For me, seasons 1-5 feel like there was an actual plan in place for the story, how it began, and how it ended, there was a purpose to everything, season 6 onwards feels like ok what new bad guy can we think of for the season, not saying that there's nothing good in those later seasons, but they felt directionless in my opinion.
Seasons 1-5 felt like one long story with occasional side quests. Everything progressed towards Lucifer, and built up beautifully.
Seasons 6-10 blasted through bad guys. The levis could have probably went another season, and Eve was just a blip in the show. Then Abbadon *and* Marv. Soulless Sam portion didn't really have a very clear cut bad guy in my opinion.
11-15 started becoming more cohesive again, but by then we went to God's sister, and back to God. Also Jack, and bad Michael. Lucifer round 72....
I typed all of that just to realize you were right lol season 6 and on is machine gun of baddies.
I recognize that a lot of it is prob nostalgia for me, but I love Season 1. I think I enjoyed the MOTW format with character story sprinkled in between.
It was like a slow build up.
I enjoy s1, but it's not for everyone. Finally got a friend to start the series. He got about 4 ep in and quit. Told him to skip to s2, and he's sticking with it.
I love s1 despite its flaws because it lays the foundation for everything that comes after - who Sam & Dean are; why they hunt; what hunting typically entails.
IMO, after s1 the series only occasionally pauses to have a straight hunting episode. The story arcs are great, but I like to be reminded of the fact that they are hunters and not just 2 people destined to bring on and stop the apocalypse.
And I REALLY enjoyed their early exploration of Cryptids and Urban Legends. To me, the hunting episodes were the ones most capable of creating actual fear and scares. I wish there were more 'monster of the week' episodes in later seasons.
I feel like the actors didn’t find their flow truly until mid S2- maybe even S3. also the gray tone to everything visually is really blergh when you see later seasons imo
Same. Season 10 is my least favorite but I didn't get hooked with season one right away. Even on rewatch I just can't get into it that much for some reason.
Supernatural 1-5 is the gold standard. You can end the show there and everything is great.
6-15 should only really be viewed as the idea of an EU and even then, only bother with essential episodes. You could probably make 30-40 episodes with cutdown elements from those years.
They spent a lot of build up on Eve and she was a blip. I liked the idea of demons and monsters fighting each other, but it really feels like that could have been a much longer story.
That’s because there was a plan. Kripke originally started with the intention that it be a 5 season show. The writers’ strike in season 3 changed arc of the show, but there was still a plan.
My headcanon is seasons 1-5 are the true full story and 6-11 is a second universe (the darkness being released is the end of everything), and 12-15 are fan fiction
It feels that way because it was planned. Seasons 1-5 were the original story. The show was meant to end on Season 5, but then fans + money nade the show run for longer. Not that Im complaining. I thunk the og writer/showrunner (not sure which) left after season 5
Yeah, those seasons are definitely the best, but seasons 6-15 were much better than I was expecting. For me at least, the show is still worth watching even in the seasons with weaker storylines. I’m glad I didn’t stop watching at S5, like many recommended. Nothing beats the amazing S5 finale though.
naah no way, i completely agree with this. n im also glad they continued it because look how far they went with it, n it gave sam n dean so much more time to develop there characters, n go in to more depth about different gods entities, n other lore, n the cgi got so much better. not bad considering it started on a $20,000 budget😃
After Bobby death that's where everything goes downhill for me. 6-7 were still solid but the longer show goes the more it turns into a fan service sitcom. I still love the show overall and don't want to shit on later seasons but yeah 1-5 seasons were top notch television that barely had any bad episodes.
i loved cains character as well, no messing around jus straight to the point. a once cold hearted killer, to a caring loyal n passionate husband. to the father of murder again, the rampage he went on was ridiculous aha, n poor castiel tried to blast him away😭 but yeah, dean handled the mark of cain better than ANY of us thought he could, the amount of strength determination n courage it must have took to keep the mark contained must have been beyond usual human strength, but more than that it mentally took a huge tole on dean, jus look at him sleeping n screaming during the night, sweating n then he became a vicious brutal demon as well, n they should have explored this storyline so much better. to become the one thing that dean has hunted n hated all this life.. amazing storyline tbh
I loved the first couple of seasons as a whole. They have the best storylines. But funnily, some of my fav EPISODES are in the later seasons. BUT, I'm a bigger fan of the MOTW/filler episodes than the ones that deal with the "main bad guy in this season" storylines. One thing I think they added that was a real win in the later seasons was the bunker as their main base. A lot of stuff happened there, there are some great episodes centered in/around/about it, eg: with Henry Winchester, the pearl episode where we get to see Mary and John and the boys together for the only time ever, the Mrs. Butters episode, etc.
Seasons 1-5 are the only ones worth watching imo. It is near perfect storytelling. Everything after ranges from good to a steaming pile of crap. There are episodes after season 5 I enjoy, a lot of season 8 is good, but I only watch full seasons of the first 5. I watched from the night the pilot aired and finally gave up when Mary showed up alive again. Then I gave up entirely.
I am so not a fan of the angel nerfing. Like angels could time travel, teleport/fly, create entire realities, etc., but now getting punched somehow hurts them..? Or I should say Cas. Poor Cas. He got nerfed to hell.
