When Supernatural first premiered in the fall of 2005, people had no idea the phenomenon and impact the show would have on audiences. Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam (Jared Padalecki) lead the show as the Winchester brothers that were raised in the hunting life, dedicated to eradicating any and all supernatural things following the death of their mother. Over the course of the series, the show has immortalized symbols like pie and Dean’s car, “Baby”. Not to mention its ability to create quotable dialogue. Now that the show will be ending after its fifteenth season, we’re taking a look back to remember some of the pop culture references Supernatural will be leaving behind that we’ll be slipping into everyday life - or at least attempt to.
Updated by Madison Lennon on February 20, 2020: Supernatural is sadly coming to an end later on this year after a whopping 15 seasons. Despite the sadness over its impending ending, no one can say the series doesn’t have an incredible legacy. It has created countless jokes and inside jokes for those who belong to the fandom, especially for anyone that has stuck around since the early days.
We thought now would be a great time to revisit this list and update it with a few more popular culture references that were created by the long-running horror show and the Winchester’s legacy.
The Never-Ending Show
Fans of Supernatural have been extremely blessed considering the series has run for a full fifteen seasons and more than 300 episodes. Not many shows achieve that honor. However, there are a lot of haters out there who constantly begged for Supernatural to get canceled.
Year after year, fans and Supernatural-antis would fight and make endless jokes when the renewal news came out yet again. The jokes about Supernatural’s longevity are almost as popular as the series itself. Even fans got in on the jokes at times, even the show does!
Ghostfacers
The Ghostfacers is an in-universe series about a group of people who enjoy hunting for ghosts. What began as two random characters introduced early on to add a fun opposite to Sam and Dean’s competent monster-hunting became an extremely popular addition to the series.
The Ghostfacers continued to pop up throughout the series, much to the delight of fans who find them to be humorous. There was even an episode entirely filmed as if it were an episode of Ghostfacers. Sometimes the show-within-a-show lives on in pop culture, and this is definitely a case of that with Supernatural.
Wincest
Much to the chagrin of many fans and to the Winchester boys themselves, there is a very vocal part of the Supernatural fandom that ships Sam and Dean together romantically, despite the fact that they’re related. The incest taboo doesn’t stop them from writing copious amounts of fanfiction and creating lots of fan art about the illicit pairing. It has become so popular with fans (alongside Destiel – Dean and Castiel) that it was referenced on the show on multiple occasions.
Since Supernatural is known for being very meta at times, it’s not all that surprising that “Wincest” has been brought up as a punchline in a few episodes. Neither Sam or Dean is happy about it, but it is an undeniable part of the fandom and culture of the show.
Wayward Son
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who could listen to “Wayward Son” by Kansas and not relate it to Sam and Dean. The song has become such an iconic part of the series it might as well be the unofficial theme song.
It fits extremely well for both of the Winchesters and it has played a few times in pivotal moments in the series, even if only a few chords of the instrumental. “Carry on my wayward son, for there’ll be peace when you are done,” it’s a sad but very poignant line that is more than a little fitting for their overarching story.
PUDDING!
It’s only one word and it happens in a very quick moment but “Pudding!” is sure to live on in infamy for Supernatural fans. In the season five episode where Sam and Dean check themselves into a mental institution for a monster hunt, there comes one point where Dean has to pretend he doesn’t have a clue as to what’s going on.
He decides the best way to do that is to drop his pants and shout “pudding!” Fans quote that scene and share the GIF of it all the time on social media.
Baby
Dean’s black 1967 Chevrolet Impala, nicknamed “Baby”, is easily one of the most recognized symbols of the show. Dean’s love for his car is one of his biggest character aspects; he rarely lets anyone else drive the car. From the engine’s recognizable hum to the squeaky doors, Baby gets the two brothers across the country and back, their trusty mode of transportation as they’ve repeatedly saved the world over the last fifteen years.
The car’s popularity certainly registered with the show’s writers; a Season 11 episode portrays the narrative solely from Baby’s point of view. We certainly won’t associate the car with anything but Supernatural for the rest of eternity (and we’ll also wish we had one).
Pie
Dean’s love for pie is one of the best-known facts about his character. It’s his preferred dessert, and that’s made clear early on in the series. A running gag is how someone forgets to give Dean his pie, or how he doesn’t receive any at all.
In one episode Sam even substituted the pie with cake, much to Dean’s offense. Nonetheless, for a guy that’s sacrificed so much for everyone else, he at least deserves to end the day with his favorite dessert. Since Supernatural has immortalized this dessert, we’ll eat some pie for you, Dean.
“Jerk” “B***h”
This is one of the best-known quotes of the show, with Sam being called “b***h” and Dean being called “jerk”, each by the other, respectively. It’s more of a term of endearment between the two, something they refer to each other as to lighten a serious moment (of which there are plenty between the brothers).
