When the final episode of Supernatural aired on Nov. 19 of last year, it had officially concluded a total of 15 years of runtime on channel CW. It had originally aired two years after Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a cult film adaptation that is still widely beloved by many critics and academics, ended. And, while the two are very similar plot-wise, there is a reason Supernatural lasted significantly longer than Buffy ever did.

At first glance, it sounds like a very basic show. And in a way, it is. The larger plot arcs can range from the brothers trying to find their father to stopping the apocalypse, but many of the episodes are focused around the two brothers working on a case together. And while every episode has different characters, different creatures, and different locations, there is a pattern that every episode follows, which is a huge part of the show’s charm.

The deeper appeal is the focus on the brothers’ relationship. The show follows Sam and Dean Winchester, whose jobs are to hunt and kill everything from demons to fallen gods, following their motto of “saving people, hunting things … the family business.”

A lot of people can relate to Sam and Dean, and the family dynamic presented is one that a lot of people can relate to. Sam and Dean have a classic sibling relationship; they argue all the time over small things, but either would do just about anything to protect the other. And while the rest of their family was rarely ever there, they made up for it with their friendship with other characters.

Of course, Supernatural would not have been able to make the impact it has without the help of all of the other characters in the show. Although the brothers have a decent support system for themselves, they wouldn’t have survived without the other people included.

Although none of them were related by blood, these people were always there for the boys and to help them keep fighting. That is one of the main messages that the show spends a lot of time trying to get across: to always keep fighting. And in showing how Sam and Dean never give up, despite literally going through hell multiple times, the show is able to inspire confidence in its fans.