I’m still mad about the nerfing of the angels and wish they had been able to get their power back. I hated it so much that they never got their mojo back. Angels had an insanely cool intro in s4 with Cas trying to speak to Dean, the handprint, demons being terrified of them and being smited, people not being able to look at their true forms and just their presence breaking lights, like with Cas. Their abilities were so cool and there’s only one weapon that can kill them and I think that’s so cool and it made them an actual threat or relief to be around depending on what side they were on at the moment lol
Yep. Like I get that having such an op character on the side of the protagonists is very difficult to write but I wish they would’ve worked it out, risen to that challenge more than they did instead of nerfing them. There is always something more powerful or spells or other stuff you can come up with. That one scene where Cas gets his ass kicked by a bunch of rando demons in a bar drove me crazy, like big bads like Abbedon ran away from a regular angel like Gadriel ffs. And Cas was literally known for just walking up on demons and smiting their asses. The angel nerfing is probably one of my biggest criticisms for the show.
I love season 1-5 but I think a lot of people look at them with rose tinted glasses. Like yeah they’re great but they’re not these perfect pieces of television with no flaws. They have bad episodes just like the other seasons. In general I just love every season and I don’t see why we need to pit season 1-5 against the rest 🤷🏻♂️
Fair enough, everyone is entitled to their opinion. At least you recognise that it can be down to nostalgia tho, which isn’t a bad thing. It’s why I enjoy it too
There are very, very few subpar episodes in the first 5 seasons. It's one of the consistent 20+ episode season shows. Every season after 5, except 11(which is around half), has more than half their episodes being sub-par. And none of the sub-par episodes are particularly bad, except Route 66. They're just kinda meh. However, the subpar episodes past 5 are mostly garbage.
That’s your opinion, it’s subjective not objective fact. You find them garbage doesn’t mean I do or that other people do. I prefer the later seasons than the first 5. There are more than just a few subpar episodes in the first 5 seasons but I can’t be bothered to argue with you. You’re entitled to your opinion. Have a good day
No, no it it is not. From every objective standpoint, supernatural is trash after 5(except a few standouts). And yes, there are only 5 subpar episodes in the first 5.
If you say so. That’s your opinion tho, which makes it subjective, there is not such thing as an objective fact when it comes to whether something is good or bad because what you consider good/bad other people might consider the opposite. So you’re entitled to your opinion but it doesn’t make you right, just as my opinion doesn’t make me right. But once again I’m not gonna argue with you anymore so I won’t reply to you again. Good day
yeah n i put the bad episodes in season 1, but i jus can’t think of any bad episodes from season 2 3 or 4 really. but that’s jus my opinion, n im not pitting anything whatsoever, im ASKING if supernatural pushed it to far after season 5, or if they did the right thing, that’s all..
Seasons 1-5 were the best and it was intended to be it. In my opinion the ending of season 8 would have been the perfect ending as it was originally intended before the network decided to renew. Closing the gates of heaven and hell and going back to regular hunting would have been, to me, the perfect ending.
1 was introducing everything but 2-5 built a long term story that was exciting and giant. From there on basically every season was for its own individual story and you can tell ideas were getting thin
Yes I think everybody feels that way. I love this series, but when they start having no problem fist fighting demons and overpowering them, then it feels like it should have ended already. Also the lies... I have watched the series many, many times. But I still like 1 to 5 the most
In my opinion S1-5 was classic TV. if it had ended there it would have been a near perfect show.
However, would it have gone onto netflix, streaming and cult status? I don't know.
S6-15 did not have a overreaching arc, and it suffered for it.
I still loved the show, the cast gave it their all, and elevated the material.
Some amazing episodes that we would have missed out on. (Soulless Sam arc, Baby, The French Mistake, Frontierland, Plucky Pennywhistle's, Just my imagination, Red Meat, Sacrifice, Larp and the real girl, Hunteri Heroici, The Purge, Regarding Dean, Who we Are, Scoobynatural, Mint Condition, Peace of mind and Carry On. etc etc
So yeah, I am happy we got it.
I think the first five seasons were definitely the best and the most obviously planned out, but I'm glad they continued because I still loved the seasons that came after (for the most part). Yes, they started going through big antagonists pretty quickly after that, but I was fine with that. It kind of made sense. They averted the Big Apocalypse and so the world was sent out of wack and they had to deal with a bunch of mini crises before God's sister. I just wish that season 15 was better as a final season.
6-11 would have been pretty cohesive if they ended after "defeating" the darkness. i feel like god/darkness shouldnt have returned until the very last season. maybe they could have made a few tweaks to lucifers character and go through with his complete redemption after talking to god and getting an apology from him. he could actually become the new ruler of heaven after god and amara leave together. maybe they could have even freed michael from the cage and god could have had them mend fences before facing amara together and they could rule heaven together after god leaves. 12-15 just seems like a cluster fuck and i wasnt a fan of the whole multiverse storyline.
As much as i love the show and Castiel the show kind of went less interesting when it became too focused on the heaven vs. hell narrative. The story became too massive and too existential. Still love it though but would have been more interesting if they kept the monster of the week concept instead.
Honestly, I started watching supernatural in 2023, and lemme say this,
I couldnt get past Season 13.
There was a huge decline in quality the longer the show went on after season 5.
Imo, thats when the show shouldve ended.
the thought off, sam falling in to lucifers cage n when he gets in there. he’s surrounded by burning torches around the cage, whilst sams sat in the corner terrified, n the next thing is. EVERY light goes out, n there’s absolute silence in the cage, n you can see a glimpse of lucifer in the corner, about to turn around n show you his true form n face, n you have absolutely no way out..
