10 Best Episodes of ‘Supernatural’

Fifteen seasons of hunting monsters and saving people gave ‘Supernatural’ a huge library of standout hours. The show followed brothers Sam and Dean Winchester as they crisscrossed America in a black 1967 Chevrolet Impala, tracking creatures from folklore and facing threats that kept growing in scale. Along the way it mixed horror, mythology, humor, and meta storytelling in ways that kept the road story fresh.

This list pulls together ten episodes that are frequently referenced by fans for their plot significance, inventive structure, and franchise defining moments. Each entry includes the season and episode number plus a quick refresher on what happens and why it matters in the larger story. Whether you are revisiting favorites or sampling highlights, these hours capture what made ‘Supernatural’ click.

Swan Song (Season 5, Episode 22)

The showdown with Lucifer reaches its conclusion as Sam agrees to be his vessel and Dean works to execute a plan that requires the four Horsemen rings to reopen the Cage. The episode uses Chuck’s narration to frame the Winchesters’ history and places the Impala at the center of the strategy that lets Sam fight for control. It originally aired on May 13, 2010.

Key canon beats include Sam regaining control long enough to jump into the Cage with Adam who is carrying Michael, Castiel returning with renewed power to heal and set things right, and Chuck vanishing after finishing his account. Dean keeps a promise to seek a quieter life with Lisa, setting the stage for the next chapter of the story.

Mystery Spot (Season 3, Episode 11)

A time loop traps Sam in the same Tuesday as Dean dies again and again in increasingly ordinary ways. The brothers track the phenomenon to a tourist trap called the Broward County Mystery Spot and eventually uncover the Trickster’s involvement. It originally aired on February 14, 2008.

The loop ends with a hard turn into a Wednesday timeline where Dean stays dead and Sam spends months on a single minded hunt before the Trickster resets the clock. The hour foreshadows the Trickster’s true identity as Gabriel and shows how far Sam is willing to go when he loses his brother.

The French Mistake (Season 6, Episode 15)

A spell meant to protect Sam and Dean from Raphael drops them into an alternate reality where they are actors named Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles who star in a series called ‘Supernatural’. They navigate a studio lot, a working set, and a crew that looks very familiar while trying to find a way back. It originally aired on February 25, 2011.

The episode features in universe versions of real people connected to the show, including Misha Collins playing himself, and it builds out the idea that multiple realities reflect the Winchesters’ lives. The plot ties back to the war in Heaven as Raphael’s agents pursue the brothers across worlds and the spell’s cost ripples back into their main timeline.

Changing Channels (Season 5, Episode 8)

Sam and Dean are forced to play roles inside a string of television parodies that include a medical soap, a courtroom show, a police procedural, a Japanese game show, and a talking car adventure. The Trickster controls the rules and sets the stakes for each genre as the brothers try to break free. It originally aired on November 5, 2009.

The trap is a test that reveals the Trickster is actually the archangel Gabriel, who wants the brothers to accept their roles in an oncoming apocalypse. The hour locks in major mythology about vessels, Heaven’s politics, and Gabriel’s perspective, while the genre hopping format plants references that the series calls back to many times later.

Baby (Season 11, Episode 4)

The entire story unfolds from the point of view of the Impala, showing a routine case through the car’s windows and seats as Sam and Dean track a string of killings tied to a creature that turns people. The case takes them through stakeouts, roadside motels, and a fight that happens entirely inside the car. It originally aired on October 28, 2015.

By limiting the camera to the Impala the episode highlights day to day details of the brothers’ work, from phone calls with contacts to the tools they carry in the trunk. The monster of the week connects to a wider Season 11 threat while the format lets the show document the car’s role as home base, evidence locker, and witness to their lives.

Lazarus Rising (Season 4, Episode 1)

Dean wakes up in a pine box with mysterious handprints on his shoulder after four months away and starts retracing who and what pulled him out. The search leads to a barn covered in sigils where an angel named Castiel introduces himself with a direct explanation of how Dean was saved. It originally aired on September 18, 2008.

The introduction of angels expands the series mythos and sets off a new arc centered on seals, Heaven’s factions, and the apocalyptic stakes that follow. Dean’s return from Hell complicates his bond with Sam, who has been working with Ruby to build powers that become central to the season’s conflicts.

Do not Call Me Shurley (Season 11, Episode 20)

A small town falls under a spreading cloud that kills and then revives people with a dark twist, drawing Sam and Dean into an investigation that seems impossible to stop. At the same time the writer Chuck sits down with Metatron to workshop a new piece of writing and speaks frankly about creation. It originally aired on May 4, 2016.

The episode confirms that Chuck is God and uses his conversation with Metatron to explain his absence and intentions for the coming fight with Amara. The amulet associated with finding God begins to glow again, which leads the Winchesters to a reunion that reshapes their strategy for the rest of the season.

Scoobynatural (Season 13, Episode 16)

A cursed television pulls Sam and Dean into an animated world where they join the Mystery Inc. gang inside a case that mirrors a classic ‘Scooby-Doo’ caper. The brothers realize quickly that they are facing a real ghost inside a space where the usual masked villain reveal does not apply. It originally aired on March 29, 2018.

The crossover walks the rules of two series at once as the Winchesters protect the gang while adapting their methods to cartoon physics. The resolution uncovers why the spirit latched onto the television in the first place and shows how the brothers help it move on before they return to live action with a clearer read on their ongoing hunt.

The End (Season 5, Episode 4)

Castiel sends Dean to a future version of 2014 where the Croatoan virus has ravaged cities and human survivors are spread thin. Dean meets an older version of himself who runs a hard line camp and keeps secrets about a plan to stop Lucifer. It originally aired on October 1, 2009.

The future reveals Sam as Lucifer’s vessel and shows what happens when Dean refuses to work with his brother. Castiel has lost his angelic power and lives among humans, which illustrates the cost of the heavenly war. The trip becomes a warning that pushes present day Dean to rethink how they face the coming crisis.

All Hell Breaks Loose, Part 2 (Season 2, Episode 22)

After the events in Cold Oak and Sam’s death, Dean makes a crossroads deal that brings Sam back with a one year limit on his own life. The brothers head to a cemetery in Wyoming where the Devil’s Gate can be opened with the Colt and where the surviving psychic Jake has been manipulated into turning the key. It originally aired on May 17, 2007.

The gate opens and a wave of demons escapes before Bobby and Ellen help close it, while John Winchester’s spirit appears and distracts the Yellow Eyed Demon long enough for Dean to fire the lethal shot. The win ends one hunt while unleashing new threats across the map, setting up the mission focus for the next season.

Share your picks for the best hours of ‘Supernatural’ in the comments and tell us which episodes you revisit most.