Timeline (Season 5)

NOTE:

• Days spent on each case include the day after they solve them, if it is shown in the episode.
• Day counts assume one driving day in cases when the boys hear about the case and must travel to the location, unless otherwise stated.
• Day counts count partial days as full days (meaning if an episode starts late at night, that night counts as a day)
• Priority of information sources: A)Dialogue, B)Logic, C)Art/Props Department, D)Other Official Sources, E)Conjecture.

May 14th-~May 18th, 2009 - 5.01 Sympathy for the Devil

Day Count: 3 or 4

Location: Ilchester, Maryland; Baltimore, Maryland; Unknown

There is little Sympathy For The Devil as the Winchesters begin to regroup after Lucifer's rising. They spend approx. 3 to 4 days traveling from Ilchester, Maryland, to Baltimore (by plane), to Chuck's house, and, presumably, a city close to Chuck's house.

• The clock on the car radio in the rental says 11:58 (pm, assumed, given that it’s night time). Sam had to kill Lilith at midnight, so the time on the clock could very well be a full 24 hours after Lucifer rose. This would account for the time it would take to get off the airplane and rent a car. Either that, or the clock is simply wrong. Day count includes the 14th.

Between May 27th and May 31th - 5.02 Good God, Y'All

Day Count: 4 or 5

Location: River Pass, Colorado

After a phone call from Rufus, the boys leave their unknown city in the east and drive to River Pass, Colorado, where it's War. Estimated at least a 1 day trip to get to Colorado from where they were, means that they spend around 4 or 5 days in this episode.

• 2 days are spent in River Pass, the conversation at the end could take place on a 3rd day, based solely on Sam changing his shirt, the choice is yours.
• Dean says at the beginning that Bobby hasn't spoken in 3 days, which would put this episode between ~May 20th - 25th. However, we do not know whether he stopped talking immediately after the last episode or not, so unfortunately that tells us nothing. We learn from the citizens of River pass though, that War showed up "last Wednesday". If we assume that Bobby fell silent immediately after the last episode, that would mean that War showed up the day after Rufus put in his distress call...which doesn’t make sense. People don't usually say "last Wednesday" unless it is, or is after, another Wednesday. War couldn’t have shown up BEFORE Lucifer rose, so, it's more likely that there's been a little more time between episodes. Since the boys are still hanging around the hospital though, it probably hasn't been too long, at most a week, I'd say.
• Dean’s X-ray has a date of “...4-09-2009” as it cannot be April or September already, this date has been disregarded.

June to August 25th, 2009 OR First half of June, 2009 - 5.03 Free to BE You and Me

Day Count: 3 or 4 day storyline for each Winchester

Location: Garber, Oklahoma; Greeley, Pennsylvania; Maine

Dean and Sam are Free to be You and Me, when they spend an unspecified time apart. We follow a 3 (or 4) day storyline for each Winchester. Sam's takes place in Garber, Oklahoma. Dean hunts vampires in Greeley, Pennsylvania, and then heads to Maine with Castiel.

There are two ways to interpret the timing of this episode:

• 1. The boys spend a week apart - Dean hunts a vampire and Sam gets a job, before the events of the episode take place.
• 2. The boys have spent nearly 3 months apart: The date spotted on Sam's laptop on the second day of his storyline - 08/23/09, 3:38pm - would mean that the boys have actually spent almost 3 months apart.

Let's look at the supporting evidence for both:

• Lindsey tells Sam that he blew into town "last week" - this would support the one week theory; though, one could also argue that Sam may not have given up the normadic lifestyle, and this might not be his first stop since leaving Dean.
• I find it doubtful that Cas would go almost three months without contacting Dean; however, the two storylines we are seeing may NOT actually be happening simultaneously. It is possible that we are seeing Dean in June and Sam in August.
• The next episode - The End - may also take place in August. Given that Sam calls Dean with the news from Lucifer at the beginning of that episode, it is likely that it follows shortly after this one, as I doubt Sam would keep the information from his brother for long. That being said, The End might not actually take place in August either - see 5.04 The End notes.

3. The Third Option: Both storylines take place in August, after an unseen two months apart

• In Supernatural The Official Companion Season 5, there is a mock up of a tabloid article about the Gas Station fire that Dean and Cas investigate in order to find Raphael. The tabloid is dated August 21st, 2010...now, the problem with this is that it’s not 2010 yet (however, it was 2010 when they were putting together the Official Companion).