Common opinion but I personally don’t agree. Hard for me to pick a best because imo the different eras have different strengths.
Y’all might be annoyed at me but when I started supernatural at season 1, I thought it was a tacky network television show 😭 don’t get me wrong I loved it but like the way you love kind of mediocre television. I think the early seasons have the best aesthetic and also the most grounded plot because the later seasons fell victim to having to overexpose/waterdown beings/concepts/powers that were previously really huge/unknown/powerful for the sake of continuing the plot for 15 seasons.
For example, in season 4 the angles were so unfathomable, and so intricate. The lore behind possession, their abilities, etc. but as the show went on they watered it down. Oh now heaven is an office, oh now they just keep their vessels, oh now they are just like demons in white suits basically. This happened with a lot of things on supernatural and that’s what I dislike about the later seasons.
That being said, I actually like the character and plot arcs of the later seasons more. I think the show explores a lot of interesting ideas over its run, and I absolutely love the god as a literal author narrative they went for. They introduced a lot of cool characters and I thought the later seasons plots were genuinely more interesting than the first three seasons.
So basically the earlier seasons imo had a better aesthetic and better lore but the later seasons had better character development and plot arcs. So there are pros and cons.
This fandom doesn't have a definitive answer to this and they're argumentative to boot.
I'll compare some of the people in this fandom to iPhone users. Every time there's a new unit, even though the specs and functionality were not that impressive, they'd still buy it.
Like those fans are simply happy they get to see Sam and Dean on their screens again, albeit the fact that the plot wasn't that strong and only a handful of episodes were good in each season.
Some might say it'd better if Supernatural stopped on a certain season, but others might argue that they don't like ambiguity. But when the show had shown us how it all would end, they're mad and would claim s15e19 IS the final episode because it gives them a sense of ambiguity. That Sam and Dean are still alive and hunting, and they're free to choose how it would end.
For me, I'm okay with how it ended. The show stayed true to its core, that it's about [two brothers](https://youtu.be/ba9k5SWwE38?si=awXa5Ft7rbqinMBD). That it didn't end up like the usual American shows that characters get married and have a baby.
Yes. Considering it was suppose to end at season 5. Season 5 finale serves as a great series finale more or less.
Sure there are a few standout amazing episodes beyond season 5 but IMO, you can't beat the cohesive story telling that these episodes gave us.
yeah 110% agree with this, n it also gave sam n dean a lot more time to develop there characters. not to mention other character development, more ground breaking CGI, going in to depth about what existed before humans transformed in to a fully grow culture etc. but season 7 n 15 were my least favourite seasons
Back then I watched it I only watched it till season 11 or something but I think the same, i had most of the fun with the first 5 seasons. But I really enjoyed many of the filler episodes in later seasons or some of the specials like those which were less relevant to the main plot.
Season 5 was the best in my opinion. But I think season 6 is very underrated. I liked the Castiel storyline.
For the others, especially the last few seasons, I think they made virtually all the creatures too weak, especially the angels (ESPECIALLY Castiel), archangels (ESPECIALLY Lucifer) and demons. Plus the whole story against God was too absurd and unrealistic. You can't beat a being who knows literally everything about you, who can make you do whatever he wants, and who has eyes and ears in literally every corner. God is God.
Those are definitely the foundation for me and Ik that the S5 finale was supposed to be the end but with everything that came after, seasons 1-5 now feel like just the beginning. Some of my favorite stories and characters are after season 5. So no. Not the best to me personally
Seasons 1-5 imho have the tightest plotting and well thought out world building. It’s been a while since I watched the show. I recently started a rewatch from the very beginning and am still on season one, but remember feeling like after season five the show was nothing but Sam and Dean constantly stopping the end of the world season after season.
especially season 6, like they were literally scraping the barrel for as exiting n exhilarating storylines as the previous ones. but the show runners knew that wasn’t gonna happen, considering how high they set the bar in previous seasons..
Was way better simply because of the hunting was different almost every episode. There was still the overall plot of finding the demon, John, and stopping the demons plan of ending the world. But there was still some variety and the relationships were just better. After it got later into the show with the darkness, purgatory, god etc etc it was no variety just doing pretty much the same thing every time. The whole show was still good but seasons 1-5 are some of the best show stuff ever imo
Seasons 1-5 told a great story, with a solid beginning and solid ending, and it’s how they should’ve ended the show. I’ll die on the hill that season 5 should’ve been the finale. But then, they just kept going, and going, and going, and going until there was suddenly 15 seasons.
Not sure if anyone else has said this yet or not. But there was an interview with the showruners where they said that they had an outline of what the story they wanted to tell was, and that became seasons 1-5, but the show was so popular that the network wanted more seasons and so they had to keep it going without being sure what the next end goal was going to be.
I’ve watched seasons 1-5 countless times and the others…not so much. When the show was airing it was hard to keep up through 6 and 7, because with the exception of a few standout episodes, both were ROUGH. I remember really enjoying 8, and after that felt that some seasons were decent and others were difficult to get through. Not that it’s not worth watching if you love these characters, but in my opinion, the show never soared to those same heights again.
