Speculate This: 12 Supernatural Episodes to Watch to Prepare for Season 10 

WARNING: Supernatural spoilers a plenty

Okay, people. It’s the final weekend before the tenth season of Supernatural descends upon us. How excited are you guys? We’re hella excited to see Demon Dean, Mystery Spot Sam and Series Regulars Cas and Crowley.

After reading various spoilers, being part of the Supernatural round table interviews at Comic-Con and generally making ourselves knowledgeable about the new season (well, as much as we can. This show can be uber secretive), there are a few episodes we might need to rewatch this weekend in preparation for the tenth season. And they are not just episodes from season 9.

Granted, I have no inside information. I have just been reading and watching everything you have. But this is my best guess. If I’m wrong, no big deal. I’ll rewatch Supernatural any time for any reason. If you guys have ideas for ones you would add to the list, feel free to leave a comment below.

“Malleus Maleficarum” — Season 3

-It’s so funny. When this Ben Edlund episode first aired, I didn’t have much time for it. But now that Dean’s a demon, it becomes so much more significant. Let’s highlight a couple of things from this episode that aired in Season 3. Dean’s sold his soul and time is running out:

-There’s a scene where Sam and Dean are fighting because Sam wants to keep Ruby (Katie Cassidy) around — to use her, he says. Dean wants to gank her because that’s what you do to demons. Dean wonders why Sam’s not having the same hang ups over killing things that he’s had in the past and Sam tells him:

Sam: Look, Dean, you’re leaving, right? And I gotta stay here in this crap hole of a world alone. So the way I see it, if I’m gonna make it, if I’m gonna fight this war after you’re gone, then I’ve gotta change.

Dean: Change into what?

Sam: Into you. I’ve gotta be more like you.

-This is a precursor to “Mystery Spot,” an episode that aired two weeks after this one did back in 2008. It’s clear that a life without Dean changes Sammy in one way or another. 

-And Dean finds out from Ruby that demons all started out human once.

Ruby: Most of them have forgotten what it means. Or even that they were. That’s what happens when you go to hell, Dean. That’s what hell is. Forgetting what you are.

Dean: Philosophy lesson from a demon, I’ll pass, thanks.

Ruby: It’s not philosophy. It’s not metaphor. There’s a real fire in the pit. Agonies you can’t even imagine.

Dean: No, I saw Hellraiser. I get the gist.

Ruby: Actually, they got it pretty close. Except for all the custom leather. The answer is yes, by the way.

Dean: Sorry?

Ruby: Yes, the same thing will happen to you. Might take centuries but…sooner or later, hell will burn away your humanity. Every hell-bound soul. Every one turns into something else. Turns you into us. So, yeah, you can count on it.

Dean: There’s no way of saving me from the pit, is there?

Ruby: No.

-And now Season 10 Dean is a demon. And it didn’t take him centuries for the hellfire to burn away his humanity. It took seconds. I guess that’s a perk of being the guy to wear the Mark of Cain.

 “First Born” — Season 9

-This Crowley one-liner says a lot about the beginning of this season:

“I do love a good buddy comedy.”

-Are we ready for the season (or at least a few weeks) of Dowley? Crean? Not sure what their supercouple name is.

-There’s a lot of Sam and Cas in “First Born.” At some point this season there’s going to be some Sam and Cas quality time, right? Will they hook up to save Dean?

-Also, Sam’s willing to go to extreme measures in order to help find Gadreel. That includes letting Cas using him as a guinea pig to extract Gadreel’s remaining grace. Oh, Sam.

-Dean and Crowley want the First Blade in order to kill Abaddon. They track down Cain of Cain and Abel. Cain transferred his Mark to someone who was worthy (someone Crowley also knew was worthy): Dean. But Cain warned him:

“But you have to know with the Mark comes a great burden. Some would call it a great cost.”

-Dean is not only a demon, he holds the Mark of Cain. And I believe, he’ll still have it when he becomes un-Deanmonized. What that means, I have no idea. But this episode should still have an impact on Season X.

“Do You Believe in Miracles” — Season 9

-This is a no brainer, right? The previous finale is an automatic when preparing for a new season.

-Cas takes care of Metatron. But knows he’s in trouble grace-wise. Hannah is by his side the last time we see him in this episode. She’ll be there again come season 10.

-Dean dies. Crowley stands over his dead body and lays the First Blade in Dean’s hands. We found out in “First Born” that the King of Hell basically engineered the entire meet cute between Dean and Cain. Crowley says he didn’t know everything. But he had theories. Here’s his speech (I bolded a couple important parts):

Crowley: “Your brother, bless his soul, is summoning me, as I speak. Make a deal. Bring you back. It’s exactly what I was talking about, isn’t it? It’s all become so…expected. You have to believe me. When I suggested you take on the Mark of Cain, I didn’t know that this was going to happen. Not really. I mean, I might not have told you the entire truth. But I never lied. I never lied, Dean. That’s important. It’s fundamental. But…there is one story about Cain that I might have…forgotten to tell you. Apparently, he, too, was willing to accept death rather than become the killer the Mark wanted him to be. So he took his own life with the Blade. He died. Except, as rumor has it, the Mark never quite let go. You can understand why I never spoke of this. Why set hearts aflutter at mere speculation? It wasn’t until you summoned me…no it wasn’t truly until you left that cheeseburger uneaten, that I began to let myself believe maybe miracles do come true. Listen to me, Dean Winchester. What you’re feeling right now — it’s not death. It’s life — a new kind of life. Open your eyes, Dean. See what I see. Feel what I feel. And let’s go take a howl at that moon.” (Dean opens his eyes and they are black)

-Buddy comedies…howling at that moon…from the spoilers and interviews, it seems like we’re going to get some of that. Until Demon Dean becomes too much for Crowley, that is.

