Supernatural: 15 best Sam Winchester moments, ranked

2. Jack Finds a Father Figure in Sam Winchester

New characters are hard to adjust to, especially in a show as long-running as Supernatural. But the inclusion of Jack Kline, the child-like, world-unaware Nephilim son of Lucifer and Kelly Kline (Courtney Ford), was a welcome injection of humor, naivete, and suspense.

While Jack worked hard to be recognized as a member of the Winchester team, he had more trouble with some members than others.

Castiel pretty much adopted Jack as his son once Kelly passed away and the two continue to share a close bond. But the Winchester brothers—with their long and difficult history with Lucifer, were much wearier of Jack. Or rather, Dean was.

Sam has had a propensity for giving people—even monsters—second chances. He had a Kitsune friend, Amy Pond (Jewel Staite), who was forced to kill to keep her son alive. Knowing the reasons for her actions, Sam let her go—only for Dean to kill Amy later, thus causing a rift between him and his brother.

Throughout the show, Sam has reacted by trying to save people and monsters as a first course of action—resorting to killing when necessary. He did whatever possible to save his partner Madison, who was turned into a werewolf, only killing her when there was no saving her.

It isn’t surprising that Sam saw beyond Jack’s heritage to acknowledge the person he was. Unlike Dean, who saw Jack’s powers and legacy as a threat, Sam was ready to give the boy the leeway he needed to grow into a good human being.

Not surprising, considering Sam’s abilities had caused his loved ones to distrust him for years—his psychic abilities, and his strength from drinking demon blood had made him a pariah. Sam being Sam, he stood by Jack and gave him all the chances he needed, even if it meant opposing Dean’s cynicism.

Eventually, even Dean came around to accepting Jack and the four members of Team Free Will 2.0 were able to continue their work as hunters.

1. Sam Convinces Dean Not to Go into the Box

Season 14 of Supernatural saw Dean becoming the vessel of Michael from an alternate universe—a fate he had fought for years—to finally destroy Lucifer.

While Dean managed to overcome Michael eventually, and with Sam’s help, kept Michael locked up in his mind, Dean was looking at a lifetime of struggling for control—and the inevitable breaking down of walls that would allow Michael to take over his body again.

Dean finally accepts that stopping Michael means disappearing somewhere where Michael can’t hurt anyone. Death/ Billie (Lisa Berry) shows Dean how to create a Ma’lak Box—the only thing powerful enough to contain an archangel.

For Dean, the plan is simple enough—lock himself in the box and throw it in the bottom of the ocean forever.

While that sounds perfectly reasonable when you know that the alternative is Michael walking the Earth and leaving nothing but ashes in his wake, this plan doesn’t sit well with Sam.

Sam gives an impassioned speech about believing in Team Free Will—that they have and will save the world. He refuses to believe that they have no other choice than giving up because they never give up, and that’s why they’ve made it so far.

It’s a wonderful scene that doesn’t get a beat wrong—and eventually, Sam convinces Dean to let them come back to fight another day.

If there’s one thing Sam Winchester is great at, it’s believing the best of people and the world. His optimism has wavered from time to time, but he always finds a way to pick himself and everyone around him back up.

Saying goodbye to the Winchesters, Castiel, Jack, and their friends is going to be difficult for fans of Supernatural. But if this list has shown us one thing, it’s that this show has so many wonderful, memorable moments.

November 2020 may be the end of the show, but these moments will live on forever with Supernatural fans.

There you have it, folks—Sam Winchester’s best moments on Supernatural. Which moment is your favorite? Tell us in the comments below.

Supernatural Season 15 will air on The CW from October 8.