*WARNING: There will be some pretty major spoilers for all 9 seasons of Supernatural on this list*
Anyone who watches Supernatural knows that when a main character dies on the show, they almost never actually stay dead. Just about every season in the nine years that Supernatural has been on the air has had at least one Winchester brother death. Castiel is constantly being killed and brought back to life by God. Every once in a while a main character will die and stay dead, but one can never be sure that they won’t one day be brought back. I’ve compiled a list here of the 21 most memorable deaths of main characters on the show in order of what episode they were killed in. Enjoy, and stay tuned to TYF for more Supernatural coverage this season! Click the “next” button to check out the list starting with Season 1. [tps_title]Season 1:[/tps_title]
1. Episode 1: “Pilot”
The series begins with a flashback to 1983 where we watch Mary Winchester die. John finds her up on the ceiling surrounded by fire and is just able to get the boys out before it’s too late. Mary isn’t so lucky. This is by far the most important death of the entire series because it is what brings the Winchester family into their lives as hunters.
2. Episode 6: “Skin”
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A shapeshifter has framed a friend of Sam’s for a murder during this episode and eventually takes Dean’s form, framing him for the murders. Ultimately Dean kills the shapeshifter while it is still in his form, and therefore Dean Winchester is legally pronounced dead and is decided to have been the Killer all along. Technically Dean doesn’t actually die, but it is the first time that “Dean Winchester” officially dies. [tps_title]Season 2:[/tps_title]
3. Episode 1: “In My Time of Dying”
After the car accident in the Season 1 finale, Dean is left in the hospital close to death. John Winchester sells his soul in exchange for Dean’s life and is killed by Azazel.
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4. Episode 21: “All Hell Breaks Loose Part 1”
Sam is stabbed in the back by Jake Talley, another one of Azazel’s “special” children, and dies in Dean’s arms. In the next episode he is brought back to life after Dean makes a crossroads deal for his own soul, which will be collected in one year.
[tps_title]Season 3:[/tps_title]
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5. Episode 11: “Mystery Spot”
This is probably one of my favorite episodes, and it is the second time that we see the angel Gabriel, though he is disguised as a trickster and it isn’t until much later that we find out who he truly is. He traps Sam and Dean in a groundhog day-like Tuesday that they keep reliving over and over again and that always ends with Dean’s death. Sam watches Dean die over 100 times in various different ways, including: being shot at the Mystery Spot; hit by a car; crushed by a falling desk; choking on a sausage; slipping in the shower; poisoned by a taco; electrocuted by his razor; accidentally killed with an axe by Sam; shot with an arrow by Doris the waitress; mauled by a golden retriever; and finally, shot by a robber.
6. Episode 16: “No Rest for the Wicked”
In this episode, Dean’s year is up and it is time for him to give his soul to hell as payment for the deal that he made the year before to save Sammy’s life. Sam and Dean have exhausted every idea for a way out for Dean and have come up with nothing. At the end of the episode Dean is ripped apart and brought to hell by hell hounds. He is brought back from hell in episode 1 of the fourth season by Castiel, which introduces the Angels to the Supernatural world.
[tps_title]Season 4:[/tps_title]
7. Episode 3: “In the Beginning”
During this episode, Dean is brought to the past by Castiel. He watches and interacts with his mother Mary and his father John when they are both young and just dating. He also meets his grandparents. At the end of the episode John is killed by Azazel and then Mary makes a deal for him to be brought back. This is another important death because the deal that Mary makes ultimately leads to her death in the pilot episode.
8. Episode 8: “Wishful Thinking”
Dean and Sam end up in a town where people’s wishes are being granted left and right thanks to a cursed coin in a fountain. Toward the end of the episode Sam is wished dead and is then struck by lightning and killed. After the coin is removed from the fountain all of the wishes are reversed and Sam is brought back to life.
9. Episode 22: “Lucifer Rising”
Castiel is killed by Raphael after helping Dean escape from Zachariah. He is resurrected by God, we later find out.
