8 Supernatural Episodes That Do Not Hold Up Today

One of the most beloved and longest-running horror shows of all time, Supernatural ended its 15-season journey with a total of 327 episodes. That meant a wide variety of stories for fans to enjoy, whether it was a monster-of-the-week episode or one that furthered the canon. Not all of these episodes were created equal, with some being extremely, disliked or downright hated, and others not holding up particularly well years later.

While Supernatural did a good job maintaining its quality over the years, some episodes, especially earlier ones, came with problems. The show premiered in 2005 when certain things were still socially acceptable that wouldn't be today. The subject of consent, in particular, proved to be one of the series' biggest issues, with a handful of its episodes involving supernatural chicanery around the matter. Then, there were episodes that played into the overarching problems that plagued the show, like its well-known habit of killing off females.

Supernatural may have hit gold with Dean and Sam's dynamic duo, which kept viewers coming back, but certain episodes are tarnished, with a propensity to leave today's viewers feeling uncomfortable.

8 Bugs

Season 1, Episode 8 (2005)

One of the most prominent examples of an early episode where what was acceptable then isn't acceptable now is "Bugs." While fans over the years have had multiple complaints about what might have been Supernatural's worst episode — it was boring, the CGI bugs looked terrible, and the big finale was a major letdown — what plays most poorly all these years later is its use of Native Americans as the "big bad."

Sam and Dean are investigating an unusual death where a man was consumed by beetles. The neighborhood they're investigating is an affluent one that is still under construction. During the course of questioning people, they meet a local realtor and his teenage son who has an obsession with bugs. After meeting him, the two brothers begin seeing bugs of every shape and form everywhere they go.

However, it wasn't the teenager responsible for what happened; that would be a Native American curse, a harmful media trope that plays into malicious stereotypes about Indigenous people seeking revenge on white oppressors. These days, people tend to cringe at this trope, making this a Supernatural episode that's challenging to rewatch.

7 Route 666

Season 1, Episode 13 (2006)

"Route 666" is an example of one of those times when Supernatural tried to tackle an important topic, but didn't succeed in its handling. While the episode tried to utilize the haunted vehicle trope, its basic essence became the Winchesters battling a racist truck, which obviously wasn't the best premise. In fact, this is one of Supernatural creator Eric Kripke's least favorite episodes.

Dean is contacted by his ex-girlfriend Cassie, who is seeking help with a series of puzzling racially motivated murders that all seem to involve a driverless truck. The truck's background ends up being tied in with an interracial relationship and a white man who wasn't happy about it, which led to several deaths (including the man's, whose spirit is now making the truck kill even more).

On top of that, this was one of those episodes that served little purpose other than giving the audience a peek into Dean's romantic history. After a season that had seen monsters of the week like "the woman in white," a racist truck felt out of place and inappropriate.

6 Man's Best Friend with Benefits

Season 8, episode 15 (2013)

Some moments in Supernatural haven't only aged poorly; they make fans wonder how they even made it into the show in the first place. "Man's Best Friend with Benefits" is one of those episodes with so many of these moments that it's pretty much just a bunch of red flags walking around in a trench coat and masquerading as good writing and casting choices.

The main problem with the episode came in the form of familiars. Dean and Sam get a call from an old friend, James, who is now a witch. They're reluctant to help him at first, but his familiar convinces him. That familiar is both a canine and a woman. And considering that James and his familiar are involved in a romantic and sexual relationship, it raised uncomfortable questions.

It's unclear whether the familiar originated as a woman or a dog, making bestiality a possibility. Plus, a familiar serves its master, which raises whether full consent can ever truly be given. Add in the fact that the familiar in this scenario is a Black woman wearing a dog collar and serving a white man, and the whole thing becomes offensive. The series would have been better off tossing "Man's Best Friend with Benefits" from the writers' room.

