Timeline (Season 6)

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.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The writers/crew at Supernatural decided to continue their tradition of dating things for the estimated release time of the episode, ignoring the fact that, because Dean lived with Lisa for a whole year between the end of Season 5 and the beginning of Season 6, Season 6 should start in 2011, not 2010.

According to 1st AD Kevin Parks:

They decided to do "soap opera time", because they didn't want to have to push the year forward for the rest of the show's run. So, just like in soap operas when people's kids are toddlers and then suddenly teenagers, so too can Sam and Dean spend a year apart while no time has actually passed in reality. (source)

If you want the timeline to be logical, just add one year to all dates except those that happened between Season 5 and Season 6.

2010/2011 - Between Season 5 and Season 6

Sometime in the 2010/2011 year - Sam has sex with a Hunter named Annie (7.19 Of Grave Importance)

Winter 2010 - Sam and Samuel hunt an Arachne in Bristol, Rhode Island. (6.13 Unforgiven)

Fall 2010 - Castiel refuses to follow Raphael’s orders and restart the apocalypse, leading to a civil war in heaven. Castiel makes an unholy alliance in order to be powerful enough to oppose Raphael. (6.20 The Man Who Would Be King)Note: Season based on the fact that Dean is raking leaves when Castiel almost goes to him for help.

Spring 2011 - Sam and Samuel shoot a werewolf on the half-moon.(6.08 All Dogs Go to Heaven)

Unknown (possibly Spring/Summer) 2010 - 6.01 Exile on Main St.

Day Count: 3

Location: Cicero, Indiana' Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Dean is in Exile On Main St. when things start getting strange in Cicero, Indiana, and he discovers that his brother has been alive for a while and everyone knew but him. We spend approx. 3 days with Dean, only one 24 hour period is spent with Sam, in which the two of them travel to Bobby’s place in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and back again.

• It’s been one year since Sam fell into the pit. It is unspecified exactly how long Sam has been back, but it has been “close to” a year as well.

Unknown 2010 - 6.02 Two and a Half Men

Day Count: ~3

Location: Lansing, Michigan; Battle Creek, Michigan; Unknown

Sam calls Dean for help on a case, when he has to deal with an unfamiliar situation involving Shapshifters and babies. Meanwhile, Lisa and Ben unpack in the new house, while the Two and a Half Men are off Hunting. We see approximately 3 days. Sam starts the episode in Lansing, Michigan, and Dean in Battle Creek, Michigan (see notes). During the episode, they also travel to the Campbell Compound, which is in an unknown location.

• No dates are given, but we can guess that there has actually been quite a bit of time passed between this episode and Exile on Main St. It’s takes time to move house after all, and in this episode Dean and Lisa have already packed up their old house, and rented a new house, and are moving in. The quickest one could do that (in my opinion) is probably a month. Not only that, but based on information in Appointment in Samarra we know that they moved from Cicero, Indiana, to Battle Creek, Michigan. It would probably take even longer to move between states to a brand new city.

Unknown 2010 - 6.03 The Third Man

Day Count: 2-3

Location: Easter, Pennsylvania

Dean joins Sam in Easter, PA, where they discover a plague, and The Third Man to Team Free Will shows up with news from heaven. We spend at least 2 days, more likely 3, in this episode.

• We don’t know where Dean was calling from when Sam told him to come to Pennsylvania instead – only that he obviously wasn’t in Pennsylvania, because of this, we also don’t know how long it took Dean to get to Pennsylvania.
• Sam says “Easter, PA” but there’s no such town (according to Google Maps), so we’ll have to assume it’s fictitious.
• Dean says it’s been a day in a half since Sam was at the Campbell compound – either this means it’s been a day and a half since the events of Two and a Half Men, or it means it’s been a day and a half since Dean called Sam and told him that he was going to join him, and presumably Sam told him to meet him at the Campbell compound.

