Top 10 Creatures in "Supernatural", Season 6

Even though this is a Top 10 post, I'd like to talk about "Supernatural" Season 6 for a couple of paragraphs before getting to the list. Not because I hated it and want to rant about it like I did with "Bridesmaids" but rather just to...I dunno, talk about it. I'm a big fan of the show and to say it's been influential in the development of something I want to put on TV is a massive understatement so I feel I should actually talk about it once every now and then. However, if you want to know more about the actual setup of the show, this post isn't the place to educate yourself. This is just about Season 6 and my thoughts about where Season 7 could go...and yes, my 10 favourite creatures. Spoilers follow.

Season 6 picks up a year after Season 5, Dean is living with Lisa and her son, Ben. He's managed to get out of being a hunter and he seems happy for the first time in the last 6 years. Meanwhile, Sam is actually out of Lucifer's Cage and he's been hunting with Bobby and his resurrected grandad, Samuel, for the last year without Dean knowing. Eventually Dean is brought back into the world of hunting with Sam and, throughout the Season, they have to deal with Crowley's plan with souls, the opening of Purgatory, the Mother of all Monsters and getting Sam's tormented soul back. It's all very watchable but the real point of interest is behind the camera with the Supernatural crew.
Some viewers may not have been aware that Eric Kripke, the original showrunner and creator, only had main control over Seasons 1 to 5. He had a 5 year story arc that ended with Dean going back to Lisa. It was only when the show was brought back for Season 6 that they had to find a way of expanding it with a new story. What's more, Kripke stepped down and Sera Gamble, a producer and writer for the show, took over. Much like the way "Doctor Who" noticeably changed with the transition from RTD to Moffat, the first half of Supernatural certainly felt different. Of course it's hard to follow a show that previously dealt with the apocalypse and Lucifer so I'm not saying the quality of episodes took a huge dip but...well, Supernatural was starting to get a tad too experimental.
The Kripke years gave us odd episodes involving a 'Groundhog Day' parody, a meta subplot involving the Winchester's lives being told through novels and a town where wishes come true but all of those felt natural within the show. Flashforward to 2010-2011 where there are episodes involving fairies, dragons and a pretty weak 'Twilight' pastiche/borderline homage and it wouldn't be surprising if you started to question where the show took a wrong turn. Episode plots started to feel lazy and random monsters were scraped from the bottom of the barrel just to advance the story. For example, Dean needed to know Sam was lying and hiding something from him. Solution? An ancient God that makes people tell the truth, leading to people either killing themselves or getting killed.

I suppose one could argue that this was a result of lesser known monsters emerging as part of Earth, post-averted apocalypse, but my point is Supernatural felt smarter and generally better than the first half of Season 6. OK, we had some great episodes such as "Weekend At Bobby's" and "Appointment In Samarra" but, ironically, it was only when Sam got his soul back that the very soul of the show returned...boy, I bet that comparison has been made 100 times before. We had entertaining filler episodes that went back to the B-Movie Horror Flick feel of Supernatural Season 1 such as "Mannequin 3: The Reckoning" and meta heavy Ben Edlund masterpieces such as "The French Mistake" where the Fourth Wall isn't so much as broken but rather completely obliterated, leaving us to question how the show will top the latest effort without having the actual cast literally turn up in your own house.
Even the homage episodes were better. "And Then There Were None" was about as close to classic monster movie 'The Thing' without being too obvious as it could be, which obviously trumps anything to do with vampires, let alone ones that sparkle. As the show progressed, the quality of episodes only increased without making the same mistakes earlier ones did when they became kind of ridiculous. Even though "Frontierland" had a Phoenix as the main monster, the plot involving the brothers travelling back in time to the Old West was enough to make it work. As an added cherry on top, the subplot involving Dean, Lisa and Ben was concluded and (hopefully) won't be returning. I think we can all agree that Dean is better when he's cracking out music references and killing demons than moping about his family.
The last episode left us hanging on the idea of a new villain more powerful than Azazel, Lilith or Lucifer. It also saw the wall in Sam's head coming down, leaving him weak but not broken...yet. In terms of where Season 7 could go, I'd say the road has many different directions. The Mother is dead, Castiel has become a God twisted by his own power, Raphael is dead, Crowley has vanished* and the brothers (and Bobby) are up the creek without a paddle. Just so long as they don't make Greek Mythology a main theme, I nearly shat bricks when those warning signs came up throughout Season 6. Anyway, those are my thoughts for Season 6. It started off pretty damn shaky but fixed itself halfway through. If the last few episodes of Season 6 are anything to go by, Season 7 will be a real treat.

Anyway, Top 10 Creatures in Season 6. Similar to other blog posts, I'm judging these based on their personality, their strength and...well, I'll explain my choices for each of them. Here we go:


10. Alpha Vampire (Episode 7, "Family Matters")
I don't like vampires in 'Supernatural'. Vampire episodes are usually pretty dull, the exception being the one where the vampire hunter is turned into a vampire. Even the 'Twilight' parody was pretty naff. However, with the story about Alpha monsters, we were treated to one good vampire. The very first vampire. He's not the main monster for the episode but after he's captured and tortured, he shows us that he's stronger than any blood sucking douche the brothers have dealt with before. It's also a great moment when you can tell he's about to escape, building up the tension until he finally breaks free and starts to get revenge.

