Ranking the filler episodes of Supernatural Season 13
Filler episodes are often a good chance to see the Winchesters fight off some of the strangest legends and creatures while developing their characters. Here’s a look at the filler episodes of Supernatural Season 13, ranking them in order of worst to best.
Think back to Supernatural Seasons 1 and 2 when most of the episodes were filler. They’d have the odd mention of the overall storyline but it was mostly about the brothers traveling the country and taking down the monsters and dirty ghosts of the world. Over the years, these types of episodes have taken up less time and there were nine in Supernatural Season 13 that are technically filler.
Filler episodes usually focus on just the Winchesters. However, some of the filler episodes this season had side storylines for other characters. Castiel, Jack, Rowena, and Gabriel became focuses in some of the filler episodes. Here’s a look at a ranking of the episodes from worst to best.
Episode 20: Unfinished Business
The decision to put this last shouldn’t be that surprising to those who have read my previous rankings. This just wasn’t an episode I enjoyed for a few reasons.
Technically, this wasn’t an episode that was purely filler. In the Apocalypse World, we got more focus on Jack and Mary, seeing Jack’s wings for the first time and seeing the number Michael did on Kevin. However, in the Paradise World, we got the filler of the Winchesters helping Gabriel get his revenge. This is why the episode has actually made both the plotline and filler lists.
It’s the Gabriel storyline that annoyed me the most. Sam wanted to know if revenge would be worth it, but surely that would be something he already knew. Supernatural Season 2 saw Sam and Dean finally get revenge against the Yellow-Eyed Demon and it wasn’t everything they wanted or hoped to see. Plus with all the talk of torture, it was surprising that the Winchesters couldn’t bring up the fact that they knew how Gabriel felt. After all, both had been tortured for decades during their times in Hell.
I also wasn’t a fan of the directing. Now that is linked to the fact I’m not a Tarantino fan and this wasn’t a complete turn-off in terms of ranking. I appreciate risks taken with directing. Had it not been for the issues mentioned above, I would have ranked this episode higher.
Episode 8: The Scorpion and the Frog
This hasn’t been a favorite episode for many of us here at SPN Hunters for various reasons. It was a bit of a forgettable episode and, for the most part, it was predictable. The title of the episode certainly gave it away for me!
There were a few reasons this got a low ranking out of all the Supernatural Season 13 filler episodes. The biggest one was forgetting about Sam’s time in Hell. Just a quick mention as to why it had to be Dean would have been sufficient to get around this problem.
I will admit that I went into this episode with low expectations. The promo did nothing for me as I’m not a fan of Guy Richie’s method of directing, so I was prepared for an episode I wouldn’t really like. The episode was better than I did expect, but the problems in the writing and Alice being far too much like Charlie put me off.
Episode 12: Various and Sundry Villains
I wanted Rowena’s return to be one of my favorite episodes, but it’s the third weakest of the filler episodes when looking at them separately. There was a major consent issue that made the whole episode icky. If the Winchesters were female, there’s no way this episode would have stood, so why does it when the men are the victims?
However, it’s not just that. The episode really did just serve as a way to bring Rowena back from the dead and gave her a way to get the Black Grimoire. Well, she got a spell out of the Black Grimoire. There was the chance for Sam and Rowena to connect over similar feelings and experiences, but that didn’t last long. This type of connection would have benefited from a couple more episodes.
Overall, Rowena did steal the show in this episode. We were certainly left with questions about what she did with her new spell–although, that seemed like wasted potential looking back.
Episode 4: The Big Empty
We all waited for Castiel to come back and “The Big Empty” gave us that. This is a favorite for many because of those scenes in the Empty between Castiel and the Cosmic Entity. But I want to look at the filler portion of the episode and when looking at that, it doesn’t quite make the top five episodes.
Sam, Dean, and Jack go on a case to figure out who is killing people and they find they’re all linked to one doctor. That doctor turns out to be a shapeshifter and, after a long time, we get another case of a monster just wanting to fit in the world and doing good. This is something Supernatural Season 13 benefitted from, as we were reminded of previous seasons when we had vampires and werewolves trying to fit in.
There was also the chance for Sam and Dean to talk about their feelings. Jack had the chance to gain some closure about his mother. The downside was the actual plotline. The shapeshifter who was the killer was a little anticlimactic in the end–to the point that I wouldn’t remember it without rewatching!
