Time Travel

Dress for the Old West in 6.18 Frontierland

Time Travel in Supernatural occurs into ways - when audience is taken into the past through flashbacks, and through actual time travel when the characters are transported into another time period.

Time Travel in Supernatural has been bought about by Supernatural beings - primarily angels, and on one occasion a god. When time travel is used in a story it raises the issue of how that time travel may affect events occurring before or after it. Many conundrums are raised - collectively known as temporal paradoxes.

The time paradox was discussed in the writer’s room with a light touch because I think it gave us all headaches. Like for instance I have a theory about this episode that I don’t think we even talked about that this was a closed ended loop that Dean ALWAYS goes back in time and instigates the events that happen in this episode which caused Sam and Dean to be put on this path which caused them to run into Castiel who sent Dean back in time. Jensen called us to say, “I’m the one who talked my dad into buying the Impala? But I don’t understand that because if I hadn’t have gone back in time he wouldn’t have had the Impala.” Again it’s a real mind-bender concept and we had to talk it through--its funny the difference between Bob Singer and I proceeded to talk him through, “Well there’s this time loop and in my mind it’s this closed circle and he’s always going back-” And you know all these concepts that I really don’t understand about the inevitability of fate and time travel and then Bob takes a beat and—I love it it’s perfect timing he just takes a beat and says in this typical voice, “You got no problem with the demons but you got a problem with this?” – Eric Kripke, Season 4 DVD and Blu-Ray; commentary on 4.03 In the Beginning

Kripke and Edlund talk about the difficulty of writing time travel for the episode 5.04 The End, which started off as a time travel concept, but eventually moved to be an Alternate Universe model.

Eric: There was this whackadoodle notion that Ben and I came up with , where Future Dean had already gone through the experiences as Past Dean, where Future Dean was like "I know why you're here, because five years ago I went through the same experience … and everything line you're about to say I've already said it. And time is cyclical!" And we were congratulating ourselves for being so smart...We showed it to Bob – and it’s a perfect model of why Bob is so invaluable to Supernatural, ... and he's like "What the hell is this?" And we're like "You see it's cyclical, time is cyclical..." Ben: Do you remember we would come to his office and we would draw pictures of it. Eric: Yeah, we were literally drawing a diagram of the nature of time and time travel in Bob's office. And he gives you this wonderful dry look and he's like "You'll be drawing that for the audience? – Eric Kripke, Season 5 DVD and Blu-Ray; commentary on 5.04 The End

In Supernatural, the rule has been that the time line is fixed, traveling to the past will not alter events that have already happened. The exception is 6.17 My Heart Will Go On where Balthazar prevents the Titanic from sinking, and this has ramifications throughout the subsequent years. When Sam challenges that he thought "you couldn't change history?", Balthazar counters that, due to the war in Heaven, "there are no rules anymore".

For episodes featuring an altered reality see Alternate Universe.

Episodes with Time Travel

4.03 In the Beginning

Castiel sends Dean back to Lawrence in 1973. Dean tries, and fails, to kill Azazel. Castiel tells him the purpose of the trip was for Dean to learn how the involvement of the Winchester family with Azazel began, and hopefully help Dean, and Heaven, work out what his ultimate endgame was - and Sam's role in it.

4.21 When the Levee Breaks

As Sam is detoxifying from the demon's blood in his system, he hallucinates both his mother, and his young self.

5.13 The Song Remains the Same

On heaven's instruction, Anna goes back to 1978 to kill John and Mary Winchester , in order to stop Sam from ever being born. Castiel takes Sam and Dean back to stop her, and is severely weakened by the effort. Michael ends up intervening to save John and Mary, erasing their memories of the events.

