Jensen Ackles And Jared Padalecki Picked Their Least Favorite Episodes Of Supernatural, And They’re Both A+ Choices

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In 2025, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, known for their unforgettable roles in “Supernatural”, might have moved on from those characters in the TV schedule. However, their memories of the show remain vivid, especially as they celebrate the 20th anniversary since its pilot aired on September 13, 2005 on The WB. In this occasion, they shared which episodes among the 327 they found less impressive. Although I was taken aback by Padalecki’s selection (and neither pointed towards the divisive series finale), I concur with their selections.

Jensen Ackles’ Worst Episode

Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles portrayed Sam and Dean Winchester over fifteen seasons, experiencing many incredible highs and dismal lows along the way. As they prepared for their on-screen reunion in “The Boys”, they sat down with Entertainment Weekly to discuss their shared history and the aspects that didn’t quite gel as intended. When asked about the Season 1 episode titled “Bugs”, Ackles concurred with most fans that it was arguably the weakest offering of the series, according to Misha Collins.

I believe it was quite a difficult experience, given everything we faced and how it ultimately turned out. To put it simply, the outcome didn’t justify the effort invested.

The eighth episode from Season 1, titled “Bugs,” first aired in 2005, and yet Jared Padalecki (Ackles’ character is Dean) still considers it the series’ worst. This particular episode can now be streamed with a Netflix subscription. In “Bugs,” Sam and Dean found themselves entangled in the construction of a new housing development on lands considered sacred by Native Americans, where mysterious deaths were occurring. The culprits? Insects, you’ve got it! Although it wasn’t well-received when initially broadcasted, it seems that time has not been kind to this episode, as it may not hold up as well today.

Although the stars may not hold the memory of it too positively due to other circumstances, an interesting tidbit is that Padalecki mentioned they had approximately 70,000 bees on set during filming. From Ackles’ subsequent remarks, it seems those bees were more associated with nature than show business. He revealed:

During our experience, we found ourselves swarmed by real bees. However, when it came to post-production, the bees were not visible in the footage, so they added computer-generated (CG) bees instead.

In a fortunate turn of events, neither actor on the set of “Supernatural” had a bee allergy, avoiding potential catastrophes early in production. However, it was noted that bees can be rather uncooperative co-stars. As Jared Padalecki reminisced, they weren’t always easy to work with.

We visited an expert on bees, who was wearing a protective suit and holding a bee using large tweezers. He explained that they were going to sting us, but it wouldn’t release all its venom to test for allergies. During filming, we learned there was no queen bee present, so they wouldn’t bite or sting us unless provoked. However, they said the only way to provoke them was by swatting them. Surprisingly, the scene focused on trying to get rid of the bees, but they advised us to guide them away instead. The whole situation seemed quite strange.

It’s been quite some time since I recall “Bugs” episode in Supernatural, and I can assure you that Sam and Dean, as portrayed in 2005, never showed any kindness towards bees by gently guiding them away. Compared to the high-tech visual effects used for the bee scene in 9-1-1 last year, recording a bee attack in Supernatural’s first season would seem rudimentary. While I’m not claiming to have psychic abilities like those on Supernatural, I feel confident saying that if the show ever returns with its original cast, we probably won’t see “Bugs 2.”

Jared Padalecki’s Worst Episode

In a different phrasing, Jared Padalecki referred to a particularly weak episode of Supernatural that many fans might concur with, which was the Leviathan arc in Season 7. Fast forwarding to the years 2011-2012, as an actor on Fire Country, Padaleki expressed his thoughts about this less favorable episode.

It seems to me that one of the Leviathan episodes felt overly focused on the character of Dick Roman, taking a darker turn than usual. The show definitely emphasized quite a few innuendos related to his name.

In Season 7, Dick Roman appeared in six episodes, and it seems probable that Padalecki had one of these later episodes in mind when he spoke, as I recall the frequent dick jokes becoming quite tiring towards the end of the storyline. Ackles concurred with this sentiment, stating simply “It was a lot.

To put it simply, even a show with 327 episodes isn’t expected to have all of them be flawless. The fact that the fanbase remains vibrant five years post-finale and twenty years since the premiere suggests there are many more good than bad episodes. As for “Bugs”, I would categorize it as one of only a few subpar episodes from the first season.

Should you wish to check if those episodes live up to their infamy or rediscover some genuinely enjoyable ones, you can stream the entire series on Netflix right away.

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2025-09-13 07:09