Twenty years after the premiere (Sept. 13, 2005), here is our list of the 20 Best Supernatural episodes.
20) “Despair” (S15E18)
“Goodbye, Dean.” Castiel’s confession and sacrifice to the Empty became an instant late-series landmark—and a lightning rod.
19) “Fan Fiction” (S10E5)
The 200th goes full meta-musical, turning fandom into text and “Carry On Wayward Son” into a stage-burner. Joyous, tender, cheeky.
18) “Point of No Return” (S5E18)
The 100th hour sharpens season 5’s free-will thesis to a point—and makes Dean’s despair part of the fight. (Yes, literally episode 100.)
17) “Lebanon” (S14E13)
The 300th episode reunites the Winchesters with their dad and lets the show take a breath to celebrate its big, messy family.
16) “Scoobynatural” (S13E16)
A wildly charming crossover that proves episode 280 can still feel brand-new—and that Scooby and salt rounds absolutely belong together.
15) “No Rest for the Wicked” (S3E16)
Dean’s deal comes due; the hellhounds come calling. The final image scarred an entire generation of viewers (in the best way).
14) “Nightshifter” (S2E12)
A shapeshifter heist that crescendos into the Styx-scored getaway heard ’round fandom. Pulse-pounding television.
13) “The Monster at the End of This Book” (S4E18)
Enter: Prophet Chuck, meta-prophecies, and a show gleefully writing its own gospel.
12) “On the Head of a Pin” (S4E16)
Dean’s torture of Alastair yields the myth-arc bombshell: the first seal broke in Hell—when he broke. Brutal, pivotal, unforgettable.
11) “Don’t Call Me Shurley” (S11E20)
Chuck steps out of the shadows and finally says the quiet part out loud. The reveal that delighted (and detonated) fandom.
10) “In My Time of Dying” (S2E1)
Hospital-set limbo, a reaper’s bargain, and a father’s final choice: the Winchesters’ first great tragedy.
9) “What Is and What Should Never Be” (S2E20)
A djinn grants Dean the life he thinks he wants—and the show answers with a melancholy masterpiece about choosing duty over dream.
8) “A Very Supernatural Christmas” (S3E8)
Black-comedy holiday horror with heartbreaking flashbacks and evil pagan “Santas.” Creepy, cozy, and classic.
7) “The End” (S5E4)
Dean wakes in a hellish 2014 future, meets a very different Cas, and stares down what saying “yes” might mean—one of the series’ finest hours.
6) “Lazarus Rising” (S4E1)
Dean claws out of the grave; an angel named Castiel steps through the door; the show’s cosmology blows wide open. A frequent No. 1 on “best of” lists.
5) “Baby” (S11E4)
An audacious formal swing told entirely from inside the Impala; it’s a love letter to the show’s third lead (Baby) and a late-series creative jolt.
4) “Changing Channels” (S5E8)
TV-land purgatory (medical drama! game show! sitcom!) becomes a Trojan horse for myth-arc revelations—and a fan-favorite Trickster showcase.
3) “The French Mistake” (S6E15)
Meta mayhem done right: Sam and Dean crash into a universe where they’re “Jared” and “Jensen.” Fourth-wall demolition with razor wit.
2) “Mystery Spot” (S3E11)
A viciously funny, then quietly devastating time-loop hour that turns a Groundhog Day gag into a character crucible for Sam and Dean. (Yes, that Asia needle-drop.)
1) “Swan Song” (S5E22)
The planned capstone of Eric Kripke’s five-year arc—apocalypse averted by stubborn, very human love—remains the series’ emotional north star and the consensus best.
Hi you didn’t talk of that episode when micheal was possessing Dean and Dean chose to drop to the bottom of the ocean. When Sam breaks and punches him.
I cry at that epsiode when Sam punches him ! Such a heartbreaking scene. However, it was just a scene, there wasn’t much remarkable about the rest of the episode.