Serial Fiction, Arcs, and The Big Story (in Supernatural)

While covering the Supernatural story, I read a lot of comments similar to Ernie's, which asked what those Winchester boys would do after season five. This is particularly poignant in the case of Supernatural, because them boys are fighting the real Big Baddy of Judaeo-Christian mythology: Lucifer. Like Ernie said, "Where the hell do you go from there?"

Supernatural aside for now, what occurred to me is, "Why do you need a big story arc, anyway?" When you get right down to it, large arcs of the kind we are discussing are antithetical to the form. After all, serial fiction insists the story continue, regardless. You leave cliffhangers to entice the audience to return and if you ever "finish" the story, it ceases to be a serial! The whole series is over.

In the case of Supernatural, "hunting the Unknown" is the larger storyline, so the only way the Winchesters' story could actually end is if the Unknown ceases to exist (whether or not they manage to hunt it off themselves) or they decide to quit hunting. Finding their father, rescuing him from Hell, fighting the Yellow-Eyed Daemon, et.al. - these are all story "arcs" like those found in too many comics these days, not the story itself; The Story in Supernatural is that the Winchesters and a small network of dedicated Hunters fight the Unknown.

I've frequently opined as to how I dislike the whole "arc" business and I know for a fact that I wrote a long discourse on the matter at some point, though I couldn't find it in the archives (because there are some 5000 posts on The Rundown and a search for "arc" brought up 650+ results!). The crux of my argument though had to do with the "Starting a Brand New Arc" promotion comics used to do every week, a few years back. Still, it isn't just the commercial aspect which bothers me, it's the idea itself:

Every time a new plot is introduced and not immediately dealt with, it's technically a "new arc." Obviously, they mean "story" - as in, Wolverine is dealing with a drug cartel and the story spans several issues, thus whenever the climax (and denouement) of that story is reached, the "arc" is finished. Technically speaking, Wolverine needs to have grown/changed in some fundamental way for it to qualify as a story, but because comics characters - especially those of Wolvie's caliber - are products, they can never really change that much, so even though "story arc" is technically correct in this sense, the word was just being bandied-about for commercial reasons and I was tired of hearing it.

"Arc," the word itself, is interchangeable with "adventure," "case," and the like. So, aside from it being a buzzword they rammed down my throat, it was also disingenuous. Serial fiction means "series" and hundreds of stories are told throughout the course of a long-running series, so every episode/issue in which something happens is technically an "arc," unless nothing happens outside of the ongoing, overarching story. For example, if Sam and Dean locate and dispatch a daemon, that's a story - that's an "arc" - and dispatching the beast ends that arc; if, by doing so, they learn more about how to stop Lucifer, then it ties-in to the larger "arc," but still exists as its own story - thus one "arc" is finished while the other is forwarded, meaning the episode actually dealt with two arcs; if that daemon was Lucifer, then the larger "arc" is finished, entirely. But the show still goes on, because The Story is that Sam and Dean hunt beasties; finally dealing with a larger storyline does not (have to) end the series - after all, though their mother's death and father's disappearance is what started their joint career as Hunters, the Unknown doesn't simply stop occurring once that single case is solved.

So long as Sam and Dean develop further as characters because of whatever happens, that story - or "arc" - is finished. So, every week they solve a case, a "new arc" has technically been "closed" and the next episode either returns to the larger matter of finding/freeing their dad, defeating Lucifer, etc., or begins a "new arc." Supernatural has had, still has, and always will have more stories to tell, so long as them Winchesters continue to hunt; nothing, above and beyond that, need happen or be in-play for Supernatural to continue.

I haven't seen any of this season's episodes, so some of the following might already have been dealt with, but here are just a few suggestions for storylines I wouldn't mind seeing:

• Hooking back up with that English chick. She was stoopid hot and the episode where she and Dean had to pose as a couple was, by far, the sexiest episode in the show's history. ¹
  
• One of the brothers falling in love - whether with a citizen or a Huntress - so long as she doesn't turn out to be an Agent of the Unknown.
• Dean knocking some chick up.
• Establishing a base of operations from which to work.
• The authorities recognize Sam and Dean as authorities on the paranormal and basically deputize them as the "X-Files" unit.
• Sam goes back to school. This would tie-in with the base of operations establishment idea above.
• The boys organizing a larger cell of Hunters - again, tied-in with the "settling-down" idea.

I mean, I could go on and on. And, by the by, should Mr. Kripke or any of the producers be reading, I am more than willing to join the union to write any and all of these episodes. Just... you know. Just putting that out there.

Anyway, yes, I see your point, I just don't think Supernatural needs a major, overarching... arc aside from hunting Menaces. Once this current storyline is closed, the characters will have grown by way of their experience, and it's off to another Bug Hunt.

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¹ I cannot frigging believe they killed-off the hot daemoness Sam was all into (literally speaking, a few times... ahem)! She was so good-looking and it brought an entirely new element into the mix.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010