6.17 My Heart Will Go On

Castiel orders Balthazar to stop the so that there would be 50,000 souls in existence that otherwise wouldn't be (the descendents of passengers) in order to use the souls to gain power in his fight against Raphael. The act causes a cascade of changes through history

• Dean drives a Mustang which has the original plates the Impala had - KAZ 2Y5.
• The Impala line of cars was not produced.
• Ellen and Jo are alive.
• Ellen and Bobby are married and Singer Salvage Yard is called B & E Scrap Yard. Bobby's house appears neater than usual.
• In 2.17 Heart we learned that Sam knew Dean always played 'scissors' when they did Rock, Paper, Scissors, so Sam always won. Here Sam loses, although Dean still throws scissors.
• In the travel agency we see Cuba is a resort island destination - "America's favourite holiday destination" - and Detroit was voted "America's top city."
• Celine Dion is a "destitute lounge singer somewhere in Quebec."
• Cas transports Sam and Dean to "White Russia." this is an old term for Belarus and may be a hint that the Russian revolution of 1917 that lead to the formation of the Soviet Union, didn't occur.
• Obviously the movie the Titanic was never made!

Eventually, in order to save Sam and Dean, Balthazar is forced to return to the past and unsink the Titanic, changing everything back though Castiel makes sure Sam and Dean remember what happened.

6.18 Frontierland

Dean and Sam get Castiel to send them back to 1861 after reading that Samuel Colt shot a Phoenix, the ashes of which they believe will kill Eve. Meanwhile Castiel is weakened after being attacked by Rachel and must draw on power from Bobby's soul to bring them back. When Sam and Dean are pulled back to the present day without the ashes, they think the cause is lost, but then a courier arrives. He delivers a package to Sam sent 150 years ago by Samuel Colt. It contains Sam's phone - and a bottle containing the ashes of the phoenix.

7.12 Time After Time

Chronos the God of Time, can travel through time by taking energy from three humans. Dean charges him as he is attacking a man and is pulled back in time with him to 1944. Chronos evades Dean, but his killings in this year have attracted the notice of hunter Eliot Ness, who teams up with Dean.

In the present, Sam and Jody Mills have found a spell to summon Chronos to their time and location. When the now elderly Lila reveals that she witnessed Chronos throttling Dean in 1944, and that the clocks stopped at 11:34 that night, Sam and Jody are able to summon Chronos while he is attacking Dean, bringing both of them to the present. Sam stabs Chronos with the stake that came with them. Chronos, dying, tells Sam that his future is full of black ooze, covering everything.

8.12 As Time Goes By

In 1958, desperate to escape the demon Abaddon, Henry Winchester casts a spell made of a blood sigil, an angel's feather, tears of a dragon and the Sands of Time to find his son John Winchester in the future to help him protect a mysterious box from the secret order known as the Men of Letters. Henry instead finds Sam and Dean in 2013 and is confused as to why he wasn't taken to John. Before he can explain what is going on, Abaddon follows him through the portal and proves immune to Ruby's Knife, forcing them to flee. Henry is horrified to learn that John is dead and explains who he is and why he is there, though he doesn't like working with hunters. After learning what the box is from a survivor of the order, Abaddon reveals herself and captures Sam. At the same time, Henry, after learning what happened to John and that he apparently never made it back to his time, tries to travel back to an hour before Abaddon arrived so he can change things but is foiled by Dean. The two are forced to make a deal with Abaddon to save Sam's life, but it is actually a trap: Henry shoots a Devil's Trap engraved bullet into Abaddon's head, binding her in place and to her meatsuit. Dean then decapitates her with the intention to cut her up into little pieces and bury her in concrete to forever trap her. However, Henry is mortally wounded in the fight and dies, never to return to his own time.

Episodes with Significant Flashbacks

Sam gives Dean the amulet in 3.08 A Very Supernatural Christmas

1.18 Something Wicked

Dean reminisces about an incident around 1989, when John Winchester was hunting a shtriga in Fort Douglas, Wisconsin. While John was out, Dean left Sam alone briefly and the shtriga attacked. John took the boys to stay with Pastor Jim, but when he returned he couldn't track the shtriga. Dean blames himself for its escape, and for the deaths that have occurred since.

