10 Supernatural Episodes That Fans Never Watch More Than Once

Jensen Ackles will soon be seen in The Boys, while Jared Padalecki can be found in action in Walker. However, the pair also portrayed  Sam and Dean Winchester’s adventures for 327 episodes spread across 15 years in Supernatural. In addition to the overarching story, there were plenty of filler episodes along the way. Some also carry such heavy-handed moments that it’s difficult to rewatch them knowing what’s going to happen.

Since there are so many episodes, fans can simply skip the episodes that they find are anything from too heartbreaking, boring, or just bad. Whether it’s something like Sam dealing with Dean’s death to the failed backdoor pilot of Supernatural: Bloodlines, it’s worth looking into the episodes that very few have ever watched back again.

Season 1, Episode 8 - "Bugs"

There are some things from Season 1 of Supernatural that haven’t aged well, with this episode usually seen as a misfire. Viewers didn’t like the idea that bugs could be the villains of a story, which is what the premise was supposed to be here.

It’s generally viewed by viewers watching Supernatural for the first time because they don’t know what to expect. The bizarre outline of the heroes fighting insects and running away from them isn’t endearing the second time around, as fans usually mention the episode just to point out weaker episodes in Supernatural’s history.

Season 3, Episode 13 - "Ghostfacers"

There aren’t that many unpopular opinions about Supernatural but certain directional techniques haven’t been met with praise. In “Ghostfacers,” Sam and Dean come across the titular team while the latter are filming their show, which places the framing device through a documentary style.

It’s not a very comfortable experience, especially since the wonky camera work makes it difficult to follow the action. Viewers won’t be inclined to check out this episode again because of how gimmicky it feels. There’s also the fact that “Ghostfacers” is placed right by the end of the season when the other episodes are laden with action, so skipping it is a natural impulse.

Season 3, Episode 16 - "No Rest For The Wicked"

While this season finale carries one of the most compelling cliffhangers in Supernatural, fans usually can’t bear to watch Dean bite it in such gruesome fashion. The episode sees the brothers ambushing Lilith to prevent Dean from being sent to Hell, only for Lilith to outsmart them,

Dean is brutally slain by a Hellhound, which is a sight that Supernatural fans always want to avoid. Since the entire struggle to get to Lilith is for naught, rewatching the episode just to watch the hero get killed isn’t something that fans are itching to experience.

Season 6, Episode 1 - "Exile On Main Street"

Season premieres of Supernatural are usually fast-paced in order to capture viewers’ interest straightaway - “Exile on Main Street” doesn’t conform to this practice. The premiere drags along showing Dean’s mundane retired life until he’s saved by Sam, but the remainder of the episode’s events are equally slow.

There’s very little action and a whole lot of Dean and Sam walking around talking about uninteresting things like Lisa and Ben or the Campbell family - fans don’t really care about either. The fallout from the previous season is the only reason viewers watched this the first time around and very few rewatch it after that.

Season 6, Episode 8 - "All Dogs Go To Heaven"

Some storylines just make people uncomfortable more than anything else and watching a grown man pretend to be a family’s dog certainly qualifies. Here, Dean and Sam learn a skinwalker has become a family’s pet before uncovering several other skinwalkers that look to eliminate them.

The episode attempted to make viewers feel bad for the dog skinwalker but it didn’t take. Viewers aren’t exactly motivated to watch this rather creepy story again, even more so due to Sam and Dean’s relatively sedate involvement in the plot.

Season 9, Episode 15 - "#THINMAN"

The Ghostfacers were moderately entertaining because they were a comedic act, which this episode completely eliminated. It’s about the brothers coming across the pair once again, with the reveal that one of the Ghostfacers brought the monster alive to try and get the other to restart their partnership.

The episode doesn’t have any bearing on the overall story and is about two characters that most don’t even care about. There are plenty of other filler episodes with much more appealing monsters as well, so there’s no reason to watch this one again after the first time.

Season 9, Episode 20 - "Bloodlines"

Among the most notorious storylines that Supernatural dropped was its attempt to launch a spin-off. “Bloodlines” barely has Sam and Dean at all, with the focus on monsters around Chicago and designated protagonist Ennis, who has little to no personality for fans to connect with.

Since nothing came out of this intended backdoor pilot, the episode is a jarring inclusion in the series. With almost no Sam and Dean onscreen either, “Bloodlines” is a creative misfire that both the show and its fans are very content with trying to forget instead of reliving all over again.

Season 10, Episode 1 - "Black"

Fans don’t generally like episodes where Sam and Dean are separated, much less when one of them straight-up doesn’t care about the other. In “Black,” Demon Dean’s newfound evil attitude makes him give up the love he had for his brother and engage in mischievous antics while Sam searched for him.

The episode’s premise already frustrating in its first viewing, which leaves little room for a rewatch. The character of Cole Trenton wasn’t met with positive reception and his debut here isn’t an aspect that anyone remembers fondly or would want to check out once again.

Season 10, Episode 21 - "Dark Dynasty"

Charlie grew to become a fan favorite and the Supernatural fandom is still saddened by her demise. This episode is where she meets her doom, with the final shot of Charlie’s bloodied corpse still a sight that’s difficult to stomach. While it carries a tense and intriguing pace, Charlie’s death is too sad to qualify for repeated viewing.

It has another heartbreaking element in retrospect, in that fans know that this version of Charlie never came back to life or was ever reunited with the brothers. Knowing that the episode is the last time viewers ever saw Charlie might just make it difficult to feel the impact once more.

Season 15, Episode 20 - "Carry On"

The series finale broke millions of hearts worldwide when Dean was killed off for good. Many expected a happy ending for the brothers, which only arrived at the closing moments when Sam and Dean were reunited in Heaven after decades; most of the episode is about Sam’s grief.

There’s either the death of Dean to watch here or Sam’s intense mourning period - neither are appealing to Supernatural fans. Even the viewers who found it to be a good series finale have difficulties watching the protagonists in such grief, making the finale a one-and-done affair.

NEXT: Supporting TV Characters Who Became More Popular Than The Protagonists