20 Best ‘Supernatural’ Episodes Ever, Ranked
Over the course of 15 seasons and 327 episodes, Sam and Dean Winchester (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) saved people, hunted things (the family business), saved the world more than a few times, didn’t always succeed in saving each other, lost countless loved ones along the way, and stepped out of the box for several could-only-happen-on-Supernatural installments.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the WB-turned-CW series that is just as beloved now — maybe even more so, with fans still streaming hours of it and attending conventions around the world — as it was when it first premiered on September 13, 2005. In honor of that, we’ve ranked our 20 favorite episodes of the series below.
For a deep-dive into 20 years of Supernatural, from behind-the-scenes scoop to exclusive cast interviews, photos, and fan stories, pick up a copy of TV Guide Magazine’s Supernatural Afterlife: 20th Anniversary Special issue, available on newsstands and for order online at Supernatural.TVGM2025.com.
20. "The Girl With the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo," Season 7 Episode 20
Meet fan-favorite Charlie Bradbury (Felicia Day), a lesbian hacker and J.R.R. Tolkien fanatic looking to go on her own quest. In her Season 7 introduction, Dean is begrudgingly charmed by Charlie and hilariously teaches the awkward nerd how to flirt her way into the office of big bad Dick Roman (James Patrick Stuart). It’s a breath of fresh air in the middle of Season 7’s lengthy Leviathans storyline, which follows the ancient entity looking to take over the world. This episode also features ghost Bobby (Jim Beaver), and it’s devastating to watch the apparition version of Sam and Dean’s father figure spiral into a vengeful spirit. Overall, this installment is a great mix of what Supernatural does best: silly moments with Charlie balanced with the emotional weight of Bobby, and a continued twisty, otherworldly plot. —Leah Williams
19. "Monster Movie," Season 4 Episode 5
This Halloween episode really hits the nail on the coffin for the monster-of-the-week series. “Monster Movie”—which is sometimes divisive among fans (is it cheesy or awesome?)—sees the Winchesters searching for a break from all the epic angel-demon apocalypse drama. The brothers end up in a small town that is being terrorized by a murderer who may or may not be a vampire—or a werewolf or a mummy. They discover that the creepy culprit is actually a shape-shifting demon named Lucy (played by Holly Elissa Dignard, whose character’s name is also a nod to Bram Stoker’s Dracula). As Dean says, “You think this Dracula can turn into a bat? That’d be cool!” It’s a wonderful homage to black-and-white monster flicks, and it’s a welcome bit of levity amid a season where fans are left questioning what happened to Dean during his time in Hell. —Giulia Campora
18. "Weekend at Bobby’s," Season 6 Episode 4
This Bobby-centric episode follows a few days in the life of Beaver’s beloved hunter. Usually, Bobby is the one who helps everyone—with research, pretending to be FBI to verify a fake identity and burying monster bodies with his friend Rufus (Steven Williams); this time, the brothers need to be there for him. Why? Bobby sold his soul to Crowley (Mark Sheppard) during their attempt to stop the Apocalypse, and now the demon doesn’t want to make good on giving it back (always read the fine print). Bobby finally has enough, and tears into Sam and Dean: “I do everything for you,” he says. “How about you two sack up and help me for once?” All he had to do was ask. This episode also reveals why Crowley sold his soul in the first place to become a demon. —Meredith Jacobs
17. "Don’t Call Me Shurley," Season 11 Episode 20
It’s in Season 4 that Chuck (Rob Benedict) is introduced as a prophet who has written books detailing the brothers’ lives (see No. 10). But it’s not until this episode, which aired seven years later, that the show confirmed a long-held fan theory that Chuck is really God. There are some great moments here, from his celestial reveal (complete with a bright light and chorus singing) in front of the angel Metatron (Curtis Armstrong) to the different (and wrathful) sides he shows. But the real emotional payoff in this episode is down on Earth. Dean finds the amulet that Sam gave him as a kid—which Dean threw out years prior—glowing in his brother’s pocket (God can turn its ability to track him on and off), and it leads them right to Chuck. “We should probably talk,” he admits to the brothers. It is both an understatement and a great way to close out the episode. —MJ
16. "Two Minutes to Midnight," Season 5 Episode 21
