One of Supernatural’s Best Characters Was Supposed to Appear in Just One Episode, But They Were Too Popular

In the beginning, there were two brothers, Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki), aboard a stylish black ‘67 Chevrolet Impala, on a hunt for their missing father. 15 seasons and over 300 episodes later, what was originally a monster-of-the-week style horror show had become something far greater, its legacy unmeasurable by metrics like ratings and viewership. It’s been half a decade since the last episode aired, and yet Supernatural remains as beloved today as it was when Dean first burst through the door and into our hearts with a devilish smirk and the now iconic line “Dad’s on a hunting trip and he hasn’t been home in a few days.” It’s been a long, too long a road since then, and the boys have literally been through hell and heaven, saving lives, hunting things for the family business. 

Through the years, the show gave us many things. It gave up hope (fickle though it often was) and horror. It made us giggle with Dean’s classic one-liners and tore our hearts open with a single man-tear. But beyond the heart, humor, and the horror, what makes the show what it is are its characters. Through the 327 episodes, we met some of the most well-written, layered, and dynamic characters to ever grace a horror show. From Charlie Bradbury (Felicia Day) to Sheriff Jody Mills (Kim Rhodes ), these characters left indelible marks on the viewers’ hearts.

But if there is one character who proved to be nearly as popular as the Winchester boys, it is Robert Steven Singer (Jim Beaver), aka our ever-beloved Bobby. Except he was never meant to be a recurring character, let alone one who appeared in nearly every season of Supernatural since his introduction.

Bobby Singer: He who Stands on Guard 

Named after one of the show’s producers, Bobby Singer first appeared in the Season One episode “Devil’s Trap”. After that, he went on to become a recurring figure, appearing in nearly every season of the show and even in the spin-off series The Winchesters. And why wouldn’t he? A friend of the boys’ father, John Winchester (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Bobby is not a character you easily forget. That said, according to Beaver himself, he was not supposed to be more than a guest character, with his appearance in “Devil’s Trap” being a one-and-done kinda deal. But fate and fans had other plans, and Bobby just kept on showing up through trials and tribulations, ever protecting, always guarding, and becoming synonymous with home and hearth to the Winchester boys.  

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Cranky, crochety, and with a penchant for saying, “Balls!” every time something goes haywire, Bobby is the father the boys never had. On his obsessive quest to find the yellow-eyed demon (to avenge the love of his life), John somehow forgot how to be a dad. He trained the boys to be soldiers from day one, even handing little Sam a gun when he was afraid of the dark. This gave both boys massive and unique daddy issues. While Sam fought to get away and leave behind his miserable memories, Dean only sought his father’s approval, hoping one day to make him proud. 

Slowly yet determinedly, Bobby stepped up to fill the shoes of the Winchester Brothers’ absent father. Despite a heartrending past of his own, he opened up his arms, heart, and home to the boys. They became his kids, his personal, favorite “idjits.” So, when he was shot in the head by the leviathan Dick Roman in Season 7, fans refused to believe that he was truly gone. Then he flatlined after calling the guys idjits for an apparent final time. But Castiel (Misha Collins) could heal anyone, and the guys had been dragged back from death’s door and more than once. Surely they would bring back Bobby, like they did when Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino) snapped his neck during the Battle of Stull Cemetery?

Apparently not. Not in his original form, anyway. For a while, even though the brothers had burnt Bobby’s body, he lingered on in ghost form, linked to his flask and refusing to leave the boys alone. But even that had to end, with Dean attempting to finally put his soul at rest by burning his flask. He appeared one last time when Sam went to rescue him from hell, and we bid a final goodbye to a character who had made us howl as many times as he had given us hope. Sure, the show is technically (and truly) about the Winchester boys, their unshakeable bond, and many emotionally jarring (mis)adventures. But it is also about family, and as Bobby himself once said, “Family don’t end with blood.”

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