
Dean Winchester has had a rough year on Supernatural. But that doesn’t take away from the good moments. Here are his 15 best moments from 2018.
It’s been an up and down year for Dean Winchester. Throughout 2018, he’s gained his family back only to lose himself personally. He’s managed to take out one of the most dangerous archangels of all, only to end up taken over by another. Supernatural has been hard to watch with some episodes not even including one of the two pillars of the series.
More from Supernatural
- Jensen Ackles and The Winchesters cast kick off #SaveTheWinchesters campaign
- Will The Winchesters be saved? (Can Supernatural fans save the prequel?)
- Did The Winchesters get renewed? (Is The Winchesters season 2 happening?)
- Is a new episode of The Winchesters on tonight? (March 14, 2023)
- The Winchesters Season1 finale explained: Did it connect to Supernatural?
However, while there have certainly been some bad moments, we’ve also had some excellent ones. It’s time to look at them.
We’ve watched Dean taken down an archangel, get his family back, and take on a fictional villain. He’s met Daphne and the Scooby Gang, tackled down monsters, ghosts, and other things that go bump in the night, all the while keeping his usual calm and cheese.
If it wasn’t for one archangel not keeping his end of the deal, Dean could have had a spectacular year. So with all that in mind, it’s time to look at Dean’s best moments of 2018.
This list runs from January to December of 2018. I’m looking at new episodes from Supernatural Seasons 13 and 14, so you may need to cast your mind back a little. Are you ready for the 15 best Dean moments throughout 2018?

15. Choosing to team up with Ketch
Once Sam and Dean had all the ingredients they needed for the spell to create the rift, they decided it was time to head through. Dean immediately started calling the shots again. They didn’t know what they would find and he wasn’t going to risk his brother, so he would go alone.
As much as Sam didn’t like it, he did eventually agree. After all, he had Gabriel to look after. And this brought an excellent moment: Dean and Ketch teaming up together. It was everything you didn’t know you needed.
14. His attempt with the spear
Bless, Dean. He always tries to be cool like in the movies and it never pays off. In the fall finale, Dean had hold of the spear and took the chance to twirl it around to make himself look awesome. Of course, in typical Dean style, he got it stuck part way and ended up looking like an idiot.
I love that the show has kept this humor. It’s been 13-and-a-half years and we’re still getting these comical moments. This moment was certainly necessary to break up the intensity of Garth attacking unwillingly and the attempt to take down Michael.
13. Dean and Castiel fighting off the gods
In Supernatural Season 13, Episode 14, Dean and Castiel went on an errand for items they would need to open the rift. Well, that’s what they thought. What they hadn’t realized was that Donatello was turning all the more evil as he read the Demon Tablet.
We ended up with Dean and Castiel fighting against two pagan gods. While it should have been an intense moment, it was the perfect chance to remind us of Dean’s fighting abilities.

12. Calling out to Sammy after Michael vacates
In the second episode of this current season, we finally got Dean Winchester back. It hadn’t been an easy couple of episodes to see Michael walking around in Dean’s body, and we just had no idea how long it would last.
Dean stumbled out from behind the doors and called out for Sam. For just a few minutes, we could be thankful that Dean was Dean again. Sure, we knew Michael was up to something, but we got that brotherly bond. Despite Bobby and Mary being there, Sam was the one he called out for.
11. Sticking up for his brother as a leader
Speaking of Bobby, Dean called him out on the attitude against Sam. When Dean returned, there was always this chance that he’d try to fight against the leader his brother had become. However, Dean was fully supportive of him — and that shouldn’t have been surprising considering the end of Supernatural Season 12.
We got to see Dean be proud of his brother. When Bobby started getting Sam down about something Sam was already feeling guilty for, Dean stepped in and made his own feelings extremely clear. It didn’t matter if this was Bobby (their Bobby or not). Dean wasn’t standing for it.
10. Meeting the Scooby Gang
Who didn’t love “ScoobyNatural?” It had everything we could possibly need and certainly brought out some excellent moments for Dean Winchester. Arguably, the best moment of all was just getting to meet the Scooby Gang.
We got to see him interact with each of them. We saw his similarities to Scooby and Shaggy, while letting his attraction to Daphne play out. This was everything we needed and more in the Supernatural– Scooby-Doo crossover.