In the brothers’ battle against the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Dean’s standoff with Death (a brilliant Julian Richings) in the fifth season’s penultimate episode is the standout moment of the entire arc. As Dean meets with Death in a Chicago pizzeria (thanks to Bobby, who sold his soul to Crowley for the intel), the moment is not only tense—bodies are slumped on the tables around them!—but also a fun twist on the battle scenes with the other Horsemen we’ve seen up to this point. And Death really packs a wallop for the heroic Dean. “This is one little planet in one tiny solar system, in a galaxy that’s barely out of its diapers,” Death informs him. “I’m old, Dean. Very old. So, I invite you to contemplate how insignificant I find you.” Death later decides to spare Chicago because he likes the pizza. Good call. —Emily Aslanian
15. "Lebanon," Season 14 Episode 13
The penultimate season gave fans a moment that it seemed the show never could (or would): the Winchester family all together. The brothers’ mother, Mary (Samantha Smith), had been killed—burned on the ceiling of Sam’s nursery—by the demon Azazel (Fredric Lehne) in 1983, and their father, John (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), died when he sold his soul to save Dean in Season 2. But Mary is brought back by God’s sister Amara (Emily Swallow) in Season 11, and in this episode, a pearl that grants wishes plucks John out of 2003. It’s a bittersweet reunion for the family that keeps having to say goodbye to one another (later, they must destroy the pearl and send John back), though it does allow for some long-overdue moments, including a heart-to-heart between John and younger son Sam, who never saw eye to eye. —MJ
14. "Devil’s Trap," Season 1 Episode 22
The first season caps off with the introduction of Beaver’s Bobby, the brother’s father figure who schools them on demonic possessions, before a brutal finale-ending car crash involving Sam, Dean and their dad, John. But what makes this episode stand out is the brothers’ face-off with John: He is possessed by Azazel, the demon who killed Mary. John-as-Azazel taunts Sam about his psychic powers and his plans for him, and hits Dean where it hurts the most: “You fight and you fight for this family, but the truth is, they don’t need you, not like you need them.” How can you forget Dean begging his dad not to let Azazel kill him as the demon hurts him? Then there’s Sam, once armed with their supernatural-killing revolver, the Colt, unable to kill John (despite his father’s telling him to), which allows the demon to escape. —MJ
13. "Fan Fiction," Season 10 Episode 5
Over the years, Supernatural has had quite a few meta episodes, tributes and homages to other genres, and even fans. The milestone 200th episode sees a regular monster hunt bring Sam and Dean to a high school where the drama department is putting on a musical based on their lives (and inspired by Chuck’s books). The brothers get a firsthand look at how others might see them. The songs are catchy, from “The Road So Far” (their origin story) to “A Single Man Tear” (about Dean, of course), “I’ll Just Wait Here Then” (about the often left-behind angel Castiel) to a cover of Kansas‘ “Carry On Wayward Son,” a staple of the series. There’s even a mention of Sam and Dean’s half brother Adam Milligan (Jake Abel), who spends a majority of the show trapped in a cage in Hell, and a surprise return from Benedict’s Chuck, who arrives to give his review. Our take? It’s outstandingly fun. —MJ
12. "ScoobyNatural," Season 13 Episode 16
“We do the same thing. We go to spooky places. We solve mysteries. We fight ghosts,” Dean says of the Winchesters and the Scooby gang. When it‘s put that way, it feels like this silly crossover should‘ve happened sooner. Sam and Dean, during a hunt, are animated and transported into the world of Scooby-Doo. What ensues is a team-up to solve a mystery, Dean hitting on Daphne, Velma crushing on Sam and all the classic moments (the chase! the music!) you‘d expect from an episode of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (specifically, “A Night of Fright Is No Delight”). But when it becomes clear they‘re hunting a real ghost, Sam and Dean fill the Scooby gang in on the truth, that they‘re in a TV cartoon. The episode even ends with the villain‘s classic “meddling kids” line and the “Scooby-Dooby-Doo” catchphrase…said by Dean. —MJ
11. "Mystery Spot," Season 3 Episode 11
This early episode is Supernatural‘s take on the 1993 comedy Groundhog Day, with Sam stuck in a time loop as he watches Dean die again and again. It all kicks off when the brothers investigate a man who has disappeared in a tourist spot, and Dean is shot and killed by the owner. The following day, Sam wakes up in the motel next to his brother again. There is some humor to Dean’s ongoing deaths (“Do these tacos taste funny to you?” Dean asks before one of them), and the return of the Trickster (Richard Speight Jr.) adds a nice element. Plus, the focus on the brothers‘ bond makes this one of the most unforgettable episodes of the series. But even when it’s over, it’s still painful for Sam and Dean to return to reality as the clock continues to tick down on Dean‘s deal after he sold his soul to save Sam. —MJ
