With the surprise return of Gabriel to Supernatural right before the show went on hiatus because of the Olympics, I’ve been thinking about what other characters I’d still like to see brought back. We’ve already seen the return of Bobby and Kevin due to the Alternate Universe and though it’s not quite as good as having the real versions of those characters back, it’s better than nothing and there are many characters I’d take back that way if it was our only choice!
So which characters would I like to have back?
Young John Winchester/Michael played by Matt Cohen
He may have only been in a few episodes, but Matt Cohen’s version of Young John Winchester and Michael have definitely made an impression within the fandom. He made his first appearance in season five when Sam and Dean go back in time to stop Anna from trying to convince Mary not to conceive Sam in order to prevent the apocalypse. The archangel Michael possesses John, kills Anna, and sends the Winchesters back to their time. We got to see Matt Cohen play not only John Winchester, but Michael possessing John and fans have loved him ever since!
Our last glimpse of Matt as young John Winchester was in one of the most iconic episodes of the entire series in season eleven’s Baby. Seeing the dynamic between Dean and John when John wasn’t even aware of Dean’s true identity was unlike anything we’ve seen on the show leading up to that moment and since and we want more!
It would be so incredibly easy to bring him back either as Michael, as a memory, or to dive deeper into John Winchester’s past that I don’t know why he isn’t been back already, but my fingers are crossed that we haven’t seen the last of him on Supernatural.
Charlie Bradbury played by Felicia Day
I’m sure it’s not a surprise to anybody to hear this, but Charlie is one of Supernatural’s most beloved characters and the only prominent LGBT+ character on the show. She was a delightfully nerdy character who wormed her way into the hearts of Sam and Dean (and the rest of us!) in season seven. One of the reasons I loved Charlie so much is because there was something about her that brought out an adorably nerdy, softer side of Dean whenever she was around, and we don’t get to see that nearly as much as I’d like without her. She was killed off horrifically in season ten to a massive outcry from her many fans and the actress who plays her, Felicia Day, is asked regularly on social media if she’d return. She seems enthusiastic about the idea, and even responded to a comment Bob Singer made about having her back, saying she was waiting by the phone!
I don’t know what Charlie would look like in the Alternate Universe, (which seems to be a world without computers and technology) but I feel pretty confident that Charlie would make a great hunter in any universe and I want her back!
Ellen and Jo Harvelle played by Alona Tal and Samantha Ferris
Before Donna and Jody were introduced into the Supernatural world, Ellen and Jo were some of the first truly bad-ass women we had. Ellen was tough as nails and didn’t take any crap from anybody and the apple didn’t fall far from the tree with Jo. They were both a part of the original “Team Free Will” (along with Bobby and Castiel) and they were our first glimpse at what a positive influence friendship and family outside of just Sam and Dean could look like on the show. In one of the most heart-wrenching episodes of the series, both Ellen and Jo die in a season five episode, Abandon All Hope. I’ve watched this episode more times than I can count and I never ever manage to make it through without shedding a tear… or fifty.
It’s easy to imagine both Ellen and Jo kicking ass and taking names in the Alternate Universe. In fact, I’d kind of love to see them team up with Bobby again and play a part in rescuing Mary Winchester and Jack. It would almost be like Team Free Will all over again, and I am super thirsty for that!
God/Chuck played by Rob Benedict
In season eleven we discovered that the prophet, Chuck, was actually God all along when he comes to give the Winchesters a hand with The Darkness. Metatron was brought back for this episode as well, and some of my absolute favorite scenes happened between these two in the bar God created. We also got the divine pleasure of hearing Rob Benedict, lead singer for Louden Swain, sing Fare Thee Well.
Chuck’s story line abruptly ended when he disappeared with Amara to work things out with her at the end of season eleven, but there was so much more I wanted to see from his character. We got to see him at least attempt to work things out with Lucifer, but what about Castiel? Why did he bring him back so many times? Why wouldn’t he stay behind and help the Winchesters lock Lucifer away again before he took off? We need answers! On the other hand, it would also be extremely entertaining to see the nervous wreck that is Chuck (not God) in the Alternate Universe trying to fight his way through each day. Rob is a master at comedy and I know I’m not the only fan who would love to see him back!
