#or bobby

4.01 Lazarus Rising Why it's Important (WIP): Castiel's first episode! As for background, last season, Dean made a deal with a demon to bring Sam back to life after he was stabbed. Before the episode starts, Castiel rescues Dean from Hell and this ep culminates in their first meeting.

4.16 On the Head of Pin WIP: Cas takes his first steps towards free will in this ep by doubting Heaven. The angel Anna, who fell from Heaven by choice (and slept with Dean in 4.10 Heaven and Hell before regaining her powers [grace]) is in this one as well. We also get a look at how deep Dean's guilt and self-loathing runs for what he did in Hell. There's a reason Dean Winchester's Self-Worth Issues is one of my favorite tags.

4.17 It's a Terrible Life WIP: The ep that spawned a dozen Office!AUs, plus gave us gifs of Dean in red suspenders. If you ever find a fic where Dean's on a cleanse or is overly concerned about market share, it comes from this ep.

5.4 The End WIP: Another AU-influencer, maybe the biggest of the series. For the background, the angels want Sam and Dean to let themselves be vessels for the archangels Lucifer and Michael, respectively, to carry out the apocalypse. So far, Sam and Dean have both said no. One of the angels' tactics is to hurl Dean 5 years into the future, smack in the middle of the apocalypse that happened anyway. If you see fics tagged Endverse!Cas, this is what it is referring to. Ditto with most fics featuring drug user!Cas or hedonist!Cas

5.8 Changing Channels WIP: Most influential ep featuring the Trickster. Also hilarious.

5.17 99 Problems WIP: So many great Cas quotes in this ep because he's drunk off his ass after losing faith in God. "You breed with the mouth of a goat" "Don't ask stupid questions" "It is not of import"

6.20 The Man Who Would be King WIP: After the apocalypse failed last season, there was a civil war in Heaven for control - Raphael (pro-apocalypse) on one side against Castiel (anti-apocalypse). Castiel teams up with Crowley, the King of Hell, for enough power to take on Raphael, which he keeps a secret since he knows the Winchesters don't trust demons. Obviously, when they find out, they take it as a betrayal. Perhaps thee best Cas-centric ep of the show.

7.20 The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo WIP: The first episode with Charlie Bradbury! Geek, lesbian, and hacker, she works for the main antagonists of the season, the Leviathans, until she finds out what they are. She frequently pops up as Sam and Dean's best friend in a crap ton of fic. FYI, the Leviathans were unleashed into the world from Purgatory as an unintended result of Cas's work with Crowley.

7.21 Reading is Fundamental WIP: The first episode with Kevin! For background, after Cas made that deal with Crowley, he "died", he came back with amnesia, he remembered, and then he went insane (to make a long story short, back at the end of s6, Sam's soul got majorly fucked up, and in 7.17 Cas couldn't heal him, so he transferred the soul-injuries to himself). In this ep, we get "follow the bees" Crazy Cas and, of course, Kevin's introduction as a Prophet of the Lord.

8.5 Blood Brother WIP: At the end of s7, Dean got chucked into Purgatory along with Cas when they got rid of the Leviathans. Benny, a vampire from Purgatory, showed them the way out and made a deal that he would hitch a ride, as only humans can leave. To a lesser degree than Charlie, Benny also is fandom favorite best friend for Dean. This ep, where they track down Benny's old vamp crew, is probably the best dive into their canon relationship. Plus vampirates!

8.12 As Time Goes By WIP: At the end of this ep, we get the introduction to the Bunker, which is Sam and Dean's home base for the rest of the series. The plot touches on a bunch of Winchester Family Issues (TM) that have been a theme throughout the series. You can read the John Winchester's A+ Parenting tag between the lines of this one.

9.6 Heaven Can't Wait WIP: The second (and better) human!Cas episode. Cas got his grace stolen for a spell to close Heaven at the end of last season, so he's mostly human now. Dean kicked him out of the bunker because the angel possessing Sam told him to (the angel is healing Sam at a sub-atomic level, so for the time being, his word is law). Oh, and all the angels that fell to Earth hate Cas because they think he closed Heaven on purpose. Many fans read this ep with their "mutual pining" glasses on.

9.11 First Born WIP: This is one of two eps in the whole series to focus on besties, Sam and Cas. It's delightful and pure chaos. (See 14.15 Peace of Mind for more Sastiel [kidding] shenanigans). If you ever see Cas obsessing over PB&Js or guinea pigs (not kidding), it comes from this ep.

10.1 Black WIP: For plot reasons, Dean's a demon now. His favorite activities are karaoke and caving people's skulls in. A bunch of fics actually featured Dean as a demon way earlier, really ever since we found out that if a soul spends too much time in Hell, it will become a demon (3.9 Malleus Maleficarum), so there's a split between author-envisioned Demon!Dean and the canonical Deanmon that came 7 years later.

10.9 The Things We Left Behind WIP: The first Claire-centric ep! She's the daughter of Cas's vessel, Jimmy Novak. She's sassy, from a broken home, and likes to hit things. Basically Dean if he was blonde and a teenager. I love her. By this point, Dean's human again, but he still has demonic impulses that he has to control.

11.4 Baby WIP: A great monster of the week ep from the POV of Sam and Dean's car. It really demonstrates what Dean and Sam are like day-to-day on a standard hunt.

11.11 Into the Mystic WIP: First episode with Eileen, who's the most popular love interest for Sam post-4.01 Lazarus (previous [dead] ladies include Ruby [s3], Madison [2.17 Heart], Sarah Blake [1.19 Provenance] and Jess [1.1 Pilot]). Eileen dies in the next season, but she gets better (15.5 Golden Time)! Note, non-canonically, a lot of people ship Sam/Gabriel, but that's not really my thing, so I don't have any ep references.

12.11 Regarding Dean WIP: I know Rowena's been around for a few seasons by now (she has a B-plot in 10.9 on this list) but this ep represents best how she's portrayed in fic. FYI, she's the most powerful witch in the world, mother of the King of Hell (really), and sometimes a villain. Most fics don't show her at worst - she's normally a reluctant ally, like in this ep, with her own agenda that may or may not fuck up the Winchesters later down the line.

13.1 Lost and Found WIP: The beginning of Dean's widower arc! In the season finale last season, Cas gets stabbed and dies. In this ep, Dean punches a door. It's very emotional. This is also Jack's first episode, aka the Winchesters' Accidental Baby Acquisition. He's not actually a baby, though. He is the son of Lucifer and a human woman, making him a nephilim and super powerful.

13.6 Tombstone WIP: Dean's obsession with the wild west is well documented (see all the way back to 6.18 Frontier Land), but this time he gets to do a cowboy-themed hunt with Cas! With hats!

15.3 The Rupture WIP: I honestly wasn't sure if I should include 15.1, 15.2, or 15.3 or all three. These eps are all tied together; basically God was tired of the Winchesters getting angry at him for controlling them. God told them to kill Jack because Jack was a danger to him; they refused; and he killed Jack anyway and also opened a fissure to Hell just because. In this ep, the Winchesters plus Rowena, and a demon possessing Jack's corpse, are all trying to close the fissure. This ep sets up Dean and Cas's last relationship arc.

15.9 The Trap WIP: The last important shift in Dean and Cas's relationship before - well, you'll find out.