3.08 A Very Supernatural Christmas

While the boys are on a hunt, and dealing with how to face what may be Dean's last Christmas, we flashback to 1991 when John leaves young Sam and Dean alone in a motel on Christmas Eve. Sam reveals to Dean that he has read John's Journal, and asks whether monsters are real. Dean reluctantly confirms that they are, but that their father is a hunter who kills them. Sam is upset and afraid that the monsters will come after them. dean tries to make things better by stealing some presents for Sam. Sam responds by giving Dean an Amulet originally meant for John.

4.09 I Know What You Did Last Summer

Sam finally tells Dean what he went through while Dean was in Hell, and why he trusts Ruby so much.

5.16 Dark Side of the Moon

While in Heaven, Dean encounters memories of his past - setting of fireworks with a young Sam and while Sam is still a baby, comforting Mary who is upset that John has moved out. Sam remembers a Thanksgiving at the house of a schoolmate, and a time when he ran away.

6.13 Unforgiven

While Sam struggles not to remember, the audience gets an insight into what soulless Sam was like while he was hunting with Samuel Campbell.

7.03 The Girl Next Door

After he reads of a series of killings with a familiar M.O., Sam remembers a young girl who once saved his life, even though she was a monster.

7.10 Death's Door

After being shot by Dick Roman in the head, Bobby must revisit old memories to try and survive. He remembers a hunt with Rufus Turner, his childhood, the last argument he had with his wife Karen, and times with young Dean.

8.01 We Need To Talk About Kevin

Dean remembers his time in Purgatory and how he made a deal with the vampire Benny Laffite to get out as there is a portal out humans can use. Dean agrees as long as they find Castiel first and he can join them.

Sam remembers meeting Amelia Richardson, a vet he eventually falls in love with after hitting a dog with the Impala.

8.02 What's Up, Tiger Mommy?

Throughout the episode, Dean flashes back to his time in Purgatory, remembering interogating a monster and finally learning the location of Castiel from him. Dean and Benny find Castiel and he explains he abandoned Dean as powerful monsters, including Leviathans were after him. Dean convinces Castiel to join him and Benny in searching for the way out, but later remembers losing his grip on Castiel as Castiel calls out to him.

8.03 Heartache

Sam fondly flashes back on a picnic in a park with Amelia and Riot on his birthday.

8.05 Blood Brother

Dean flashes back on his time in Purgatory as he aids Benny Lafitte in hunting down his old nest, remembering fighting off a group of monsters with Castiel and Benny and then two Leviathans. The flashbacks show the apparent begining of Dean's unwavering trust in Benny after he saves Castiel's life.

Sam remembers his time with Amelia, how after he got a job at the motel as a handyman he was reunited with her and she thought he was strange. However, after Riot goes into Amelia's room, they realize that they have a lot in common: both are basicaly drifters who have lost someone close to them.

8.06 Southern Comfort

Sam remembers how he and Amelia started a relationship and she reveals that she lost her husband Don to the war in Afghanistan. The next morning she tries to get him out of her life as she thinks he will pity her now as so many do, but Sam later explains how he lost Dean and they decide to talk about their lost loved ones.

8.07 A Little Slice of Kevin

Dean remembers finding the portal out of Purgatory and absorbing Benny's soul into his arm to bring him through it. As he and Castiel head for the portal, two Leviathans attack and they defeat them. Dean gets through the portal, but loses his grip on Castiel who is left behind as it closes.

After reuniting with Castiel, Castiel shows Dean the truth of what happened in Purgatory: Dean did not lose his grip on the angel, Castiel let go on purpose, wanting to stay in Purgatory as his pennance.

8.08 Hunteri Heroici

Sam remembers how he and Amelia bought a house together and he met her father Stan Thompson. Stan is initally cold to him, but eventually warms up to him in time for them to learn that Amelia's husband Don is in fact alive after all.

8.09 Citizen Fang

After getting a distress text message from Amelia (in reality a trick by Dean), Sam remebers how while drinking his sorrows away at a bar, he met Amelia's husband Don who shows himself to be a good man and suggests that they let Amelia decide which one of them she wants and they accept the choice. Sam, recignizing that Amelia deserves a chance with Don, decides to leave so that she gets that chance.