21 Supernatural episodes to watch to get ready for Wayward Sisters
The Wayward Sisters backdoor pilot airs on Jan. 18, but you may want to do some catching up first.
How much do you really remember of the Wayward Sisters cast? Can you remember how Jody Mills was pulled into Supernatural? How about how Donna Hanscum learned that monsters and creatures were real? Maybe you’ve forgotten about how Alex and Claire went to live with Jody in Sioux Falls.
With the backdoor pilot continuing on Jan. 18, now is the time to look back over the characters’ storylines. From Jan. 10 there are eight days to catch up (not including the 18th, of course) and that means plenty of time to get ready with the right episodes.
There are 21 episodes to catch, including the two from Season 13 to introduce the new characters. Here they are in order to tell you the full story.
Start with Supernatural Seasons 4 and 5
The best place to start is the very beginning. Claire Novak was actually the first of the initial group to be introduced, although she was just a child. In Season 4, she was introduced in “The Rapture,” which is when Castiel is taken back to Heaven and the Winchesters meet his vessel, Jimmy Novak. While this may not be Kathryn Newton, this is an important episode as it shows just how Claire ends up alone.
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Season 5 is then the place to go for the next character introduction: Jody. She is introduced in “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid,” where it turns out she knows all about Bobby Singer already. Of course, she doesn’t know about the supernatural, but she will learn during the episode.
Jody’s story of losing her husband and child are told in this episode. It helps to set up the story of a mom, who loses her family due to the supernatural. She understands how others feel, helping to start this bond between certain characters.
The next time Jody is seen is in Season 6, “Weekend at Bobby’s.” It’s the moment Jody really accepts the world of the Winchesters and Bobby, as she risks her job to keep Bobby safe from the cops.
It picks up in Season 7
From this point, it’s Jody that we get to know more about until Season 9. Throughout her appearances in Seasons 7 and 8, she helped to figure a way to stop the Leviathans and almost lost her life helping the Winchesters. Thankfully, she was saved at the last minute!
Catch “Hello, Cruel World,” “Slash Fiction,” and “Time After Time” in Season 7. While Jody is mentioned in “There Will Be Blood,” it’s not a crucial element to her storyline.
For Season 8, you just need to watch the finale, “Sacrifice.” Jody gets back into the dating world and ends up on a date with Crowley. Of course, he knows exactly who she is and planned it all, as a way to stop the Winchesters closing the gates of Hell completely. She is saved, but she sticks to her own life until Season 9’s “Rock and a Hard Place.” When one of her towns is affected by a Goddess, Jody calls in the Winchesters and helps them get to the bottom of the problem.
More appear in Season 9
From this point, it’s time to introduce the other characters of Wayward Sisters. Donna is the first of the remaining four to appear in “The Purge.” Yes, it’s the episode where Sam and Dean go undercover at a holistic therapy sanctuary that is a little more supernatural than anyone would really like. This initially introduction into Donna shows off her personality and also sets up her many insecurities for the future.
After that it’s “Alex Annie Alexis Ann,” where Alex Jones is introduced. Jody calls the Winchesters after killing a vampire attacking Alex. Together they get to the bottom of Alex’s life and position in the nest of vamps.
Alex becomes the first of the orphaned girls to be taken in by Jody, setting up the potential of a spin-off. However, it’s not until Season 10 that the potential is really spotted.
Spotting the spin-off potential
The next two to combine are Jody and Donna in “Hibbing 911.” Jody gets the chance to deliver the speech to Donna about the supernatural, opening Donna’s eyes to the reality of the monsters and creatures. This duo has one of the funniest and unlikeliest of bonds, making it clear they can make the best team.
Next it’s all about Claire. “The Things We Left Behind” introduces her as a troubled youth, alone and in foster care thanks to Castiel’s actions and her mother going in search for Jimmy. Claire has found herself mixed in with a bad group, although completely “natural.” The storyline continues with the Season 10 winter premiere, “The Hunter Games.”
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In the end, Claire and Castiel come to some sort of agreement and understanding. Maybe it helps Claire knowing that her father is definitely gone, despite this angel wearing his face.
