Eric Kripke created Supernatural and served as its showrunner for five seasons, and here are his two personal favorite episodes. It's become well-known over the years that Kripke originally had a five-season plan for Supernatural's story, which was to end following the apocalyptic battle between archangels Michael and Lucifer, using the Winchester's as vessels. Appropriately, "Swan Song" was meant to be Supernatural's swan song, but that didn't stick, as The CW had no desire to say goodbye to one of its biggest shows.
So Eric Kripke exited, having completed his planned journey with Sam and Dean, wished the cast and crew well, and moved on to other projects. He's been no slouch since, creating NBC's sci-fi show Revolution, the short-lived but beloved cult favorite Timeless, and most recently Amazon's dark superhero drama The Boys. Still, it'll probably be Supernatural that Kripke is always best known for and that makes sense, as the universe and characters he created led to an impressive fifteen-year run.
Supernatural audiences tend to have their picks for what the best episodes - or at least their personal favorites - are. That's true of Kripke too, as even Supernatural's creator recognizes not all episodes were created equal. Eric Kripke previously revealed his two favorite episodes, and surprisingly, one was produced after he ceased being the boss.
Eric Kripke's Favorite Supernatural Episodes
During a chat with EW in 2016, Supernatural creator Eric Kripke cited season 5's "Changing Channels" and season 6's "The French Mistake" as his two favorites. Those are fitting picks, as both are often held up by viewers as examples of Supernatural at its best. "Changing Channels" sees Sam and Dean trapped within an alternate universe by the archangel Gabriel (then known simply as The Trickster), and forced to play characters in a variety of TV show parodies. "The French Mistake" sees Sam and Dean transported to another alternate world, but this time things get extremely meta, as this universe has Sam and Dean filling in for actors named Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles who work on a show called Supernatural. Both episodes are full of hilarious self-referential gags, as well as playful swipes at the TV business itself, along with individual shows like Grey's Anatomy.
Kripke says the reason "Changing Channels" and "The French Mistake" are his favorite episodes is that he loves it when Supernatural does stories that allow for lots of humor or opportunities to break from formula, which both episodes do in spades. "The French Mistake" gets especially wacky, and it's a testament to how much Supernatural fans love the show and the people behind it that such a strange idea ended up working so well. Jokes are made at the expense of the cast, producers, writers, network executives, and even the viewers themselves. Everyone seems to be having a blast too, especially Misha Collins playing an awful version of himself. Regardless of individual opinions on whether the seasons past the first five were good or not, at least The CW keeping Supernatural going allowed for an episode as brilliant as "The French Mistake" to happen.