Fans Are Wrong About These 7 Supernatural Episodes (They’re Actually Way Better Than You Remember)

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With over 300 episodes of Supernatural, it’s fairly common for fans to skip a few episodes when they buckle in for the 200-hour ride down the two-lane blacktop with the Winchesters. Not every episode is a winner, like «Bugs.» It didn’t age well story-wise, and the effects weren’t up to snuff 20 years ago when it came out and don’t look any better today.

Multiple factors lead fans to label an episode of Supernatural as «skippable.» Sometimes, they’re filler, doing little to advance the story or characters. Other times, they’re heavily criticized due to external factors, like when the episode aired. Some of these episodes are better than viewers remember and deserve another watch.

7 "Wendigo" Has Sam and Dean's First On-Screen Monster

Written by Eric Kripke and Directed by David Nutter

Eric Kripke wrote the script for «Wendigo» in five days after the network pushed «Bloody Mary»—which was supposed to be the second episode—because they didn’t want two vengeful female ghosts back-to-back.

The second episode of Supernatural saw the Winchesters taking on a Wendigo. Wendigos are people who became monsters after consuming human flesh. They grab unsuspecting campers and string them up as food. Sam and Dean head to Blackwater Ridge after receiving coordinates from their father. Along with a young woman, her brother, and a guide, the brothers hike into the woods to find a missing camper and face their first monster of the series.

«Wendigo» was a fun mini-monster movie. The directing, the lighting, the filters, and the music encapsulate the horror genre beautifully. The episode features a few very important conversations between Sam and Dean. Most notably, it’s when Dean utters the series motto, «Saving people, hunting things, the family business.» «Wendigo» introduces the central conflict between the boys; Sam wants to find John and hunt the yellow-eyed demon, but Dean wants to be a good soldier and pick up where John left off before disappearing.

6 "Dead in the Water" Evokes the Spooky Atmosphere of Classic Horror Films

Written by Sera Gamble & Raelle Tucker and Directed by Kim Manners

Jared Padalecki starred in the 2009 remake of Friday the 13th.

«Dead in the Water» may move a bit slower than other episodes, being very story-focused. It emulates the eerie and spooky aesthetic of emblematic horror films of the 70s and 80s. Sam and Dean head to Wisconsin to investigate mysterious drownings at Lake Manitoc. Amy Acker guest stars in this dark and compelling episode of Supernatural.

With the creepy and bleak tone of the episode and the lake setting, it’s hard not to think of Friday the 13th with this one. Aside from the tone and aesthetic, «Dead in the Water» offers viewers a glimpse into the softer side of Dean. While he initially wants to butter up the kid for the case and his attractive mother, Dean truly cares for the traumatized boy to the extent that he won’t leave town without knowing the kid is alright.

5 "Red Sky at Morning" Features One of the Best Visual Effects of the Series

Written by Laurence Andries and Directed by Cliff Bole

The episode is named after an old adage that said, «Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky at morning, sailor’s take warning.»

In Lauren Cohan’s second appearance, Sam and Dean run into Bela when looking into the death of a woman who drowned in her shower. The Winchesters begrudgingly work the case with Bela to investigate a ghost ship that appears to its victims before it drowns them. In her usual back-stabbing and self-serving manner, Bela steals the ghost’s remains to sell to one of her wealthy buyers. Unlucky for her, the ghost had already targeted her as its next victim.

«Red Sky at Morning» isn’t one of the most beloved episodes, with the show taking a dig at in season four’s «The Monster at the End of This Book,» but it’s a fun episode with several hilarious exchanges. Many fans dislike Bela, but this is a great episode for them. Bela has to come cap in hand to beg the Winchesters for help after she almost gets herself killed by her greed and selfishness. The conclusion to the episode features one of the best visual effects when one ghost destroys the other by diving into it and destroying it in an epic slow-motion explosion of water.

