Our wayward sons have been carrying on for quite some time now. We’re headed into Supernatural Season 14, and there are still some folks who believe that Supernatural should have hung up its amulet back in Season 5. Like any show with a 23-episode season, there have definitely been some duds in its tenure.
Had Supernatural tapped out in Season 5 as they had originally intended, we never would have met Charlie. Cas’ arc would have been criminally short, and we’d never see the most ambitious crossover in television history. Here are some episodes that prove that these boys should keep saving the world for a good long time.
“The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo” (Season 7, Episode 20)
The leviathan arc wasn’t the most interesting set of villains Supernatural has brought to the table, but it still gave us Charlie Bradbury. Dick Roman brings the young hacker on board to help him get information on Sam and Dean Winchester, but didn’t bank on her bravery. Charlie betrays Dick and decides to help the Winchesters, kicking off one of the show’s best character arcs.
“Just My Imagination” (Season 11, Episode 8)
Growing up without a mom is hard. Growing up without a mom while having a tired older brother who’s just trying to keep you alive and an absent and rage-filled father is even harder. To deal with that, Sam created Sully the imaginary friend. That is, he thought he did. Sully is actually a Zanna, a creature that helps lonely children who need a friend. Something is going around killing Zanna, and Sam and Dean have to stop it before it gets to Sully and the remainder of his kind. Supernatural is at its best when it shows its heart, and this is one of the episodes where that really shines.
“Death’s Door” (Season 7, Episode 10)
We’ve lost a lot of characters during Supernatural’s tenure, but none have been as difficult to endure as the loss of Bobby Singer. “Death’s Door” leads into that, but not before it takes us down a road of heartfelt memories of Bobby and his sons. It has one of the show’s best lines, when Bobby looks to his abusive stepfather and defiantly tells him that he’s adopted two boys, and that they turned out great. They turned out heroes. Through the course of the episode, we see the boys actually getting to act like brothers. They laugh, they have a good natured fight or two, watch a movie with their dad, and show why Bobby’s loss was so devastating.
“Wayward Sisters” (Season 13, Episode 10)
The Supernatural Family has been a part of a lot of movements. Each member of the cast passionately champions things like random acts of kindness, suicide awareness, the importance of family and blood not being synonymous, and in the case of the Wayward Daughters, the power of women. After years of campaigning, the backdoor pilot for Wayward Sisters was born. While the powers that be have decided not to push forward with the spinoff at this time, the episode is the result of blood, sweat and tears from both the cast and crew, and the fans themselves. “Wayward Sisters” shows all of that heart in its short forty minutes, and with any luck we’ll see these leading ladies get their show with time.
“Baby” (Season 11, Episode 4)
When a show has been around for over a decade, you’ll see them start to take a risk or two. “Baby” is the result of that risk taking. The show is completely shot on the inside of one of the show’s main characters: the Impala. How can a car be a character? If you’ve watched more than a season of Supernatural, you know the answer to that question. Throughout everything, Baby has always been the boys’ home. She’s been hurt a time or two, but she is the Winchesters’ one constant.
“Fan Fiction” (Season 10, Episode 5)
When Supernatural realized that they were nearing their 200th episode, they decided to put something special together. “Fan Fiction” is what happens when a group of creators decide to write a love letter to their fans. The episode is wonderful from start to finish, illustrating the heart, the emotions, and the comedy that makes their show great. Couple that with a few catchy tunes, and you’ve got the formula that makes it truly remarkable.
“Don’t Call Me Shurley” (Season 11, Episode 20)
The Supernatural fandom called out that writer and “prophet” Chuck Shurley (pen name Carver Edlund) was God five years before “Don’t Call Me Shurley”. Whether the writers had always had that intent, or simply decided to lean into a good theory, they finally decide to reveal it as true in the show’s eleventh season. While the boys try to deal with Amara driving an entire town, Chuck returns to try to help get Lucifer out of Castiel, bringing an episode that perfectly juggles serious and comical tones.
“The French Mistake” (Season 6, Episode 15)
Messing with angels is a pretty big mistake in the Supernatural mythos. Even if they don’t end up being complete jerks, there are a couple of them that have turned out quite tricky. The angel Balthazar pulls a trick on the Winchesters that would make his big brother Gabriel proud, sending the boys to an alternate reality.
That alternate reality just so happens to be our world, where the boys’ lives are a television show, and they have to try to act on said show. Like in our world Sam (Jared Padalecki) is married to Ruby (Genevieve Padalecki), but the twist is that the boys hate each other. The two of them have to navigate Balthazar’s crazy world to try to get back to their own, and we’re lucky enough to go on the ride.
“ScoobyNatural” (Season 13, Episode 6)
If you need an episode of television for your inner child and your current self “ScoobyNatural ” is that episode. The boys once again find themselves in a TV show, but this time they have to help the Scooby gang solve a mystery. Unfortunately, things aren’t as fluffy as they usually are for Mystery, Inc. The deaths are a lot more real than they’re used to, and Sam and Dean have to make sure that Scooby-Doo and his humans come out the other side alive.
Fans have spent thirteen years with these boys’ antics. Through the highs and the lows, Supernatural will always bring a laugh or two, and it’s more than proven that it’s not done with the stories it has to tell. Thank Chuck they didn’t end it back in Season 5 as they had originally intended, because the SPN Family still has a lot more good to do.
Supernatural Season 14 debuts on Thursday, October 11, at 8PM.