“Dream a Little Dream of Me” — Season 3

-In his dream, Dean sees a demon version of himself. These are flawless scenes that bring up a lot of angst and resentment and, ultimately, he comes out of the dream ready to tell Sam he doesn’t want to go to hell. I doubt that the Demon Dean we’re going to get in Season 10 is anything like this one. But, who cares. It’s a great sneak peek into Dean’s psyche and a way to see him sporting the black eyes before Tuesday, Oct. 7.

“Mystery Spot” — Season 3

-At this summer’s Comic-Con, we asked Jared if the Sam we were going to get this upcoming season was going to be like the Sam that we got near the end of “Mystery Spot.” Please go back and watch what happens to the younger Winchester after Dean dies on the Wednesday. The Tuesday death loop had been broken. And then all of a sudden his brother died anyway. It sent Sam spiraling into hardcore hunter mode. It was scary. It’s still probably the best Sam POV we’ve ever gotten on the show. We found out exactly what would happen to him without the presence of Dean in his life. It wasn’t pretty. And it had us thinking that same fate could happen to him in now that Dean’s gone. In the interview, Jared said that “we are certainly on that level of just Sam’s dedication and commitment to fixing this problem.” How exciting is that?

“Born Under a Bad Sign” — Season 2

We know Sam will be looking for his brother everywhere. According to the extended trailer for the first episode, he ends up searching for Dean at a convenience store/gas station. It’s there that he sees a video of Dean and when Dean looks up into the camera, Sam sees his brother. For some reason, that little scene had me thinking about “Born Under a Bad Sign.”

It’s probably the best Dean search for Sam episode out there. He also has to trace Sam’s footsteps after his “brother” reappeared a week after going missing. Their search led them to a gas station/convenience store. It then led them to a hunter’s house where they screened a video that showed “Sam” murdering the hunter.

We’re so used to Dean having to track down Sam that’s it’s going to be interesting to see it the other way around. Another thing about this episode is that it features a demon-possessed Sam going up against Dean. At Comic-Con, we saw a clip from the episode Jensen directed that’s going to feature the same kind of thing. Only Dean’s in the chair. And he isn’t possessed. He’s full on demon. Still, if a brother goes bad, I think about this “BUABS,” which, to this day is Jared’s hottest episode ever. I ended up rewatching the entire thing when I didn’t even mean to. It’s one of Supernatural‘s all time greatest. Hands down.

“We Need to Talk About Kevin” — Season 8

I’m going to make this one brief. In the Season 8 opener, Sam has to tell Dean he didn’t look for him during the year he spent in Purgatory. Hopefully, we’ll all be able to put this little glitch in the relationship of Sam and Dean in the past after the younger brother goes on the hunt for his older (now demon) brother. And hopefully he’ll not only find him, he will save him. Then we don’t have to ever talk about this plot point again. And if we have to, we’ll get Cas to erase it from our memories like he erased Dean from Lisa and Ben’s memories in Season 6’s “Let it Bleed.”

“The Rapture” — Season 4

An E! Online spoiler had to do something with Jimmy Novak, Castiel’s vessel. Remember him? Well, his daughter Claire is going to be appearing in an upcoming episode and, apparently, she’s turned into one angry teenager. I don’t blame her. She lost her father. Was Castiel’s vessel for a little time, too. Her mother was demon possessed at one point. And who knows what else she’s been experiencing since we last saw her in Season 4’s “The Rapture.” But I rarely like how angry teenagers come off on TV. So I hope The Powers That Be find a way to make what she’s going through layered and emotional and not too over the top. Because I’m very interested in this story.

“Swan Song” — Season 5 & “Meet the New Boss” — Season 7

Dean has had to deal with Sam and Cas in major bad mode. In “Swan Song” he faced Samifer and got the crap beat out of him. And in “Meet the New Boss,” he faced LeviathanCas! Now it’s Sam and Cas’ turn to go mano a de-mano with Dean. Episode 3 it’s Sam vs. Demon Dean. I’m super excited for that. Please tell me that we’re going to get a Rundown Cas vs Demon Dean confrontation, too. Pretty please?

“The Monster at the End of this Book” — Season 4 & “The Real Ghostbusters” — Season 5

I’m still not sure what in the world is going on in the 200th episode but I think it’s wise to probably watch the genesis of Carver Edlund, which is Season 4’s “The Monster at the End of this Book.” And then there’s the Supernatural convention and all that Sam and Dean live action role playing that went on in Season 5’s “The Real Ghostbusters.” While you’re at it, why not watch all the meta episodes including “Changing Channels” and “The French Mistake.” That couldn’t hurt, right?

Oh and something else you might want to watch: A Very Supernatural Special — the 10-year retrospective celebrating the show. It airs Monday Oct. 6 at 9/8c. The season premiere airs Tuesday Oct. 7 at 9/8c.

Here are some of the videos that have been circulating as of late:

The Retrospective Promo

“Black” Clip 1

“Black” Clip 2

The Road So Far