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Thirteen Returns We Want to See on Supernatural in the Final Season

We've got a little list

collage of Meg, Metatron, Ruby and cain from Supernatural

Last week’s Supernatural saw the return of long-dead first demon Lilith. It was a big surprise, even to long-time watchers of the show, because even though Supernatural is rife with resurrections, a demon has never returned to life after being killed. But now we know two important things: that demons, like angels, go to The Empty when they’re ganked. And perhaps more importantly, that with God meddling in things, and Sam have visions of what might have been, anyone is fair game to return.

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For a show that’s in it’s fifteenth and final season, that makes us really excited for who we might see back in the mix. It’s a perfect way to honor the show’s long history and the many, many characters the fans have loved and lost. Already this season we’ve seen returns by Benny (Ty Olson), Amara (Emily Swallow), Lilith (Anna Grace Barlow) and Becky (Emily Perkins) and they’ve all been delightful. We also know that Adam Milligan (Jake Abel) and Eileen Leahy (Shoshanna Stern) have returns booked.

So here are thirteen (we had to stop at the spookiest number) returns we most want to see before we hear “Carry On Wayward Son” for the last time.

Samantha Smith as Mary Winchester and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as John Winchester leaning in together in Supernatural.

13. Mary and John Winchester 

We know that we just saw these two last season, but I can’t imagine a final season of Supernatural without a visit from the parents that started it all, in some form. Samantha Smith was part of the pilot, and has remained a huge part of the show, she has to return. We know Jeffrey Dean Morgan is very busy, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get a visit from Young John Winchester as played by Matt Cohen (who will also be directing an episodes this season).

12. Samuel Campbell 

I’m still mad and I’ll remain mad that Grandpa Campbell, Mary’s father who was resurrected in season six, didn’t get any sort of emotional resolution with his daughter or his grandsons. Mitch Pileggi, who audiences know and love from The X-Files, was such a great presence on the show and as someone who was used as a pawn of heaven and hell, he could totally relate to what Sam and Dean are dealing with this year.

11. Azazel and the Special Children

If we’re looking back, let’s look way back to season two when we didn’t know why Sammy had special powers and we met several of Azazel’s “special children” and we would love to see any of them back in one of Sam’s visions of what could have been. Frederic Lehne was so creepy as the show’s first truly great villain and we’d love to see characters like Andy (Gabriel Tigerman), Jake Talley (Aldis Hodge) or Ava (Katherine Isabelle) in either a dream or as ghost from the past.

10. Anna

Anna (Julie McNiven) was the first angel we knew that stood up to heaven, and who inspired Castiel to be the rebel we know and love today. Then she got brainwashed and tried to kill the Winchesters in the past…and that never felt right. If we’re getting folks out of the empty who might not like God’s plans, Anna would be a great choice.

9. Bela Talbot

Bela (Lauren Cohan) was one of the first attempts by Supernatural to add more women to the testosterone heavy show…and she was not a hit with audiences. She was mean and petty, but she ended up sort of redeeming herself before she was dragged down to hell to fulfill a crossroads deal. That means by now she’s probably a demon and wouldn’t it be great to see a demon version of a character we met over a decade ago? You don’t even need to hire Lauren Cohan, just have the demon possess a cheaper, less bust actress!

8. Gordon Walker

Did you remember that Sterling K. Brown was on Supernatural waaaay before he won his Emmys on This is Us? We did. Gordon Walker was one of the meanest humans (turned Vampire) the boys ever faced, and it would be a delightful blast from the past to see Brown on the show, even for a little bit.

7. Cain

Tim Omundson has only appeared twice on Supernatural, but he made a huge impression doing so. His Cain was regal, terrifying and haunted and we loved every minute of his time on screen. Since his time on the show, Omundson suffered a massive stroke but he’s slowly begun to work again, most recently this year on This is Us and the next Psych movie. The Supernatural family loves Tim and I know I speak for all the fans when I saw we’d love to see him back this final season in any capacity.

6. Balthazar

Honestly, who didn’t love Sebastian Roche’s debaucherous, slightly treacherous angel with an attitude? Like Anna and Cas he’s a rebel, but he’s also a major fan favorite. Roche has been keeping up his presence on The CW on The Originals and has an upcoming gig on Batwoman so we know he’s up for it.

5. The Real Bobby Singer

Aside from Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, the only actor to have appeared in every season of Supernatural is Jim Beaver. We can’t imagine the final season will break this streak. But we’d like to see him back as the real Bobby Singer, the one who we last saw getting in big trouble in heaven in season ten. We got a flashback of our Bobby in season eleven, but since season twelve Beaver has played an alternate world Bobby. For the final season, we want the real thing.

4. Metatron

Now this is the guy you want around to fight God. He’s a student of stories and he probably knows Chuck (Rob Benedict) better than anyone and Curtis Armstrong is a consistent delight to watch. Last we saw him he was getting vaporized by Amara, but that can’t keep a good angel down, right? Maybe he’s in the empty and can join up with Jack, Billie and who ever else they can find to fight the power.

3. Ruby

I feel like this one is a given. If we’re bringing back demons, or if Sam is having terrible visions of what might have been, Ruby has to show up. And more so than any other actor, Genevieve Padalecki (Cortese when she was on the show) became a literal part of the Supernatural family by marry Jared Padalecki after the met through the show in in season four. We’d also love to see Danneel Ackles back, and it would be great fun to have both of the Winchester wives in the same scene.

 

Richard Speight as Gabriel in The CW's Supernatural: "Unfinished Business"

2. Gabriel

Speaking of Entities in the Empty we want to see rising up against their dear old dad? This list would not be complete without Gabriel (Richard Speight Jr.). Speight is already a part of season fifteen as a director but we want at least one more peek at our favorite trickster on screen before the curtain closes. As the MC at the popular Supernatural convention, Speight is the beating heart of the fandom, and we want the chance to give his beloved character one more goodbye.

1. Meg

Speaking of the heart of the fandom, there’s a reason Meg, as played by Rachel Miner is at the top of this list. Meg was a consistent presence on the show from season one when she was played by Nicki Aycox. She was the first demon we really knew, but it was Miner who grew her into a morally ambiguous quasi-ally of the boys.

Miner left the show, and acting in 2013, due to her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. It took Miner some time to return to the public eye, but she did so in 2015 when she began to appear at Supernatural conventions (with the aid of her trusty unicorn scooter, Clarence). Since then Miner has become an unfailing voice for hope, positivity and compassion in the fandom and works with Misha Collins as the executive director of Random Acts.

I don’t think there’s any return that would be more meaningful to the fandom than Miner’s, especially if she’s able to act in a chair and provide much needed representation for the disabled community on television. Either as Meg’s vessel or the snarky, smart demon herself, this is the return we most want to see.

 

This list could co on and on, and we know there are many fan favorites we missed so sound off in the comments: who would you like to see back on screen before the final countdown ends?

 

(Featured image credits: The CW; Meg: Liane Hentscher, Ruby: Michael Courtney, Cain, Metatron: Diyah Pera)

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Author
Jessica Mason
Jessica Mason (she/her) is a writer based in Portland, Oregon with a focus on fandom, queer representation, and amazing women in film and television. She's a trained lawyer and opera singer as well as a mom and author.

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