Fans of The Winchesters have 13 episodes to enjoy the season since the recent announcement of its limited series order has put its future in question. For the time being, though, the story has done a good job of establishing the Supernatural prequel’s premise of John and Mary assembling a team to battle the Akrida.

The characters’ intelligence has been vital in enabling them to keep up with all the monsters, which ranges from things such as Mary’s knack for making the team’s game plan to Lata’s great knowledge of the supernatural that she executes in very clever ways. But even the evilest monsters, like the Akrida, might be hard to outsmart.

8 Dean Winchester

Dean standing next to his car in The Winchesters

Although Dean can be heard in every episode of the series, he doesn’t take part in the main action and doesn’t get to show off his intelligence. Still, it can be considered smart of him to retrace his parents’ roots so many years after the events took place.

Dean has also displayed a keen sense, in that he’s recognized the danger the Akrida pose to reality. On the whole, Dean is still an outside observer, so he can’t be fully judged in this aspect as he relies on his parents’ adventures to give him clues.

7 Carlos Cervantez

Carlos Cervantez pointing at Latika in The Winchesters

Carlos has steered toward the action side of things rather than coming up with plans to defeat the villains of the week. He’s by no means unintelligent and can pick up on cues quite quickly, but Carlos has been content with being the man of action and letting his friends do the thinking.

Carlos’ intelligence has been more related to his intuition, as he’s deduced when Mary and John have been in distress when the two have tried to hide it. The demons from his time in the war are the reason why Carlos prefers to fight than to ponder over matters, so a bit of development might see him progress in the intelligence aspect.

6 John Winchester

John Winchester talking to his mother in The Winchesters

There’s no doubt that John’s personality is a lot different here compared to Supernatural, which actually works in his favor since he’s shown greater sensitivity. His intelligence has been impressive for someone so unfamiliar with the supernatural, as John has come up with solutions the others haven’t.

This includes strategizing who would face monsters based on knowledge and those he can take on his own, to when he figured out what conflicts Mary needed to confront to escape the Bori Baba. John still has not come up with long-term plans like Mary and Latika have, which makes him lack in this department compared to them.

5 Millie Winchester

Millie in her repair shop in The Winchesters

Millie’s knowledge of the supernatural is one of the biggest retcons from The Winchesters, seeing as the original series had shown that she had no connection to it. But her role has been to act as John’s moral compass, as Millie supports her son, who struggles with PTSD.

Millie’s ability to read people has been the best representation of her intellect since nothing goes past her even if the characters are talking about hunting. Her lack of knowledge and experience in the monster fighting area reduces the chance for her to display more feats of intelligence that are surely there.

4 Mary Campbell

Meg Donnelly as Mary Campbell in The Winchesters

Mary has acted as the group's leader, which means that she’s the one who’s done most of the planning. As such, she’s been placed in several situations where she’s had to figure out what the monster of the week is after and how it should be killed.

Mary’s ability to think on the fly and plan ahead make her a smart person overall, but she can also be quick-tempered. Mary can get sidetracked whenever she lets her feelings get the best of her, which overwhelms her otherwise sharp mind.

3 Ada Monroe

Ada Monroe looking ahead in The Winchesters Cropped

Ada has been something of a wild card for the group since she shows up when least expected. Her intelligence was clear when she was the one who deduced the Akrida’s involvement in the overall plotline, along with being the one who came up with the ingenious way of trapping demons.

Ada’s weaker point comes from her need to take her time to come up with ideas, meaning she hasn’t displayed quick-thinking proficiency as some others have. But Ada has also prevented herself from getting into situations where she would be forced to think fast, which indirectly shows how smart she is to avoid being in such positions.

2 Latika Desai

Nida Khurshid as Latika Desai in The Winchesters

The Winchesters is similar to a show like Buffy, where there's a designated genius in the gang. Lata has been the go-to person for the group whenever there’s been a problem the others can’t solve. Her calm, composed demeanor is exactly what’s needed to make intelligent decisions, along with Lata’s propensity for knowledge of the supernatural.

Lata has combined her thinking and learning prowess to be the group's smartest member, especially since she’s the one who keeps her cool when things get tough. Lata’s also the character who’s caught on that there’s a bigger plan by the villains that they haven’t figured out yet.

1 The Akrida

The Akrida leader holds a jar and smiles in The Winchesters

There have been many great villains in the history of Supernatural, yet Dean’s narration stated that the Akrida are supposed to be the biggest ones yet. The actual Akrida are monsters, but their leader has been presented as a conniving personality who’s been pulling the strings.

The Akrida leader has been gathering the monsters the protagonists have defeated to seemingly create an army, meaning the heroes have been playing right into her plan. She’s also been smart to take on a vessel that can blend in with others, making her hide in plain sight while she continues the next phase of her grand scheme.

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