On Supernatural, Sam and Dean Winchester have faced more than their fair share of tragedy. And one of the losses that hurt the most was that of their surrogate father Bobby Singer. Bobby had been a part of their lives since they were children and his passing hit the boys hard.
Fans were also stunned and saddened by Bobby’s demise in the show’s seventh season. Even though he shares a lot of traits with the new Apocalypse World version of Bobby who's appeared on Supernatural in more recent seasons, we still can’t help but miss the original version. His sarcasm, resourcefulness, caring, and wisdom made him an endearing character we’ll never forget. Here are 10 quotes that perfectly capture who Bobby was and why we loved him.
“YOU GET A DEMON IN—THEY’RE TRAPPED. POWERLESS. IT’S LIKE A SATANIC ROACH MOTEL.”
It’s hard to remember a time when Sam and Dean weren’t the most accomplished demon hunters around. But in the first season of Supernatural, the brothers still had a lot to learn. And fortunately, Bobby was there to teach them a thing or two.
One of those things was how to use a devil’s trap. In the Season 1 finale, appropriately titled “Devil’s Trap,” Bobby was able to perfectly sum up what a devil’s trap can do with a metaphor that cut to the crux of the matter. Devil's traps have since become one of the most useful tools in the Winchesters’ demon fighting repertoire.
“HERE, LET ME LOOK IT UP IN MY DEMON-DETOX MANUAL. OH, WAIT. NO ONE EVER WROTE ONE.”
In the penultimate episode of Supernatural’s fourth season, “When the Levee Breaks,” Dean and Bobby lock a demon blood-addicted Sam in Bobby’s panic room. Their plan is to keep him there until he’s dried out.
Unfortunately, the process is extremely hard on Sam, and Dean can’t help wondering how long his brother’s agony will last. Bobby sarcastically answers Dean’s question in a way that makes the point that demon blood addiction isn’t exactly a common occurrence. Even someone with his supernatrual experience couldn’t be sure how Sam’s detox would go.
“WELL THEN GET THE HELL OFF MY PROPERTY BEFORE I BLAST YOU SO FULL OF ROCK-SALT YOU CRAP MARGARITAS!”
Bobby could paint quite a word picture when he wanted to, and this quote is one of the best examples. This bon mot was directed at Crowley in the Season 5 episode “The Devil You Know.”
Crowley wants to help Bobby and the Winchesters find Death, but he doesn’t know exactly where the Horseman of the Apocalypse is when he comes to Bobby to share his plan. Bobby isn’t a sucker. Instead of shooting the breeze with Crowley, he threatens to shoot the demon. Of course, rock-salt won’t actually take Crowley out, but it would be seriously painful, especially if Bobby uses as much as he says he will.
“YOU GUYS ARE BREAKIN' MY HEART. COULD WE PLEASE JUST LEAVE?”
In the Season 2 episode “Tall Tales,” Sam and Dean have to bring Bobby in on a case because they can't figure out what kind of monster they’re dealing with. They’ve encountered a number of odd incidents on a college campus that don’t quite add up. More importantly, as Bobby points out, Sam and Dean are “bickering like an old married couple.”
Fortunately, it all makes sense to Bobby: they’ve encountered a trickster. While it doesn’t take them long to gank the demon after that, they have to leave its body behind and make a hasty retreat. Before they get out of dodge though, Sam and Dean have a heartfelt exchange apologizing for their behavior towards one another. Bobby, never one for too many outward expressions of feeling, is quick to truncate their reconciliation and remind them that they need to stay on task and get going.
“HI, GLAD TO MEET YOU. BOBBY SINGER. PARANOID BASTARD.”
By the end of Season 6, Bobby, Sam, and Dean find themselves trying to thwart Castiel and Crowley, who’ve formed an unlikely alliance. The goal of the angel and demon team-up is to find Purgatory. Bobby’s house is a treasure trove of demon lore, so Cas steals one of Bobby’s books in an effort to narrow down their search.