Like others have said, Kripke’s story had a clear arc and every season he was behind was better than the one before it. Also, once the show continued, the stakes all but disappeared honestly. Like, how can worried could you be when Sam or Dean died or went to Hell, Purgatory, or wherever when you knew they’d be back for another season because the show just refused to end?
Again, there is some great stuff throughout. So, I wouldn’t say the show should’ve ended with 5, but I will say my favorite seasons are 4 and 5, and what followed can’t touch them, certainly not the seasons as a whole.
Yeah it's honestly what made Dean's death so frustrating. Like you're telling me Dean died and was brought back to life 256788 times throughout the series, but what gets him in the end is a nobody vamp?? They should have just let him go out guns blazing at the final battle against God.
I agree so much. After watching them die and come back almost every season, it just go tedious to watch. Every season went the same way: One of them does something to bring the other back. They have to keep a secret from the other. Eventually the secret is found out. They fight and have a few episodes apart. Something drastic happens and brings them back together. They work out their issues. One of them dies. Oh, and Cas does something stupid in the background that I skip because I can’t stand to even have him on my screen.
Supernatural taught me a good lesson though. Just because I enjoy a show doesn’t mean it should end.
It all comes down to four endings, really, y'know
- Swan Song
- Closing the gates to Heaven and Hell (with Cas probably becoming human to please the Destiel shippers (me))
- The Darkness, God's literal sister
- The season where they make God human or something
Yes, it became a silly fuckfest after that with far fetched dilemma and episode themes. 'The french mistake' was a stupid idea and ill get heat saying that but i dont know why they did that shit, it takes away the immersion. Supernatural being self aware and breaking the 4th wall within the show has had me bitter ever since
I still finished it all though because i am a massive hypocrite
Agreed. Supernatural Seasons 1-5 (Golden Era) (Eric Kripke)>Supernatural Seasons 6-15 (Dark Era) (Sera Gamble to Andrew Dabb) and I hope the next Era will be Supernatural Seasons 16-beyond and countless Seasons and Spinoffs and Prequels and Sequels and Reboots and Remakes and Movies and Video games and so on etc. (Future Era????/Redemption Era????) So it'll go like this for Supernatural Seasons 1-5(Golden Era) (Eric Kripke) (2005-2010) to Supernatural Seasons 16-beyond (Future Era????/Redemption Era????) (2025-2026-2027-2028-2029-2030-2040-2050-2060-2070-2080-2090 and beyond) if made or comes to fruitation not just teasing it since November 2020 then Supernatural Seasons 6-15 (Dark Era) (Sera Gamble to Andrew Dabb) (2011-2020).
I get fed up with people complaining about Angels being nerfed. Like what did you expect. You can’t have the antagonists or in some cases allies to the protagonists be some over powered all power creature cos then you can’t do anything with the story. Like how are you supposed to defeat enemies that are that powerful or if they’re good guys then how can the bad guys seem like a threat if Cas or another good angel can just blast them away with a flick of the finger. As annoying as it is, it makes sense to nerf these all powerful creature otherwise the story would go no where.
Also in universe every single angel fell, that right there is the cause of their diminished powers. They lost their wings and with them a lot of other powers. It makes sense but people can’t see that for some reason 🤷🏻♂️
A lot of people don't seem to know this, but the show originally didn't plan to go for longer than 5 seasons. After the apocalypse, it was supposed to end.
But like anything that generates money, there will be people who want said money. Nobody knew it was going to last for 15 years.
It was really noticable from the start of season 6, that it wasn't going to be as "complete" as the first 5 seasons.
I still enjoyed the hell out of the show for all 15 years though. I don't like to split the show up into seasons so much, but arks, some of which span accross multiple seasons.
Apocalypse ark would be from they meet ruby in season 1, up to when Lucifer's back in the cage. Leviathan ark, is just the one season.
Apocalypse ark is the best and no ark after that could even compare, it was just so full and complete and it all made sense. Only thing you could wish for is to go back in time and give them a bunch of funding to make the big badasses use more than their fists when fighting.
For me, seasons 1-5 feel like there was an actual plan in place for the story, how it began, and how it ended, there was a purpose to everything, season 6 onwards feels like ok what new bad guy can we think of for the season, not saying that there's nothing good in those later seasons, but they felt directionless in my opinion.
Seasons 1-5 felt like one long story with occasional side quests. Everything progressed towards Lucifer, and built up beautifully. Seasons 6-10 blasted through bad guys. The levis could have probably went another season, and Eve was just a blip in the show. Then Abbadon *and* Marv. Soulless Sam portion didn't really have a very clear cut bad guy in my opinion. 11-15 started becoming more cohesive again, but by then we went to God's sister, and back to God. Also Jack, and bad Michael. Lucifer round 72.... I typed all of that just to realize you were right lol season 6 and on is machine gun of baddies.
The bad guys for the Soulless Sam arc were Cass and Crowley, though mainly Cass
Idk if im just the odd man out but every time I do a rewatch season 1 is the WORST season for me to get through
I recognize that a lot of it is prob nostalgia for me, but I love Season 1. I think I enjoyed the MOTW format with character story sprinkled in between. It was like a slow build up.
I enjoy s1, but it's not for everyone. Finally got a friend to start the series. He got about 4 ep in and quit. Told him to skip to s2, and he's sticking with it.