Balthazar played by Sebastian Roché
Balthazar has always been one of my favorite angels. Everything from his deep v-neck shirts, his distaste of Celine Dion and Titanic, his sassy sarcasm, and his blatant disregard for the rules had him right up there with the likes of Gabriel in my books. Balthazar was only in Supernatural in season six, but he made a lingering impression and still remains a fan-favorite seven seasons later. Balthazar was only ever really concerned about himself, taking the side of whoever he thought would be most beneficial for him at the time, and switching alliances quickly depending on what he could get out of the situation. Balthazar ended up being killed off by a power-hungry Castiel after he discovers Balthazar has been helping the Winchesters behind his back.
Because we know angels now go to The Empty when they die and Jack has shown us he can resurrect them, Balthazar being totally gone is no longer the reality. I’d love to see Jack bring back Balthazar to help them take down Lucifer and/or Michael this season. They’ll just have to keep an eye on him when he’s back!
Crowley played by Mark Sheppard
Crowley remains one of the four key characters in Supernatural along with Sam, Dean, and Castiel, and absolutely nobody was prepared to see him sacrifice himself at the end of season twelve. Crowley started off as the ultimate bad guy, but as the years progressed (and especially after he was injected with human blood), he started to come to the Winchester’s aid more often than not. Everybody would have loved to see more of Demon Dean and Crowley’s “summer of love” in season ten, and I absolutely loved the story line in season eleven when the Winchesters, Lucifer, Chuck, Rowena and Crowley all worked together to try to take out Amara.
Mark Shepard has stated multiple times that he’s done with Supernatural for good, but a girl can still dream.
Eileen Leahy played by Shoshannah Stern
Eileen’s first appearance was in season eleven while she was tracking down the banshee that killed her parents and rendered her deaf – which also happened to be the same banshee Sam and Dean were hunting. Together, they took out the banshee and despite the fans enthusiastically asking for her return on social media, we didn’t see or hear from Eileen again until The British Invasion in season twelve when she’s Facetiming with Sam. When Sam ends the video call with a big smile on his face, Dean comments, “That’s cute,” which fueled the beginning of the hope for a Sam and Eileen romance for many fans. Sadly, she was killed off only four episodes later by hell hounds thanks to one Arthur Ketch.
Eileen is another character that could easily be killing it in the Alternate Universe and in my personal dream world, she’d be brought back through the rift to our world so she can be introduced to Donna and Jody. Then we can have her on the proposed spin-off, Wayward Sisters, when it gets ordered to series!
Meg Masters played by Nicki Aycox and Rachel Miner
A demon in the body of Meg Masters made her first appearance played by Nicki Aycox all the way back in season one. To trick Dean into killing Sam, she uses Sam’s body in season two and is ultimately takes off once she realizes she’s in danger of being exorcised. Meg returns, played by Rachel Miner in a shiny new vessel in the first episode of season five. She’s another character that started out as a villain, but ended up helping the Winchesters (and Castiel specifically) as time went on and ultimately met her demise sacrificing herself for them in season eight.
Rachel Miner, the actress who played the latest version of Meg, retired from acting because of multiple sclerosis. In an interview with Hypable, she said that she would love to come back to the show to be a positive example of disability and even made a joke about the episode being called Hell On Wheels. I, for one, am on board for that and any other idea that would get Meg – and Rachel – back on the show.
Honestly, there are so many characters we’ve loved through the thirteen seasons of Supernatural so far that we couldn’t possibly write about them all. Honorable mentions from other Nerds and Beyond staff included Cain, Ash, Mick Davies, Pamela, Garth, Smash/Alice, Billie, Ruby… the list is truly endless!
Do you think we’ll get any of these characters back in Supernatural? Are there any other characters I haven’t mentioned that you want back? Supernatural returns with all-new episodes tomorrow on the CW, so make sure to tune in in case there’s any other returning characters hiding out in the Apocalypse World!