We can always use a little Sam & Dean! Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down the best improv on “Supernatural”. It goes without saying, but if you haven’t seen the show in its entirety, come back to this video after you have!
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00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down the best improv on Supernatural.
00:16It goes without saying, but if you haven't seen the show in its entirety, come back to
00:21this video after you have.
00:31Number 20.
00:32Swiper Dean.
00:33If either brother is going to have sticky fingers, it's definitely Dean.
00:37When the boys are put up in a three-star hotel, in separate rooms too, we're quickly reminded
00:42how foreign luxury is to them.
00:55The quick and hilarious shot of Dean pocketing a couple of handfuls of mints was all gents
00:59and ackles.
01:05It just proves how in-line he always was with the character, especially because it wasn't
01:10the first time we saw him make a similar impromptu acting choice.
01:22Though this one revealed more than we ever needed to know.
01:25Number 19.
01:26Cups and Salt.
01:27This season six episode is a minefield of unscripted moments, so we'll see it again
01:32later in the list.
01:33While Jared Padalecki plays the more serious of the two Winchester brothers, we often see
01:38some of his real personality slip into Sam.
01:40Then again, in this episode, Sam doesn't have a soul, so his ad-libbed question to
01:45the psychic isn't too out of character.
01:54Still our favorite of Padalecki's off-the-cuff dialogue comes towards the end.
01:58It's only after a big fight scene that he remembers how to defeat the leprechaun.
02:03You could spill sugar or salt in front of them.
02:07No matter how powerful, the fairy must stoop to count each grain.
02:14For being a throwaway line, it manages to call out convenient writing and show self-awareness,
02:19all while serving humor.
02:21I count this.
02:24Oh, I'm out.
02:27Why didn't I do that earlier?
02:34A hairy situation.
02:36This episode is up there with the best, because everyone loves an amnesia story.
02:40We open on Dean running through the woods, chasing a wounded man who stops to activate
02:44a sigil.
02:59The whole thing is shrouded in mystery, especially when Dean wakes up in what is presumably the
03:03same place he was knocked out, clearly disoriented.
03:06There's a small bunny next to him, nibbling the ground, and Ackles makes the brilliant
03:11decision to interact with it.
03:17It not only serves to show Dean's state of mind at that moment, but also manages to
03:21lighten things up from the previous scene.
03:33Cassifer's Wit
03:39Getting to see Misha Collins portray Mark Pellegrino's take on Lucifer is a treat
03:43in half.
03:44He does it so well.
03:45We can hear Pellegrino's cadence through Castiel's voice.
03:53In this episode, Castiel, possessed by Lucifer, is trying to corral some of heaven's best.
03:59He of course isn't successful without a little persuasion.
04:14That last part of the line was apparently courtesy of Collins, and we can hardly believe
04:18how clever it is.
04:20Not only does it call back to his earlier scene with Jophiel, it even rhymes.
04:24Who needs Thanos when we have Cassifer?
04:34A Little On-Stage Encouragement
04:46We know Jensen Ackles is quite the performer, but Dean, not so much.
04:50So when he garners enough courage to get up on stage for a duet with his old hunting friend
04:55Lee Webb, it's a big deal.
04:56We get a nod to a fan-favorite moment.
04:59More on that later, and some other improvisation.
05:08During their performance, it wasn't planned for Christian Cain, who plays Lee Webb, to
05:13slap Dean's behind.
05:14So that's either Ackles' genuine reaction, or he really just never misses a beat in character.
05:23It makes an already great segment all the more unforgettable.
05:29There is no singing in Supernatural.
05:30We just love when this show gets meta.
05:33They do it so flawlessly every time.
05:35In this episode, the boys follow a case that leads them to a high school play.
05:39The subject?
05:40His name is Sammy.
05:41I'm big brother Dean.
05:42The perfect family, or so it seems.
05:51Well what else would it be?
05:52When Dean sees the two actors playing himself and Cass getting a little too close for comfort,
05:57he finds out they're a couple in real life, and asks whether or not that'll be making
06:01it into the show.
06:02The student director gives him an answer that is so fandom-coded, it has him breaking the
06:06fourth wall.
06:07Although we do explore the nature of Destiel in Act 2.
06:11Sorry, what?
06:12Oh, it's just subtext.
06:13What?
06:14Then again, you know, you can't spell subtext without S-E-X.
06:21Ackles later sent out a tweet directed at fanfic writers, letting them know his look
06:25at the camera wasn't scripted.
06:28Number 14.
06:29Grenade Launcher.
06:30Despite all the trauma and hardship Dean has endured, there are days we still get to see
06:34him act like the playful kid he truly is on the inside.
