Meta Episodes

A meta reference, also called a meta-fiction technique or meta-fictive device, in a TV show occurs the show, or a character, demonstrates they are aware of their own fictional nature.

Supernatural is a show about stories. Urban legends, folklore, religion are society’s stories, most particularly America’s stories. There are personal narratives: the tales families and individuals tell about themselves and their relationships. Including the story telling of pop culture – be it movies, TV the internet or fan fiction – fits perfectly into this. Supernatural takes this commentary one step further, by commenting on itself as a story.

The very first subtle meta nods occurred in the 1.01 Pilot when Dean introduces himself and Sam using the aliases Agents Mulder and Scully – a nod to the Show’s TV ancestry in the X -Files.

Dean is established as a horror movie fan, so the Show gets to reference its genre influences. The Shining in particular is oft-quoted, and visually referenced as well in 2.11 Playthings.

1.17 Hell House was the first episode to start playing meta seriously as we meet the Ghostfacers – the TV version of hunters dropping Buffy references, with an internet fan following that can literally bring the tales they read to life.

In Season 2, it was 2.18 Hollywood Babylon that started kicking hard at the Fourth Wall in an episode about movie making by writer Ben Edlund. The episode centres around a stolen script for a horror movie: Hell Hazers II: The Reckoning, The episode incorporated actual notes from the network that Kripke had received for Supernatural, pokes fun at Kripke’s movies Boogeyman, as well as using incorporated images from Supernatural episodes into movie posters. To top it off the movie producer in the episode is McG – and the real McG (Supernatural’s producer) appears in a crowd scene, as do many of the Supernatural crew.

4.18 The Monster At The End Of This Book marks the episode where Supernatural decided fourth walls were redundant as Sam and Dean discover a series of books - named after episodes of the Show – that are based on their life. The author of the books is Chuck Shurley – an avatar for Eric Kripke who Both the writers, and for the first time the fandom of the TV Show, are sent up. At Comic Con 2009 Kripke said "he has a "tempestuous, loving, conflicting" relationship with the online Supernatural fan community, and that the meta episode "The Monster at the End of This Book" gave him a chance to lovingly make fun of them.Source. Supernatural fan – Becky – appears in 5.01 Sympathy For The Devil and later puts on a Convention in 5.09 The Real Ghostbusters.

Changing Channels through Sam and Dean into a TV world, where the Show got a chance to poke fun at TV Shows such as Gray’s Anatomy and CSI:Miami.

The following is a list of direct meta references in Supernatural i.e. references to the Show or its fandom.

1.17 Hell House

* The location of this episode, Richardson, Texas, is Jensen Ackles' home town.

2.18 Hollywood Babylon

Crew member Lesley DeHaan as an extra in 2.18 Hollywood Babylon

In the beginning the boys are on a tour of the Warner Brothers lot. The tour guide says that they are passing the place where Gilmore Girls is filmed, and if they're lucky they might get to see one of the stars. Jared Padalecki had a recurring role on Gilmore Girls, as Dean Forester. At this point, Sam looks uncomfortable and quickly leaves the tour bus.

Sam's line "Does this feel like swimming weather to you? It's practically Canadian" may be a reference to the fact that while the scene occurs in California, the filming of the episode really took place in Canada.

Dean: Yeah, for a vacation. I mean swimming pools and movie stars, not to work.
"Swimming pools and movie stars" is a line from the theme song of the TV show Beverely Hillbillies

McG is the producer of Supernatural, PussyCat Dolls: The search for the next doll, The OC and Charlies Angels and Charlies Angels: Full Throttle. The real McG can be seen standing behind Sam and Dean in the scene where the crew is listening to faux McG.

The set of Hell Hazers II: The Reckoning features the water tower is from 2.08 Crossroad Blues and the cabin is from 2.16 Roadkill. The deer's head on the wall has appeared in the boys' motel room in 1.14 Nightmare, John's room in 1.21 Salvation, and Steve Wandell's home in 2.14 Born Under a Bad Sign.

Kripke, who has said that the show and he himself are able to laugh about themselves, throws in a little side blow at a past project of his. When Dean goes to talk to Tara, he says he loved her in Boogeyman and she says it had a terrible script. Boogeyman was written by Eric Kripke and he admitted at the Paley Festival that the movie wasn't very good because it missed substance and soul, unlike Supernatural, which has it all, thanks to Bob Singer.

Brad is complaining about why the movie is so dark and that it should be lighter and not "so depressing". At Comic Con Kripke said that all of Brad's complaints and advice about the movie were taken from similar things he'd been told by Network Executives about Supernatural.

In the faux trailer for Hell Hazers II: The Reckoning, writer Martin Flagg is also credited as the writer of Cornfield Massacre and Monster Truck, which are illustrated with images from Supernatural episodes 1.11 Scarecrow and 1.13 Route 666. There's also a shot of the hook from 1.07 Hookman, of Claire's desiccated hands from 2.07 The Usual Suspects, Gordon and his bloody knife from 2.03 Bloodlust and the inside of Angela's coffin from 2.04 Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things.

In Martin’s office there is also a poster for Carnivore Carnival which has an image from 2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown.

4.01 Lazarus Rising

Castiel is an Angel of Thursday in occult lore. This may be a reference to the fact that Supernatural aired on a Thursday night from 1.17 Hell House until the end of Season 5.

4.18 The Monster At The End Of This Book

The title sequence for the episode featured a montage of images from covers of the Supernatural books featured in the episode and ended with a title card "Supernatural by Carver Edlund."

Carver Edlund, the pen name used by Chuck Shurley, is an amalgam of the names of Supernatural writers Jeremy Carver and Ben Edlund.

