'The Winchesters' showrunner breaks down surprise 'Supernatural' canon connection in midseason finale

Now that The Winchesters has reached the halfway point of its debut season, let's talk about the prequel's major multiversal connection to the long-running Supernatural mythos upon which it was based.

Speaking with TVLine about Episode 7, showrunner and executive producer Robbie Thompson confirmed The CW series has just begun to dip its toes into the pool of other universes by way of the big bad — the dreaded Akrida. "That’s something we’ve been talking about in the room for, I don’t know, since like May, so it was really exciting to actually finally just say it out loud and share with the class, so-to-speak," he said. "And I certainly hope that will drive some theories [by] our audience as to what we’ve been up to." The concept of other universes is one the flagship Supernatural series grappled with a few times.

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While Mary Campbell (Meg Donnelly) has been reunited with her father, Samuel (played by Smallville's Tom Welling), the young hunter can't give up the fight until the Akrida are fully vanquished. To do that, the gang needs to track down "the Akrida queen before she powers up and take her out, because the Akrida operate like a hivemind, they can take out the Akrida," Thompson added. "So there’s going to be a bit of a race to see if they can get to her in time. It’s going to affect things on an emotional standpoint and a plot standpoint pretty quickly in Episode 8."

What's more: Samuel has been injured by the inter-dimensional antagonists, which doesn't bode well for Campbell Sr. "When you get hit by an Akrida, it doesn’t do good things to the body. So he’s going to be dealing with that injury in the next episode." 

Set against the backdrop of the early 1970s, The Winchesters explains how John and Dean's parents first met. Jensen Ackles (who conceived of the prequel with his wife and producing partner, Danneel) narrates this epic tale of romance and monsters. Glen Winter, David H. Goodman, and John Showalter serve as executive producers alongside Thompson, Jensen, and Danneel. The series represents an effort between Chaos Machine (the Ackles' production banner), Warner Bros. Television, and CBS Studios.

Episodes 1-7 of The Winchesters are now streaming on The CW website. The remaining six episodes are expected to air sometime in the new year. Right now, it's unclear if the spinoff will be renewed for a sophomore outing, especially since the network — which has been canceling shows left and right — opted not to hand out a full season order.

In the market for some more supernatural (no pun intended) thrills? The first two seasons of Chucky are available on Peacock.