8 Less-Remembered but Brilliant 'Supernatural' Episodes, Ranked by IMDb
Instead of focusing on the well-known hits, let's highlight the lesser-known episodes that are often overlooked.
Supernatural has given fans many iconic episodes that have become true classics. Masterpieces such as "Swan Song" and "All Hell Breaks Loose" are rightfully considered the pinnacle of the series and invariably top all sorts of ratings.
However, the show's fifteen seasons are a real treasure trove, filled with brilliant stories that sometimes remain in the shadows.
8. "A Very Supernatural Christmas" – Season 3 Episode 8
IMDb Score: 8.6/10
It's amazing that a long-running show like Supernatural only has one Christmas episode, which turned out to be incredibly warm and touching. Dean believes this will be his last Christmas, so he wants to relive his childhood nostalgia.
However, Sam's memories of family celebrations are not at all rosy, and he can't shake the feeling that his brother will be gone next year. For Dean's sake, though, Sam overcomes his fears and organizes a modest holiday.
7. "Scarecrow" – Season 1 Episode 11
IMDb Score: 8.6/10
"Scarecrow" is a penetrating and precise examination of our willingness to justify moral decay as long as it brings comfort and prosperity.
Here, the Winchesters realize for the first time that evil doesn't always come with claws. Sometimes, it's the smiles of neighbors and the smell of apple pie masking the deadly horror of a pagan sacrifice.
The episode serves as a stark reminder that evil can easily become normalized when it's convenient.
6. "Regarding Dean" – Season 12 Episode 11
IMDb Score: 8.9/10
The episode started as a comedy but eventually became one of the most dramatic. Dean accidentally stumbles upon a sorcerer and kills him. Before dying, the sorcerer curses Dean, causing him to lose his memory.
First, he forgets the girl he met, then, he mixes up the car keys and gears; and finally, he is surprised that monsters exist.
Rowena, the witch whom Sam called for help, makes a disappointing diagnosis: if Dean doesn't kill the sorcerer's family, he will forget his own family and himself. Then he will die because he will forget how to swallow and breathe.
5. "The End" – Season 5 Episode 4
IMDb Score: 9.1/10
After Sam agrees to become a vessel for Lucifer, Archangel Zachariah throws Dean into an alternate future where the Croatoan virus has killed almost all of humanity.
The gloomy scenery and dark tones of the world, as well as the characters' incredible changes, are evident. Dean meets a harsher, crueler version of himself – a disillusioned man ready to trample corpses to reach his goal.
Cas has also lost his grace – he has become a sex guru and drug addict because he is unable to come to terms with reality.
4. "In the Beginning" – Season 4 Episode 3
IMDb Score: 9.2/10
In the episode where Dean realizes the futility of trying to change the past, he learns a lesson in humility before the inevitable.
Here, Castiel is not an angel but a Laplace's demon who indifferently points out the inevitability of tragedy. Finding a family only to lose them again is not what you should expect from a trip back to when your parents were happy.
This episode reveals that the history of the Winchester family encompasses not only struggle and heroism but also sacrifice in the face of what cannot be changed.
3. "Two Minutes to Midnight" – Season 5 Episode 21
IMDb Score: 9.2/10
Supernatural occasionally touches on the essence of existential horror with grace and depth. The dialogue between Dean and Death is a philosophical statement about powerlessness and power, fate and resistance.
Death is presented as both ordinary and majestic, reminding us of the futility and heroism of attempts to break the vicious cycle of violence set by higher powers.
"Two Minutes to Midnight" clearly shows that the series's real greatness lies in its ability to speak about complex things in precise yet simple language that makes you shudder and think.
2. "What Is and What Should Never Be" – Season 2 Episode 20
IMDb Score: 9.3/10
Here, Dean finally lets go of his idealized image of a heroic father. In the illusory world created by the genie, Dean stops lying to himself.
After seeing his living mother, his brother with his fiancée, and his own family, he realizes that hunting is a curse, not a family business.
He also decides to sacrifice his own happiness when he learns that the people he and Sam saved died in the genie's reality.
Eric Kripke made it difficult for viewers – and Dean – to leave this "better" life. "What Is and What Should Never Be" showcases some of Jensen Ackles's best acting.
1. "Baby" – Season 11 Episode 4
IMDb Score: 9.4/10
Since the end of the first season, the Impala has become a full-fledged member of the Winchester family. This occurred when it "died" under the wheels of a truck and Dean "resurrected" it. However, it took nine more seasons before the car got its own episode.
It's a standard Winchester case, but all the action takes place inside the Impala or in its immediate vicinity.
To show viewers how important the Impala is to the Winchesters, the writers add everyday details to the story. The characters dine in the car, share secrets, sleep in it, bring girls there, and even fight monsters in it.