5 All Dogs Go To Heaven

Season 6, Episode 8 (2010)

"Man's Best Friend with Benefits" wasn't the first time Supernatural combined canines with consent issues. Skinwalkers, in Navajo culture, can literally change their appearance to that of an animal, making them one of the more frightening supernatural creatures around. In "All Dogs Go To Heaven," a male skinwalker who turns into a canine is living with a woman and her child, completely unknown to her.

The episode is meant to further a storyline involving Alphas (not that kind; these are the very first of their type of supernatural creature). However, since the skinwalker is in love with the woman, watches her while she's changing, and does similarly creepy things, it's hard to focus on the main plot line. Once again, unsettling questions about bestiality are raised, making the episode an unpleasant watch.

The skinwalkers never show up again after that, but the fact that Supernatural had more than one episode with the same troubling aspects is unfortunate.

4 The One You've Been Waiting For

Season 12, Episode 5 (2016)

Nazis have played villains in media since World War II, from Indiana Jones to Captain America: The First Avenger, so seeing them show up in Supernatural wasn't surprising. In fact, Nazis showed up in more than one episode of the show. But "The One You've Been Waiting For" took them and downplayed them into something absurd.

Dean and Sam discover that Hitler's soul was trapped inside a gold pocket watch, where it has been sitting all these years. All that's needed to unleash it and resurrect him is the blood of a descendant, which a group of Nazi necromancers is on the hunt for. Hitler ends up being brought back from the dead, at least for a couple of minutes, and spends that time dancing around and becoming entranced with the idea of social media.

Of course, the Winchesters saved the day, but the way Hitler and the other Nazis were played purely for laughs was vaguely off-putting. It might have been an attempt to laugh in the face of evil, but it felt more like it cheapened what millions went through.

3 Time for a Wedding

Season 7, Episode 8 (2011)

The ethical and moral dilemmas surrounding love spells are well-documented, but Supernatural still went there in "It's Time for a Wedding." Long-time recurring character Becky, who is a Winchester superfan and madly in love with Sam, gets help from a supposed witch friend to make a love potion. She manages to get the potion into Sam and quickly marries him. Over time, she has to repeatedly feed him more to keep him under her spell.

Once again, the issues with consent are rife in this episode. With Sam's mind completely manipulated, he has no choice in the matter of marrying Becky or anything else she decides is best for them. While her reasoning for going to such lengths ends up making the audience feel sympathy for her, it doesn't negate the episode's immensely problematic optics. They were bad when "It's Time for a Wedding" originally aired and are even worse now.

2 Dark Dynasty

Season 10, Episode 21 (2015)

"Dark Dynasty" holds up poorly, less as an individual episode and more as the culmination of how women were treated on Supernatural. People died on this show (including main characters) countless times, and many of them came back from the dead. If the character was a woman, though, there was little chance of returning, and women were the most likely to be killed off in the first place.

Charlie, played by Felicia Day, was a recurring character that was universally adored. She was a tech genius, sarcastic, had a great relationship with Dean and Sam, and on top of all that, was one of the only LGBTQ+ representatives the show had. So, her death in "Dark Dynasty" hit fans hard and caused immense backlash.

Unfortunately, Supernatural had already shown several times over that it was more than happy to shelve a female if it furthered the boys' story. However, seeing it happen to Charlie was something fans never quite forgave the show for.

1 Swap Meat

Season 5, Episode 12 (2010)

In yet another instance of Supernatural not having a good grasp of consent, "Swap Meat" sees Sam unwillingly body-swapped with a random teenage boy. The episode is amusing at times, as Sam is forced to go to high school while trying to figure out how to let Dean know he isn't in his own body. But the teenage boy in Sam's body was far less amusing.

The teen decided it was high time he lost his virginity, and took Sam's body, picked up a woman, and slept with her. Not only did Sam not consent to his body being used in this way, but the woman didn't have the full story, so her consent came under false pretenses. The whole scenario was incredibly icky, plus, with Sam's lack of consent to the body swap, and the issues were abundant.