Supernatural, the long running show about the monster hunting brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles), is back for–yes–a 13th season. No, we can’t believe it either.
Before we delve back into the world of ghosts, demons, and vampires, here’s a quick look back at the epic journey the two of them have been on…
Season One (2005-2006)
After the mysterious death of their mother Mary (Samantha Smith) when they were just children, Sam and Dean are raised by their father John (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) to be Hunters, and fight the forces of evil. After Sam leaves the family to go to college he gets called back in when John goes missing. When the investigation into his disappearance leads to the death of Sam’s girlfriend, he joins his brother on his quest to fight evil and find their father.
Along the way the two of them encounters ghosts, vampires, and shape-shifters, before discovering that their mother was killed by a demon names Azazel (Fredric Lehne). Teaming up with their father to fight Azazel, Sam finds out that he’s a part of the demons plans, and that he has been given strange psychic powers.
Season Two (2006-2007)
Sam and Dean continue their quest to kill the demon Azazel following the death of their father. They find new allies along the way, including the old hunter Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver), and John’s old friend Ellen (Samantha Ferris) and her daughter Jo (Alona Tal).
Azazel furthers his plans by bringing together several people with psychic abilities, including Sam, to fight each other until only one is left. When Sam is killed Dean makes a deal with a Crossroads Demon in order to bring him back. Despite having Sam back, they fail to stop Azazel opening a portal to Hell, which unleashes hundreds, if not thousands of demons. Thanks to some help from the spirit of John, they are finally able to kill Azazel and close the portal.
Season Three (2007-2008)
Thanks to the deal Dean made to bring Sam back to life he only has a year to live before he’s killed and sent to hell. As the two of them try to find a way of breaking the deal they come across a ‘good’ demon named Ruby (Katie Cassidy), who claims to be able to help them.
The two of them also make an uneasy alliance with a con artist names Bella (Lauren Cohen), who is able to track down the demon holing Dean’s contract, Lillith (Sierra McCormick). The first demon ever made, Lillith is incredibly powerful, and despite their best efforts they’re unable to stop her, leading to Dean’s horrific death.
Season Four (2008-2009)
After four months, Dean suddenly wakes up in a coffin alive and well he discovers that he was saved from Hell by an angel names Castiel (Misha Collins), who was sent to save Dean before he slipped over to the dark side and unwittingly broke the first of the 66 seals. Unfortunately, Castiel was too late and Dean tortured other souls in hell in order to save his own.
With the first seal broken, the Winchesters have to work to stop 65 others from being destroyed, as this will lead to Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino) being freed from his prison. Working alongside angels, and Ruby, who is now in a new body (Genevieve Cortese), they fight against various threats, including renegade angels, ghost sickness, and even a giant living teddy bear.
Unfortunately, Ruby has been feeding Sam’s dark tendencies, literally, by making him drink demons blood to increase his psychic powers. Convincing him that he has to kill Lillith in order to stop the end of the world Sam manages to kill her, inadvertently breaking the final seal and unleashing Lucifer upon the Earth.
Season Five (2009-2010)
With Lucifer unleashed upon the world, the apocalypse has begun. The Winchesters find themselves being sought after by both sides, as Hell wants Sam to become Lucifer’s vessel, and Heaven wants Dean to let the archangel Michael take him over. As Lucifer builds his forces, including the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Sam and Dean gather their allies and formulate a plan to try and kill Lucifer.
Sadly, Lucifer proves harder to kill than expected, leading to the deaths of Ellen and Jo as Lucifer released Death himself on the world. As Sam and Dean grow apart over the course of the season Sam finally agrees to allow Lucifer to use him as his vessel, pitting Dean against his own brother.
Dean, Castiel, and Bobby manage to trap Lucifer back in his prison, though fail to get him out of Sam’s body. With his brother seemingly lost forever, Dean quits being a hunter and reforms his relationship with his old girlfriend Lisa (Cindy Sampson).
Season Six (2010-2011)
When Sam mysteriously returns from Lucifer’s cage, Dean is drawn back into the world of hunting once again. Discovering that Sam is working with their resurrected maternal grandfather Samuel (Mitch Pileggi) and his group of hunters, the Winchesters work alongside him to capture Alpha Monsters, the first of their races.
During the course of the season Dean finds out that Sam is acting stranger than he used to because his soul is still trapped within the cage. Making a deal with Death, Dean manages to restore Sam to his true self.
When it comes to light that Samuel is hunting the Alpha’s for the demon Crowley (Mark Sheppard), who is working alongside Castiel, the brothers have to fight against their former friend, who is trying to gain access to the monster souls in Purgatory in order to win an angel civil war. Despite trying to get through to their friend, Castiel absorbs the purgatory souls, declaring himself the new God.
Season Seven (2011-2012)
After absorbing the souls from Purgatory Castiel sets out to declare himself God and punish the wicked. Unfortunately, he soon discovers that he has absorbed the Leviathan, ancient creatures so powerful and evil that they were sealed away. The Leviathan break free from Castiel, apparently killing him in the process.
