Supernatural’s Gabriel Episodes RANKED

This is my composite ranked list of every single episode of Supernatural featuring the archangel Gabriel. I approached this ranking with far more rigor and effort than it deserved. *Spoilers to follow.

Context

I watched the first few episodes of Supernatural in 2014 with prompting from an s/o. I pretended to like it. Then we broke up.

Recently I’ve been pulled back in by my friend when we discovered that the best way to watch Supernatural is to watch every episode featuring a recurring character in chronological order. No context, no fuss. The list is the result of that enterprise. We fully intend to replicate this experiment with other recurring characters. There may be more lists like this to follow.

The List

My criteria for ranking this list are as follows:

1. My Personal Enjoyment

2. Gabriel Content (Mr. Speight Jr.’s performance plus fun writing)

3. Insanity

I ordered the ten episodes according to each of these three metrics (most to least insane, etc.) and awarded them points out of ten accordingly. I then totaled points from the three lists. Final scores are out of 30. To reiterate, this list is not ranking based on quality alone. I’ve included an approximate ranking of general quality at the end of this list so you can decide whether or not you should trust me.

10. Meta Fiction

I cannot remember a single thing about this episode. No, seriously, I had to have my friend give me a play-by-play of the entire thing not two weeks since I’d seen it. And even she had to ultimately check the wiki. When doing the Gabriel circuit this episode admittedly comes with the disadvantage of lacking surrounding context. Unlike Exodus and Bring Him Back alive, which have at least one episode preceding them giving us much needed context, Metafiction feels completely disconnected from everything else we watched in the Gabriel Circuit. While the nature of our watch contributes to this disjointedness, the episode itself nonetheless bears the brunt of the blame. The petty and meandering fetch quest A plot is only further undermined by the framing-device B plot, which nullifies the entire affair just short of “it was all a dream…” Gabriel’s inclusion in this episode does little more than tease future appearances and Mr. Speight Jr. lacks his usually robust presence. I did enjoy a surprise guest visit from Tahmoh Penikett as biker angel Gadreel (“Holy shit! That’s the guy who *** * ***** ******** on BSG!!!”)

Enjoyment: 1

GC: 3

Insanity: 1

Total: 5

9. Exodus

I wish so badly that this episode could have ranked higher in any metric (yes, even insanity). The fact that the literal Christian devil is attempting to reconcile with his son AND a 30 second cameo from Nazi Castiel should be enough to tip the scales in this episode’s favor. Well, a pretty standard plot (by season 13 of Supernatural standards), meandering exposition, and a cluttered cast would render this episode solidly mediocre. IF Gabriel’s final departure wasn’t So. Fucking. Lame.

Poor Mr. Speight Jr. is given virtually nothing to do in this episode (a severe let down after the giddy insanity of the previous episode) and his character is unceremoniously slaughtered by a baddie he’s never encountered onscreen. The stakes are flaccid, the plotting sterile, the drama impotent. Gabriel could be kind of a shithead, but he didn’t deserve this.

Enjoyment: 2

GC: 2

Insanity: 8

Total: 12

8. The Thing

This episode is just fine. I’m a shill for Lovecraftian horror and this episode was a fun little gesture (I had also just watched James Gunn’s Slither when I watched this, which made for a great double feature). This episode is pretty run-of-the-mill Supernatural. That is, until we see Colonel Sanders has been keeping Gabriel under lock and key for the last several seasons to extract his grace (not an innuendo, at least for now). While Sam and Dean blunder along through the A plot, Arthur Ketch breaks Gabriel out of captivity, as Mr. Speight Jr. does his best Theon Greyjoy impression, rags and all.

While I did enjoy The Thing, I don’t think it deserves to be any higher on this list. Sam and Dean fight a conventional monster-of-the-week, Mr. Speight Jr. is playing one note the entire episode (and compounding the issue, his mouth is completely out of commission for almost the duration of the episode), and the last quarter of the run is devoted to setting up the marginally superior subsequent episode. It’s fine.

Enjoyment: 5

GC: 1

Insanity: 7

Total: 13

7. Mystery Spot

I’m having a really hard time summarizing my thoughts on this episode. On the one hand, it’s a staple of the series: Heat of the Moment, “Tuesday, Pig ‘n a Poke,” etc. etc. On the other, this episode is…missing something for me? I’m not sure whether it’s the lack of Mr. Speight Jr., the lackluster preachy ending, or the fact that Jared Padalecki has to carry an entire episode mostly on his own, but the secret sauce was missing for me on this one. The premise is admittedly pretty tight (though cliché) and Jensen Ackles has some of his best line deliveries in this episode. However, this is the one episode I remember having seen prior to this run, and it’s the only episode I actually like less on further reflection. It’s probably objectively better than a lot of the episodes on this list that come after it, but it gets dinged on all three metrics.

Enjoyment: 7

GC: 4

Insanity: 3

Total: 14

6. Bring Em Back Alive

This episode probably ranks higher on this list than it has any right to. The A plot with Ketch and Dean searching for an Apocalypse World Charlie drags. The B plot of Sam and Castiel’s rehabilitation of Gabriel is a change of pace, but plays out pretty much as expected.

However…

This episode gives us, condensed into forty-five minutes, the full spectrum of both the character Gabriel and the range of Mr. Speight Jr. The subtle (and not so subtle) appeals to the tiny corner of Tumblr that shipped Sabriel are baffling, and admirably so. Gabriel’s recovery from trauma is borderline miraculous, but the show is already so far gone that it honestly doesn’t bother me. I enjoy a good little rehabilitation arc just fine.

