The adventures of Sam and Dean Winchester can be an emotional roller coaster to follow. Their life of saving people and hunting things often leads to fate of the world decisions and heavy examinations of their relationship.
The show manages to keep fans from completely losing it every week by mixing funny episodes into the mythology. Since it’s Supernatural, there’s still always a lot of emotion underneath the laughs, but the comedy is as important to the show’s longevity as the action and tears. To celebrate one of TV’s longest running series, this is the 10 funniest Supernatural episodes.
MONSTER MOVIE
Supernatural has never shied away from its horror roots, so an old movie style episode where they hunt classic monsters made perfect sense. To give it an authentic feel, “Monster Movie” was in black and white, and even featured an intermission.
Turns out they were just hunting a shape-shifter, but all the classic monsters and the Frankenstein/Dracula themed ending really added to the fun of the hour. This episode is one of the show’s rare diversions where the Winchesters just work a case without it affecting the overall arc of the season.
THE MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK
Over the years, meta episodes have become a part of the Supernatural fabric. It all started with season four’s “The Monster at the End of This Book.” This is where we met Chuck Shurley and discovered that there’s a book series with a cult following based on the boys’ lives.
They discuss critical fans and how much they argue. Chuck explains that he thought Sam drinking demon blood would make him unlikeable, a debate fans were actually having at the time and prophets were introduced to mythology. It’s definitely a serious hour, but Rob Benedict’s Chuck makes everything funnier every time he’s on screen.
PARTY ON, GARTH
One of Sam and Dean’s most entertaining, close, reliable hunter friends is DJ Qualls’ Garth. He first appeared in season seven and has been hilarious every time he’s showed up. Garth doesn’t have the professionalism of other hunters, but what he lacks, he makes up for in enthusiasm.
In “Party On, Garth” the boys are after a spirit you can only see while drunk, so the episode features a lot of humorous hunting while drunk. The inevitable gut punch comes in the last scene when we see Bobby’s ghost is still with the brothers.
YELLOW FEVER
As Dean was struggling to recover from his time in Hell, there weren’t a lot of laughs to be found. However, “Yellow Fever” provided a few moments of levity as Dean became infected with a virus that amplified fears.
Jensen Ackles’ rant about why the Winchesters would chase monsters is still one of the show’s funniest moments. Of course, the episode is really a lead in to Ackles’ post credits Eye of the Tiger lip sync, which is obviously a fan favorite.
THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS
One of the best aspects of Supernatural is when it goes meta. One of its earliest episodes to really poke fun at the show and its fans is “The Real Ghostbusters.” The book series inspired by their lives, “Supernatural,” has spawned a fan convention full of cosplay and hard hitting questions.
Anyone who’s been to a Supernatural convention knows that this episode is hilariously close. There are jokes about Sam and Dean’s childhood, their inefficient fighting skills and how serious they take themselves. Yes, there’s also a killer ghost on the loose, but really this is a love letter to the fans.
HOLLYWOOD BABYLON
Following a particularly tough case, Dean decided to take Sam on a Hollywood tour. Of course, it wasn’t that sunny, as it was “downright Canadian.” The brothers landed in a haunting on the set of a cheesy horror movie.
Since the movie uses a lot of the same tropes as the show does, the episode has a lot of fun with all the questions about why salt and shotguns scare ghosts. Perhaps the most surprising development comes when Dean is “one Hell of a PA.”
FAN FICTION
For Supernatural’s 200th episode, the boys stumble across an all girls high school musical based on Chuck’s Supernatural. Young writer/director Marie has her own take on Sam and Dean’s story and it features all the stuff fans have been tweeting and blogging about for years.
In addition to meta songs like A Single Man Tear, I’ll Just Wait Here Then and The Road So Far, Dean is uncomfortable with the subtext in Cas and Dean’s relationship. The songs are catchy, fans get what they’ve always dreamed of and the brothers are back on track by the end of the episode.
CHANGING CHANNELS
As Sam and Dean were being hunted by angels so they could start the apocalypse, they turned to a familiar foe to help. They decided The Trickster was powerful enough to fix things, but it turns out he wanted them to play their roles. He stressed this point by trapping them in TV world.
The boys end up in every TV stereotype including a Grey’s Anatomy like drama, a Japanese game show, and a CSI show, where they have a lot of fun at David Caruso’s expense. We also get a huge reveal when we find out The Trickster is actually the archangel Gabriel.
SCOOBYNATURAL
Every once in awhile, you’ll hear about a crossover and think “oh that’s interesting, how will they ever make that work?” Then there’s a Supernatural/Scooby Doo crossover that makes complete sense, but still seems impossible.
Dean is a die hard Scooby fan, as they were always there during his nomadic childhood. When a cursed object sends them into their TV, they meet the Scooby gang and help them solve a mystery. It’s unforgettable and of course, everything was caused by a greedy real estate developer, who would have gotten away with it, if it weren’t for those damn kids.
THE FRENCH MISTAKE
Supernatural is at its best when it brilliantly mixes comedy and drama. Add in a few meta jokes and you have the hilarious classic “The French Mistake.” Castiel hides a key with the guys, then sends them to an alternate world where they’re actors Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki on a show called Supernatural.
On paper it seems like this couldn’t possibly work, and yet it does on every level. Apparently, the series’ stars don’t hang out, so there’s a lot of jokes about them finally talking. However, the hour is really all about the scene where Sam and Dean are bad actors playing Ackles and Padalecki.