[ad_1]
Here’s every new detail we learn about Supernatural‘s enigmatic Men of Letters organization in The Winchesters‘ pilot episode. The Men of Letters were introduced in Supernatural season 8 as a counterpoint to hunters – a learned group of paranormal investigators who relied upon lore and knowledge more than machetes and firearms. Sam and Dean’s grandfather, Henry Winchester, was a member of this secret society, but the group met a bloody end in 1958 thanks to the Knight of Hell known as Abaddon. Sam and Dean inherit the Men of Letters’ legacy during Supernatural‘s later seasons, using the organization’s headquarters as their own base of operations.
The Men of Letters play a key role in Supernatural‘s spinoff prequel, The Winchesters. Starring Meg Donnelly as a young Mary Campbell and Drake Rodger as a fresh-faced John Winchester, The Winchesters begins on the day Sam and Dean’s parents first meet. Contradicting established lore, John receives a letter from his father and subsequently uncovers the existence of the Men of Letters. As John and Mary dig their investigative claws deeper into The Winchesters‘ mysteries, they unearth a host of Men of Letters secrets Supernatural skipped over.
The Men Of Letters Defended Reality From The Akrida
By far the biggest Men of Letters revelation in The Winchesters episode 1 concerns the group’s role defending all existence from a villainous force called the Akrida. Implicitly hailing from another dimension, the Akrida have launched numerous attempted invasions of Supernatural‘s universe over a span of centuries, but standing in their way every time were the Men of Letters.
While Sam and Dean knew their predecessors faced some daunting threats back in the day, Supernatural never hinted at an enemy quite this formidable. Not only did the Men of Letters save mankind from the Akrida, they also spared demons, monsters, and countless other worlds, since all of the above would’ve been destroyed had the Akrida crossed over successfully. Although The Winchesters hasn’t yet confirmed it, this centuries-old, inter-universe rivalry with the Akrida could explain why the Men of Letters was founded in the first place, since Supernatural always left the group’s origin unaddressed.
The Men Of Letters Built A One-Shot-Kill Box
Another crucial piece of Men of Letters lore added by The Winchesters is the occultist box they built. According to Lata (who feels like a young Sam Winchester’s perfect match), this Men of Letters’ trap is fueled by dark magic and activated by a sequence of runes, but not only does the box contain monsters, it also kills whatever it catches. Not since the famous Colt has Supernatural introduced such a potent weapon, and the Men of Letters deemed their box so powerful, they locked it within a crypt and set a loup-garou as a guard dog. In a clever thread of continuity, the Men of Letters building magic boxes and hiding things in graves marked with the group’s logo are both traits first established in Supernatural‘s “As Time Goes By.”
The Winchesters‘ super-box invites two big questions: where is it during Supernatural, and is there a limit to what creatures can be trapped? Akrida are supposedly invulnerable save for this one weapon, but the box works on demons just as effectively. Could the Winchester brothers have used their ancestors’ magic Tupperware on Lucifer, Michael, a Leviathan, or Abaddon?
The Lawrence Clubhouse
Supernatural revealed several Men of Letters hideouts, including the famous bunker used by Sam and Dean in Lebanon, Kansas and a chapter house in Rhode Island. In The Winchesters episode 1, John and Mary discover a second abandoned Men of Letters establishment in Kansas – a clubhouse in Lawrence. It’s not clear whether the hideout was somewhere for members to unwind after a hard day’s work at the main bunker (the clubhouse has a pool table and other recreational furniture) or a satellite office for local Men of Letters who weren’t required at HQ (there are also plenty of files and official documents). Either way, it’s intriguing that all while Sam and Dean were living in the Kansas bunker, another Men of Letters treasure trove was waiting for them over in Lawrence – assuming the clubhouse doesn’t get destroyed later in The Winchesters, that is.
Henry Winchester Worked With Ada Monroe
The Men of Letters was a secret society, and as a secret society, not many folks within Supernatural‘s universe knew it existed. Even the most seasoned hunter typically remained oblivious to their work. The Winchesters introduces Demetria McKinney as Ada Monroe – a paranormal specialist who met Henry Winchester in 1957 (close to the time he disappeared) and supplied him with a book on wraiths. Ada also drops the line, “All of the Men of Letters I knew…” which implies she was a frequent ally of Supernatural‘s clandestine club. Ada doesn’t specify whether she was aware Henry Winchester had a son, but if the bookstore owner did know about John, it’s strange she didn’t approach him as a legacy member after the Men of Letters “disappeared.” Supernatural would’ve played out very differently if she had.
Samuel Campbell Knew About The Men Of Letters
Samuel Campbell was a grizzled veteran hunter, but Supernatural never hinted that he knew about the Men of Letters. Considering the amount of time Samuel spent around Sam and Dean without mentioning the group, he probably wasn’t aware it existed. The Winchesters proves otherwise, as Mary’s dad hasn’t just tracked down the Men of Letters’ magic box in New Orleans, he located their clubhouse and numerous other secret bases. In an even stranger twist of fate, Samuel Campbell is working closely with Ada Monroe to investigate the Akrida, meaning Demetria McKinney’s character acts as a rare common link between Sam and Dean’s two grandfathers.
The Winchesters‘ reveal that Samuel Campbell investigated the Men of Letters comes with a canon caveat. The spinoff is playing fast-and-loose with Supernatural continuity, and episode 1 doesn’t address those deviations. It’s possible that history has somehow been altered, or parallel universes are involved – maybe because of the Akrida. That could mean Samuel doesn’t find out about the Men of Letters in Supernatural‘s original timeline, but does during The Winchesters.
Sam & Dean’s Grandmother Knew The Truth
One person who definitely did know Henry Winchester’s Men of Letters secret was his wife, Millie. Although Sam and Dean’s grandmother is mentioned in Supernatural, the series never revealed whether she was alive, nor whether she had any contact whatsoever with her grandchildren. The Winchesters episode 1 does at least prove Millie knew about monsters and was aware her husband cavorted around killing them with his fellow Men of Letters. She deliberately kept this aspect of Henry’s life hidden from their son, believing John would be safer staying away from the paranormal world. The Winchesters doesn’t clarify whether Millie knows exactly what became of her husband, but she clearly realizes Men of Letters business is somehow responsible for his sudden disappearance. Amusingly, Millie doesn’t seem overly interested in protecting her husband’s “secret” society – the Winchesters’ garage logo is more or less identical to the Men of Letters symbol.
Mary & John Both Knew The Men Of Letters Existed (Maybe)
Like Samuel Campbell, this entry depends entirely upon how The Winchesters explains its continuity changes. Taking the spinoff’s pilot at face value, John Winchester and Mary Campbell unearth the Men of Letters’ secret together while hunting for their respective fathers. John receives a letter and key from Henry with directions to the clubhouse in Lawrence, while Mary has been led to the very same location by her own father. They enter together and both learn about the Men of Letters. This doesn’t harmonize at all with Supernatural canon, so it’s possible Mary and John’s discovery doesn’t happen in the franchise’s original continuity, and is caused by some kind of timeline change or memory lapse during The Winchesters instead.
The Winchesters continues Tuesday on The CW.
[ad_2]
Source link
Armessa Movie News