Okay, so I haven’t quite gotten past my Supernatural hangover yet after seeing Season 7, so I decided to list down my favorite episodes throughout the show’s entire run. I had a bit of trouble narrowing down my choices so bear with me.

10. The Kids are Alright (Season 3). Sam and Dean respond to a case  of children disappearing in a small town only to run into Lisa Braeden, a girl with whom Dean had a fling with almost nine years ago. As Dean begins to spend more time with Ben, Lisa’s son, he begins to notice similarities between him and the boy prompting him to question if Ben is his son. During this time, he questions what might have been if he wasn’t a hunter but sentiment has no place in his life as Ben is taken by a Changeling and Sam and Dean must race to save the boy’s life. I loved this episode because it was hilarious to see Ben (Nicholas Elia) doing a mini me version of Dean and Dean’s disorientation upon seeing his exact same habits (and swag) being brought on by the boy. It was clear in this episode that Dean had strong feelings for Lisa and starting a family and how he was torn between saving lives and thinking of his own happiness.

9. All Hell Breaks Loose (Season 2). All of the children infected with demon’s blood are pitted against each other in a remote camp to fight to the death wherein the winner will become Azazel’s poster boy for whatever grand scheme he has up his sleeve. As Sam tries to stay alive and outsmart the other demon kids, Bobby and Dean try to track his location to save him. Just as they arrive, Sam is killed by Jake, the other remaining competitor, and Dean is left bereft as his baby brother dies in his arms. I loved this episode because of Dean’s excellent portrayal of a big brother who would do anything to give back the life of a sibling whom he tried to protect his whole life. It is also revealed in this episode what lengths Dean would go to get Sammy back.

8. Mystery Spot (Season 3). Sam is forced to live the same Tuesday over and over again where they work on a case of a missing blogger who vanished after visiting a Mystery Spot. Problem is, this is the same day that Dean dies, over and over again. The episode starts out quite funny because of the utter nonsense that Dean does and Sam’s despair, and in the end, numbness to Dean’s death (after over a hundred times of him dying in every possible scenario). But this episode, is actually quite heavy as the Trickster is revealed to the culprit. Turns out he was teaching Sam a lesson about how he couldn’t save Dean from his deal. Another thing of note is that future showrunner Jeremy Carver wrote the story for this episode and this got me excited to see what he can bring to the table for Season 8.

7. In My Time of Dying (Season 2). The season opens John Winchester awakening in a hospital after their car crash and Dean still in a coma and dying. As Sam tries to communicate with Dean using a ouija board, he learns that Dean is roaming the hospital with a pretty reaper named Tessa and that his number is almost up. John strikes a bargain with the Yellow Eyed Demon so that his son could live, and the last minutes of this rather slow episode were some of the most poignant moments of the series up until this season.

6. Ghostfacers (Season 3). Favorite episodes don’t always have to be dramatic and this is one that I most remember because of the utter ridiculousness of the plot. Sam and Dean run into members of the Ghostfacers, a ragtag group of geeks starring in a webshow about the paranomal, while trying to check into a haunting in the Morton Mansion. To solve the case, they are forced to endure the poseurs as they try to film the entire hunt. The look of sheer frustration in Dean’s face was priceless as he and Sam try to protect the Ghostfacers and at the same time, prevent them from ruining the job.

5. Season 7.  Time for A Wedding (Season 7). In similar vein, Season 7 finds Sam faced with his superfan Becky from episodes past and this time, he gladly fulfills her heart’s desires and marries her in Vegas. Dean senses something afoot and investigates a case of mysterious deaths and dreams coming true in Becky’s town, which he believes is connected to his brother’s strange behavior. He is forced to partner with the “scrawny” hunter Garth when Sam decides to team up with his “beloved” Becky for the hunt instead. The episode was rather simple but it was just funny and deserves a spot on this list.

4. Abandon All Hope (Season 5), Deaths Door (Season 7). Jo and Ellen team up with Sam, Dean, Bobby and Cas to go after Lucifer using the Colt. But as per usual, things don’t always go as planned. This episode results in the death of two of the boys’ strongest allies, which adds to the body count of friends and family they lost in the war to stop the Apocalypse. Meanwhile, Death’s Door is a Bobby-centered episode wherein he tries to ward off the Reaper so he could get back to his boys to deliver them a message about Dick Roman’s grand plan to make a buffet out of humankind. In this episode, Bobby deals with his worst memories and it is revealed that his best memories are of his “idjuts” horsing around having a debate about licorice. These two episodes are some of the best and delivers an emotional wallop that hits viewers right in the gut as well loved characters bid goodbye.

3. Lazarus Rising, On the Head of a Pin (Season 4), Free to Be You and Me (Season 5). Season 4 saw the first appearance of one of my favorite characters on the show — the angel Castiel and how he subsequently developed a bromance with his favorite human Dean Winchester. In Lazarus Rising, the first episode of Season 4, Cas first reveals himself to Dean as the one who gripped him tight and charged him out of hell. He was a stiff SOB, at the beginning but shows cracks in On the Head of a Pin where he is shown to be torn between caring for Dean and the task that he must ask the Winchester to do. In this episode, which was one of the most remarkable turning points of the Winchester saga, Cas begins to first exercise his free will and further establish his relationship with Dean. Free To Be You and Me is just awesome as the two team up to track down the angel Raphael. As the showdown between the angels become imminent, Dean takes Cas to a brothel so that he doesn’t die a virgin but Cas manages to offend the hooker anyways with his freaky mojo.

2. French Mistake (Season 6).Season 6 is hardly my favorite season so its quite ironic that one of the best episodes in my memory would come from it but it did. In this episode, Balthazar whisks the Winchesters to an alternate universe wherein they are actors playing the role of Sam and Dean Winchester. I loved Cas in Misha Collins mode twittering away every last detail of the episode and Dean’s incredulity whe he learns that Sam (Jared Padalecki) married the demon Ruby, or the actress who played her (Genievieve Cortese) in this universe. The appearance of show creator Erik Kripke was also a nice touch for fanboys and fangirls alike to stay on board the show.

1. Swan Song (Season 5). Initially intended to be the show’s series finale, this episode had all the elements that hooked me to the series in the fist place. Family drama, an emotional and moral struggle, a looming epic battle, brotherhood, friendship and an abandon of all things rational just to be there for the one person you truly love. The arrival of Bobby and Cas (whose last ditch effort was to throw a molotov cocktail at Michael) despite their realization that their efforts would be fruitless is some of the best illustrations of loyalty in any story and Dean’s appeal to his brother, while Lucifer was beating the crap out of him, was heartbreaking. So was Sam’s struggle (and sacrifice) to make things right and save the world. The narration of the prophet Chuck in the background and his subsequent disappearance (making viewers question if he was God) was an excellent touch to cap off the questions left behind by what would happen next. It was everything that should be, the road that all the episodes of the 5 seasons built up to. And it was, in Dean’s words “Awesome.”

There were a lot of runners up, some from Season 1 but I guess its okay that there were not much mention of the first season here as the show was just warming up during that time anyway. I love this show because personally, I can connect with the characters — most especially Dean because he values the same things I do, loyalty and family and this show is really just a family drama veiled as an action, fantasy horror flick, which makes it better because of its multifacetedness. The story, the actors and the CGI kicks ass. Kudos to the whole Supernatural team for that. As long as it stays true to its core, I have high hopes that it will remain on top of its game. 

Feel free to sound off if I missed anything out.