06:37When he wants to take a grenade launcher into battle, Sam has to gentle parent him.
06:53It's both an adorable and hilarious exchange, and the best part is that it was completely
06:58unscripted.
06:59Props to the both of them here for knowing their characters so well, but especially to
07:03Padalecki, who reacted so perfectly to every new reaction Ackles threw at him.
07:15We live for these kinds of organic brother moments.
07:22Number 13.
07:23Jack's Wake.
07:24Say goodbye.
07:25Tomorrow.
07:26Tonight, we get loaded.
07:35Sometimes a sort of magic happens on set that you just can't plan, no matter how tight
07:39the script is.
07:40In Season 14, after Jack dies, the first time, the remainder of Team Free Will is left anguished
07:47and mourning.
07:48The initial plan was to have a morose scene where the boys sit around and drink together,
07:52but instead, it turned into more of a commemorative occasion.
08:04Grief never looks like just one thing, and this montage demonstrates that perfectly,
08:09as the boys tell stories, laugh, and keep a steady flow of liquor and snacks.
08:13According to Jared Padalecki, many of the shots are of himself, Jensen Ackles, and Misha
08:18Collins more than they are Sam, Dean, and Cass.
08:26Number 12.
08:28Some of Dean's death scene.
08:29When you have actors who understand their characters as well as Ackles and Padalecki
08:33do, it's always a good idea to let them have a little free reign, even, or perhaps
08:37especially, when it comes to the big scenes.
08:40Dean's death broke us, and it's in part thanks to the performers speaking from the
08:44heart.
08:46Padalecki and Ackles also took it upon themselves to make a couple of callbacks to the first
08:50episode, including this exchange.
09:13Padalecki also apparently ad-libbed saying Dean's name in the final scene, which is
09:17also the first thing he says to him in the pilot.
09:24Credit due to words on the page, but these two additions really up the poignancy.
09:38Number 11.
09:39Avenging Baby.
09:43When the brothers are roped into helping bad guys, they run into a legitimate priest who
09:47gives them quite the motivational speech about doing good in the world.
09:50Sam, in the hopes of convincing Dean to do what's right, has him put himself in the
09:54priest's shoes.
09:56What if someone stole the thing he loves most in the world?
10:08According to Ackles, Sam's question was supposed to be the end of it, but he knew
10:11that wasn't how Dean would react.
10:13Nope, he'd see red.
10:28To Padalecki's credit, he also does an incredible job playing the straight man here.
10:32Number 10.
10:33A Punch to Confirm.
10:35Before getting those oh-so-fashionable tattoos, the Winchester boys have to worry about being
10:39possessed by demons.
10:46One of their most frequently encountered demonic foes is Meg, and she possesses Sam in this
10:51episode.
10:52Although Bobby and Dean are able to capture Meg, she breaks out and beats Dean up.
10:59Fortunately, Bobby manages to expel the demon.
11:04As Sam reels from the experience, which he can't remember, Dean punches his brother
11:09in the face.
11:20Originally, the scene was meant to end on Sam's bewildered amnesia.
11:27Dean's actor, Jensen Ackles, improvised the punch, which only made Sam's confusion
11:32even funnier.
11:33Number 9.
11:34Rude Sign Language.
11:44While investigating a Banshee terrorizing a retirement home, Sam and Dean encounter
11:48Eileen Leahy, a deaf hunter out for revenge on the Banshee after it killed her parents.
11:54She and Sam have a fun connection throughout the episode and thereafter.
11:57When they first met, though, Sam attempts to sign to Eileen, seemingly saying thanks.
12:02However, the sign is actually the one for the F word.
12:06Actors Shoshana Stern and Jared Padalecki came up with the joke together.
12:17It's no wonder folks started shipping them, considering this was part of their first interaction.
12:29Number 8.
12:30German Castiel.
12:31On an apocalyptic version of Earth where the Winchesters were never born, angels and
12:35demons battle it out on a world with humans caught in the middle.
12:41This world's version of Charlie Bradbury is being unsuccessfully tortured by angels
12:46when her tormentors call in a specialist, Castiel.
12:53However, this version of Castiel is notably different, seemingly blind in one eye, having
13:01a facial tick, and wearing a different coat.
13:03Oh, and he also has a German accent.
13:22The last of these was not in the script, and actor Mischa Collins came up with it after
13:26seeing his wardrobe.
13:28Collins apparently regrets the choice now, though it's certainly memorable.
13:37Number 7.
13:38Hurt Feelings.
13:39While we're on the subject of Castiel, everyone's favorite angel joins Sam, Dean, and Bobby
13:47when they investigate a town in Oregon where Eve, the mother of monsters, has set up shop.