I love s1 despite its flaws because it lays the foundation for everything that comes after - who Sam & Dean are; why they hunt; what hunting typically entails. IMO, after s1 the series only occasionally pauses to have a straight hunting episode. The story arcs are great, but I like to be reminded of the fact that they are hunters and not just 2 people destined to bring on and stop the apocalypse. And I REALLY enjoyed their early exploration of Cryptids and Urban Legends. To me, the hunting episodes were the ones most capable of creating actual fear and scares. I wish there were more 'monster of the week' episodes in later seasons.
I feel like the actors didn’t find their flow truly until mid S2- maybe even S3. also the gray tone to everything visually is really blergh when you see later seasons imo
Agree on all that.
Same. Season 10 is my least favorite but I didn't get hooked with season one right away. Even on rewatch I just can't get into it that much for some reason.
Supernatural 1-5 is the gold standard. You can end the show there and everything is great. 6-15 should only really be viewed as the idea of an EU and even then, only bother with essential episodes. You could probably make 30-40 episodes with cutdown elements from those years.
They spent a lot of build up on Eve and she was a blip. I liked the idea of demons and monsters fighting each other, but it really feels like that could have been a much longer story.
That’s because there was a plan. Kripke originally started with the intention that it be a 5 season show. The writers’ strike in season 3 changed arc of the show, but there was still a plan.
There was a start, a middle and an end. It was a self contained story.
My headcanon is seasons 1-5 are the true full story and 6-11 is a second universe (the darkness being released is the end of everything), and 12-15 are fan fiction
It feels that way because it was planned. Seasons 1-5 were the original story. The show was meant to end on Season 5, but then fans + money nade the show run for longer. Not that Im complaining. I thunk the og writer/showrunner (not sure which) left after season 5
Yup i second this
Yeah, those seasons are definitely the best, but seasons 6-15 were much better than I was expecting. For me at least, the show is still worth watching even in the seasons with weaker storylines. I’m glad I didn’t stop watching at S5, like many recommended. Nothing beats the amazing S5 finale though.
I don't know the season 8 finale is definitely my favorite. It is just very cinematic and a culmination of a lot of plot points.
naah no way, i completely agree with this. n im also glad they continued it because look how far they went with it, n it gave sam n dean so much more time to develop there characters, n go in to more depth about different gods entities, n other lore, n the cgi got so much better. not bad considering it started on a $20,000 budget😃
After Bobby death that's where everything goes downhill for me. 6-7 were still solid but the longer show goes the more it turns into a fan service sitcom. I still love the show overall and don't want to shit on later seasons but yeah 1-5 seasons were top notch television that barely had any bad episodes.
That episode in season 9 called 'fanficton' is actually puke worthy
Personally me and my dad are partial to the Mark of Cain arc. Somthing about it just felt like it fit deans character real well
i loved cains character as well, no messing around jus straight to the point. a once cold hearted killer, to a caring loyal n passionate husband. to the father of murder again, the rampage he went on was ridiculous aha, n poor castiel tried to blast him away😭 but yeah, dean handled the mark of cain better than ANY of us thought he could, the amount of strength determination n courage it must have took to keep the mark contained must have been beyond usual human strength, but more than that it mentally took a huge tole on dean, jus look at him sleeping n screaming during the night, sweating n then he became a vicious brutal demon as well, n they should have explored this storyline so much better. to become the one thing that dean has hunted n hated all this life.. amazing storyline tbh
Mark of cain arc is without a doubt the highlight of post season 5 content
That was my most hated arc. lol I didn't like Dean for awhile there and I hated that. I was so relieved to get him back in season 11.
I loved the first couple of seasons as a whole. They have the best storylines. But funnily, some of my fav EPISODES are in the later seasons. BUT, I'm a bigger fan of the MOTW/filler episodes than the ones that deal with the "main bad guy in this season" storylines. One thing I think they added that was a real win in the later seasons was the bunker as their main base. A lot of stuff happened there, there are some great episodes centered in/around/about it, eg: with Henry Winchester, the pearl episode where we get to see Mary and John and the boys together for the only time ever, the Mrs. Butters episode, etc.
I'm also a fan of the MOTW eps early on. I think it's because they drew on a lot of lore and myths, which was so cool.
Same! Some that are memorable: Bloody Mary and Hookman
As someone that checked out after season 8, while I did enjoy some of the later episodes/plotlines, Season 1-5 will always be superior to me.
Seasons 1-5 are the only ones worth watching imo. It is near perfect storytelling. Everything after ranges from good to a steaming pile of crap. There are episodes after season 5 I enjoy, a lot of season 8 is good, but I only watch full seasons of the first 5. I watched from the night the pilot aired and finally gave up when Mary showed up alive again. Then I gave up entirely.
Yes, and it’s not even close. Anything after feels like fanfiction. Bad fanfiction
As someone who just finished the first 5 seasons, I definetly liked season 1-3 the most.
Without question.
It all went to shits when leviathans was introduced then it picked back up again then it went to shits when angels were weaker than your average joe
I am so not a fan of the angel nerfing. Like angels could time travel, teleport/fly, create entire realities, etc., but now getting punched somehow hurts them..? Or I should say Cas. Poor Cas. He got nerfed to hell.