The character is an avatar for Eric Kripke. Source - Rob Benedict talks about Chuck as Eric at Salute to Supernatural Chicago 2009.

Chuck is used as a vehicle to make commentary about the Show's writing - and it's writers.

Chuck: Well, there's only one explanation. Obviously I'm a god.
Sam: You're not a god.
Chuck: How else do you explain it? I write things and then they come to life. Yeah, no, I'm definitely a god. A cruel, cruel, capricious god. The things I put you through -- The physical beatings alone.
Dean: Yeah, we're still in one piece.
Chuck: I killed your father. I burned your mother alive. And then you had to go through the whole horrific deal again with Jessica.
Sam: Chuck...
Chuck: All for what? All for the sake of literary symmetry. I toyed with your lives, your emotions, for...Entertainment.

Chuck referred to his book about the "Bugs" (1.08 Bugs) and "ghost ship" (3.06 Red Sky At Morning) as "simply bad writing." Eric Kripke himself said that the episodes in question was one of their weaker episodes of Season 3 in the Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 3.

Dean: Everything is in here, from the racist truck to me having sex. I'm full frontal in here, dude.
The book Dean is reading relates the events of 1.13 Route 666.

Many of the references here aboutThe Supernatural Books- the boys crying a lot, the books having a small readership, and the references to the fan base - are of course referring to the TV series.

At one point Chuck asks Sam and Dean if "Phil put them up to it," possibly referring to co-executive producer and director Philip Sgriccia.

The list of book titles matches the list of episode titles: Supernatural, Wendigo, Phantom Traveler, Bloody Mary, Skin, Hookman, Bugs, Home, Asylum, Scarecrow, Faith, Route 666, Nightmare, The Benders, Shadow, Salvation, Bloodlust, Croatoan, Heart, Sin City, Fresh Blood, Mystery Spot, Jus In Bello and No Rest For The Wicked.

Dean: Although Simpatico says the demon storylines are trite, cliched and overall craptastic...
Simpatico is the name of a poster on the Television Without Pity message boards.

In Chuck Shirley's house there are framed copies of the covers of the real Supernatural Comics Origins 3 and Origins 4.

Dean: There's Sam Girls and Dean Girls and...What's a slash fan?

Sam: As in Sam slash Dean together.
Dean: Like together, together? They do know we are brothers right?
Sam: Doesn't seem to matter.
Dean: Well that's just sick!

Sam Girls and Dean Girls are fans dedicated to one or other of the brothers.

Slash fanfiction is stories written by fans depicting characters in a same-sex romantic and/or sexual relationship. In the Supernatural fandom, Sam/Dean is known as Wincest.

While not named in the episode, the publisher's name was Sera Seige, named after writers Julie Siege and Sera Gamble - as mentioned in this interview by Sera Gamble.

Sam and Dean reveal their anti-possession tattoos to the publisher to demonstrate they are real fans, and she reveals her own. In an interview with Firefox News in March 2008 Sera Gamble said "I'll be convinced we're truly a cult hit when a fan gets the same tattoo." Many fans already had! For examples see our gallery of Fan Tattoos.

The diner was called Kripke's Hollow, possibly a reference to Stars Hollow, the fictional town in Gilmore Girls, which featured one of Jared's first big roles. The Kripke refers to series creator Eric Kripke.

5.01 Sympathy For The Devil

Becky Rosen is a fan of The Supernatural Books who runs a website called morethanbrothers.net and also writes Wincest -a sample of which appears in the episode. She is an archetypal Sam Girl

5.09 The Real Ghostbusters

The Show Centres around a Supernatural Convention. In reality the first Supernatural Con held was WinchesterCon in Nashville in October 2006 attended by 200 fans. Asylum 2007 was the first Convention attended by actors. For a list of all Supernatural Convention check: [{Convention Calendar]].

One of the fan, dressed as the Hookman, at the Convention in the episode, asks why, in the books, Sam and Dean keep dropping their guns and suggests they tether them with a bungie cord. In the DVD commentary for 4.03 In The Beginning, Kripke talks about how Sam and Dean always seem to be dropping their guns, knives etc at crucial moments.

Jared and Jensen always say to us like the joke is they always say to me and Bob, “Why don’t Sam and Dean have bungee cords on their wrists?”

The Hookman fan also says "Yeah, how original. Supernatural bringing in more creepy children. Sigh.

Creepy children, the evil innocents, are a stock character in horror movies, In Supernatural creepy children include Peter Sweeney in 1.03 Dead in the Water, Missy Bender in 1.15 The Benders, Melanie Merchant in 1.19 Provenance, Maggie Thompson in 2.11 Playthings, the Changelings in 3.02 The Kids Are Alright, the Girl in the Wall and her brother in 4.11 Family Remains, Jesse in 5.06 I Believe The Children Are Our Future and Lilith in 3.12 Jus in Bello, 3.16 No Rest For The Wicked, and 4.06 Yellow Fever.

Demian and Barnes - the fans LARPing Dean and Sam respectively - are the names of the recappers and moderators on the Supernatural forums at Television Without Pity

When Dean gets angry with the fans for not taking the "story" of Sam and Dean seriously, it could be seen as a reference to the phenomenon of Serious Business, used generally on the internet but in fandom to refer to fans who take matters related to their fandom in a uber serious, humorless manner (aka Fandom is srs bsns). Dean's reaction would in fandom would be termed a "flounce". This behavior is often mocked - see the fan vids Downfall.

Dean: Just give her the puppy dog thing, okay?
Fans have long referred to Sam's Puppy Dog Eyes - the pleading look he gives someone, frequently Dean, when he wants something.

The episode aired the night before the start of the Salute to Supernatural Chicago 2009.