The Haiku Episode Guide to Supernatural
The Haiku Episode Guide to Supernatural
Work in progress, Copyright 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Mary F. Dominiak, aka Bardicvoice
This will be updated as the series continues, and missing entries from seasons seven and eight will be added as I manage to finish them.
The first haiku for the series was essentially written by Eric Kripke: the rest are mine.
Supernatural:
Saving people, hunting things -
The family business.
Season One
Pilot
Two brothers seek Dad.
Hunting spirits, learning why
Unfaithful men die.
Wendigo
Evil kills campers.
Indian lore holds the key:
Burn the cannibal.
Dead in the Water
Old death in a lake
Drowns new victims for payback.
Dean bonds with sad boy.
Phantom Traveler
Demon crashing planes
Goes hunting down survivors.
Dean’s afraid to fly.
Bloody Mary
Secrets make eyes bleed,
Guilt for someone else’s death -
Why use Sam as bait?
Skin
Doppleganger kills:
Stealing shapes, downloading thoughts.
Dean’s a dead man now.
Hook Man
Campus killer strikes.
Burning old bones doesn’t work;
Where’s the silver hook?
Bugs
Ancient Indian curse
Dooms brand new subdivision:
Sixty thousand bees!
Home
Sam has “the shining.”
Nightmares take the boys back home:
Mom is waiting there.
Asylum
Madhouse breeds madness.
Can an evil ghost make Sam
Kill his own brother?
Scarecrow
Brothers fight and split.
Dean takes on a pagan god;
Sam goes after Dad.
Faith
For his brother’s life
Sam pursues a miracle.
What price is too great?
Route 666
Racist killer truck
Threatens Dean’s past one true love;
Seek out holy ground.
Nightmare
Sam is seeing things:
Painful visions presage death.
Why is he so cursed?
The Benders
Men are evil too.
Frantic Dean, in search of Sam,
Finds twisted people.
Shadow
Murders tied to home
Lure the boys as bait for Dad.
They must part again.
Hell House
Prankster brothers rule!
Killer evil in a house
Is shaped by belief.
Something Wicked
Children are dying.
Dean blames his childhood mistake.
Now he’ll kill it dead.
Provenance
A haunted painting
Kills all those who purchase it;
Beware little girls.
Dean Man’s Blood
Vampires do exist.
Dad and boys pursue their prize:
Demon-killing Colt.
Salvation
Winchesters unite:
Save the children, save their friends.
War has casualties.
Devil’s Trap
Seek help, rescue Dad:
Meet The Demon face to face -
But that face is Dad’s.
Season Two
In My Time of Dying
Dying, Dean still fights;
Sam refuses to give up;
Dad will make a deal.
Everybody Loves a Clown
Dad’s loss hurts both boys.
Their hunt for a killer clown
Masks their deeper pain.
Bloodlust
Hunters and vampires:
Things aren’t always what they seem.
Dean unleashes rage.
Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things
Hunting a zombie
Illustrates what hurts the most:
What's dead should stay dead.
Simon Said
Two children like Sam
May reveal more demon plans:
Are they all killers?
No Exit
A history hunt:
First serial killer’s ghost
Steals pretty young blondes.
The Usual Suspects
Dean winds up in jail.
Can Sam and a spirit prove
That he’s innocent?
Cross Road Blues
Crossroads are for pacts:
Sell your soul for what you want.
Would Dean make a deal?
Croatoan
History repeats:
Viral demon empties town.
Dean’s whole life is Sam.
Hunted
John’s secret, Dean’s fear:
Save Sam, or have to kill him.
Gordon makes Sam prey.
Playthings
Lonely child ghost kills.
Drunken Sam forces Dean to
A sober promise.
Nightshifter
Botched shapeshifter hunt
Adds Sam to FBI list:
Bonnie to Dean’s Clyde.
Houses of the Holy
Spirit or angel?
When death stops evil people,
What clues to Sam’s fate?
Born Under a Bad Sign
Has Sam gone darkside?