13:52However, upon arrival, Cas has trouble using his usual angel teleportation.
14:02When Dean uses a colorful metaphor for Castiel's impotence and insults his usefulness without
14:06his powers, the angel simply turns and looks away.
14:10Reportedly, Mischa Collins actually forgot what his original line was, leading Jared
14:17Padalecki to improvise Sam's observation that Dean may have hurt Cas' feelings.
14:22We guess some mistakes work out for the better.
14:29Number 6.
14:30Gate Trip.
14:31While investigating a mysterious death involving stigmata wounds, Sam and Dean are pointed
14:36towards a religious family who live off the beaten path.
14:39While walking up the drive, the brothers discuss their recently-returned-and-then-departed
14:43mother.
14:44However, their entrance to said drive sees Dean attempt to hop the fence by awkwardly
14:57shimmying over it, while Sam goes around with little effort.
15:04It's a small, funny bit of character interaction that was not in the script, but invented on
15:13set.
15:14It certainly feels like a typical sibling moment for the Winchesters.
15:17Number 5.
15:18Dean and the Lizard.
15:20While this episode primarily focuses on side characters attempting to save the Winchesters,
15:24the boys do feature in it as well.
15:26Trapped in an alternate universe inhabited by giant monsters, Sam and Dean are forced
15:31to make do with what they can find to survive, which means eating lizards.
15:45Dean seems more willing to indulge in eating the local fauna, and when one of the larger
15:49monsters starts to sound closer and closer, the duo hurries off.
15:55However, Dean goes back for the cooked lizard after initially leaving it behind.
16:04Jensen Ackles improvised the moment, as he reasoned that Dean would never leave food
16:09behind, even lizard on a stick.
16:11Number 4.
16:12Fighting Fairies.
16:14This hilarious X-Files-style episode sees the Winchesters looking into crop circles,
16:24but instead of aliens, the true culprits appear to be fairies.
16:27Unfortunately for Dean, but not for us, he accidentally attacks a little person after
16:32mistaking the men for a fairy.
16:39Although his hilarious excuse that he was just kidding was also an improvisation by
16:43Ackles, our pick goes to a moment a little bit later.
16:47Naturally, Dean is arrested for assaulting the men, and as he's being put in the police
16:54car, he yells to Sam.
17:00Although this off-the-cuff line by Dean is funny in context, just imagining what all
17:04the bystanders think makes it even more so.
17:10Number 3.
17:11Dean's catchphrase.
17:15As any Supernatural fan knows, Dean's favorite exclamation involves mentioning the male child
17:20of a female dog.
17:22The amount of time Dean uses the expression leads it to essentially becoming his catchphrase.
17:37Although many of the times Dean says it are in fact scripted, Jensen Ackles occasionally
17:41included the expletive when it wasn't written in previously, as a result of how in-character
17:47he gets.
17:51One memorable instance is at the conclusion of the season 3 episode, Bad Day at Black
17:55Rock.
17:56After discovering that Bella Talbot had stolen his winning lottery tickets, Dean is left
18:00stunned.
18:01Dean's outburst wasn't scripted, and you can see Jared Padalecki trying not to laugh.
18:10We're right there with him.
18:12Number 2.
18:13Scooby-Dooby F-bomb.
18:23We still can't believe this episode is real.
18:25Sam, Dean, and Castiel get sucked into TV Land, specifically the animated world of Scooby-Doo.
18:36While there, they encounter an all-too-real ghost, which clashes hilariously and traumatically
18:41with the Scooby gang's usual antics foiling old people in masks.
18:45The gang doesn't take it well.
18:47However, thanks to a pep talk from Dean, they regain their confidence.
18:55Dean also claims that they can help out by doing what they do best, making a trap.
19:06Although most of the speech was scripted, Dean's use of the F-word for emphasis was
19:10an invention of Jensen Ackles in the recording booth.
19:14Jinkies.
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19:30Number 1.
19:31Eye of the Tiger.
19:40You probably saw this coming.
19:41During the episode Yellow Fever, Dean is cursed with fear at nearly everything.
19:51To give himself the courage in one scene, he lies down in the Impala and listens to
19:55Eye of the Tiger while air drumming.
20:04Although the scene in the episode proper stops shortly thereafter, Jensen Ackles continues
20:08his performance of the song in a now-famous outtake aired after the episode, lip-syncing
20:13to the lyrics and using his leg to play guitar.
20:24It's such a funny and surprising moment, and it's all thanks to Ackles just screwing
20:28around on set and the director leaving the camera rolling.
20:38Which spur-of-the-moment acting choice impressed you the most?
20:41Let us know in the comments!