For fifteen seasons, brothers Sam and Dean Winchester (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) have battled all forms of monsters, demons, angels, leviathans and everything in between. Their endless fight to save the world brought heartbreak, goodbyes, new beginnings, mind-bending realities, an insane amount of horror, and just as much meta-humor over the winding road in their trusty Impala. All of which makes it easy to see why this genre road trip revolving around a pair of affable brothers has amassed such a strong following over the years.
As the final season is poised to air its last remaining episodes and take its final bow, we look back at some of the most memorable moments that perfectly encapsulate the show’s spirit.
“Pilot” – Opening Scene
Talk about an instant hook. The opening scene in the pilot episode has it all. We’re introduced to a happy family in the suburbs of Lawrence, Kansas. Papa John Winchester (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) tucks his kids into bed, and things get creepy almost immediately after the lights go out. Cue sounds on the baby monitor that wake mom from slumber. She sees a shadowed figure standing over baby Sam’s crib and heads downstairs. The moment she sees her husband is asleep in front of the TV, alarm registers as she runs back to the baby’s room. Her screams wake John, and the imagery of her shocking fate packs a horrific punch. Moreover, it sparks the overarching series mystery spanning multiple seasons.
“The Kids Are Alright” – Changeling Reveal
Despite the humor and familial love at the core of the series, “Supernatural” loves getting spooky first and foremost. Narrowing down the number of memorably scary monsters the Winchesters battled over the years proved pretty tricky, but not much tops the terrifying reveal of seeing a changeling child’s true form in the reflection of a rearview mirror.
“Baby” – Heart to Heart
Even episodes that could have easily been filler become something far greater and more creative in this show. Like this season eleven ep that gives the beloved 1967 Impala a voice, so to speak. It’s an unspoken major character, as vital as the Winchesters themselves, so it’s fitting to set an entire ep from the interior of the car. That means that poor Baby takes a lot of abuse thanks to the monster of the week, but it also gives us something the show does best- an earnest and heartfelt conversation between siblings about the big bad ahead.
“The Benders” – Missy
This season one episode features a sadistic family that hunts for sport. Sometimes, or perhaps frequently, it’s humans that are the scariest. As Dean puts it best, “Demons I get, people are crazy.” Morally grappling with the ramifications of very human villains adds an extra layer of complexity. The most unnerving of the entire Bender family, Missy, proves the most frightening. Many wrongfully equate her youth as innocence, but the chilling glee in which she approves and participates in the violence makes her arguably the scariest of them all. Kids are creepy.
“Wishful Thinking” – Teddy the Suicidal Teddy Bear
By this season four episode, Sam and Dean think they’ve seen it all. They haven’t, not by a long shot. The brothers follow a little girl who’s just stolen alcohol and porn from a store. It happens to be for her teddy bear that’s miraculously been brought to life by her wish. Wishes never turn out as expected, though, and Teddy comes with a serious existential crisis that leaves him suicidal. Sam and Dean’s monster-of-the-week investigations cause them to pose as authority figures, but Teddy Bear Doctors was a first.
Mystery Spot – “Heat of the Moment”
What’s a road trip without a playlist? Dean Winchester and Supernatural are synonymous with classic rock. While the series finds ingenious ways of incorporating well-loved songs into the plot, one of the best happens to be in this season three Groundhog Day-style ep. In Florida investigating a disappearance at a Mystery Spot, the brothers find themselves reliving the day over and over again, starting with the radio play of Asia’s “Heat of the Moment.”
“Everybody Loves a Clown” – Rakshasa Invite
An early season two episode revolves around a terrifying clown. Or rather, a man-eating creature that operates similar to a vampire. Namely, that it can’t enter a home without an invitation. So, this particular Rakshasa works at a carnival and dresses like a clown to entice children to bring him home with them. Clowns are really creepy, and seeing this clown in action is unsettling. It’s easily one of the most memorable monsters of the week.
“Heart” – Heartbreak
There’s a werewolf on the loose in this season two episode, and Madison (Emmanuelle Vaugier) appears to be the next victim. Except, poor Madison is the werewolf. Considering she’s become romantically involved with Sam at this point, the brothers do whatever they can to save her, including killing the werewolf suspected of turning her in the first place. What’s even more devastating is that Madison doesn’t know what she’s doing, nor does she believe in the concept. It all culminates in one heartbreaking final moment, in which Madison begs Sam to put her down so she won’t harm anyone else. The focus on Dean’s face as he empathizes with his brother… the gunshot in the background; it’s a stunning reminder of the emotional stakes.