Unknown (possibly Fall) 2010 - 6.04 Weekend at Bobby's

Day Count: 6 (at least)

Location: Sioux Falls, South Dakota

We spend a Weekend at Bobby’s and a working week as well, when Bobby tries to get his soul back from Crowley with a little help from his friends. The episode takes place over at least 6 days. Sam and Dean are hunting a Lamia in Kenosha, Wisconsin, until the evening of the 4th day, when Bobby asks them to go to Scotland.

• I've always flown from the Americas to Europe in the evening, if Sam and Dean did the same then the earliest they could have left the country is the evening of the fifth day, arriving in the UK on the sixth day. However, apparently there are also flights to Europe during the day, so it is also possible they left the morning of the 5th day. I’m assuming they knew exactly where they were going and were able to get there and dig up Fergus MacLeod’s grave (probably) on the sixth day, with their conversation with Bobby at the end of the episode taking place the evening of the sixth day for them (and the afternoon of the sixth day for Bobby). However, it could be that they needed an extra day to get from the airport to the graveyard, in which case the episode would be 7 days.
• Other information gained: Crowley (Fergus MacLeod), was born in 1661. 1723-Gavin MacLeod dies. 1981-Wreck of Gavin MacLeod’s ship found and his signet ring recovered.
• When Sam and Dean are driving at night in Scotland, it is very dark. This would actually mean that it cannot be summer, as it does not get that dark at night in Scotland in the summer time. That’s extremely nitpicky, but, hey, when you have nothing else to base something on...

~October 17th, 2010 - 6.05 Live Free or Twihard

Day Count: 3

Location: Limestone, Illinois

Dean gets turned into a vampire when he and Sam investigate a rash of missing person’s cases in Limestone, Illinois. We spend 3 days with the Winchesters.

• The girls’ missing person notices are dated between October 8 and 15, 2010

Late October 2010 - 6.06 You Can't Handle the Truth

Day Count: 3

Location: Calumet, Illinois; Springfield, unknown state

Dean and Sam travel to Calumet, Illinois, to investigate a series of suspicious suicides. They spend 3 days in the episode.

• The first victim’s cat calendar is open to October 2010.
• It’s 4:12pm when Dean gets off the phone with Bobby the second time and attempts to call Lisa, but hangs up.
• When Sam is reading a webpage on ancient rituals, the sidebar list the days as “Yesterday, Wednesday, Tuesday...etc.” making the day Sam is reading a Friday. This occurs on the second day, but does not mesh well with the timing of the next episode.
• The boys are somewhere called Springfield when Sam finds the news article about the case. The closest Springfield to Calumet, Illinois, is Springfield, Illinois, which is approx. a 3-hour drive away.

Late October 2010 - 6.07 Family Matters

Day Count: 3-4

Location: Calumet, Illinois; Unknown location

Dean discovers that Sam came back from Hell without his soul. They head over to see their grandfather and end up hunting the Alpha Vampire. This episode picks up the same night that the previous episode ended, and the boys are still in Calumet, IL. They spend 3 or possibly 4 days in the episode, arriving at the Campbells’ compound either at dawn or dusk of the second day (I’m going with Dusk). The location the Campbells’ compound, the Alpha Vampire’s house, and the place where they kept the Alpha Vampire are unknown.

• When Crowley shows up, he says “what is it today, Friday?” Again, this is Supernatural’s continuing practice of mentioning the day the show airs in the episode, but it has to be taken as canon.
• When Christian confronts Dean in the hallway outside Grandpa’s office, he mentions the Hunt “tomorrow” – it is nighttime then, so either Dean and Sam waited a whole day to try to sneak into Grandpa’s office, or they only waited a little bit and arrived the night before the Campbell’s were set to leave on the hunt. If that sounds confusing, it’s just me trying to explain why the day count is hard to pin down.

Unknown 2010 - 6.08 All Dogs Go to Heaven

Day Count: 6

Location: Buffalo, NY

Not All Dogs Go To Heaven, when Sam and Dean have to take out a sleeper-cell of Skinwalkers in Buffalo, NY. We spend at least 6 days with them.