9. Admitting to Sam about what it was like as Michael
Dean Winchester doesn’t find it easy to open up to people. Over the years, he’s tried to push down his feelings as much as possible. That’s not something he did when it came to Michael.
Within a couple of episodes, Dean opened up about how it felt being possessed by Michael. Considering it took half a season to open up about his time in Hell in Supernatural Season 4, this was a huge step. More importantly, it showed his trust in his brother and acknowledged that he knew Sam would understand.
8. Teaching Jack about the ways of hunting
“Optimism” isn’t one of my favorite episodes of Supernatural Season 14, but it does have some excellent moments. My favorites are between Dean and Jack, as Dean teaches Jack the ways of hunting. And far more…
Out of all the moments, I have to choose the bit in the diner, as they sit down and discuss the next steps. Dean knows that nobody can be as unlucky as Harper so there has to be something supernatural involved. That leads to the two tackling the case in style. Throughout this episode, Dean put his trust in Jack, teaching him the lifestyle but also treating him like a hunter.
7. Struggling with the loss of Jack
And with the awesome moments comes one of the heartbreaking ones. Dean Winchester gave Jack a hard time at the start of Season 13. It took until part way through the season for him to realize that Jack wasn’t evil.
So, for Dean to be the one to struggle what seemed like the most at the start of “Byzantium” was heart-warming and meaningful. He couldn’t bare to be in the same room, and you just knew Jensen Ackles was pulling on his own thoughts of what it would be like to lose a child — all three men were.

6. Reuniting with Mary Winchester
Love her or hate her, Dean wants his mother to be part of her life. He went to the Apocalypse World twice to get Mary Winchester back. The second time, his brother went along with him and that led to that shocking, heartbreaking moment.
While I don’t agree with Dean leaving Sam without knowing if Sam was dead, we did get that heartbreaking reunion. In a complete daze up to this point, as soon as Dean saw his mother, he broke down. Like any child, he felt safe to let out all his emotions to her and that’s exactly what he did.
Watch your favorite shows on fuboTV: Watch over 67 live sports and entertainment channels with a 7-day FREE trial!
5. Seeing Sam alive again
Supernatural Season 13, Episode 22 quickly picked up where Episode 21 left. Just after getting the reunion between Dean and Mary, we got to see the reunion between Dean and Sam. That hug had everything we needed.
Dean was shocked but happy. He wasn’t going to let his brother go. And you could tell that this time, he thought Sammy was definitely gone and he wasn’t going to let that happen again.
4. Fishing with Jack
Moving on from Sam’s death to Jack’s final days. When Jack realized he was dying, he decided to see the world and Dean Winchester went along for the ride with him. While there were some excellent moments in Supernatural Season 14, Episode 7, it was the fishing moment that stands out.
Jack chose fishing and beer because of something Dean had said. You could see that Dean was shocked Jack remembered and understood the full meaning. And as much as he tried to brush it off, he was also thankful that Jack chose this as one of his final moments.

3. Seeing Charlie again
When Dean and Ketch went to the Apocalypse World, we didn’t quite know what they’d find. To our (and Dean’s) surprise, Apocalypse Charlie was alive. And in this moment, we saw all those emotions come flooding back.
Charlie was the little sister Dean never wanted but grew to love. She was everything to him and he’d felt like he’d failed her. Ketch picked up on that, and we got this perfect moment between them. And then Dean and Charlie actually coming face to face just continued this excellent balance of emotions and stories.
2. Taking on Hatchetman
Sometimes we just need a little humor in an episode. That was the case with “Mint Condition.” We got plenty of 80s nostalgia and comedic Dean.
His best moment throughout the episode (which involved plenty of pop culture references and knowledge) had to have been actually taking on Hatchetman. Sure, it may have been Sam who figured out the actual way to get rid of the spirit, but Dean managed to take on one of his all-time favorite horror villains.
1. Taking down Lucifer
There’s only one moment to end Dean Winchester’s best Supernatural moments in 2018. It has to be him taking down Lucifer. Okay, so this did lead to Michael taking complete control, but for a moment Dean was magnificent.
We got the wings, the glow, and the power. He protected his brother and Jack, while knowing that he may not have come out of the fight alive. And when he did take down Lucifer, you could see the shock in his eyes, as he realized he’d really done it. Now if only Michael was a crossroads demon and had to abide by the deal.
What were your favorite Dean Winchester moments from Supernatural throughout 2018? Which moment stands out as your number one favorite? Share yours in the comments below.
Supernatural returns with all-new episodes on Jan. 17 at 8/7c on The CW.