Supernatural has kept us busy, enthralled, mystified, haunted and just about every other emotion since 2005. In all that time, super-fans have memorized practically every detail about the show from the characters’ preferences in food to discrepancies in the show. It’s obvious Supernatural isn’t afraid to cross lines, bring up taboo subjects or break the rules. In fact, the show practically outlines those acts as necessary in order to save the world season after season. Yet, what some casual fans may not have noticed was the fact that Supernatural has broken its own rules a few times throughout the years. Take a closer look; here are 10 times Supernatural ignored its own canon.
The Grand Canyon
The boys travel all over the country. In a Season 2 episode, Dean comments to Sam that in all the road trips he’s undertaken, he’s never seen the Grand Canyon. The funny thing is, in a Season 8 episode, Sam mentions they took a trip with their father to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, riding pack mules, to which Dean comments that Sam was only four and that he barely remembers that particular trip. This discrepancy breaks canon, but it’s nice to know the boys have some good childhood memories in the midst of their overall seriously messed-up childhoods.
Mary Winchester
When Mary was resurrected courtesy of Amara (the Darkness) in Season 12, she didn’t remember anything that had occurred following her death. In episodes past, Sam and Dean had met Mary through time travel, and even when she was a ghost in their house back in Season 1. Mary remembers none of these encounters but does recall her fiery death thanks to the demon Azazel with some prodding from Dean.
Mary’s lack of remembrance of interacting with her sons through time travel or as a ghost seemingly erases the importance of those episodes, but her lack of memory is probably best as it preserves the storyline the writers took with Mary from Season 12 onward; incorporating past encounters would make things complicated, but we still find it a little hard to believe she’d never remember those events.
John Winchester’s Father
In Season 8, Sam and Dean meet their grandfather, Henry Winchester, their father’s father when he time-travels to their time. Sam and Dean reveal they knew their father grew up without Henry, but discover it wasn’t by choice when Henry was tragically killed in their time. However, in Season 4 when Dean time-traveled back to Lawrence in the 1970s, a random man in a diner comments to a young John to “say hello to your old man for me.” Considering Henry would already be dead by then, this could mean a stepfather or adoptive father, but still, it’s a strange incongruity in the SPN universe.
Sam, Demon Blood, and Lucifer
In Season 5, just before Sam is about to take on Lucifer and become his vessel, Castiel warns Sam that he must consume more demon blood than ever before in order to do so. This is already a feat, considering Sam’s previous addiction to demon blood and his tragic struggle to detox and recover from it.
Yet, there is something off about this statement. Why would Sam need demon blood to keep his vessel intact if he were Lucifer’s true vessel, and with Dean being Michael’s true vessel, why doesn’t he require some kind of preparation? Sometimes it just seems Sam has the more difficult end of the stick than his brother; this canon discrepancy being no exception to that observation.
The Veil
When Charlie Bradbury was killed in Season 9’s “Slumber Party”, she went straight to Heaven and experienced a memory of Christmas with her family. Yet, in a later Season 9 episode, it is revealed that courtesy of Metatron’s spell, this should have been impossible, and Charlie should’ve ended up stuck in The Veil, like the prophet Kevin Tran. The spell that Metatron cast blocked off Heaven to everyone, including spirits. Perhaps Charlie was a special exception to that rule? Thankfully, Charlie was able to be brought back in this instance but we’re still wondering what permitted her to enter Heaven when no one and nothing else could.
Sam’s Time At Stanford
One of the greatest canon debates of Supernatural is just how long Sam actually spent at Stanford. Based on the information provided on the show, in addition to random comments (notably from Dean), Sam’s exact age has been questioned as well as to how many years Sam was at Stanford.
It ranges anywhere from two to four years, and there have even been mentions that Sam perhaps took college courses in high school which allowed him to already be interviewing for law school when Dean shows up in the “Pilot.” Regardless, we all know how smart Sam is and if anyone could finish early or be ahead of the game when it comes to academic studies, it’s Sam. It’s best we save ourselves the headache in this debate.
Becky & Amelia
Sam has notoriously bad luck with the ladies. Much of the time, they’re killed brutally (like Jessica or Madison). Sam’s been teased time and again for his bad luck with the ladies and it’s a running gag infused with dark humor. Then again, Sam’s had a little streak of good luck too when it comes to the opposite sex. Supernatural breaks canon with the characters of Becky and Amelia. While Sam was drugged, he married super-fan Becky, but she doesn’t meet a deadly end, only a broken-hearted one when her marriage to Sam is annulled. Meanwhile, Sam truly loved Amelia but let her go when her previously dead husband turns out to be alive and he returns to hunting with Dean. She is one of few women he’s ever loved that didn’t meet an untimely death; perhaps Sam doesn’t have the worst luck in the world when it comes to the ladies.
The French Mistake
This whole episode breaks the canon of Supernatural altogether. Don’t get us wrong, we love this episode, but it breaks several protocols - which is the point. The Winchesters are transported to an alternate reality in which they are actors Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, the stars of a TV show called “Supernatural.”
They have money, Jared is married, and the two supposedly have an antagonistic relationship. Not to mention not a single supernatural entity exists in this reality. It shakes up the Winchesters, and they’re actually glad to return to their dysfunctional monster-ridden world, back into the canon we know. Only Supernatural could pull off an episode like this one, breaking canon for the majority of the episode and then returning to it, then moving on with the rest of the season as per usual.
Castiel
Cas goes against the stereotype Supernatural built around angels. Simply, most angels, if not all are believed to be “d****.” Angels don’t walk around with halos, they don’t help mankind, and they generally make life tougher and more complicated, especially for the Winchesters. Angels have come up as obstacles and threats; Castiel is the exception to this rule. He and Dean have a particularly strong bond as good friends, and Castiel has made plenty of sacrifices to help the Winchesters time and again. So yeah, Castiel’s character goes against the accepted canon when it comes to angels in the show, but we’re glad Castiel is who he is (especially since the Winchesters are likely still around because of his efforts).
Werewolf Cure
It wasn’t until Season 12 that the Winchesters discovered there was a cure for lycanthropy. In other words, a cure for being a werewolf. When Claire Novak is bitten, Dean and Sam, with help from Mick (a member of the British Men of Letters) use a highly experimental method to cure Claire and reinstate her humanity. Thankfully it works, albeit painfully. Prior to this event, it was believed there was no known cure for a werewolf, but Supernatural broke the rules and suddenly a cure was introduced. It’s too bad the Winchesters didn’t know of this before, especially in the case of Madison, a girl Sam fell for in Season 2 that became a werewolf and that Sam was forced to kill.
Regardless of these inconsistencies, we still love Supernatural. Perhaps we’ll notice more of these in Season 15, but we won’t care considering the show is entering its last season and we’ll be busy soaking in the new episodes and grieving as we get one episode closer to the series’ conclusion each week.
