It’s no secret that Supernatural has been one of the most popular horror/fantasy shows of all time. With demons, vampires, werewolves, angels, ghosts, and shapeshifters on their roster of weekly blurry creatures, the series told just about every monster-of-the-week (MOTW) story it possibly could. Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) may have been the reason we kept watching Supernatural, but we all came for the monsters. When Supernatural started, self-contained horror stories were everywhere, with very few episodes in the first season dedicated to the overall series’ plot. By the show’s end, this had completely flopped, with nearly every single episode at least mentioning the greater series mythology. Still, with 15 seasons and over 300 episodes, there are plenty of MOTW episodes to choose from, so we’ve put together a list of the all-time best.
Table of Contents
15. Season 15 – “Last Holiday”
One of the last episodes of Supernatural to have almost nothing to do with the overall plot, “Last Holiday” is a delightful story that deals with its monster a bit differently than usual. After Sam, Dean, and Jack (Alexander Calvert) restart the Men of Letters Bunker, they release a creature who becomes something of a motherly housekeeper to the boys. While it starts out being pretty innocent, “Last Holiday” takes a dark turn that, by now, all of us definitely saw coming. But hey, Dean gets to use his grenade launcher and Sam wields Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, so that alone makes this one worth the watch!
Monster of the Week: Wood Nymph
14. Season 14 – “Mint Condition”
Essentially a love letter to comic book nerds and fans of classic slashers like Halloween and Friday the 13th, “Mint Condition” is one of the best episodes of Season 14, second only to the 300th episode “Lebanon.” On Halloween night, Sam and Dean track down a vengeful spirit that possesses a life-size statue of Dean’s favorite slasher David Yaeger, aka the “Hatchet Man” from the fictional All Saints’ Day films, but what we really love about this one is how both Dean and Sam get to show off their own inner nerds. We rarely get to see the boys both “nerd out” in the same episode, so this love-letter to Wes Craven-style slashers was a welcome surprise.
Monster of the Week: Vengeful Spirit
13. Season 13 – “Advanced Thanatology”
While most would pick “Scoobynatural” as their go-to Season 13 episode (including this author), the cartoon crossover arguably serves better as a meta piece. “Advanced Thanatology” on the other hand works wonders as a compelling monster story that challenges our heroes at the exact time they need it most. This episode finds the boys hunting down the ghost of the despicable Dr. Avery Meadows, who lobotomized all his patients. Yeah, it’s pretty brutal. We also get a bit of mythology with this one near the end, but it’s mostly about hunting this vengeful plague mask-wearing spirit.
Monster of the Week: Vengeful Spirit
12. Season 12 – “American Nightmare” / “The Memory Remains”
A bit of a cheat, but in a season full of mythology episodes, these two episodes really stand out. “American Nightmare” follows the boys as they uncover a cultic family’s dark secret, a young woman with psychic powers, which touches on Sam’s time as a “special child” himself, while “The Memory Remains” follows the boys as they hunt down a goat-headed monster that lives beneath a small Wisconsin town. Be it cultic families, psychic children, or the pagan god Moloch himself, these episodes will help you reminisce about the show’s earlier seasons while simultaneously reminding you that the show was still going strong well into its 12th season.
Monster of the Week: Cultish families and Moloch (pagan god)
11. Season 11 – “Baby”
One of the coolest episodes in the whole series, “Baby” was filmed entirely from the point of view of the Winchesters’ Impala. As Sam and Dean take on a routine case in small-town Oregon, it turns out that they’re pitted against a new kind of monster, one they’ve never even heard of before. “Baby” is exceptional, not just because of its technical accomplishments, but because the Sam and Dean dynamic is spot on here (we even get some great “boy melodrama” scenes), with each brother’s prime characteristics on display. Honestly, “Baby” is just one of the greatest episodes of the entire series. You have to see it!
Monster of the Week: “Ghoul-piers,” or Nachzehrers if you won’t say it
10. Season 10 – “Angel Heart”
“Angel Heart” is a great monster-of-the-week episode with some real, you guessed it, heart behind it. After Castiel (Misha Collins) tries to reconnect with the daughter of his human vessel, Claire Novak (Kathryn Love Newton), it turns out that she’s on a quest of her own. As Cass and the Winchesters help Clare on her hunt, they encounter a powerful predator who feasts on human souls, a rare type of angel called a Watcher. While this one might require a bit more backstory to fully enjoy, it plops the brothers into a good old-fashioned monster hunt, and that’s all we could hope for.
Monster of the Week: Grigori
9. Season 9 – “Alex Annie Alexis Ann”
While there are a few great monster-themed episodes of Season 9, including “Dog Dean Afternoon,” “Thinman,” and even the backdoor pilot “Bloodlines” (which was sadly never made into a series), one of the best standalones this season was “Alex Annie Alexis Anne.” The boys head back to South Dakota to take on a vampire nest with the help of Sheriff Jody Mills (Kim Rhodes), and things get a bit out of hand… With heavy themes of abandonment, emotional abuse, and addiction behind it, this monster story isn’t just about what the bloodsuckers can do to you physically, but rather what living with monsters can turn a person into. It’s a fascinating episode that is well worth the watch.