Riding lost meat puppet Sam,
Mad Meg tortures Dean.
Tall Tales
On each other’s nerves,
Brothers miss the biggest clue:
Tricksters breed mischief.
Roadkill
Killer and victim
Haunt each other on a road;
Unfinished business.
Heart
Werewolf’s human side
Begs for death to set her free;
Can Sam bear the price?
Hollywood Babylon
Bitter scriptwriter
Conjures ghosts to take revenge:
Beware, network suits!
Folsom Prison Blues
Vigilante nurse
Kills lawbreaking cons and guards
Where the boys are jailed.
What Is and What Should Never Be
It was just a wish:
Mother, brother, home, and love.
Heroes pay the price.
All Hell Breaks Loose, Part One
Babes fed demon blood
Fight elimination rounds:
Sam dies in Dean’s arms.
All Hell Breaks Loose, Part Two
Dean’s soul buys Sam’s life.
Hell gate frees a demon horde:
“We’ve got work to do.”
Season Three
The Magnificent Seven
Seven Deadly Sins:
Hunters become the hunted,
Facing hell’s freed horde.
The Kids Are Alright
Changeling kids drink moms.
Dean rues not being a dad.
Ruby’s a demon!
Bad Day At Black Rock
John’s cursed rabbit’s foot
Tempts and snares a clever thief:
Will it doom his sons?
Sin City
Demonic lovers
Play on human temptations.
Sam kills with the Colt.
Bedtime Stories
Comatose Snow White
Cries out through fairy tale deaths.
Sam kills a dead deal.
Red Sky At Morning
Ghost ship’s dead sailor
Drowns those who’ve killed close kindred:
Why would Bela die?
Fresh Blood
Gordon, hunting Sam,
Becomes what he hates the most.
Dean answers Sam’s plea.
A Very Supernatural Christmas
Pagan deities
Eat meadowsweet wreath buyers.
Sam gives Dean Christmas.
Malleus Maleficarum
Bombshell from fight with
Desperate housewitch “book club:”
Demons were human.
Dream A Little Dream Of Me
Deadly dreamer proves
Our ghosts, monsters, and demons
Are inside of us.
Mystery Spot
Tuesday’s nightmare trick:
Over and over again,
Watch your brother die.
Jus In Bello
What price victory?
When demons target the boys,
Allies pay the price.
Ghostfacers!
Foolish amateurs
Videotape leap year ghosts;
Reality sucks.
Long Distance Call
Desperate for hope,
Dean obeys his father’s voice:
Just crocotta lies.
Time Is On My Side
Immortal doctor
Tempts Sam with deal-breaking hope.
Bela meets her fate.
No Rest For The Wicked
No more deals, no time.
Sam shrugs off Lilith’s best shot;
Dean’s soul screams in Hell.
Season Four
Lazarus Rising
Sam hunts with his mind.
Divine force frees Dean from Hell:
“We have work for you.”
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Dean Winchester
Break the seals of Hell:
Lilith raises witness ghosts
To free Lucifer.
In The Beginning
A trip to the past
Reveals family secrets:
Destinies can’t change.
Metamorphosis
Flesh-eating monster
Is born human, then transforms:
Can choice defeat fate?
Monster Movie
Shapeshifter film buff
Recreates movie monsters:
Death in black and white.
Yellow Fever
Ghost sickness breeds fear.
Dean, infected, faces death.
Fear can kill ghosts, too.
It’s The Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester
Demon trick or treat:
Witches seek to break a seal
To bring Hell on Earth.
Wishful Thinking
Cursed coin warps wishes,
Sowing chaos through a town.
Dean remembers Hell.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Anna hears angels.
Protecting her, Sam tells Dean
What he did alone.
Heaven And Hell
Anna’s angel grace
Concludes confrontation of
Demons and angels.
Family Remains
Human wickedness
Makes monsters of two children
As Hell did to Dean.
Criss Angel Is A Douchebag
Aging magicians
Meet true and deadly magic:
End bloody, or sad.
