I just watched and episode of Supernatural on Netflix with LARPing in it yesterday (exercise bike diversion) and had no idea what it was till then. Nerds in tights!
Mead wise I have never had a commercial mead either, only my own so I haven't had a way to compare either. Had a couple come out so dry that it could have been declared a drought disaster area. Mixing it with an ale might have been an answer to that. I did back sweeten a blueberry that came out too dry and that turned out very drinkable and dangerous. Still have some in swing top bottles from about 10 years ago.