“Ghostfacers” – Amateur Hour
Parodying the popular ghost hunting shows, amateur reality TV ghost hunters Ed Zeddmore and Harry Spangler (get it?) bring handheld cameras and an assembled crew with them to investigate the haunted Morton House. That’s right, these characters are the stars of this season three ep, leaving Sam and Dean as guest stars who wind up trapped with the crew by the ghosts. They’re incredibly annoyed, too, providing a ton of humor. Sam and Dean flip off the camera, curse, and get all-around ornery about the inept investigators, leaving the Ghostfacers’ censors hilariously struggling to keep up.
“Yellow Fever” – Eye of the Tiger
In this sidesplitting season four episode, poor Dean is stricken with a ghost affliction that leaves him petrified of everything. Absolutely everything. It becomes a race against the clock for Sam to find a cure before Dean drops dead from fright. A funny concept for a standard monster of the week episode turned into something far more significant thanks to Ackles having an absolute blast. If it wasn’t clear enough already, the post-ep coda of Ackles lip-synching Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” instantly became one of the series’ most meme-worthy moments.
“Fan Fiction” – Carry on My Wayward Son
The 200th episode of any series is a significant milestone, but leave it to Supernatural to celebrate with a meta-musical. The Winchester brothers arrive at an all-girls school and are stunned to discover they’re putting on a play called “Supernatural: The Musical” based on their lives. While there’s no shortage of witty quips and nods to the show’s in-jokes and quirks, it’s their musical rendition of “Carry on My Wayward Son” that elicits goosebumps. It’s the closest the series has to a theme song, and ushers in every single finale. Of course, it belongs in any version of the show, musical or otherwise.
“Scoobynatural” – Not on Dean’s Watch
Arguably the best crossover event ever, season thirteen drops the Winchesters and Castiel into the world of Scooby-Doo thanks to a haunted TV. Considering Dean is a massive fan of the show, he’s elated to meet the Scooby Gang. Unlike the original cartoon, though, the phantom at the center of this episode is of the supernatural variety, not the typical masked villain. It means that death and harm pose an actual threat to these animated characters. Dean isn’t having any of it, either. In an episode packed with fantastic moments, it’s hard to top his protective declaration, “Scooby could die! And that’s not happening. Not on my watch. I’d take a bullet for that dog.”
“All Hell Breaks Loose” – A Fatal Stabbing
The fate of Supernatural hung in the balance often in its earliest seasons. There was a clear overarching storyline, death still held consequence, and renewal wasn’t always a sure bet. All of which to say, the penultimate season two episode ended with one significant gut punch: the soul-crushing death of Sam Winchester. Sam getting stabbed from behind and dying in his brother’s arms made for one of the most gut-wrenching moments in the series. While death would prove an elusive thing for the brothers many times over, it was far less confident at the end of the second season.
“Swan Song” – Final Confrontation
Season five’s finale marked the final episode for series creator Eric Kripke as showrunner. It could’ve easily worked as a series finale, as well, wrapping up the story as he’d envisioned. That made “Swan Song” one epic showdown between the Winchesters and Lucifer. All hands are on deck when it comes to outsmarting the ruler of Hell. In a war for the fate of the world and Sam’s very soul, the death toll comes at a severe price. The entire climactic battle marks a significant high for the show, knocking out major players in quick succession. This is how you make Lucifer imposing. Yet there’s still time for heartfelt character work and the precise type of brotherly love that’s made this show endure. If this had been the finale, it would’ve gone out with a big bittersweet bang.
Lazarus Rising – Castiel’s Entrance
In the season four premiere, Dean and father-figure Bobby (Jim Beaver) perform a summoning ritual to determine who saved Dean from Hell. They include numerous wards and spells to trap the demon in place for questioning, and a man walks through them unscathed. He’s completely unphased by their weapons, too, taking a knife to the heart like a champ. It turns out that Dean’s savior wasn’t a demon at all, but an angel. Castiel’s entrance marked the arrival of angels, which would irrevocably alter the mythology. It also marked the introduction of one of the series’ most lovable characters.