After School Special
Ghost high school bully
Drives nerds to revenge on jocks;
Sam sees with new eyes.
Sex And Violence
Siren's lies force truths.
Accusations and anger
Spur violence, kill love.
Death Takes A Holiday
No real second chance;
Demons seek to break a Seal
By kidnapping death.
On The Head Of A Pin
Facing Alastair,
Dean learns what he cannot bear:
He broke the first Seal.
It's A Terrible Life
Corporate haunting
Makes hunters of Sam and Dean
Even in strange lives.
The Monster At The End Of This Book
God's true prophet Chuck
Writes the Winchester gospel;
Lilith comes for Sam.
Jump The Shark
John had one more son,
Hidden, normal, loved, and safe;
Murdered for revenge.
The Rapture
Family man of God,
Jimmy gave to Castiel
More than just a host.
When The Levee Breaks
Dean swears to serve God;
Sam confronts his inner selves,
Then walks out the door.
Lucifer Rising
Angels let seals break,
Wanting the apocalypse;
Sam opens the door.
Season Five
Sympathy For The Devil
Lucifer walks Earth;
Angels seek the Michael sword.
Trust is hard to find.
Good God, Y'All
Castiel seeks God.
War's sly, murderous deceits
Make Sam see the truth.
Free To Be You And Me
Dean helps Cas hunt God.
Sam, alone, learns his planned fate:
Lucifer's vessel.
The End
Despair ends the world.
From future loss, one lesson:
Brotherhood is hope.
Fallen Idols
Feeding off fandom,
Shallow pagan god provides
Hunter training wheels.
I Believe The Children Are Our Future
Meet the antichrist,
Maker of reality:
Believe, and it's true.
The Curious Case Of Dean Winchester
Best years of your life:
Stake them on a game of cards;
Live young or die old.
Changing Channels
Trickster's TV hell
Is Gabriel's arm-twisting:
Play your roles to live.
The Real Ghostbusters
Convention ghost games
Teach real-life brother lessons,
Wake a true haunting.
Abandon All Hope
Hunters die to learn
There are things the Colt can't kill:
Satan raises Death.
Sam, Interrupted
Hunting craziness:
Wraith marinating mad brains
Spices Sam and Dean.
Swap Meat
Nerdy teen witches
With a body-swap weapon
Use Sam to hunt Dean.
The Song Remains The Same
The past is prologue:
Anna hunts John and Mary,
Fought by Team Free Will.
My Bloody Valentine
Famine's hunger kills:
Overdose on what you crave,
Or be dead inside.
Dean Men Don't Wear Plaid
Sioux Falls miracle?
Dead loved ones return to life:
Death comes for Bobby.
Dark Side Of The Moon
Winchester Heaven:
Memories of times gone by
Teach lessons, kill faith.
99 Problems
False prophet breeds fear.
Killing her marks Dean a true
Servant of Heaven.
Point Of No Return
Zach brings Adam back:
Bait to push Dean to say yes.
Dean can't let Sam down.
Hammer Of The Gods
To stop the world's end,
Pagan gods in motel hell
Kidnap Sam and Dean.
The Devil You Know
Crowley offers help
Finding Horsemen and their rings;
What will be the price?
Two Minutes To Midnight
Pestilence fails.
Cas turns human, Bobby walks -
Death changes the game.
Swan Song
Lucifer takes Sam;
Dean and the car bring him back.
Promises break hearts.
Season Six
Exile On Main Street
Monsters break patterns.
Finding Sam alive again
Breaks Dean's “normal” world.
Two And A Half Men
Baby shapeshifter
Makes Winchesters, Campbells ask:
Who's your family?
The Third Man
Heaven's civil war
Sets lost weapons loose on Earth;
Angels deal in souls.
Weekend At Bobby's
With help from his friends,
Bobby threatens Crowley's bones
To regain his soul.
Live Free Or TwiHard
Sam lets Dean be turned.
Hunter spy in vampire nest
Kills,but stops nothing.
You Can't Handle The Truth
Under compulsion,
Humans tell the truth and die:
Only Sam can lie.