[tps_title]Season 5:[/tps_title]
10. Episode 4: “The End”
This was a really great episode as well. Dean is sent five years into the future to see how things will turn out if they continue on the path they’re on now. He runs into himself, though it is hardly the same Dean that we have all come to love. Future!Dean sends Future!Cas off to certain death by Demons and then is killed by Samifer (Lucifer possessing Sam’s body).
11. Episode 10: “Abandon All Hope…”
In this episode, the whole team is gearing up to kill Lucifer. Sadly, not only do they not kill Lucifer, but Jo is killed by hell hounds and Ellen by the explosion that they rigged to kill the hell hounds. These were two of my least favorite deaths in the history of the show because Jo and Ellen were important female characters (and badass hunters!), and the show has a pretty lengthy track record of killing off its female characters.
12. Episode 16: “Dark Side of the Moon”
Two hunters show up and shoot and kill Dean and Sam. They shoot Sam because he started the apocalypse and Dean because they know he will kill them now if they don’t kill him first. The brothers spend the majority of the episode in heaven (and we get a chance to see a few characters who had been dead for awhile), and then toward the end they are brought back to life by God.
13-15. Episode 22: “Swan Song”
“Swan Song” was originally supposed to be the series finale, and it would have been quite an ending if it had been. The entire season had the most main character deaths of any of the seasons. This episode alone was full of deaths.
Sam is finally possessed by Lucifer (Samifer!) and Adam is possessed by Michael after Dean refused to say yes to being his vessel.
In the final showdown, Samifer blows up Castiel with a snap of his fingers. Castiel is later brought back to life by God.
Samifer also snaps Bobby’s neck and he is later resurrected by Castiel.
Sam ultimately take control while he is possessed by Lucifer and jumps into the cage (with Adam/Michael) and ends up trapped there in hell.
[tps_title]Season 6: [/tps_title]
16. Episode 11: “Appointment in Samarra”
Dean lets a shady doctor temporarily kill him for seven minutes so that he can seek out Death to convince him to help get Sam’s soul back (Souless!Sam was my favorite Sam!). After the seven minutes, he is brought back to life by the doctor.
[tps_title]Season 7:[/tps_title]
17. Episode 2: “Hello, Cruel World”
Castiel’s body has begun to deteriorate after taking in the souls of Purgatory. Leviathans then take over Castiel’s weak body and kill him. They walk him into the lake, and once his body has disappeared the black liquid explodes out into the water. Later, Dean finds Castiel’s trench coat floating in the water. He is found later in the season with no memory of who or what he is.
18. Episodes 9 & 10: “How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters” & “Death’s Door”
This was by far the saddest death in all nine seasons of Supernatural. Bobby is shot and goes into a coma in episode 9. He spends most of episode 10 dealing with memories from his past and trying to wake up so he can give the boys some important information. Eventually he does wake up for a moment to get them the information, but then immediately after he dies. A reaper tries to get him to cross over but he doesn’t. Instead, he enjoys his last memory, which is of an ordinary night he spent with Sam and Dean. He says he saved the best for last.
19. Episode 23: “Survival of the Fittest”
Dean kills Dick (the Leviathan leader) and he and Cas end up in Purgatory.
[tps_title]Season 9:[/tps_title]
20. Episode 3: “I’m No Angel”
Cas, who is human at this point, is stabbed and killed by a Reaper and then resurrected by the Angel Ezekiel in Sam’s body.
21. Episode 23: “Do You Believe in Miracles?”
In last season’s finale, Dean was stabbed and killed by Metatron. As he was dying, Sam was holding onto him, while Dean told him that he was proud of them. Then, he died. But of course, as with every past Winchester death, Dean doesn’t stay dead. In the last moments of the episode, we see him laying in his bed back at the bunker, the last shot of him opening his eyes and revealing that he has become a demon.
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Supernatural returns October 7 2014, at 9/8c on the CW.
Credit for GIFs: http://www.demondetoxmanual.com/
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