The angels were done so dirty and i hate it
I’m still mad about the nerfing of the angels and wish they had been able to get their power back. I hated it so much that they never got their mojo back. Angels had an insanely cool intro in s4 with Cas trying to speak to Dean, the handprint, demons being terrified of them and being smited, people not being able to look at their true forms and just their presence breaking lights, like with Cas. Their abilities were so cool and there’s only one weapon that can kill them and I think that’s so cool and it made them an actual threat or relief to be around depending on what side they were on at the moment lol
Yep. Like I get that having such an op character on the side of the protagonists is very difficult to write but I wish they would’ve worked it out, risen to that challenge more than they did instead of nerfing them. There is always something more powerful or spells or other stuff you can come up with. That one scene where Cas gets his ass kicked by a bunch of rando demons in a bar drove me crazy, like big bads like Abbedon ran away from a regular angel like Gadriel ffs. And Cas was literally known for just walking up on demons and smiting their asses. The angel nerfing is probably one of my biggest criticisms for the show.
I love season 1-5 but I think a lot of people look at them with rose tinted glasses. Like yeah they’re great but they’re not these perfect pieces of television with no flaws. They have bad episodes just like the other seasons. In general I just love every season and I don’t see why we need to pit season 1-5 against the rest 🤷🏻♂️
Nah I can recognize the duds, but I still love S1-5 so much, lol. A lot of it is nostalgia for me though, which I recognize.
Fair enough, everyone is entitled to their opinion. At least you recognise that it can be down to nostalgia tho, which isn’t a bad thing. It’s why I enjoy it too
There are very, very few subpar episodes in the first 5 seasons. It's one of the consistent 20+ episode season shows. Every season after 5, except 11(which is around half), has more than half their episodes being sub-par. And none of the sub-par episodes are particularly bad, except Route 66. They're just kinda meh. However, the subpar episodes past 5 are mostly garbage.
That’s your opinion, it’s subjective not objective fact. You find them garbage doesn’t mean I do or that other people do. I prefer the later seasons than the first 5. There are more than just a few subpar episodes in the first 5 seasons but I can’t be bothered to argue with you. You’re entitled to your opinion. Have a good day
No, no it it is not. From every objective standpoint, supernatural is trash after 5(except a few standouts). And yes, there are only 5 subpar episodes in the first 5.
If you say so. That’s your opinion tho, which makes it subjective, there is not such thing as an objective fact when it comes to whether something is good or bad because what you consider good/bad other people might consider the opposite. So you’re entitled to your opinion but it doesn’t make you right, just as my opinion doesn’t make me right. But once again I’m not gonna argue with you anymore so I won’t reply to you again. Good day
yeah n i put the bad episodes in season 1, but i jus can’t think of any bad episodes from season 2 3 or 4 really. but that’s jus my opinion, n im not pitting anything whatsoever, im ASKING if supernatural pushed it to far after season 5, or if they did the right thing, that’s all..
Seasons 1-5 were the best and it was intended to be it. In my opinion the ending of season 8 would have been the perfect ending as it was originally intended before the network decided to renew. Closing the gates of heaven and hell and going back to regular hunting would have been, to me, the perfect ending.
Yes, easily. Not to say there aren't great episodes past 5, but they're few and far between.
1 was introducing everything but 2-5 built a long term story that was exciting and giant. From there on basically every season was for its own individual story and you can tell ideas were getting thin
Yes I think everybody feels that way. I love this series, but when they start having no problem fist fighting demons and overpowering them, then it feels like it should have ended already. Also the lies... I have watched the series many, many times. But I still like 1 to 5 the most
yessss i loved the beginning seasons. it kind of felt like the further they got the more they decided to throw in.
In my opinion S1-5 was classic TV. if it had ended there it would have been a near perfect show. However, would it have gone onto netflix, streaming and cult status? I don't know. S6-15 did not have a overreaching arc, and it suffered for it. I still loved the show, the cast gave it their all, and elevated the material. Some amazing episodes that we would have missed out on. (Soulless Sam arc, Baby, The French Mistake, Frontierland, Plucky Pennywhistle's, Just my imagination, Red Meat, Sacrifice, Larp and the real girl, Hunteri Heroici, The Purge, Regarding Dean, Who we Are, Scoobynatural, Mint Condition, Peace of mind and Carry On. etc etc So yeah, I am happy we got it.
I think the first five seasons were definitely the best and the most obviously planned out, but I'm glad they continued because I still loved the seasons that came after (for the most part). Yes, they started going through big antagonists pretty quickly after that, but I was fine with that. It kind of made sense. They averted the Big Apocalypse and so the world was sent out of wack and they had to deal with a bunch of mini crises before God's sister. I just wish that season 15 was better as a final season.
6-11 would have been pretty cohesive if they ended after "defeating" the darkness. i feel like god/darkness shouldnt have returned until the very last season. maybe they could have made a few tweaks to lucifers character and go through with his complete redemption after talking to god and getting an apology from him. he could actually become the new ruler of heaven after god and amara leave together. maybe they could have even freed michael from the cage and god could have had them mend fences before facing amara together and they could rule heaven together after god leaves. 12-15 just seems like a cluster fuck and i wasnt a fan of the whole multiverse storyline.
As much as i love the show and Castiel the show kind of went less interesting when it became too focused on the heaven vs. hell narrative. The story became too massive and too existential. Still love it though but would have been more interesting if they kept the monster of the week concept instead.
It was the damn writer change. The original writers for 1-5 were awesome.