• Sam also mentions that 6 months ago he and Samuel Campbell killed a werewolf on the half-moon.
• In 2010, there is a full moon on October 23rd and November 21st. In 2011, the there is a full moon on November 10th, so the first attack has to occur well before that or well after. There is a New Moon on October 26th, so that would be a good reason for Dean to be so abrupt with his statement that the lunar cycle isn’t right for a werewolf. Either way, this episode cannot occur close to the full moon

Unknown 2010 - 6.09 Clap Your Hands If You Believe...

Day Count: 4

Location: Elwood, Indiana

Sam and Dean find themselves fighting fairies in Elwood, Indiana. Although the fairies have been around for 2 months, it only takes Sam and Dean 4 days to find them and vanquish them.

• Dean returns from being abducted at 4:07am on the second day, which is possibly a Friday (the Supernatural crew seem to have any online archive the Winchesters search permanently set to appear as though they are searching it on a Friday.)

Unknown - 6.10 Caged Heat

Day Count: 12-18 hours

Location: Evergreen, Missouri; Campbell compound; Unknown

Sam and Dean finally have enough of being Crowley’s errand boys, and track him down to somewhere near Evergreen, Missouri. We spend somewhere around 12 to 18 hours with the boys as they drive around the country (for the sake of the timeline, the Campbell base-camp, the abandoned house where the boys are staying, and Crowley’s prison, all have to be pretty close to each other).

• We find out that the boys have been working for Crowley for “months”, which to me indicates that considerable time has passed between this episode and All Dogs Go To Heaven.

Unknown - 6.11 Appointment in Samarra

Day Count: 2

Location: Unknown; Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Dean has an Appointment in Samarra when he tries to contact Death for help. Dean begins the episode at 230 Keefer St, in an unnamed city, he then drives back to Bobby’s. He begins his 24 hours as Death at sunrise the next day, but fails the wager before the sun rises again.

• Bobby tells Sam that he “woke up and you were gone”, given that Bobby keeps more of a regular schedule than the Winchesters, we can assume that he wasn’t napping, but rather sleeping during the night like a normal person. This would make the low-lighting when Dean starts his 24 hours as death sunrise instead of sunset – though, if you wanted to argue that Bobby was indeed napping, then this episode could have possibly taken place in one day instead of two.

Late 2010 or Early 2011 - 6.12 Like a Virgin

Day Count: ~10

Location: Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, California

Sam is Like a Virgin, when he wakes up at Bobby’s with no memories from the past year and a half. While Dean tries to protect Sam’s innocence, they drive to Portland to slay some dragons. Dean takes a side trip to San Francisco, CA, in order to quite dramatically pull a sword from a stone. The episode takes place over roughly 10 days.

• They spend about one or two days at Bobby’s at the beginning of the episode. The drive to Portland is a 25 hour trip, so probably takes them two days. They spend a day and a half in Portland before Dean has to take a side trip to San Francisco (about an 11 hour drive, so probably takes him at least a day and a half to do). Then they have to drive back to Bobby’s. So, over all, the episode takes place over roughly 10 days.
• Bobby says that Sam went “straight up Menendez on me not ten days ago” – which means it’s been about 10 days since the previous episode.
• Dean tells Sam that he had been in hell for a year and a half, which places this episode in late 2011 or very early 2012, assuming that Sam went to hell in the spring of 2010*(see disclaimer) and that Dean is not speaking in exact terms (there is no way this episode takes place in October).

Winter 2011 - 6.13 Unforgiven

Day Count: ~4

Location: Bristol, Rhode Island

Sam finds that a lot of what he did the previous year will remain Unforgiven, after Sam and Dean travel to Bristol, Rhode Island, to investigate a series of disappearances, only to discover that Sam had been there once before. They spend about 4 days in this episode.