This has been an exchange they’ve shared since childhood, and it’s caught on with fans. Fans have even purchased merchandise with these labels, often sharing them with close friends and adopting this term of endearment as their own. Whatever the case, it’s a term of endearment that’s permanently etched into pop culture thanks to the Winchesters.
“Hey Assbutt!”
Ah, Castiel. In the earlier seasons, Cas is awkward and doesn’t understand pop culture, metaphors, similes, insults or anything of the like. So he hilariously creates his own, like “assbutt.”
The serious moment is accompanied with humor when Cas tosses a Molotov cocktail at Michael, who is possessing Adam (Jake Abel), in the Season 5 finale. Even Dean is taken aback, looking at Cas dubiously, questioning Cas’s insult. But it’s a line that’s stuck, and certainly an insult of Cas’s that we won’t soon forget.
Moose And Squirrel
Crowley’s (Mark Sheppard) epithets for Sam and Dean are also fan favorites and appear on Supernatural merchandise. Crowley’s calm and collected manner in which he calls Sam “Moose” due to Sam’s height and Dean “Squirrel” is frankly adorable. Though Crowley often doesn’t want to admit he cares about the Winchesters, he does become an ally for them, even sacrificing himself in Season 12 to help them save the world once more. The King of Hell is certainly one of our favorite characters and his monikers for the two leading men are among some of the most memorable. We really hope to see Crowley one last time before the show’s end, if only so he can call Sam and Dean by their nicknames one last time.
“I think I’m adorable.”
Dean’s one-liner while being interrogated by the FBI in a Season 2 episode appears to have stuck around. There are all kinds of memes and gifs aligned around this quote on the internet. Dean often has well-timed one-liners such as this, but his response to the annoyed and frustrated agent in the episode is priceless.
It’s not long after that that Dean infuriates law enforcement further by successfully escaping prison, much to our amusement. Not only that, but he also manages to take out a ghost and get out of town before he and Sam are caught again. Yes, adorable indeed.
“Family don’t end with blood, boy.”
Bobby’s (Jim Beaver) emotionally charged argument against Dean’s insistence that he and Sam deal with a fight alone in the Season 3 finale resonates with fans in a personal manner. “Family don’t end in blood” has taken on a life of its own, especially with the family Supernatural itself has created among its fans, cast and crew. In the show, it’s meant to let Sam and Dean know that Bobby considers them his family, that the bond they share is unbreakable and he’ll be there for them through thick and thin, like family should. It’s a serious moment, but also a tender one, emphasized by this line. Kudos to Bobby for sticking by his boys.
“Saving people. Hunting things. The family business.”
The Winchesters’ mission in life is clear from Season 1. In the second episode, this line, spoken by Dean, is meant to highlight to Sam the meaning behind why their father left his journal (filled with all his knowledge of the supernatural) behind for them.
Dean believes their father wants them to continue the family business, something Sam isn’t so happy about at the time but later becomes embroiled in it anyway. This line is the summation of the show as a whole, forever perpetuating the series in a few simple words. You want to know what the Winchesters do? Just ask Dean.
“Driver picks the music. Shotgun shuts his cakehole.”
Dean’s house rules, as explained to Sam in the pilot. You want to ride in Dean’s car, you better like the classics of hard rock. And if you don’t, you’ll lose the argument fast. Dean’s preference for old-school music goes hand-in-hand with his affinity for the original car stereo; when Sam adds an Ipod jack to the car later on Dean isn’t impressed and removes it. Dean likes the open road and singing along to the classics (even if they’re on cassette tapes), and he doesn’t like people messing with his system. If you like the classics like Dean, this may be a line you can steal and apply to your own car’s “house rules.”
“There ain’t no me if there ain’t no you!”
Dean’s insistence that Sam not go with Death (Julian Richings) in the Season 9 opener included this treasured line. It melted the hearts of many in the Supernatural audience; this is one of many lines that exudes the close bond of the two brothers. Though they may be dysfunctional and rely on one another a little too much, their bond is sacred and special, closer than most siblings due to the experiences they’ve survived together over the years. You can’t find one brother without the other. This was the line that convinced Sam to give life another go. Whatever may happen to the brothers at the show’s end, they’ll definitely go through it together.
While Supernatural may be ending next year, that doesn’t mean it’ll fade away. Fans will surely re-watch the seasons for years to come and keep it alive on social media. The Supernatural fan base, which has morphed into something like family over the years, will treasure and remember the show. Perhaps a movie will appear in the next few years, or even a re-boot or limited series. With the popularity of revivals lately, you never know. Until then, we’ll enjoy the show’s last year, treasure episodes of seasons past, and incessantly insert Supernatural pop culture into our everyday lives.
What do you think of these Supernatural pop culture references? Let us know in the comments!