9. Castiel (Episode 22, "The Man Who Knew Too Much")
I know this contradicts one of my rules since I'm sure Cas has been on a list before (creatures can't be on the list more than once unless they're different to their previous appearance) but this time, he is different. Before, he was an angel who resurrected Dean and nearly killed him again when he tried to communicate with him. Now, he's working with Crowley to find Purgatory in order to win a war in heaven. However, in the final episode, he manages to absorb all of the souls in Purgatory and becomes as powerful as a God. He kills Raphael and threatens to do the same to the Winchester brothers if they don't worship him. Since he only appeared as a potential villain in the last 5 minutes, he only makes it to number 9 on the list. It also means he can't appear on the Season 7 monster list...damn, I didn't think it through.

8. Arachne (Episode 13, "Unforgiven")
One of the many Greek monsters that made an appearance. Similar to quite a few of the creatures in Season 6 that are portrayed as animals in myths, the writers decided to turn a monster that was originally more Spider than Human into a person with an altered appearance and certain abilities. It's on the list because a) It looks freaking creepy, b) It can infect other people like other scary monsters, c) It can't be killed by bullets or fire and d) It poses a threat for the future. I can't remember the exact quote but doesn't it claim there are Arachne all over America, ready to start infecting people everywhere? If that happens, fucking game over.

7. Jefferson Starships (Episode 19, "Mommy Dearest")
A brand new monster cooked up by Eve that Dean discovered and, therefore, got to name...hence the name. They're basically vampires crossed with wraiths but are also near undetectable. Eve's plan was to release them and turn the entire populace into them so that their souls would go to Purgatory instead of Heaven/Hell. The monsters are pretty good and certainly pose a threat but the reason they're at number 7 is because of the way they fit into the show despite not being an actual creature outside of the show's mythology. There's a great moment in the episode when some of them are leading the brothers into a police station but accidentally give themselves away, leading Sam to shout "Jefferson Starships!". Moments like that make Supernatural worth watching.

6. Eve (Episode 19, "Mommy Dearest")
One of the main antagonists throughout Season 6, Eve is the Mother of all Monsters. Writers claimed her name was meant to be a pun based on what she wants to achieve ("eve of monsters") but at the same time, also refers to Eve from Adam and Eve and how she was the first mother on Earth. As far as her actual character goes, she comes across as threatening and powerful but due to not being on screen for a lot of the time (Meg Masters has cropped up more times than Eve...and Meg's still alive!), a bit underwhelming. For someone who could have been so powerful, she's killed after 7 episodes of being introduced. Granted her death was awesome but maybe if she'd been introduced earlier on, she would've made it further in the list.

5. Atropos (Episode 17, "My Heart Will Go On")
An interesting idea for an episode and an enemy that not only kills people in great ways but is also so powerful, the brothers don't kill it. Basically, if you can't remember what happens, Balthazar changes history so the Titanic didn't sink, resulting in 50,000 more souls on the Earth. As a result, Fate/Atropos goes on a killing spree by setting up 'Final Destination' like scenarios for people who should be dead. She nearly kills the Winchesters twice but they're saved by...well, divine intervention. She also has a good scene with Castiel, explaining why she's so pissed off at him and the brothers for ruining her plan by stopping the apocalypse.

4. Raphael (Episode 20, "The Man Who Would Be King")
Raphael has been in the series for a while. He appeared in person in Season 5, appeared as a bright light in Season 4 and is actually mentioned by name in Season 2. However, even though he was a badass in Season 5, he's a full on antagonist this time. He wants to restart the apocalypse but Castiel obviously has objections, so he's trying to get enough angels on his side to take down Castiel. As a result, Castiel is trying to get souls so he can fight the Archangel. His power and cold but firm attitude throughout the series is what makes him such a great character, but it seems he was no match for a godlike Castiel.

3. Spirit - Mannequins (Episode 14, "Mannequin 3: The Reckoning")
As I said earlier, I enjoyed this episode because it was a simple Monster Of The Week deal with a vengeful spirit and a B Movie storyline, much like episodes way back in Seasons 1 and 2. It also gave the brothers trouble when they realised the remains were in an actual person, due to the spirit being an organ donor in life. A ghost possesses sex dolls and college lab models to kill the people she blames for her own death but, in trying to kill Dean, ends up killing her only friend from when she was alive. It's not a complex creature but it certainly does create memorable scenes. Plus, as Dean himself states, they are freaking creepy.

2. The Khan Worm (Episode 16, "And Then There Were None")
Another monster created by Eve after she got out of Purgatory. This one crawls into people and makes them want to kill others, named after a creature from 'Star Trek'. However, there's no way of knowing who has the worm inside of them so when the Winchesters, Bobby, Rufus and the Campbells are inside a warehouse together, they realise that one of them could very well be a killer. A simple creature but certainly a powerful one, this monster only had one purpose within the show but still, that's all it needed to make an impact.

1. Crowley (Episode 10, "Caged Heat")
When all's said and done, you have to admit that Crowley really brings it home as a Magnificent Bastard. Introduced in Season 5 as a facilitator to Sam and Dean, he's been promoted to the new King of Hell since Lucifer was locked back in his cage. As a result, he's more powerful...and yet, he still chooses to work with the Winchesters and Castiel. Crowley wants to open Purgatory to get the souls as well but in order to find the Alpha monsters who know where Purgatory is located, he resurrects Samuel and Sam to hunt the creatures down. Whenever Crowley is on screen, you know the scene is going to be good. His witty dialogue can match Dean's and his angry bursts remind you that he's not just any demon. He is the King of all Demons.


God, this blog post took me a long time to write. Well it's done now so I hope you enjoyed reading it. Be seeing you.


* I met Mark Sheppard at London Comic Con and after talking about 'Supernatural', he claimed that Sera told him "the question about what happened to that demon will be answered". Not a lot but having met Mark Sheppard and got an autograph from him, I would've been happy to hear him reveal that Sam and Dean will be back in Season 7.