Monster of the Week: Vampires
8. Season 8 – “Bitten”
A found-footage werewolf horror story, “Bitten” is all about what it means to be a monster, and how supernatural power corrupts. Although Sam and Dean are background characters in this one, the story is still pretty compelling, with lots of character drama and action to go around. While werewolf stories often all feel pretty similar, the found-footage component makes this one stand out among the rest, leaving us hungry for more. Honestly, “Bitten” feels a lot more like a Twilight Zone episode or some low-budget horror movie that’s been cut for runtime rather than an episode of Supernatural, but that’s not a bad thing.
Monster of the Week: Werewolves
7. Season 7 – “Plucky Pennywhistle’s Magical Menagerie”
If confronting childhood fears is something you’re into, then “Plucky Pennywhistle’s Magical Menagerie” is the episode for you! As Sam and Dean investigate a murder involving a clown-themed children’s restaurant, the true fears of the young kids who attend take a life of their own. Naturally, Sam’s historic fear of clowns kicks in as he’s berated by a group of half-a-dozen colorful creatures. This episode stands out for a number of reasons, but one of the biggest is Dean’s interactions with a young boy at Plucky Pennywhistle’s, reminding him that his single mom is doing the best that she can. It’s a small moment that reminds us just how good a guy Dean can really be.
Monster of the Week: Witches, Spirits, and Constructs, oh my!
6. Season 6 – “Clap Your Hands If You Believe”
A semi-X-Files-inspired episode, “Clap Your Hands If You Believe” starts off as a UFO investigation story, but turns out to be something far more supernatural. As the Winchesters hunt down the creature, or creatures, behind these apparent UFO abductions, they discover that the truth is far stranger than fiction. We won’t spoil it here (even though this episode aired way back in 2010, but let’s just say you’ll be just as surprised as we were). This was also the time Sam was walking around without his soul, which makes for some pretty hilarious moments when Dean is inevitably abducted. For as much as we hate Soulless Sam, it’s moments like these that make him almost worth it.
Monster of the Week: Nice try, we’re still not telling you…
5. Season 5 – “Sam, Interrupted”
Season 5 is a favorite season for many. Between the biblical Apocalypse, the rise of Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino), and all the Sam/Dean tension bleeding over from last season, there isn’t much room in these 22 episodes for your standard Winchester hunting trip. Thankfully, “Sam, Interrupted” is an exception that sees the brothers infiltrate a mental hospital to help an old hunter friend of their dad’s who is hunting a wraith, only to deal with a lot of their own emotional fallout. With so many episodes focused on icing the Devil, this one is a well-needed pause that gives our heroes the chance to catch their breath (sort of) before they make their next move.
Monster of the Week: Wraith
Season 4 is the perfect season of Supernatural. It seamlessly blends a complete Heaven & Hell mythology arc with nearly a dozen stand-alone episodes, with the occasional crossover into both. “Metamorphosis” puts Sam and Dean at odds, with Sam believing they can save a man who is slowly turning into a monster, and Dean believing that they must put him in the ground. The very next episode is entitled “Monster Movie,” and it’s exactly that. A clear black-and-white nod to the Universal Classic Monsters of old, this episode follows the Winchesters as they hunt down a Dracula, a Mummy, and a Wolf-Man all during Oktoberfest.
Monster of the Week: A Rugaru, and a bunch of iconic monsters…
3. Season 3 – “Ghostfacers”
The return of Harry Spengler (Travis Wester) and Ed Zeddmore (A.J. Buckley) from Season 1’s “Hell House,” this episode is the show’s first triumphant use of found-footage in a way that only Supernatural could pull off. As the “Ghostfacers” hunt down an old ghostly legend, they cross paths (again) with the Winchesters. While some might consider this a more “meta” episode given that it parodies popular ghost hunting reality shows, “Ghostfacers” is actually pretty scary, and serves best when seen as a horror story. You won’t want to miss it!
Monster of the Week: Vengeful Spirit
2. Season 2 – “Heart” / “What Is and What Should Never Be”
The first two seasons really excelled at making a new horror movie for television every week, with there being too many great episodes to choose from, so we picked two of the best. “Heart” is a werewolf story about Sam’s fatal attempts to save a woman from succumbing to her own savage desires, which challenges what it means to be a monster. “What Is and What Should Never Be” is more Dean-centric, focusing on the life he could have had as he attempts to hunt a mind-warping Djinn, and the results are tragic. Both episodes are excellent, and both are perfect examples of what Supernatural has to offer.
Monster of the Week: Werewolves and a Djinn
1. Season 1 – “Scarecrow” / “Faith”
Two delightfully frightening, yet incredibly touching, episodes of Supernatural are “Scarecrow” and “Faith,” each as chilling as the last. Season 1 is sort of the king of monster-of-the-week episodes (there are actually very few mythology episodes at all), and these two are the perfect representations. “Scarecrow” puts the boys on the trail of a small-town pagan god which possesses, you guessed it, the scariest looking scarecrow you ever did see. “Faith,” on the other hand, dives a bit further into spiritual topics as the boys experience what they originally believed to be a miracle, but don’t worry, there’s still a monster. If you want peak Supernatural, these are the episodes for you!
Monster of the Week: Vanir and Reaper
Read Next
About The Author
Source link
More Stories
Trump admin DHS lawyer begs Minnesota judge to hold her in contempt so she can sleep – We Got This Covered
All 9 Seasons of OG ‘One Tree Hill’ Coming to Netflix Internationally
IRON LUNG May Be Painfully Empty and Completly Lost on Me, But Its Massive Success is Impressive as Hell — GeekTyrant