10 worst ‘Supernatural’ seasons, ranked
Over its 15 seasons, the CW’s Supernatural reigned supreme like the King of Hell himself. The loyal fans never strayed, and the noise for the show online only ever minimally waned. However, that doesn’t mean that this show should have gone on for as long as it did. And, listen, I loved it. Of course I did. I was there on the ground floor for it; I have a tattoo of Baby herself. But the truth hurts sometimes, and the fact of the matter is: Seasons 1-5 are pure genius. Some of the best television around, especially for an early-2000s CW show. Anything after, once creator Eric Kripke left? It has its moments, but largely remains forgettable (or unforgettable, but in ways I wish I could forget).
One thing I will give Supernatural is that, even if the season themselves may not have been perfect, there were always one or two episodes that flew high above the rest and that made you go: Oh, yeah, this is why I love this show. With that in mind, though, here’s our ranking of the ten worst seasons.
(Warning: Spoilers ahead)
10. Season 6
A decade ago, I would have put Supernatural Season 6 much lower on the list. In fact, when it first aired, I fell asleep through much of it. It was obvious there was no clear direction for the show at this point, leaving the season itself to feel disjointed and all over the place. However, it remained just charming enough to cement itself as the lower end of the spectrum here, and you could see a small little mark of the glory days of Supernatural still lingering around. Plus, the writers really went wild with making Castiel (Misha Collins) so absolutely deadpan and unhinged that this season is one I still quote constantly. Sorry, my “people skills” are “rusty.”
9. Season 8
I’ll give Supernatural season 9 credit in that it gave us Purgatory and one of my favorite music moments (Dean, after making it out of Purgatory, hitching a ride while Styx’s “Man in the Wilderness” plays). They also expand on the angels this season, which culminates into one of my favorite season finales of the show. Unfortunately, however, there were some plots that just didn’t really work, especially with Sam and Dean being at-odds for much of this season, which got in the way of the trials plot where Sam and Dean have to work to close the gates of Hell while Castiel and Metatron (Curtis Armstrong) work to close the gates of Heaven. The Men of Letters was introduced as well, which changed the trajectory of the rest of the show.
8. Season 11
Season 11 gave us one of the best reveals and plot twists of the entire series. In episode 20, “Don’t Call Me Shurley,” our favorite writer Chuck (Rob Benedict) returns. While there to help Sam and Dean figure out how to defeat Amara (Emily Swallow), we are told something that many of us had theorized: Chuck was, in fact, God himself. And they couldn’t have picked a better performance for it. Benedict’s turn as Chuck in the series so far always had him as this soft-spoken, meek man, but once the secret is out he transforms in somebody much more assured. It was one of those lightning-in-a-bottle moments that reminded you that Supernatural can be good when it wants to be.
7. Season 9
I will admit, I did like that Castiel had to live as a human this season after losing his Grace. We got to see a different side of him and vulnerability where we usually wouldn’t. I personally love the angels because Supernatural‘s take on them is so fresh, so it was great to see more of them this season. The Mark of Cain is also introduced, which Dean takes on in order to be able to wield the First Blade. And the finale, where Dean dies, but returns as a demon because of the Mark? Perfection.
6. Season 10
Demon Dean is by far one of the best things this show ever did. Jensen Ackles was able to flex an acting muscle he hadn’t yet in the role, and he nailed it. As a demon he works for Crowley (Mark Sheppard), and the focus on Crowley this season introduces Rowena (Ruth Connell), a fan-favorite, as Crowley’s mother, who also happens to be a witch. She remains one of Supernatural‘s best love-to-hate villains. We also got one of Supernatural‘s best pieces of meta in “Fan Fiction,” which features the Supernatural musical that is put on by kids in a high school. For a show that wasn’t always the best towards its fans, this was one instance where it felt, shockingly, respectful.
5. Season 7
The Leviathan storyline could have been good, and at times it was. (I will always laugh at all of the Dick jokes, because I’m Dean at heart.) But it began to drag after a while, since the Levithans are incredibly difficult to kill. The season also begins with Castiel taking over as God after he absorbs all the souls in Purgatory, and it seemed like it would be a great storyline, but it, too, fizzled out quickly. No matter what they did, it never felt authentic. At least we got Dean keeping Cas’s trench coat in his trunk after he seemingly dies?
4. Season 13
“ScoobyNatural” is what bumps this season up. That episode was for every kid who loved Scooby-Doo but wanted it to be grittier. Much of this season takes place in the Apocalypse World, bringing us back some of our favorite characters but with a few twists. The versions we see this season aren’t the same as the versions we knew previously, and it worked well in adding to the off-putting feel of the World itself. Both 13 and 9 attempted backdoor pilots, with “Wayward Sisters” and “Bloodlines,” respectively, but they never actually made it to production.
3. Season 14
Much of this season deals with Sam and Dean being Michael and Lucifer’s vessels, a storyline that was basically already done in the first 5 seasons. Bringing it back in the penultimate season was not a good idea, especially give that much of it deals with Nick, Lucifer’s former vessel, attempting to both avenge the murder of his family and get Lucifer back. It was a storyline that always felt like there was something missing, almost like they were trying to get back to the glory days of 4 and 5 without realizing what made those seasons magical.
2. Season 12
Mary (Samantha Smith) should not have come back. Period. This entire show was based around the premise that John got into hunting, something he was never a part of before Mary, to avenge her death from the Yellow-Eyed Demon. Sam and Dean had finally more or less made their peace with her loss. Bringing her back was like taking that carefully-tied knot, undoing it, and then yanking the thread as hard as possible to unravel it. And while I appreciate the writers trying to bring closure to storylines of the past, sometimes things should stay in the past. However, it gave us the introduction of the Nephilim Jack (Alexander Calvert), so there were some positive aspects of it.
1. Season 15
I’ll say it: I hated the finale, and for a lot of reasons. Not just Sam’s Party City wig, or Dean’s ill-fitting demise. This entire final season just felt…hollow. Like it was missing something. And, yes, COVID did have a hand in that, but the story itself didn’t feel all there. When I was younger, I expected the finale of a show like Supernatural to be all-out, surpassing even its best series finales, because even if the series itself was bumpy, the finales were always top-tier. It was just expected. So to be met with a fizzle rather than a bang at the end of the fuse snuffed out a lot more than hope of a good legacy for this show.
Supernatural should have ended with Jackson Browne’s “Running on Empty.” It was nostalgic, it was bittersweet. Things were tied up and we were left with a montage of years past. That’s how I like to remember Supernatural.
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