With the Leviathan taking hosts all over the world, and being near impossible to kill, they fall under the leadership of Dick Roman (James Patrick Stewart), who has plans to turn humans into their food source whilst they take over the world.
During their fight against Dick, Sam and Dean find a resurrected Castiel, and even form an alliance with Crowley, but lose Bobby when Dick shoots him in the head. Having lost their surrogate father, Sam and Dean take the fight to the Leviathan, managing to kill Dick, though Dean and Castiel end up being sucked into Purgatory in the process.
Season Eight (2012-2013)
After being gone for a year, Dean manages to return from Purgatory, though without Castiel. As Sam and Dean try to find a way to close the gates of Hell permanently using the Demon Tablet, Castiel is rescued from Purgatory by an angel named Naomi (Amanda Tapping), who brainwashes Castiel into being her agent.
When Sam and Dean’s paternal grandfather Henry (Gil McKinney) travels from the 1950’s to the modern day, pursued by a powerful Knight of Hell Abaddon (Alaina Huffman), they learn that they are descendent of the Men of Letters, a secret society that studied the supernatural. Despite losing their grandfather, Sam and Dean inherit a fortified bunker filled with supernatural lore and weapons.
Whilst Sam and Dean fail to seal the gates of Hell, as doing so would kill Sam, Castiel is tricked into performing a spell that he believes will seal the Angels in Heaven, though inadvertently ends up casting all the Angel down to Earth instead.
Season Nine (2013-2014)
With the Angels having fallen to Earth, Castiel has lost his grace and been left as a human. In order to save Sam’s life after his attempt to seal the Gates of Hell, Dean makes a deal to let an Angel, Ezekiel (Tahmoh Penikett) inhabit his body to heal him. Unfortunately, Ezekiel eventually betrays the Winchesters, killing their friend Kevin (Osric Chau) in the process.
With Crowley in the possession of the Winchesters, Abaddon takes over Hell. In order to stop her Dean takes on the Mark of Cain in order to wield The First Blade, the only weapon that can kill a Knight of Hell.
As Castiel manages to restore his own grace and is asked by a number of Angels to lead them against the renegade angel Metatron (Curtis Armstrong), Dean manages to kill Abaddon. When Sam and Dean agree to help Castiel deal with Metatron, however, Dean is killed in the process, which causes Dean to become a demon thanks to the Mark of Cain.
Season Ten (2014-2015)
After being resurrected as a Demon, and joining forces with Crowley, Sam and Castiel have to track him down in order to cure him and make him human again. Thanks to a ritual using sanctified blood, they are able to restore Dean back to his former self, though he is still affected by the Mark of Cain.
As the Mark fills Dean with a blood-lust, causing him to black out and commit several brutal murders, Sam searches for a way to remove it with the help of their friend Charlie (Felicia Day), and the witch Rowena (Ruth Connell). When the Mark is removed, however, the Winchesters accidentally unleash The Darkness, an ancient primordial evil.
Season Eleven (2015-2016)
After being released The Darkness manifests itself into a human body, born into baby called Amara. As the baby grows up she is taken in by Crowley, who attempts to use her for his own gains, though it also becomes clear that she has a mysterious connection to Dean.
As an adult, Amara (Emily Swallow) reveals herself to be the sister of God, who trapped her away in order to create the world. Now free, she is more powerful than any angel or demon, and intends to destroy everything. Knowing that they are no match for Amara, the Winchesters form an alliance with Lucifer, Crowley, Rowena, and their old friend Chuck (Rob Benedict) who reveals himself to be God.
Despite throwing everything that they have against Amara, the group are unable to stop her, and are only able to prevent her from destroying the world when Dean convinces her to resolve her problems with her brother. As a reward for helping her, Amara thanks Dean by bringing his mother Mary back to life.
Season Twelve (2016-2017)
With Mary Winchester back from the dead she works alongside Sam and Dean in their fight against the supernatural, whilst also trying to form a meaningful relationship with her sons. Unfortunately, the British chapter of the Men of Letters arrives in America, intent on making the American hunters either work with them, or killing them.
Thanks to the fight against Amara, Lucifer is now free on Earth once again, and goes through several vessels with power and influence before managing to enter the body of the President of the United States. Whilst in the President, Lucifer manages to impregnate a woman called Kelly Klein (Courtney Ford). Whilst the Angels fear how powerful Lucifers son may become, Castiel believes that the child can be a force for good, and decides to protect Kelly.
After defeating the British Men on Letters, the Winchesters help Castiel deal with Lucifer, along with some help from Crowley. As Kelly goes into labour, the power of the unborn child tears a hole in reality, opening a doorway to another dimension where the apocalypse still rages.
The Winchesters manage to lure Lucifer through the portal, where Crowley performs a spell in order to close the doorway, killing himself in order to do so. Before the doorway can close, however, Lucifer manages to come back through and kills Castiel. Protecting her sons, Mary pushes Lucifer back through the portal, but gets dragged through with him.
Supernatural Season 13 premieres on E4 from Tuesday 17th April at 10pm.