After The Boys season 3 dropped numerous references to Dean Winchester and Supernatural, the favor has been duly returned by The Winchesters. After spending 15 seasons playing Dean Winchester in Supernatural, Jensen Ackles swapped ghouls for grandmas as Soldier Boy in The Boys season 3. Ackles now finds himself back in more familiar surroundings with The Winchesters. A prequel centered around Sam and Dean’s parents in their younger days, The Winchesters not only brings Dean Winchester back in an onscreen capacity, Ackles and his wife Danneel serve as executive producers too.
It doesn’t take very long at all for The Winchesters episode 1 to sneak in a reference to Ackles’ The Boys gig. During the pilot’s opening minutes, Mary Campbell (Meg Donnelly) bumps into future husband and father to Sam and Dean, John Winchester (Drake Rodger). Since John is fresh from the Vietnam War, Mary takes to calling her new friend “Soldier Boy” as a semi-affectionate nickname, repeating it again later in the episode. Since John is playing the younger version of Jensen Ackles’ onscreen dad, Mary calling him “Soldier Boy” can only be a nod to the actor’s sinister supe performance in The Boys.
How The Boys Season 3 Referenced Supernatural’s Dean
Easter eggs between The Boys and Supernatural are very much a two-way street, and with showrunning duties on the Amazon superhero series performed by none other than Supernatural‘s original creator, Eric Kripke, that’s hardly surprising. Inevitably, then, The Boys has been packed with Supernatural nods since the very beginning. Jim Beaver, for instance, plays Robert Singer as a homage to his Supernatural character, Bobby Singer. Jensen Ackles joining the cast in season 3 gave The Boys license to indulge in even more Dean Winchester references.
Soldier Boy’s very first scene involves both classic rock music and a grenade launcher – two famous hallmarks of Supernatural‘s Dean Winchester. Even better, the actor playing Soldier Boy’s young Payback sidekick, Gunpowder, is Gattlin Griffith, who also appeared in Supernatural season 5 as Jesse the junior antichrist. When Billy Butcher’s crew are watching video footage of Russian scientists experimenting on Soldier Boy later in The Boys season 3, the date is stated as January 24, which not-so-coincidentally happens to be Dean Winchester’s birthday.
Dean Winchester’s Role In The Winchesters Explained
After Dean Winchester died in Supernatural‘s final episode, most viewers probably didn’t expect to see him driving the famous Impala again (not so soon, at least). Nevertheless, Jensen Ackles’ role in The Winchesters is part-narrator, part-investigator. Dean speaks to the audience directly, but also appears in-character hunting for clues to explain the truth behind how his parents met.
Exactly when Dean’s The Winchesters scenes take place in relation to the Supernatural timeline remains a mystery – but one the spinoff has promised to explain eventually. In the meantime, The Winchesters leaves a handful of Easter egg clues: the amulet on the Impala’s rearview mirror, the green cooler in the backseat, and the Kansas license plate. These hints – combined with the fact Dean looks the same age as when he died – could mean Jensen Ackles’ The Winchesters scenes are taking place in heaven, although viewers will need to stay tuned to find out for sure.
The Winchesters continues Tuesday on The CW.