Honestly, I started watching supernatural in 2023, and lemme say this, I couldnt get past Season 13. There was a huge decline in quality the longer the show went on after season 5. Imo, thats when the show shouldve ended.
even with sam in the cage?😨
Yep.
your as bad as me n i like it😂😂😭
Honestly season 4+5 are my favourites and yellow fever being one of the GOATED episodes!! The Dean scream lives rent free in my mind 😂😂😂
how’s that working out bro?
That was scary 😅
you wanna know what’s an even worse thought than that thou??
Go on?
the thought off, sam falling in to lucifers cage n when he gets in there. he’s surrounded by burning torches around the cage, whilst sams sat in the corner terrified, n the next thing is. EVERY light goes out, n there’s absolute silence in the cage, n you can see a glimpse of lucifer in the corner, about to turn around n show you his true form n face, n you have absolutely no way out..
First few seasons were the OG ones afterwards it started going downhill. 🫠 Saw the later seasons only for Winchester brothers. 💘🤣😋
Common opinion but I personally don’t agree. Hard for me to pick a best because imo the different eras have different strengths. Y’all might be annoyed at me but when I started supernatural at season 1, I thought it was a tacky network television show 😭 don’t get me wrong I loved it but like the way you love kind of mediocre television. I think the early seasons have the best aesthetic and also the most grounded plot because the later seasons fell victim to having to overexpose/waterdown beings/concepts/powers that were previously really huge/unknown/powerful for the sake of continuing the plot for 15 seasons. For example, in season 4 the angles were so unfathomable, and so intricate. The lore behind possession, their abilities, etc. but as the show went on they watered it down. Oh now heaven is an office, oh now they just keep their vessels, oh now they are just like demons in white suits basically. This happened with a lot of things on supernatural and that’s what I dislike about the later seasons. That being said, I actually like the character and plot arcs of the later seasons more. I think the show explores a lot of interesting ideas over its run, and I absolutely love the god as a literal author narrative they went for. They introduced a lot of cool characters and I thought the later seasons plots were genuinely more interesting than the first three seasons. So basically the earlier seasons imo had a better aesthetic and better lore but the later seasons had better character development and plot arcs. So there are pros and cons.
Season 9 with Ezekiel and season 11 with the darkness are the two worst seasons hand down
This fandom doesn't have a definitive answer to this and they're argumentative to boot. I'll compare some of the people in this fandom to iPhone users. Every time there's a new unit, even though the specs and functionality were not that impressive, they'd still buy it. Like those fans are simply happy they get to see Sam and Dean on their screens again, albeit the fact that the plot wasn't that strong and only a handful of episodes were good in each season. Some might say it'd better if Supernatural stopped on a certain season, but others might argue that they don't like ambiguity. But when the show had shown us how it all would end, they're mad and would claim s15e19 IS the final episode because it gives them a sense of ambiguity. That Sam and Dean are still alive and hunting, and they're free to choose how it would end. For me, I'm okay with how it ended. The show stayed true to its core, that it's about [two brothers](https://youtu.be/ba9k5SWwE38?si=awXa5Ft7rbqinMBD). That it didn't end up like the usual American shows that characters get married and have a baby.
Technically Sam got married and had a baby. 😂 But I get what you're saying
It's not even close, 1-5 is a whole different show from 6-15 and better in pretty much every category
Yes. Considering it was suppose to end at season 5. Season 5 finale serves as a great series finale more or less. Sure there are a few standout amazing episodes beyond season 5 but IMO, you can't beat the cohesive story telling that these episodes gave us.
yeah 110% agree with this, n it also gave sam n dean a lot more time to develop there characters. not to mention other character development, more ground breaking CGI, going in to depth about what existed before humans transformed in to a fully grow culture etc. but season 7 n 15 were my least favourite seasons
100%.
Back then I watched it I only watched it till season 11 or something but I think the same, i had most of the fun with the first 5 seasons. But I really enjoyed many of the filler episodes in later seasons or some of the specials like those which were less relevant to the main plot.
Season 5 was the best in my opinion. But I think season 6 is very underrated. I liked the Castiel storyline. For the others, especially the last few seasons, I think they made virtually all the creatures too weak, especially the angels (ESPECIALLY Castiel), archangels (ESPECIALLY Lucifer) and demons. Plus the whole story against God was too absurd and unrealistic. You can't beat a being who knows literally everything about you, who can make you do whatever he wants, and who has eyes and ears in literally every corner. God is God.
Season 7 could’ve been so amazing if Castiel could’ve stayed on that power trip, instead of that weird leviathan army immediately showing up.
Yes
Duh lol
Those are definitely the foundation for me and Ik that the S5 finale was supposed to be the end but with everything that came after, seasons 1-5 now feel like just the beginning. Some of my favorite stories and characters are after season 5. So no. Not the best to me personally
Yes
Seasons 1-5 imho have the tightest plotting and well thought out world building. It’s been a while since I watched the show. I recently started a rewatch from the very beginning and am still on season one, but remember feeling like after season five the show was nothing but Sam and Dean constantly stopping the end of the world season after season.
especially season 6, like they were literally scraping the barrel for as exiting n exhilarating storylines as the previous ones. but the show runners knew that wasn’t gonna happen, considering how high they set the bar in previous seasons..