When Bobby tells Sam and Dean about the missing text, their first thought is they have to get it back. Fortunately, Bobby is way ahead of them. He already had a copy of it made. He follows up his revelation with the triumphant quip above. Bobby knows that when you have a house full of demon resources you can never be too careful.
“FAMILY DON’T END WITH BLOOD, BOY.”
Bobby was one of the wisest characters on Supernatural and his wisdom often came out in succinct remarks like this one uttered during “No Rest for the Wicked,” the Season 3 finale. Bobby, along with Sam and Dean, are trying to find Lilith, the demon who held the contract on Dean’s soul.
When Sam and Dean figure out where she is and try to slip away from Bobby's place, he stops them with the perfect Bobbyism: “Do I look like a ditchable prom date to you?” When Dean contends that what he’s facing isn’t Bobby’s fight, an outraged Bobby counters with the above observation. In just a few words. he points out that there are no limits on who we can consider family while also expressing his deep feelings for the Winchesters.
“ARE YOU UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT FAMILY’S SUPPOSED TO MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD? BAKE YOU AN APPLE PIE, MAYBE? THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO MAKE YOU MISERABLE! THAT’S WHY THEY’RE FAMILY!”
When Sam leaves Dean with an apocalyptic showdown pending in the Season 4 finale, “Lucifer Rising”, Dean is ready to dismiss him. After Sam rejected his help and ran away, Dean decides he's done trying to get through to his little brother. Dean even questions if he can consider Sam family anymore.
Bobby is able to see things far more clearly though, and he isn’t willing to buy into Dean’s hyperbole, leading to another great quote about family. Bobby knows Dean needs to keep trying with his brother because, no matter what Sam did, the two of them are bound together, even when they make each other miserable. Dean needs to stop wallowing and help his brother.
“SAM, DEAN, I LOVE YOU LIKE MY OWN. I DO. BUT SOMETIMES…SOMETIMES YOU TWO ARE THE WHINIEST, MOST SELF-ABSORBED SONS OF B*TCHES I EVER MET. I’M SELFISH? ME? I DO EVERYTHING FOR YOU. EVERYTHING!”
Over the first few seasons of Supernatural, Bobby becomes Sam and Dean’s go-to source for assistance on all things demon-related. They even call him to complain about each other. He comes through for them no matter what. And in the Season 6 episode “Weekend at Bobby’s,” it becomes clear that Bobby does the same for a lot of demon hunters.
Usually he’s steady and reliable, but when Bobby learns that Crowley doesn’t intend to return his soul like he promised, Bobby has bigger things on his mind. So when Dean claims he’s being selfish for failing to drop everything to help the brothers, Bobby tells the boys off for taking him for granted. His assessment may be harsh, but it’s pretty accurate. We love Sam and Dean, but they have a tendency to get caught up in their own melodrama.
“WELL, AS FATE WOULD HAVE IT, I ADOPTED TWO BOYS, AND THEY GREW UP GREAT. THEY GREW UP HEROES.”
This is one of the most touching things Bobby ever says on Supernatural. And it happens under the most tragic of circumstances: as Bobby lays dying in the seventh season episode “Death’s Door”, Bobby attempts to escape from his reaper by confronting some of his worst memories, including his abusive father.
Yet, Bobby wasn’t a kid anymore and he knew he wasn’t to blame for his father’s actions. So he confronts his father with the insight that, “Kids ain’t supposed to be grateful. They’re supposed to eat your food and break your heart.” Bobby laments that even after his dad was gone, he was too scared to have kids of his own. Then he reflects on his experiences helping to raise the Winchesters and revels in how they turned out. Bobby realized that he was a better man than his father ever was.
“IDJIT!”
If there was one word Bobby used repeatedly, it was this one. Said affectionately, dismissively, incredulously, and everything in between, it's synonymous with the character. Along with the expletive “Balls!” it was a key part of Bobby’s vocabulary.
In fact, “Idjits” was the last word Bobby uttered before he took his last breath, making it packed with that much more meaning. If anyone wants to invoke the memory of Bobby, this term is the fastest way to do it.