Are spirits too obvious for monster-of-the-week episodes in Supernatural?

Supernatural used a spirit for its monster-of-the-week episode again. Is this becoming too obvious? What could the show use instead?

“Advanced Thanatology,” “ScoobyNatural,” and “Mint Condition” have two things in common. They’re all monster-of-the-week episodes and all use spirits to do the killing. Has this become an obvious and easy choice for the Supernatural writers?

I love a good ghost story. Vengeful and violent spirits have been intriguing and popular from the earlier days. We just have to look at the pilot episode, “Bloody Mary,” and even “Provenance” for the use of the spirits. They are all from the first season and all used a variation of ghost tales and urban legends.

Too obvious of a choice?

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However, they seem to have become the go-to option when creating a monster-of-the-week episode. This does take some of the fear and suspense away. We’ve watched the Winchesters take down violent and vengeful spirits before and not always through burning the bones. They’ve had to burn items that the ghosts are attached to or get creative with salt circles and cement.

“Mint Condition” was another ghost story. We watched as the Winchesters saved the group of nerdy shop owners (and an employee) from Jordan, who was possessing various items. Now, we know that ghost possession is difficult. This did offer a slightly different story for the books, but it was still a vengeful spirit in a monster-of-the-week episode.

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It was so expected that Sam even mentions they’re dealing with a ghost in the promo for the episode. This wasn’t a monster the show was keeping from us, unlike with “ScoobyNatural,” where the fun was figuring out how the Winchesters and Castiel had ended up in the TV world.

At one point in the episode, the Winchesters did suggest a witch. This could have given the tale a different twist. There could have been more danger, as witches usually attack with an agenda and will hide their magic in some of the least likely places.

A throwback Supernatural episode?

One of the benefits of using the monster-of-the-week format and using a spirit of some type is that it offers that throwback to other Supernatural episodes. Who didn’t think of earlier episodes of the show, especially the likes of “Bloody Mary” with the possessed mirror and “Provenance” with the possessed painting?

In a way, the use of a spirit brings the feeling of old-school Supernatural and that’s necessary when it comes to an episode like “Mint Condition.” After three episodes of the big story, this was the first episode of Season 14 to bring us the Winchesters together on a hunt alone.

The use of a ghost was perfect. It connected the show back to the very beginning, connecting back to the Woman in White and the ability to possess the Impala.

While spirits don’t always seem as scary because we’ve watched the Winchesters deal with them so much, they bring that old-school feeling back. Sometimes we just need an episode that is inherently Supernatural and I think “Mint Condition” was one of those times.

Plus, let’s not forget that this episode was all about nostalgia. It may have been the 80s horror movies, but the use of a spirit added nostalgia of earlier Supernatural episodes.

What did you think of the use of the spirit and ghost possession? Do you think ghosts are overused in the show or was it a necessary use for this week? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Supernatural airs Thursdays at 8/7c on The CW.