10. "The Monster at the End of This Book" Season 4 Episode 18
Imagine you think that you have free will, only to discover that someone out there has been writing your story the entire time. That’s what happens to Sam and Dean in this memorable installment, when they discover the Supernatural book series written by Carver Edlund (Rob Benedict), the pen name for Chuck Shurley and later…God. And not only is Chuck writing and publishing every twist and turn the guys have experienced in the last four years—the books also have a cult following with an online fandom that meets up at conventions. (Sound familiar?) “Well, there’s only one explanation,” Chuck tells the guys. “Obviously, I’m a god.” Even though that was not the initial plan for his character, it’s a nice bit of foreshadowing for the series’ final big bad. —EA
9. "No Rest for the Wicked," Season 3 Episode 16
Ask fans to quote Supernatural, and chances are “Family don’t end with blood” will come up near the top of the list. That iconic line is from this episode, when Sam and Dean try to leave Bobby behind while they confront Lilith, who holds Dean’s deal that will send him to Hell in mere hours. Lilith has possessed a young girl (Sierra McCormick) and is torturing her family. Sam’s ready to do whatever it takes to save his brother, just one of many instances across the years that show what Dean tells him: They’re each other’s weak spots, and evil will use that against them. There’s only a brief reprieve for the Winchesters—singing along to Bon Jovi‘s “Wanted Dead or Alive”—before reality comes knocking. Sam’s unable to do anything but plead, voice hoarse, as Dean is ripped apart by hellhounds, then cry as he holds his dead brother. The image of Dean actually in Hell to end the season? Chilling. —MJ
8. "What Is and What Should Never Be," Season 2 Episode 20
There might not be any death here, but this is easily one of the most heartbreaking episodes in the series. Sam and Dean are hunting a djinn—a genie that can produce hallucinations—and Dean is zapped into his dream world. In it, his mother, Mary, never died; his father, John, never became a hunter; Sam is in law school and his girlfriend Jess (Adrianne Palicki) is alive; Dean is dating the beautiful Carmen Porter (Michelle Borth) and Dean’s life is as average as you can imagine. It should be blissful for the tortured hunter, but Dean soon realizes that in this world, everyone the brothers have ever saved is dead, and he and Sam don’t get along. Soon, Dean knows that none of it is real and that the djinn is slowly killing him. It’s agonizing to watch Dean get what he’s always wanted, but slightly to the left. His bittersweet return to reality is genuinely moving. —LW
7. "The End," Season 5 Episode 4
Supernatural loves an alt-universe episode, and here, fans got a really entertaining one with a double dose of Dean. The angel Zachariah (Kurt Fuller) shows Dean a bleak look at what life will look like in 2014—five years into his future—if he doesn’t say yes to being the archangel Michael’s human vessel. With the world overrun by the Croatoan virus (which essentially turns people into zombies), future Dean leads a compound as he searches for the Colt. Castiel has been stripped of his grace and is now painfully human. (Collins plays him hilariously as a hippie cult leader.) Sam, meanwhile, is totally gone and possessed by Lucifer. He’s smooth and terrifying in his white suit, mocking Dean. But the best part of “The End” is getting twice the usual amount of Dean. Ackles deftly plays both 2009 Dean and 2014 Dean as they butt heads throughout the episode and argue over how best to save the world. —LW
6. "All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2," Season 2 Episode 22
The back half of the two-part second-season finale opened with a devastated Dean and a dead Sam. Oh, and the end of the world is looming. (“Let it end!” yells Dean, and we feel his pain.) Unsurprisingly, Dean can‘t let Sammy stay dead for long, and he summons a demon to make a deal—a really terrible deal. Dean is given one year left to live, and then his soul goes to Hell. Sam is revived—and immediately suspicious about how he survived—and the brothers go right back to business, joining up with Bobby and fellow hunter Ellen Harvelle (Samantha Ferris) in the quest to take down Azazel. The showdown is set in a graveyard as the gates of Hell are thrown open, but the final blow is not dealt by Sam or Dean. The spirit of their father, John, arrives to avenge Mary‘s death. Later, Dean tells Sam the truth about his regeneration in a tender moment. —EA