Family Matters
Demon Crowley plots
To annex Purgatory,
Home of monster souls.
All Dogs Go To Heaven
Fear your family dog:
Sleeper skinwalker army
Pretend to be pets.
Clap Your Hands If You Believe
New Age masquerade:
Fairies pose as aliens,
Stealing first-born sons.
Caged Heat
Brothers team with Meg,
Hunting Crowley's Alpha jail
To demand Sam's soul.
Appointment In Samarra
Dean makes a wager:
One day as Death for Sam's soul.
He loses - but wins.
Like A Virgin
Sam wakes as Dean's bro
With no soulless memories.
Teamed, they hunt dragons.
Unforgiven
Sam's forgotten past
Spins a present spider trap;
Memories surface.
Mannequin 3: The Reckoning
Shy girl's vengeful ghost
Targets men whose prank killed her.
Dean gets parent-trapped.
The French Mistake
Heaven's civil war
Puts bros in bizarro world
Acting out their lives.
...And Then There Were None
Eve makes new monsters,
Planning to cage human food;
Hunters' families die.
My Heart Will Go On
Titanic effect:
Changing the past mints new souls
But Fate still prevails.
Frontierland
To burn the Mother,
Brothers travel to Colt's time
For phoenix ashes.
Mommy Dearest
Eve builds new hybrids;
Castiel faked Crowley's death -
All about the souls.
The Man Who Would Be King
Sam, Dean, saving Earth:
Castiel's good intentions
Pave his road to Hell.
Let It Bleed
Lovecraft opened doors.
Crowley takes Ben and Lisa;
Dean's Achilles heel.
The Man Who Knew Too Much
Memory endgame:
Castiel drops Sam's mind-wall,
Takes a power trip.
Season Seven
Alas, I wasn't writing episode commentary this season for real-life time reasons, so haiku are lacking. I promise I'll get to them at some point! I did write up the episode Jensen directed.
The Girl Next Door
What makes a monster?
Sam hunts, then frees, an old friend;
Dean kills her instead.
Season Eight
I missed writing commentary on a few episodes in season eight, so this is not complete. I will complete the set, I promise!
We Need To Talk About Kevin
Escaped fighter Dean
Disrupts Sam's new life of peace.
New quest: Word of God.
What's Up, Tiger Mommy?
What's the price of peace?
Mother's soul for her son's life;
Dean's Winchester guilt.
Heartache
Eternal youth deal
Goes awry for love, because
The heart is the key.
Torn And Frayed
Who controls angels?
Crowley and Naomi both
Tamper with base code.
LARP And The Real Girl
Frustrated LARPer
Binds fairy to kill rivals:
Brave hearts win the day.
As Time Goes By
What if your whole past
Isn't what you always thought?
What's your legacy?
Everybody Hates Hitler
Claim inheritance,
Hunt down secret enemies;
Take charge of your life.
Trial And Error
God's obstacle course:
Three deadly trials prepare one
To slam shut Hell's gates.
Man's Best Friend With Benefits
Witch and familiar:
Partners in magic and love
Confront jealousy.
Remember The Titans
Prometheus' fate -
Die every day forever:
Hereditary.
Goodbye Stranger
Lucifer's lost crypts
Conceal the angel tablet:
Win and lose at once.
Taxi Driver
Reaper shows the way.
Sam frees Bobby's Hell-trapped soul;
Benny says goodbye.
The Great Escapist
We can all be gods.
Our minds write our own stories;
Angels, demons, men.
Clip Show
How can you fight on
When why you fight is destroyed?
Crowley's leverage …
Sacrifice
Metatron's Heaven:
Exile angels for revenge.
Closing Hell is death.
Season Nine
I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here
Sam's inner debate:
Fight for life, or die in peace?
Dean loads angel dice.
To be continued …
My series end haiku, for whenever:
Supernatural
This is how it ends.
Fate. War. Love. Faith. Redemption.
“Bitch.” “Jerk.” Rock song plays.