Hello everyone! Obviously there is no new Supernatural this week as we’re currently experiencing the mid-season break for the holidays. I promised a while ago that on rerun weeks I would go back and catch up on reviews for the first four episodes this season, and that’s still the plan, but I have had some holiday obligations this week including a full day family thing earlier today, so I’m going to take it easy on this post and we’ll dig back in to reviews in the coming weeks. This week, I want to know who your favourite recurring characters are on the show. Please be aware that I’m basing this article on the entirety of the series and the comments will be as well, so you are very likely to run into spoilers for the show here. You have been warned and may proceed at your own risk! Now, when I say recurring character, for the purposes of this discussion, it can be someone who has shown up in 2 or more episodes over the course of the series run but who has never made it to series regular. Just to make it interesting, (and because it’s hard to choose just one!), I’ve broken it down into a few categories and given you my picks for each.

Let’s start off with who your favourite character is when it comes to the story. Maybe they advance the plot or maybe they are used to reveal something about the character of our darling boys or other members of Team Free Will. The character themselves may not be a great character on their own (or they may be fantastic) but that’s not important in this category, the only importance is how they serve the demands of the story. My choice for this one is the unnamed demon known as Meg Masters, first seen in 1.11’s “Scarecrow”, then throughout seasons 1-2, then 5-8. Meg has served a lot of purposes over the course of the show. She advanced the plot in the first two seasons as one of Azazel’s “children”, working towards fulfilling his plans for the Winchester family. Along the way, she was also used to show just what our boys were made of, like how Sam can’t be talked away from his brother in “Scarecrow”, no matter what their differences may be. She makes it clear to Dean in 2.14’s “Born Under A Bad Sign” that no matter what he’s promised his Dad and no matter what Sam does, Dean is absolutely incapable of killing his little brother. In later seasons, Meg is used in the same way agian, to advance the plot by bringing the boys information or fighting for or against them as needed, or serving as a babysitter to fill a plot hole. She also reveals everyone’s favourite angel has some serious…pizza delivery…skills. Love her or hate her, I’ve always found Meg’s character to be interesting and thought she was always used well within the story, both to advance the plot (over episodes as well as seasons) and she served as a device to reveal deeper levels of the main characters.

Next up is who is the recurring character you identify with the most. I think this is pretty self-explanatory, which one is the most like you? It doesn’t necessarily have to be a one to one comparison, maybe it’s just someone who has the same tendency towards self-destruction as you, or maybe just who is interested in the same hobbies as you are. There is no right answer as to why you identify with the character, but there should be an answer (and hopefully you’ll explain it to us!) My choice for this one is Charlie Bradbury, who we first see in 7.20’s “The Girl With the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo” and appears at various times between season 7 and season 10. What do we have in common? Not only is Charlie a huge, nerdy fangirl, she has “Walking On Sunshine” on her iPod and likes to dance when no one is watching…okay well maybe one or two people (it is a glass elevator after all!) She’s not naturally brave in the beginning, but she can absolutely step up when she needs to. She has a tattoo and has LARP’ed and tends to make questionable decisions when drunk. Like Charlie, I’ve had a fair amount of loss and darkness in my past that I may or may not have repressed over the years. There are actually very few differences between the two of us. What are the differences? She’s been to Comic Con where I’ve only dreamed of going, I’m not a computer coder and I’m heterosexual. I would still drop everything to go check out OZ though! My favourite thing about Charlie, something I try to bring to every relationship, is a steadfast loyalty, even when it sometimes hurts.

Our third category here is who is your favourite character as a person? Who would you like to have as a friend or as family or as something more in real life? I want Sheriff Jody Mills to adopt me, or maybe be my best friend, I’m not sure. We first come across Jody Mills in 5.15’s “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid” when she helps the boys and Bobby defeat the zombies in her town and she is still appearing in the show to this day. She’s such a popular character that the fandom put up her and her adopted family as the idea for where the Supernatural spin-off show the CW has been desperately searching for should come from. And wouldn’t you know, they listened and “Wayward Sisters”, the name of the next episode of Supernatural when it returns in January, will most likely also serve as the back door pilot for the show Wayward Sisters, which debuts in the fall of 2018. Jody is just such a great Mom, loving and caring, yet who will take absolutely none of your crap. She’s also a great human, who helps relative stranger, Sheriff Donna Hanscum, defeat a vampire threat at a work retreat, while also helping her start to deal with her self-esteem issues. I don’t really care how I get to know Sheriff Jody Mills, I just want to get to have her in my life.

Finally, which guest star’s name are you squealing with joy over every time you see it pop up in the opening credits? Which character do you love to love or love to hate? Which character do you look forward to because they’re just SO. MUCH. DARN. FUN?!? To my mind, there is only one answer to this question, and that’s the Trickster, aka Loki, aka Gabriel. From the moment I realized he survived his brush with the Winchesters in 2.15’s “Tall Tales”, I was hoping I’d see this character again. He’s the star of some of the show’s funniest episodes (and not coincidentally, also some of the most poignant) but I dare you not to laugh along to 5.08’s “Changing Channels” or even 3.11’s “Mystery Spot”. (Well, before you cry that is.)  I was super disappointed to find out from Lucifer (and confirmed by God) that Gabriel really is no more. They left it up in the air for so long I had hope we would see him again one day. Though, it’s not out of the question now that God has some time to play with some “primordial creation” or maybe Gabriel will be part of Michael’s entourage from apocalypse world. Though I would think that that world’s Michael wouldn’t be such a hard-ass if he had his brother Gabriel around to lighten the mood occasionally. Or maybe he’s so pissy because Gabriel has played one prank too many? Anyway, this is my favourite character when it comes to fun and I would love to see him back on the show again some way, some how.

Okay, those are the categories, now let me know which recurring character is your pick for each one! Just to review, the categories are:

• Best character in terms of serving the story.
• Character you most identify with.
• Favourite character as an actual person.
• Your favourite character for plain old fun.

Add your picks in the comments below and feel free to add your defense of or reasons for each choice you made!  I’ll be back with a review of Season 13’s first episode next week, same Bat time, same Bat channel. Until next time, be good to each other! XO