5. "Lazarus Rising," Season 4 Episode 1
Welcome, Castiel! The angel‘s epic introduction in this episode is possibly the best in the series. Dean appears back on Earth after his time in Hell, having no idea how he got there. He, Sam and Bobby spend much of the episode trying to figure out how he escaped. Dean assumes someone nefarious yanked him out. Surely, this was the work of a demon. In the final minutes, Castiel appears to Dean and Bobby in an abandoned barn, shattering light bulbs and casting giant wing shadows on the walls. He reveals himself to be the one who “gripped [Dean] tight and raised [him] from perdition.” Castiel ultimately becomes the show‘s third lead, and we’re better for it. Plus, the major addition of angels to the already demon-heavy series permanently changes the course of Supernatural‘s story. —LW
4. "Changing Channels," Season 5 Episode 8
Thanks to the return of the Trickster, Sam and Dean are dropped into TV show parodies of Grey’s Anatomy (Dr. Sexy, M.D.), CSI: Miami (with a pithy one-liner, à la David Caruso‘s Horatio Caine), a Japanese game show, a sitcom, an advertisement for genital herpes medication and Knight Rider—complete with Sam in the Impala as KITT. Castiel tries and fails to rescue them. It’s one of the series’ funniest episodes, and while it does feel like a meta sidestep away from the larger plot, this isn’t filler. In fact, there’s a massive reveal: The Trickster is really the archangel Gabriel! —MJ
3. "Baby," Season 11 Episode 4
No other show can do an episode from the point of view of a car and have it be so emotionally charged. But Baby, their 1967 Chevrolet Impala, is the brothers‘ home—and Sam says just that to close out the installment. Besides the brilliant cinematography—most of the episode takes place inside the car—this standout also has all the makings of a classic: a monster-of-the-week hunt (“ghoul-pires,” Dean calls them) with fights that feel more chaotic in the constraints of the Impala, teasing between the brothers (Dean puts on Bob Seger’s “Night Moves” after Sam hooks up in the backseat) and new mythology regarding the Darkness (Emily Swallow). There are even admissions from Sam and Dean that they both dream of normal lives with their parents, plus one of their quintessential “Jerk”/“Bitch” exchanges. It feels like an old-school Supernatural episode in all the best ways. —MJ
2. "The French Mistak," Season 6 Episode 15
It’s the ultimate meta episode: Sam and Dean find themselves on a television set in an alt-reality where they’re Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, stars of a TV show that mirrors what’s happening in the hunter brothers’ lives. It’s a tribute to Supernatural that such a bizarrely hilarious episode is right in line with the show. The dialogue is great, and fans received so many Easter eggs to enjoy: tongue-in-cheek comments about ratings, Jared being married to “fake Ruby” (Padalecki met his real-life wife, Genevieve Padalecki, who guest stars here, when she played the demon), “Misha Collins” tweeting and a clip of Ackles on Days of Our Lives. There are some particularly over-the-top moments too, as Sam and Dean make terrible attempts at acting, and we see Jensen’s trailer with a giant fish tank and Jared’s backyard alpaca. “Why would anybody want to watch our lives?” Dean asks. The answer is simple: for episodes like this. —MJ
1. "Swan Song," Season 5 Episode 22
The plan in this episode—originally intended to be the series’ finale—is for Sam to become Lucifer’s vessel, jump into Hell and trap him in the cage. Other shows would find a way around that dangerous situation for one half of the show’s leads. Not Supernatural. The action is framed by Chuck telling the story of how the Impala became the Winchesters’. And Baby is there as Dean reluctantly agrees to Sam’s plan. Sam makes him promise not to try to bring him back and instead “live some normal, apple pie life” as he drinks demon blood and says yes to Lucifer for the showdown between Lucifer (in Sam’s body) and Michael (in their half brother Adam’s body). “I ain’t gonna let him die alone,” Dean decides before he’s beaten to a pulp by a possessed Sam. It’s seeing the Impala that allows Sam to remember Dean, regain control—and take Lucifer and Michael to Hell. Chuck vanishes, but not before a jaw-dropping hint that he’s God. And it all ends on a cliffhanger time-jump: Sam, back from Hell, watching Dean trying to live that normal life. Filled with edge-of-your-seat moments and deeply emotional scenes between the brothers, this one is simply everything a great Supernatural episode can be. —MJ
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