Related Story: Ranking the Supernatural Season 13 episodes
Episode 5: Advanced Thanatology
Straight after “The Big Empty,” we got one of my favorite episodes of Supernatural Season 13 when looking at the whole season. When it comes to the filler episodes, there were certainly elements that didn’t quite work or just didn’t work enough. However, Episode 5 is in the Top 5 filler episodes for the season.
The draw for me was the creepiness in the violent spirit. There were elements that reminded me of “Asylum” and “Family Remains.” We got that darkness from a spirit that there was no turning back–the only option was to destroy it. What I loved was the use of the plague masks as the item that kept the spirit around.
Plus, we got Billie back. There was finally some resolution of what happened to Death–and how Death just cannot be killed forever. While I will always prefer Julian Richings as Death, I can accept Billie taking on the role now. What I dislike is how Dean’s depression was seemingly forgotten about just because Castiel came back. That wasn’t realistic enough for me.
Episode 6: Tombstone
Who would have thought we’d get three filler episodes in a row? Supernatural Season 13 brought Castiel back into the group in “Tombstone” and Team Free Will 2.0 was formed. It was certainly the best part of the episode, although there were many humorous moments that certainly help this to stand out as one of the best filler episodes of the whole season. In fact, it might be one of the best filler episodes in recent years.
For one part, there were plenty of fun moments between Castiel and Dean, but it was the moments between Jack and Castiel that sold this episode for me. This was a reunion I’d been waiting for all six episodes of the season to see, especially after learning that Jack saw Castiel as his dad.
I just wish the reunion would have lasted longer. Just one more episode of Team Free Will 2.0 together would have been enough to make it feel less anticlimactic.
Episode 19: Funeralia
This was an episode that we all needed and when I look at each of the Supernatural Season 13 filler episodes separately, it definitely makes it into the Top 3. Not only did Ruth Connell have the chance to really show off her acting abilities, but there was a sense of closure for us when it came to Crowley.
Let’s start with the fact that Rowena was a grieving mother. There was a hint that she would react this way after confirming that she’d rather have a son who hated her than one who was a dead hero. We saw a side to her that we’d all likely be if it came to the loss of a child.
The scenes between Rowena and Death at the end were heartbreaking. All she wanted was a trade and Death was unable to offer that. Of course, it was to protect the balance and the natural order of things (as Billie has always wanted to do, so some good continuity there) and that’s what made it more heartbreaking for us. But it was closure through the eyes of a grieving mother.
Episode 11: Breakdown
Technically, this episode was part of the Wayward Sisters storylines, but it was also an important filler episode. As we got Donna’s reasoning for going off to join Jody’s brood, we also got more development for Sam–development that had been threatening to occur since the start of the season.
“Breakdown” was the episode where Sam lost all faith and that isn’t something we’d seen before. He’d believed that his mom was gone and accepting that was the worst thing for him. After just getting her back, he’d not had the relationship he’d hoped and now he was sure all chances were gone. Seeing that was heartbreaking for him.
This also gave us the realities of monsters from another innocent’s eyes. Doug was the victim this time. Unlike many others that the Winchesters have come across in the past, Doug couldn’t accept that the supernatural world was real. We got a view that many of us would realistically take. There’s enough evil in the world without thinking of the supernatural evil!
Let’s also not forget that this episode gave us a human monster. There’s not a lot of episodes like this. After being reminded that not all creatures are evil earlier in the season, it was good to be reminded that not all evil are creatures.
Episode 16: Scoobynatural
Was there really any doubt what the number one Supernatural Season 13 filler episode would be? Of course the Scooby-Doo crossover was going to be up there. This was the episode many of us had been waiting for and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
We got the voice actors for the current Scooby-Doo animated series, as well as the awesome graphics that pulled us into the episode completely. There were little Easter eggs along the way, as we were pulled into an episode full of nostalgia and memories. Like Dean, we’ve seen that episode of Scooby-Doo multiple times!
This is also the episode that I get to watch with my kids. Supernatural is still a little too mature for them but this episode was more Scooby-Doo giving us everything that we hoped for and needed. We got plenty of laughter, tears, and a storyline that suited being pulled into a TV show without the Trickster being the reason for it–although I would have preferred Gabriel to be up to his tricks to alert the Winchesters that he was alive and needed help!
While it wasn’t perfect (no episode of any TV show will ever be perfect), it was an excellent filler episode and definitely worth the hype throughout the year for it. Here’s to another crossover with a popular program! Arrow, maybe?
Next: Grading the Supernatural Season 13 episodes
What were your favorite Supernatural Season 13 filler episodes? Which ones do you wish had been used a little better? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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