Eric Kripke’s influence can be felt across all fifteen seasons of Supernatural, though he was only around for the first five. While most fans can pretty much agree those first five seasons were the golden era in terms of consistent brilliance, it was not all perfect, and some episodes were relatively subpar.
In the same vein, while the next ten seasons were not perfect, there was some unbelievable television presented time and time again for fans.
Kripke-Era – “Bugs” (7.0)
Season one, episode eight aka “Bugs” is the lowest of Kripke’s reign as show-runner, and understandably so, as its monster of the week leaves a lot to be desired.
It is a testament to the show’s quality and popularity in those first five seasons that a 7.0 is the lowest rating of all. Overall, though, it is a bit cringy with its ‘villain,’ and pretty forgettable.
Kripke-Era – “Route 666” (7.4)
Another season one episode, this time episode thirteen, “Route 666,” also doesn’t fare well for Kripke. This episode has one big positive in that it develops Dean’s character by showing off his ex-flame Cassie, but apart from that, it is not a highlight of the early days.
It is another monster-of-the-week episode, this time about a racially motivated ghost truck. Overall, it is an incredibly poor episode as far as the first five seasons of the show go.
Kripke-Era – “Ghostfacers” (7.7)
The famous Hell Hounds duo of Ed and Harry return in this episode in, without a doubt, their weakest appearance of the show.
The entire crew of Ghostfacers does not have the same quality of just the typical Supernatural duo, although the episode does have a couple of good laughs as the Ghostfacers, Sam, and Dean, investigate the Morton House. While not awful, this episode comes at the tail end of season three without furthering the overall narrative or characters, hurting it overall.
Kripke-Era – “Hook Man” (8.0)
Jumping back to another season, one monster-of-the-week, “Hook Man,” does what it says on the tin really; it has the boys hunting an urban legend known as ‘Hook Man,’ a ghost killing people connected to the pastor’s daughter with a metal hook.
Another testament of Kripke’s quality as showrunner is that only three episodes fall below the 8.0 threshold on IMDb, exemplifying the show’s beloved nature. Overall, it is another fun hunt, nothing special, but not terrible.
Kripke-Era – “Long-Distance Call” (8.0)
Going again to season three, the only season to appear in Kripke’s weakest five apart from season one, “Long Distance Call,” was the fourteenth episode of season three, a fact that definitely hurts it.
With only two episodes after this until the finale and a great deal of story to tell, this episode did not do much to further story. So close to the end of a season, fans would have loved to see more focus on Dean’s year being up and how the brothers were dealing. That said, it was a fairly entertaining outing for the boys.
Post-Kripke – “Fan Fiction” (9.5)
Supernatural’s 200th episode ended up being one of the best in the show’s history, coming in as the joint third highest-rated episode in the show’s history alongside four others.
The episode really is a love-letter to the show as Sam and Dean find themselves in a school that is putting on a play based on Chuck’s books. The episode is unbelievably meta, chock full of subtext, and sees Chuck’s return, making fans wonder why he is back and why he left.
Post-Kripke – “Don’t Call Me Shurley” (9.5)
The answers to those questions were revealed in season eleven as Chuck returns again and reveals himself to be God in a massive twist for the show, doing so in the episode “Don’t Call Me Shurley.”
The episode sees Amara release another, more deadly fog and also has Metatron and God come face-to-face. God was seemingly hiding out from his sister and writing his autobiography, but he was finally convinced to help, revealing himself to the brothers, much to their shock.
Post-Kripke – “The French Mistake” (9.6)
Three post-Kripke era episodes tie with each other on IMDb with a 9.6 rating.
“The French Mistake” is one of the three 9.6s and is another uber-meta episode that sees Sam and Dean transported to a reality where Supernatural is a TV show. Sam and Dean are Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, with the former married to Genevieve Padalecki (a.k.a Ruby), and Misha Collins acting as himself rather than Cas. The episode has a slew of hilarious moments, is acted brilliantly, and is well thought out and put together by everyone involved.
Post-Kripke – “Scoobynatural” (9.6)
Another episode that is wildly unique but also phenomenally put together is the only animated entry in the Supernatural catalog. The special Scoobynatural episode which sees Sam, Dean, and Cas transported into a television, is an iconic one.
The episode is hilarious, full of fantastic moments between the heroes of Supernatural and Dean’s animated childhood icons. The episode has a lot of layers and tells a fun, but complex, story. It is a crossover nobody could have seen coming, and one that fans did not realize they needed in their lives, but they did.
Post-Kripke – “Baby” (9.6)
The 1967 Chevrolet Impala is a beloved car in the Supernatural Universe and is a pivotal piece of the Supernatural puzzle. It is the setting of this unique and masterfully done episode.
“Baby” shows Sam and Dean on a hunt from the point of view of the Impala and has so many fantastic moments, namely one of the best brotherly scenes in the show’s fifteen years, the duet of “Night Moves.” The episode is emotional, satisfying, and just wonderful to watch, Supernatural at its best.