“Pornstars. They were pornstars, Sam.”

Enjoyment: 4

GC: 6

Insanity: 5

Total: 15

5. Tall Tales

Tall Tales is a solid episode of Supernatural. This episode boasts an interesting hook, a great sense of humor, and a finale twist that leaves the door open for future installments. It provides a fun, pulpy introduction to our man of the hour, and gives Sam and Dean a fun little mystery to solve. Unfortunately, given that it’s his first appearance, Gabriel needs a little more time in the oven before we get to the good stuff. I can’t blame Mr. Speight Jr., who is doing exactly what his job description requires. Tall Tales ran so these next four episodes could fly. But honestly it’s really quite good. I like n̵o̵u̵g̵a̵t̵ Tall Tales.

Enjoyment: 9

GC: 5

Insanity: 2

Total: 16

4. Hammer of the Gods

Hammer of the Gods baffled me. I didn’t enjoy this episode as much as others on this list, but the sheer number of questions it raises bumped the insanity ranking way up. For the writers to introduce pantheons from half a dozen world religions into the canonical universe takes guts. To have Hindu goddess Kali call out the eurocentrism inherent in the show’s Judeo-Christian focus takes balls. But I can’t tell if having Christian Satan then nullify that argument by killing all of the gods present in one fell swoop is stupidly brave or stupidly cowardly. Or is it just stupid?

Despite all of this, Hammer of the Gods does actually have a lot going for it. Gabriel is in top form here, with Mr. Speight Jr. getting the chance to show his more alluring side in scenes with Kali AND his first ever appearance in Casa Erotica. For that alone this episode gets brownie points. Top it all off with a great supporting cast and a fantastic final confrontation between Lucifer and sweet baby brother and its honestly kind of a winning combination. If you can get past that stuff I first mentioned.

Enjoyment: 3

GC: 7

Insanity: 7

Total: 17

3. Unfinished Business

I want to know who let this episode happen. No, seriously. I want to know which executive on the CW said, “Ok, ok, I know that Sam and Dean are on a urgent quest to save their mom from Apocalypse World, BUT Richard reaaaalllllyyyyy wants to direct a Tarantino episode right the fuck now AND we want Gabriel to have a literal kill list that is four names long entirely comprising Norse Gods and ALSO you know this would be a great opportunity to reveal that Loki is actually a different entity than Gabriel with the exact same body, AND FURTHERMORE — ” Ok. You get it. This episode is fucking nuts. Whoever said that it would be a good idea to have Mr. Speight Jr. direct HIMSELF TWICE in a balls-to-the-wall Kill Bill episode should be given a medal. Not only do we get great performances all around, and some of the most fun melee combat I’ve seen in the series, but the episode takes the time to fully integrate its premise into Gabriel’s arc, filling in plot gaps with lore that is, though admittedly convoluted, nonetheless internally consistent. There is no reason whatsoever they had to do this. None.

Also that one shot of Sleipnir is permanently burned into my brain. You know which one.

Enjoyment: 6

GC: 8

Insanity: 6

Total: 20

2. Beat the Devil

In an era of supernatural where world (and alternate world)-ending stakes are a weekly occurrence, this episode manages to cut through the monotony of a navel-gazing show, offering brand new scenarios never committed to television, let alone Supernatural, before or since. In Every. Single. Scene. Did we expect the first several lines of the episode to be dominated by heavy-handed dick jokes? Could we ever have anticipated not one, but TWO once-primary antagonists spontaneously fucking in the bunker before the five-minute mark? In our wildest dreams could we ever have imagined recently divorced dad Lucifer moping over a bottle of whiskey lamenting his fractured relationship with his son to The Cat’s in the Cradle? Did we need a full minute of Rowena talking to herself in third person in order to reiterate the stakes of the season thus far? Did we ever ask for Sam to be butchered by a lame monster of the week only to be resurrected two scenes later by Lucifer as a bargaining chip in service of his paternal reconciliation?

This episode is nothing if not consistent. Consistently BATSHIT INSANE.

Enjoyment: 8

GC: 9

Insanity: 10

Total: 27

1. Changing Channels

This episode kicks ass. While other shows may do a one-off genre episode here or there just for kicks, Changing Channels not only straddles half a dozen genres in its 45 minute run, but it manages to integrate these forays into a diegetic plot. To top it all off, The Trickster, up to this point a recurring monster-of-the-week, is elevated to not just angel status, but is revealed to be the real-life archangel Gabriel. Yes. ThatGabriel. Mr. Speight Jr. is at his peak here, ranging from malicious, to smarmy, to child of cosmic divorce (“I just want it to END”). This episode is unironically fantastic. Supernatural is at its best when it admits that it’s a campy clusterfuck that doesn’t take itself too seriously. This episode is silly without being ham-fisted (a feat given the Nutcracker segment), and expands the lore of the show without being obtuse. I knew I had a soft spot for this episode two minutes in, and I have yet to be proven wrong. Give this one a rewatch — it’s better than you remember.

Enjoyment: 10

GC: 10

Insanity: 9

Total: 29

Gabriel Episodes Ranked by Quality

10. Metafiction

9. Exodus

8. The Thing

7. Bring Em Back Alive

6. Beat the Devil

5. Hammer of the Gods

4. Unfinished Business

3. Mystery Spot

2.Tall Tales

1. Changing Channels