ben being Dean’s son. Rather, Lisa misled Dean to protect herself and her son from his dangerous lifestyle in Supernatural season 6.
Source: Supernatural Then and Now
Supernatural
Created by Eric Kripke, Supernatural is a fantasy/drama series that premiered in 2005. The series follows the adventures of Dean and Sam Winchester – two men wronged by supernatural beings as children who now spend their days investigating and hunting demons, ghosts, and monsters across the United States.
- Release Date
- September 13, 2005
- Seasons
- 15
- Franchise(s)
- Supernatural
- Writers
- Eric Kripke , Andrew Dabb , Robert Berens
- Directors
- Philip Sgriccia , John F. Showalter , Robert Singer
- Showrunner
- Eric Kripke
