Best Supernatural episodes: 15 top episodes, ranked

What are the best Supernatural episodes? With the show coming to an end, we look back at all 15 seasons and determine the best episodes and why they live on with fans.

Supernatural is looking at its very own swan song in 2020. After 15 years of entertainment, laughs, tears, and great memories, the CW show will be bidding fans a fond farewell on its own terms.

While the show was set to end after its fifth season, it was renewed for more and continued for another 10 years.

Even the staunchest fans will admit that the show struggled at times once its mapped-out five-year arc came to an end, but that never stopped the show from being incredibly entertaining.

More than anything else, the 15 years of Supernatural cemented one of the most memorable sibling duos in TV history. Sam and Dean Winchester (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) gave fans a brotherly bond from their first scene together and it has only grown stronger and deeper since then.

Along the way, they’ve forged a familial bond with the wayward angel, Castiel (Misha Collins), their mentor Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver), hacker and LARP-er Charlie Bradbury (Felicia Day), and the Nephilim Jack (Alexander Calvert).

The show has changed immensely from start to finish and that makes choosing the best Supernatural episodes incredibly difficult.

The 15 episodes we’ve chosen have it all—heart, fun, character development—which is what makes them so memorable.

So, without further ado, here are the 15 best Supernatural episodes.

15. Best Supernatural episodes: Wishful Thinking

An odd inclusion in this ranking of best Supernatural episodes, but hear us out. Season 4’s ‘Wishful Thinking’ sees the brothers investigate a purported ghost sighting in a small town, only to find that it’s not just a ghost, but also Bigfoot, and people winning at the lottery.

Turns out its none of those, yet all of them. A wishing well in the town is bringing people’s dreams into reality—the only problem is that the wishes go bad eventually.

Cue a depressed, alcoholic teddy bear, a dodgy sandwich, and a perverted invisible boy who steps in front of the wrong car.

There is so much humor in this episode that it couldn’t not be included on this list. Seeing Sam and Dean take on the unenviable roles of teddy bear doctors will always be a great moment from the show.

14. Best Supernatural episodes: The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo

When a show introduces a new character after seven seasons, fans can feel a bit put out. But Supernatural has consistently brought in characters that have become fan-favorites, leading to them recurring throughout the show.

Felicia Day’s Charlie Bradbury is undoubtedly on top of that list, and her introduction is a no-brainer for one of the best Supernatural episodes.

Season 7 of the show struggled in many ways but adding Charlie to the show was not one of them. A geeky tech genius and hacker, Charlie was hilarious and adorable, a perfect foil for the often-serious Winchester brothers.

The highlight of this episode was when Dean had to teach Charlie how to flirt with a man—something she wasn’t experienced with because she’s gay. This is still one of the greatest highlights of the show.

13. Best Supernatural episodes: Fan Fiction

Not many TV shows make it past 100 episodes, so when Supernatural reached its 200^th, that was an achievement to celebrate.

The show took a different approach to the milestone, sending the boys to a girls’ school to investigate a series of disappearances. To their surprise, the drama group was putting on a play. The subject: Supernatural!

Through the play, the episode celebrated some of the greatest moments from the show, include ‘Swan Song’, and even the legacy of Destiel—Dean/ Castiel.

The ‘Single Man Tear’ song paid homage to Dean’s very specific method of crying on the show. And anyone who didn’t shed a single man tear when listening to the episode’s moving rendition of ‘Carry on My Wayward Son’ probably needs to rewatch ‘Fan Fiction’, because it is undoubtedly one of the best Supernatural episodes.

12. Best Supernatural episodes: Do You Believe in Miracles

Supernatural’s season finales are quite something and Season 9’s ‘Do You Believe in Miracles’ was one of the most shocking endings for the show.

The season pitted the Winchesters against Metatron (Curtis Armstrong), once an ally who became yet another angel to think he could be a god. But worse, Dean had taken the Mark of Cain—which made him go out of control and left him weakened.

By the end of the finale, Dean was dead, Crowley (Mark Sheppard) was monologuing, and fans were ready to go into mourning. Only for Dean’s eyes to open, revealing him to be a demon. Shock and horror.

The boys dying on the show has become a bit of a joke, but turning into the very thing they hunt? That was a fate worst than death, which is why this finale is one of the best Supernatural episodes.

11. Best Supernatural episodes: Death’s Door

One of the saddest but best Supernatural episodes is Season 7’s ‘Death’s Door’. Featuring Jim Beaver’s Bobby Singer, who was originally planned for just one episode, but became an indispensable part of the show, this episode remains one of the most heart-breaking.