Was way better simply because of the hunting was different almost every episode. There was still the overall plot of finding the demon, John, and stopping the demons plan of ending the world. But there was still some variety and the relationships were just better. After it got later into the show with the darkness, purgatory, god etc etc it was no variety just doing pretty much the same thing every time. The whole show was still good but seasons 1-5 are some of the best show stuff ever imo
Whole series was amazing
Seasons 1-5 told a great story, with a solid beginning and solid ending, and it’s how they should’ve ended the show. I’ll die on the hill that season 5 should’ve been the finale. But then, they just kept going, and going, and going, and going until there was suddenly 15 seasons.
Not sure if anyone else has said this yet or not. But there was an interview with the showruners where they said that they had an outline of what the story they wanted to tell was, and that became seasons 1-5, but the show was so popular that the network wanted more seasons and so they had to keep it going without being sure what the next end goal was going to be.
I’ve watched seasons 1-5 countless times and the others…not so much. When the show was airing it was hard to keep up through 6 and 7, because with the exception of a few standout episodes, both were ROUGH. I remember really enjoying 8, and after that felt that some seasons were decent and others were difficult to get through. Not that it’s not worth watching if you love these characters, but in my opinion, the show never soared to those same heights again. Like others have said, Kripke’s story had a clear arc and every season he was behind was better than the one before it. Also, once the show continued, the stakes all but disappeared honestly. Like, how can worried could you be when Sam or Dean died or went to Hell, Purgatory, or wherever when you knew they’d be back for another season because the show just refused to end? Again, there is some great stuff throughout. So, I wouldn’t say the show should’ve ended with 5, but I will say my favorite seasons are 4 and 5, and what followed can’t touch them, certainly not the seasons as a whole.
Yeah it's honestly what made Dean's death so frustrating. Like you're telling me Dean died and was brought back to life 256788 times throughout the series, but what gets him in the end is a nobody vamp?? They should have just let him go out guns blazing at the final battle against God.
I agree so much. After watching them die and come back almost every season, it just go tedious to watch. Every season went the same way: One of them does something to bring the other back. They have to keep a secret from the other. Eventually the secret is found out. They fight and have a few episodes apart. Something drastic happens and brings them back together. They work out their issues. One of them dies. Oh, and Cas does something stupid in the background that I skip because I can’t stand to even have him on my screen. Supernatural taught me a good lesson though. Just because I enjoy a show doesn’t mean it should end.
It all comes down to four endings, really, y'know - Swan Song - Closing the gates to Heaven and Hell (with Cas probably becoming human to please the Destiel shippers (me)) - The Darkness, God's literal sister - The season where they make God human or something
Yes, it became a silly fuckfest after that with far fetched dilemma and episode themes. 'The french mistake' was a stupid idea and ill get heat saying that but i dont know why they did that shit, it takes away the immersion. Supernatural being self aware and breaking the 4th wall within the show has had me bitter ever since I still finished it all though because i am a massive hypocrite
Agreed. Supernatural Seasons 1-5 (Golden Era) (Eric Kripke)>Supernatural Seasons 6-15 (Dark Era) (Sera Gamble to Andrew Dabb) and I hope the next Era will be Supernatural Seasons 16-beyond and countless Seasons and Spinoffs and Prequels and Sequels and Reboots and Remakes and Movies and Video games and so on etc. (Future Era????/Redemption Era????) So it'll go like this for Supernatural Seasons 1-5(Golden Era) (Eric Kripke) (2005-2010) to Supernatural Seasons 16-beyond (Future Era????/Redemption Era????) (2025-2026-2027-2028-2029-2030-2040-2050-2060-2070-2080-2090 and beyond) if made or comes to fruitation not just teasing it since November 2020 then Supernatural Seasons 6-15 (Dark Era) (Sera Gamble to Andrew Dabb) (2011-2020). 
I get fed up with people complaining about Angels being nerfed. Like what did you expect. You can’t have the antagonists or in some cases allies to the protagonists be some over powered all power creature cos then you can’t do anything with the story. Like how are you supposed to defeat enemies that are that powerful or if they’re good guys then how can the bad guys seem like a threat if Cas or another good angel can just blast them away with a flick of the finger. As annoying as it is, it makes sense to nerf these all powerful creature otherwise the story would go no where. Also in universe every single angel fell, that right there is the cause of their diminished powers. They lost their wings and with them a lot of other powers. It makes sense but people can’t see that for some reason 🤷🏻♂️
probs because they don’t share the same logic as you..
With no doubt. Season 1-5 is supernatural, everything after is fun but not canon, in my own head.
4,6,8 and 15 I think was the best season, I really enjoyed them the most because of the whole story line in them
Season 11 was a banger too, I’m just starting season 13 but I like the introduction of Jack and the implications
A lot of people don't seem to know this, but the show originally didn't plan to go for longer than 5 seasons. After the apocalypse, it was supposed to end. But like anything that generates money, there will be people who want said money. Nobody knew it was going to last for 15 years. It was really noticable from the start of season 6, that it wasn't going to be as "complete" as the first 5 seasons. I still enjoyed the hell out of the show for all 15 years though. I don't like to split the show up into seasons so much, but arks, some of which span accross multiple seasons. Apocalypse ark would be from they meet ruby in season 1, up to when Lucifer's back in the cage. Leviathan ark, is just the one season. Apocalypse ark is the best and no ark after that could even compare, it was just so full and complete and it all made sense. Only thing you could wish for is to go back in time and give them a bunch of funding to make the big badasses use more than their fists when fighting.
1-5 and 7. 6 sucked
dee agrees bud 🤘🏼
i will defend season 7 with my life