• Season based solely on the amount of snow on the ground. Year is really a guess based on how many episodes have passed since it was October, 2010/2011.
• Missing person’s report on one of the females lists the last time she was seen as 11/09/12. The women apparently disappeared in the last week. It was October, 2010/2011, about 6 episodes ago, yet in Caged Heat (3 episodes ago), they say they’ve been working for Crowley for “months” – indicating that a lot of time had passed between All Dogs Go To Heaven and Caged Heat. I doubt “months” means a whole year though...which means that either “months” is incorrect and the date here is December 09, 2011 (which completely goes against US date-writing customs)...or we just have to disregard this date entirely for being completely unbelievable. I’m going with the latter option. Furthermore, the date on the missing person’s report from “a year ago” has a last seen date of “November 2, 2009” which is NOT a year ago and would have been mid season 5. Therefore, I think I’m justified in throwing out all date from the art/props department that appear in this episode.

Possibly February 2011 - 6.14 Mannequin 3: The Reckoning

Day Count: 7

Location: Paterson, NJ; Passaic, NJ; Battle Creek, MI; Sioux Falls, SD

Sam and Dean investigate a series of deaths that occur near mannequins and dummies, when they travel to Paterson and then Passaic, NJ. Dean gets a call from Ben 3 days into the case that has him driving to Battle Creek, MI, while Sam continues with the case on his own. Finally, at the end of the episode, the boys take the Impala back to Bobby’s in Sioux Falls, SD, for repairs for a total of 7 days spent in the episode.

• It’s 10 hours driving between Passaic, NJ, and Battle Creek, MI. Dean does it as a 24 hour turn-around trip. It’s 22 hours driving from Passaic, NJ, to Sioux Falls, SD, we do not know if the Impala was operational for the trip or whether it had to be towed.
• Dean once again asks Sam to be his Valentine and presents him with an model of a human heart – he did the same thing during My Bloody Valentine in S5, an episode that took place close to Valentine’s day. It could be that this episode is also occurring close to Valentine’s Day, hence Dean’s reuse of the joke.

Unknown 2011 - 6.15 The French Mistake

Day Count: 3 (in parallel universe), 1 night in their own universe

Location: Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Sam and Dean are researching at Bobby’s when Balthazar shows up and flings them into a parallel universe where they exist as Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. They spend 3 days in the parallel universe, but they return on the same night that they left.

Possibly April 2011 - 6.16 ...And Then There Were None

Day Count: 3

Location: Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Sandusky, Ohio

There were allies and enemies, And Then There Were None, as Bobby, Sam, and Dean, spend 3 days together when they travel to Sandusky, Ohio, on the trail of Eve and a new type of monster.

• The boys are still at Bobby’s (where they finished the previous episode). Bobby informs them that “all week” there has been increased monster activity along the I-80. This either means that the boys have been hanging out at Bobby’s for a while, or the monster activity started before the events of The French Mistake. Bobby’s window has been repaired – so my guess is that the boys have been at Bobby’s for a while, possibly repairing the damage to his house.
• See notes on 6.17 My Heart Will Go On for explanation of possible date.

Possibly After April 29th 2011 - 6.17 My Heart Will Go On

Day Count: 3 (at least)

Location: Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Chester, Pennsylvania

We find ourselves in an alternate universe where no one has ever heard “My Heart Will Go On”, because the Titanic never sank. We spend at least 3 days in the alternative timeline, but it is unclear how much time has passed really once everything has been restored. During the three days, the boys drive from Bobby’s house to Chester, Pennsylvania (a 22 hour trip).

• Bobby “hasn’t slept in days”, and later, when he’s sleeping, Dean says that it’s probably “the best he’s felt all week”. To me, this indicates that it’s probably been a week since Rufus died.
• The newspaper clipping Sam shows Dean is from a weekly newspaper that is dated with “week ending Friday the 29th, 2011” – This is most likely in reference to April 29th, 2011 (as the other option is July and the weather doesn’t suit).

