Supernatural Season 6: Explaining the episode titles

Supernatural titles often have a connection to pop culture. Here’s a look at the Supernatural Season 6 titles to see the inspiration and explanations.

From around the third season of Supernatural, the titles started to have a connection to pop culture as well as what the episode was about. That’s certainly the case for Supernatural Season 6.

It can be fun to look at where in pop culture the titles have come from, especially when we know what the episodes are about. Here’s a breakdown of each of the Season 6 episodes, looking at the inspiration and explanation for each of the episode titles.

Episode 1: Exile on Main Street

The title comes from the title of the Rolling Stones album released in 1972. It’s likely a connection to the way that Dean has been exiled from the hunter world out of choice. He lives a normal life, keeping a promise he made to Sam before the sacrifice in the Season 5 finale.

It could also be a reference to the Campbell’s exile. They’ve been in hiding for years.

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Episode 2: Two and a Half Men

This is the title of a TV series by Chuck Lorre starring Charlie Sheen. It’s a direct reference to the way the Winchesters are raising a baby together for a few days. In Two and a Half Men the TV series, two brothers live together with one of the brother’s son due to a divorce.

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Episode 3: The Third Man

The title for this episode is likely taken from the Orson Welles movie The Third Man. In the movie, the end of World War II has created division and chaos in Vienna. This could be connected to the chaos in Heaven, which Castiel is trying to solve.

It could also be linked to the Three Wise Men. Balthazar is one of those named men, often bringing Mhyrr to Jesus Christ. This is one of the ingredients needed for the spell to find Balthazar in the series, according to Castiel.

The man that pulls the Winchesters into the case is also the third man to die of plagues. It could be a direct reference to that.

Episode 4: Weekend at Bobby’s

Sometimes, the titles aren’t directly taken but twisted to suit the setting. In Season 4, we had “The Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester” and “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Dean Winchester.” This season, we get “Weekend at Bobby’s” which is a take on the movie Weekend at Bernie’s.

It’s clear why the episode was given this title. This is a Bobby-centric episode.

Episode 5: Live Free and Twihard

There are two pop culture references within this title. The first is the fourth movie in the Die Hard franchise. The “Twihard” part is a connection to the Twilight movies, which are routinely referenced throughout the episode.

Episode 6: You Can’t Handle the Truth

The title links to the use of Veritas in the Supernatural Season 6 episode. When it comes to pop culture, it’s taken from A Few Good Men, as one of the lines Jack Nicholson’s character says. Throughout the episode, the victims can’t handle the truths told to them.

Episode 7: Family Matters

While the title comes from the TV series Family Matters, there is a direct connection in two ways. The first is that this is matters of the family, where the Winchesters are routinely pushed aside because they’re not viewed as family by some of the Campbells, especially Dean. The other is that family matters to each of the characters—the Campbells care about the Campbells and the Winchesters care about the Winchesters.

Episode 8: All Dogs Go to Heaven

You’ll immediately recognize the title of the episode from the animated movie of the same name. The connection is that the skinwalkers take on the form of dogs, and Lucky just wants to do good by his family.

Episode 9: Clap Your Hands If You Believe

Supernatural Season 6, Episode 9’s title has a link to Peter Pan. In the stage production, the audience is told to “clap your hands if you believe in fairies” as a way to revive the dead Tinkerbell at the time. Of course, this is an episode all about fairies.

Episode 10: Caged Heat

The title comes from the 1974 movie of the same name. In that movie, female inmates battle against a warden using psychosurgical behavior modification. The title will be a reference to everything Crowley is doing to the creatures to get to their alphas and find the way to Purgatory.

Episode 11: Appointment in Samarra

This episode title comes from an ancient Mesopotamian tale about life and death. When a servant heads to a marketplace in Baghdad, he jostles with a woman he knows as Death. The servant heads to Samarra, where he doesn’t think Death will find him. The servant’s merchant learns that Death was just surprised to see the servant in Baghdad, as she has an “appointment with him tonight in Samarra.”

The story connects to the whole storyline of Dean learning a lesson about death and destiny. You can’t change the natural order without causing consequences.

Episode 12: Like a Virgin

Supernatural Season 6, Episode 12’s title comes from Madonna’s song of the same name. It all connects to the storyline of the dragons taking virgins, but not all turn out to be virgins after all.

Episode 13: Unforgiven

The title is likely more of a reference just to Sam’s storyline. He ends up in a town that he’s been in before when he was soulless. Throughout the episode, we get flashes of his previous visit and how ruthless he was. The deputy doesn’t forgive Sam for his actions.

Episode 14: Mannequin 3: The Reckoning

This title is a little trickier. “The Reckoning” part comes from the 2003 murder mystery movie The Reckoning. Meanwhile, there were two Mannequin movies, and the “3” is likely to poke fun at the horror genre and how there are usually trilogies.

Episode 15: The French Mistake

This is one of the most memorable episodes of Supernatural Season 6, but where does the title come from? It’s a reference to Blazing Saddles. The characters crash through a Hollywood set when actors are performing a musical number called “The French Mistake.” The title connects to the moment Sam and Dean crash throw the window into the alternate reality.

Episode 16: …And Then There Were None

The title comes from Agatha Christie’s novel of the same name. The storylines are similar. In the novel, 10 people go to an island and are killed off one-by-one. In this episode, only Sam, Dean, and Bobby make it out alive.

This could also be a reference to the fact that the Campbells have slowly died over the course of the season. In this episode, the final Campbells around are killed off.

Episode 17: My Heart Will Go On

I don’t think this episode title needs much explanation. It’s taken from the Celine Dion song “My Heart Will Go On,” which was used as the theme song for the move Titanic. It’s this song that’s referenced in the episode as the reason Balthazar prevented the sinking of the Titanic.

Episode 18: Frontierland

The title is linked to the Disney world where people enter the Wild West. Bobby references it during the episode, telling Castiel that he needs to pick up the kids from Frontierland.

Episode 19: Mommy Dearest

This title is taken from Christina Crawford’s tell-all autobiography, “Mommie Dearest.” It goes through her abusive childhood at the hands of Joan Crawford, her mother. There’s a moment where Dean says “beat me with a wire hanger, the answer’s still no,” which is a direct reference to a scene in the movie based on the autobiography.

The title could also be a reference to Eve shapeshifting into Mary Winchester during the episode.

Episode 20: The Man Who Would Be King

Supernatural Season 6, Episode 20’s title comes from the book “The Man Who Would Be King.” The two connect due to the working relationship between Castiel and Crowley, which is revealed throughout the episode.

While Castiel didn’t want to lead Heaven, he ends up on a path to become a new God—a new king of Heaven. Crowley has also become the King of Hell by this point.

Episode 21: Let It Bleed

Like the first episode in Supernatural Season 6, the penultimate episode’s title is that of a Rolling Stones album. It’s hard to say how it’s a direct reference to the overall episode, except that Dean has to let the wound of the Braedens bleed by walking away and removing their memories of him. He has to live with everything that’s happened.

Episode 22: The Man Who Knew Too Much

The season finale title is based on the 1956 movie of the same name. Balthazar’s storyline links to the storyline of the stranger in The Man Who Knew Too Much. The stranger is killed highlighting an assassin’s plot to kill some Americans. In this, Balthazar works as a double agent for the Winchesters and is killed by Castiel because he’s told the Winchesters the whole plot.

Which titles didn’t you recognize? Which episode in Supernatural Season 6 was your favorite? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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