A close ally of John’s, Bobby mentored the brothers after John’s death, but eventually became more of a father figure.

Up until Season 7, it was almost impossible to imagine Supernatural without Bobby. And then, the worst happened—Bobby was felled by Leviathan Dick Roman (James Patrick Stuart).

But even on his death bed, Bobby refused to give up, tussling with the Reaper and his own past before passing away on his own terms.

Heart-breaking and beautiful, ‘Death’s Door’ incapsulated the found-family aspect of the show that has made it one of the best Supernatural episodes for fans.

10. Best Supernatural episodes: All Hell Breaks Loose

No best Supernatural episodes’ list would be complete without ‘All Hell Breaks Loose’. The two-part Season 2 finale has a heart-thumping and suspenseful arc with an outcome that no fan expected—which makes it unforgettable more than a decade later.

It’s also arguably the start of Sam and Dean’s long relationship with death (or Death, as it were), with Sam dying in his brother’s arms, after saving the day from his fellow psychics.

To save his little brother, Dean made a demon deal that gave him one more year on Earth, and a lifetime in Hell.

It wouldn’t be the first time the brothers would sacrifice themselves for each other, but seeing Dean make the choice so effortlessly was, and still is, tragic. Especially considering that their father, John (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), had suffered a similar fate. Brb, crying.

9. Best Supernatural episodes: Lebanon

If 200 episodes is an achievement, 300 is a truly spectacular feat. Supernatural celebrated its 300^th by going back to its roots—the Winchester family at the heart of the show.

When Sam and Dean accidentally bring their father, John, to their present, they realize they’ve changed the timeline by doing so. Though John has to return to 2003, the family share one last meal together in their hometown of Lebanon, Kansas.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s John Winchester hadn’t been part of the show since the earliest seasons, but he returned for ‘Lebanon’.

Samantha Smith’s Mary Winchester, despite having been an integral part of the show’s mythos, had never shared screen time with Morgan, so this episode gave us all four Winchesters together for the first time.

If that isn’t a kick in the feels, I don’t know what is. Plus, seeing John’s pride in his sons was wonderful, and Sam finally getting closure with his dad had been long overdue.

Not many of the best Supernatural episodes are as quiet as ‘Lebanon’, but it’s so heartfelt and touches the core of the show that it couldn’t not be included.

8. Best Supernatural episodes: Swan Song

Season 5 was supposed to be the end of Supernatural and it’s no surprise that ‘Swan Song’ is one of our favorite Supernatural episodes.

This finale was the culmination of five seasons of lore, foreshadowing, and relationships which made every moment bittersweet and poignant.

In the episode, Sam decides to say ‘yes’ to Lucifer so he can fight him from the inside, while Dean and Castiel find a way to send Lucifer back to Hell. Adam (Jake Abel), the Winchester’s younger half-brother, is possessed by Michael and plans to fight Lucifer even if it decimates the world.

Nothing really goes to plan but Dean refuses to give up on his brother, eventually leading to Sam rejecting Lucifer. Unfortunately, Sam, Lucifer, Adam, and Michael all end up in Hell, with Dean being left to live a life without any living relatives.

And then the final shot of the episode shows Sam, alive and well—or is he?—watching over Dean from a distance. Need we say more about this episode’s inclusion on the list?

7. Best Supernatural episodes: Wayward Sisters

Ah, the show that could have been. There aren’t many fans who weren’t crushed by the news that the Wayward Sisters spin-off was canceled. This backdoor pilot episode focused on Sheriff Jody Mills (Kim Rhodes) and Donna Hanscum (Briana Buckmaster), and Jody’s foster children searching for the Winchesters when they go missing.

Jody, Donna, Claire Novak (Kathryn Newton), Alex Jones (Katherine Ramdeen), Patience Turner (Clark Backo), and Kaia Nieves (Yadira Guevara-Prip) each brought their own unique set of skills to locate the Winchesters. And they made a great team.

One of the greatest drawbacks of Supernatural has been its overly male cast and a general air of misogyny, which made this episode a breath of fresh air. It still rankles that the CW decided not to pick up this series.

6. Best Supernatural episodes: The French Mistake

Supernatural has so many dark moments that any levity is welcome and notable. ‘The French Mistake’ sees Sam and Dean transported to an alternate reality which is actually our real world. They have to pretend to be Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, except the fictional versions, are nothing like the real people.