4 "Ghostfacers" Is a Brilliant Parody of Reality TV

Written by Ben Edlund and Directed by Phillip Sgriccia

The Ghostfacers was also a web series released during Supernatural‘s fourth season.

The Ghostfacers are a running gag throughout Supernatural, who were first introduced in season one’s «Hell House.» The satirical duo of Ed and Harry rub many fans the wrong way. Season three’s «Ghostfacers» was filmed as an episode of reality TV and presented as Ed and Harry’s amateur Ghosthunters-type show. As such, Ed and Harry are featured heavily along with a couple of new Ghostfacers to round out their crew.

One of the contributing factors to the episode’s negative reviews was its placement in the season three lineup. «Ghostfacers» follows «Jus in Bello,» and is a dramatic step down from the incredible episode. It was also the first episode back after a two-month hiatus because of the 2007 writers’ strike—which didn’t go well for the writers and led to a boom in reality TV. «Ghostfacers» was a hilarious and timely parody of the industry, and fans got to see Sam and Dean curse for the first time.

3 "Family Remains" Is One of the Scariest Episodes of Supernatural

Written by Jeremy Carver and Directed by Phillip Sgriccia

Eric Kripke and the writers drew inspiration from The X-Files episode «Home» when writing «Family Remains.»

«Family Remains» contains surprisingly dark underlying themes, creating one of the scariest episodes of Supernatural. Sam and Dean hit the road to check out a locked-room murder in Nebraska. Their investigation of an isolated farmhouse gets derailed when a family moves into the house. The family’s first night in the house brings unsettling visits and threats from the «girl in the walls.»

The Winchester brothers try to protect the family from a ghost, but it turns out there is no ghost. Just two children, who were the products of assault and inbreeding, were forced to grow up inside the wall, living on rats and scavenger animals as food. Similar to season one’s «The Benders,» the human villains don’t play by any rules and are often crueler than monsters. It was also an important episode for Dean, who, after revealing what he did in Hell, needed to save this family.

2 "Shut Up, Dr. Phil" is the Perfect Buffy Reunion in Supernatural

Written by Brad Buckner & Eugenie Ross-Leming and Directed by Phillip Sgriccia

Sera Gamble described «Shut Up, Dr. Phil» as «Bewitched gone wrong.» It also features multiple references to the classic comedy series.

Sam and Dean roll up to Prosperity, Indiana, in their iconic 1967 Chevy Impala to investigate the death of a woman who was fried by a hair salon dryer. They find a magical coin at the scene—which functions like a hex bag—and start looking for a witch in town. The brothers find not one, but two very old and very powerful witches, played by Buffy‘s Charisma Carpenter and James Marsters.

If the Buffy reunion isn’t enough reason to give this episode another watch, «Shut Up, Dr. Phil» dabbles in the broader comedy with Sam and Dean playing mediators between the two witches. The beloved monster hunters fail to gank the witches and must help them repair their broken marriage to save the innocent people of Prosperity from ending up as collateral damage in their «war of the roses.» It’s an entertaining episode that makes for a great time. The case also leads them to their first big break in fighting the leviathans.

1 "Bitten" is One of Supernatural's Best Episodes Ever

Written by Robbie Thompson and Directed by Thomas J. Wright

«Bitten» is inspired by found-footage films like The Blair Witch Project and Chronicle.

«Bitten» is Supernatural‘s take on the found-footage genre. It follows three college kids who find themselves in over their heads when they start looking into mysterious animal attacks. Michael, the charming one, gets bitten and transforms into a werewolf. When the messy dynamics of the kids’ love triangle come into play, things go horribly wrong.

The episode features glimpses of Sam and Dean with asides from the kids filming them, cracking jokes about a «workplace-romance vibe» between the brothers. Sam and Dean find their apartment, trashed and covered in blood with their edited film ready to watch. It was a tragic story with only one survivor. The brothers let Kate live since she promised never to feed on a human. Kate appears in a later episode, titled «Paper Moon,» where she is still a «vegetarian» werewolf.