Unknown 2011 OR March 3-5, 2011 - 6.18 Frontierland

Day Count: 48 hours - 24 hours of which are spend in 1861

Location: Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Campbell Compound; Wyoming

Sam and Dean travel back to Frontierland in order to hunt a Phoenix. They spend 24 hours in 1861 and we spend 48 hours in 2011. The only traveling done is between Bobby’s and the Campbell compound (which remains in an unknown location).

• A subtitle informs us that present day is 150 years after March 5th, 1861, which if you take it exactly, means that this episode could actually take place before My Heart Will Go On instead of after it (as it aired). I prefer to take the aired episode order as chronological though, and assume that the “150 years” is approximate and it could in fact be a month or two more than 150 years.
• Sam tells Samuel Colt that he is a “from the year 2011”.
• Sam’s watch says that it’s Sunday at 1:16pm when Castiel transports them back in time. Castiel transports them back at noon. This fits in with the hour listed on Sam’s watch, since Wyoming and South Dakota are in neighbouring time zones. It doesn’t fit in with the minutes on Sam’s watch, but maybe Sam’s watch is set 16 minutes ahead, or Castiel just transported them to arrive on the hour to make things easier.
• When Sam starts the countdown on his fancy watch, the time display briefly changes to say “5 30” which may be the date...except that May 30, 2011, is a Monday, not a Sunday. (And a Wednesday in 2012)

Unknown 2011 - 6.19 Mommy Dearest

Day Count: 1

Location: Sioux Falls, SD; Grant's Pass, Oregon

Sam and Dean meet Mommy Dearest, when with the help of Castiel, they instantly travel from Bobby’s place in Sioux Falls, SD, to Grant’s Pass, Oregon. This episode appears to take place during only one day (excluding the opening teaser, of course).

• Ed Bright is said to be 25 years old by Dr. Silver in his report to the CDC. We see on his driver’s license that he was born on Dec. 16, 1985 – placing this episode sometime in 2011 (before December)

Unknown 2011 - 6.20 The Man Who Would Be King

Day Count: 2 with the Winchesters (at least)

Location: Cas is basically a multidimensional wavelength of celestial intent all over the place.

Castiel and Crowley, each of them The Man Who Would Be King of their respective realms. We explore what they’ve both been up to for the past two years. Because “time is fluid” it is hard to tell how many days take place in the present – but I estimate that Winchester parts of the episode take place over at least 2 days.

Unknown 2011 - 6.21 Let It Bleed

Day Count: 2 days (at least 24 hours)

Dean and Sam have to rescue Lisa and Ben from demons when Crowley tries to divert their attention. Meanwhile, Bobby takes up the task of trying to stop Castiel. The episode takes place over at least one 24 hour period.

• This episode starts the morning after the final scene of The Man Who Would Be King.

Possibly June 15th, 2011 - 6.22 The Man Who Knew Too Much

Day Count: 16 hours

Location: Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Bootback, Kansas

We spend 16 hours with Dean and Bobby, while Sam plays The Man Who Knew Too Much inside his own head, after Castiel destroys the Great Wall of Sam, in a final attempt to get Dean to stop trying to stop him from opening the door to Purgatory. Dean and Bobby travel from Sioux Falls, SD to the fictional town of Bootback, Kansas, with Sam following on their heels once he’s able to fight his way back to consciousness. (~7 hour drive)

• It you are using chronological time, this episode possibly takes place on June 4th 2012 - The ritual takes place during a lunar eclipse. (Dean tells Cas that they have to diffuse him before the eclipse ends). In 2011, there is a lunar eclipse on June 15 that is visible in Africa and East Asia. In 2012, there is a partial lunar eclipse on June 4 that is visible in Asia and the Americas (For those of you sticking with logical time, June 4 would be the one I’d use.)
• Bobby says they have 16 hours to find Castiel when he’s trying to get Dean to pull himself together.

All Information for this Timeline from hells_half_acre's SPN Timeline