To finish off the Season 10 episodes, it’s all about “Angel Heart.” This is the moment Claire officially becomes an orphan, after finding and then losing her mother, Amelia. Dean passes on Jody’s number, offering Claire a home and someone who will make sure Claire is cared for at all times. Of course, with the “door is always open” policy, Jody wouldn’t turn her away.
A chance for a family
The next time we see a Wayward Sisters character is in Supernatural Season 11. “Plush” brings Donna back, as people start turning into their costumes. Donna knows the best people to call are the Winchesters for this sort of thing.
After this, it’s time to check back in with Jody and her unofficially adopted daughters, Claire and Alex. All Alex wants is a normal life, while Claire struggles to deal with the fact that there are monsters out there. In fact, Claire is certain that local killings are all linked to something supernatural and calls the Winchesters for help in “Don’t You Forget About Me.”
This is the episode many fans feared that Jody would be killed. After all, she’d been around for so long and Charlie’s death was still raw. Now you can watch it back knowing that she’ll be saved, Claire’s instincts were right, and the group of women are becoming a family.
The family development continues in Season 12. It’s initially all about Jody again, as she appears in “Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox.” It’s clear that she has now officially become a hunter, although does it part time. Fans also finally get to see Jody and Mary meet, which is one of the best moments of the whole season. While Claire and Alex are mentioned, they’re not seen.
It’s not until “Ladies Drink Free” that one of them is spotted. Claire comes to town with a supernatural problem. She’s now hunting full time, although Jody doesn’t know. It doesn’t take long for the Winchesters to learn the truth and convince her to tell Jody all about her wishes. Of course, Jody isn’t overly happy but does accept that this is Claire’s wish.
Finally, it’s “Who We Are.” Mary turns up at Jody’s house with the intention to kill her, in a similar way Sam turned up at Bobby’s with the intention to kill him). Jody outsmarted Mary, with the help of Alex, and then called the Winchesters.
Meeting the newbies
Now we catch up with the two episodes from Supernatural Season 13 to introduce the Wayward Sisters newbies. The first is “Patience,” which is all about the titular character, Patience Turner. She learns that she’s a psychic and that her grandmother shares her powers. However, there’s a creature after her and it’s up to Jody and Dean to save her. In the end, they all save each other! Jody finishes with the offer for Patience to stay in the hunting life, knowing how Claire has reacted to the dark world.
Finally, watch the winter finale. “The Bad Place” brings Patience back, while introducing Kaia Nieves. As Patience makes a decision to turn to Jody for help, Kaia is accosted by the Winchesters and Jack to get them to the world Mary Winchester currently is. It doesn’t quite go to plan and ends ready for the winter premiere on Jan. 18.
The final breakdown:
So the order to make it easy to find all the episodes:
- Season 4, Episode 20: “The Rapture”
- Season 5, Episode 15: “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid”
- Season 6, Episode 4: “Weekend at Bobby’s”
- Season 7, Episode 2: “Hello, Cruel World”
- Season 7, Episode 6: “Slash Fiction”
- Season 7, Episode 12: “Time After Time”
- Season 8, Episode 23: “Sacrifice”
- Season 9, Episode 8: “Rock and a Hard Place”
- Season 9, Episode 13: “The Purge”
- Season 9, Episode 19: “Alex Annie Alexis Ann”
- Season 10, Episode 8: “Hibbing 911”
- Season 10, Episode 9: “The Things We Left Behind”
- Season 10, Episode 10: “The Hunter Games”
- Season 10, Episode 20: “Angel Heart”
- Season 11, Episode 7: “Plush”
- Season 11, Episode 12: “Don’t You Forget About Me”
- Season 12, Episode 6: “Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox”
- Season 12, Episode 16: “Ladies Drink Free”
- Season 12, Episode 22: “Who We Are”
- Season 13, Episode 3: “Patience”
- Season 13, Episode 9: “The Bad Place”
If you watch 2-3 episodes per night from Jan. 10, you’ll be able to catch all the episodes you need before the Wayward Sisters backdoor pilot.
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Are you watching the important episodes? How are you preparing for the Supernatural spin-off? Share in the comments below.
Supernatural returns with “Wayward Sisters” on Jan. 18 at 8/7c on The CW.