This is a laugh-a-minute fan-favorite Supernatural episode that couldn’t be absent from this list. The scene with Jared and Jensen playing Sam and Dean playing Jared and Jensen playing Sam and Dean—did you get all that?—is perfection.

Misha Collins playing a goofy version of himself adds to the hilarity—as do the fictional versions of Genevieve Padalecki, and the crew, including creator Eric Kripke, and director Robert Singer. There’s not a moment in this episode that isn’t terrific.

5. Best Supernatural episodes: Yellow Fever

Dean’s return from Hell should have seen him living a life of leisure, or at least finding some peace. Alas, this is Supernatural, and the Winchesters never catch a break.

While exploring a town gripped by a ghost sickness, Dean begins fearing everything around him until it’s discovered that he has contracted the illness, as well.

With Bobby’s help, the boys investigate the cause of the illness, all while Dean tries to fight his ever-growing fear and imminent death.

No list of best Supernatural episodes would be complete without ‘Yellow Fever’. It’s hilarious and has produced the best GIFs from the show. Jensen Ackles is amazing in it—his comic timing is on point. And it ends with Ackles lip-syncing ‘Eye of the Tiger’. What’s not to love?

4. Best Supernatural episodes: The End

A lot was going down in Season 5—Lucifer was rising, the apocalypse was coming, and Dean was supposed to be archangel Michael’s vessel. Of course, Dean wanted nothing to do with archangels, which is why he had consistently refused the offer.

But Heaven was determined to make Dean see reason—so they sent him to the future. Dean found himself in a dystopian world already ravaged by the apocalypse where he had to face off against his older self.

The outcome was Dean being told that saying ‘yes’ to Michael was the best course of action. Dean is shown the consequences of denying Michael—the apocalypse is one, but worse, Sam is possessed by Lucifer.

It’s a terrifying future, and Jared Padalecki’s Samifer is both so unnervingly cold, yet beautiful that the audience is left in shock. This isn’t the future a fan would want for the Winchesters, but there also seems no way to avoid it.

This episode is all about the feels and fears of Supernatural—which is why it’s on our best of list.

3. Best Supernatural episodes: Mystery Spot

There are plenty of tears on Supernatural but there are just as many laughs. In Season 3’s ‘Mystery Spot’, the brothers travel to a town where the laws of physics don’t apply. But far from solving that mystery, Sam finds himself in a time loop that resets every time Dean dies—and he dies a lot.

Though the concept is grim, the execution of this episode is hilarious. Seeing Dean die in the most ridiculous ways—from a piano falling on him, to falling in the shower, or eating a hinky burrito—you can’t help but guffaw, even though you’re feeling bad for Sam.

The unexpected villain, Richard Speight Jr’s Trickster, is as naughty as he is mysterious. And though he seems like little more than a villain of the week, the Trickster ends up playing a crucial role in the show, which is another reason why ‘Mystery Spot’ is included on so many best Supernatural episodes lists.

2. Best Supernatural episodes: ScoobyNatural

A crossover between the live-action Supernatural and the children’s cartoon Scooby-Doo seemed like a bad idea. But, guess what, the showrunners made it work.

During an investigation, Sam and Dean are sucked into the animated world of Scooby-Doo. They team up with the Scooby gang and even ride the Mystery Machine. Dean’s a huge fan of the gang, acting as a stand-in for viewers in the process. Later, Castiel joins the gang as well.

The entire episode captures the tone and style of Scooby-Doo, and even includes an updated version of the theme song. ‘ScoobyNatural’ has all the classic moments from the cartoon, from the corridor chases to the surprise villainous revelation.

The episode should have been a disaster. Instead, it’s been consistently listed as one of the best Supernatural episodes ever.

1. Best Supernatural episodes: Baby

It took more than a decade before fans got this outstanding episode that honors Baby, Dean’s beloved car, inherited from his father.

Shot exclusively inside the Impala, ‘Baby’ showed us the quiet, candid moments between Sam and Dean. Not only were the brothers still looking for a way to take down the Darkness, but they also discussed the possibilities of settling down and continuing their side investigations.

The episode captured life on the road for Sam and Dean, while giving viewers Baby’s unique perspective on what it’s like to be a Winchester. Bottle episodes like this one break the monotony of long seasons, which makes them so memorable.

‘Baby’ also proved that despite running for over a decade, the Supernatural showrunners could still be innovative while tying the episode into the overarching season storyline.

There you have it, folks—the best episodes on Supernatural. Which episode is your favorite? Tell us in the comments below.

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