There aren’t any shortages of emotional scenes in The CW’s many heartbreaking episodes to watch, there are also certain scenes that pack a huge emotional gut punch.
Sam and Dean Winchester’s fifteen-year journey battling against the likes of Lucifer, God, and every other villain saw them suffer the loss of their friends, along with losing each other. With characters like Bobby Singer, Castiel, and Jack Kline also getting emotional arcs, there are a number of sad scenes in Supernatural that stand out after the series’ conclusion.
Ellen And Jo's Death
Ellen and Jo were the longest-recurring female characters on the show until Season 5, with their dynamic paralleling that of Sam and Dean’s with John. Before they went on their doomed mission, the duo had also taken a picture with their friends to mark their bond.
Both mother and daughter met their end after Jo was mauled by a Hellhound, which was when Ellen decided she would die with Jo. Heartbreakingly, Ellen had to blow up the store she and Jo were locked in with the Hellhound by herself as she tearfully realized that Jo had already ed away. In her final moments, she bid farewell to her daughter and sacrificed herself to save their friends.
Dean's Progressive Loss Of Memory
Although some fans think it was a mistake on the show’s part to extend to so many seasons, this was an example of Supernatural still delivering emotional moments. After Dean was afflicted with losing his memory, he realized he had little to no information about who he was.
In this scene, he began reciting the most important relationships to himself in the mirror, only to slowly find himself fading away as the seconds went by. By the end, Dean had no idea who he was, as the single-shot showed him shattering with terrible confusion and fear.
Jack's Realization Of Sam And Dean's Betrayal
After Jack lost his soul and accidentally killed Mary, the Winchesters came up with a plan to fool him into being trapped in the Ma’lak box. Despite Jack having lost most of his emotions, he was still shown being scared and hurt when he realized he was sealed off by the men he had once considered as his fathers.
With the manifestation of Lucifer taunting him, a distraught Jack accepted that Sam and Dean had betrayed him and used his power to free himself. There’s also the fact that Jack was technically only 2-years-old, meaning he was just a child that was being subjected to such horror.
Bobby's Final Moments
Bobby was shot in the head by Dick Roman, following which he lived out his entire life’s events in his mind before the bullet permanently damaged his memories. The most heart-wrenching moment arrived in the final scene, where it was shown that Bobby’s last memory was enjoying dinner with Sam and Dean, his surrogate sons.
Moreover, when Bobby woke up for a few seconds after this memory played out, he delivered his catchphrase of “Idjits” to Sam and Dean by his bedside before ing away. The scene was masterfully done in a way to pull on all the affection fans had for Bobby’s character.
Dean's Monologue To Sam's Body
Dean’s entire purpose in life was to protect Sam, which never went away even when Sam had grown into an adult. After Sam was killed by Jake, Dean refused to bury him and kept his brother’s body, not knowing what to do now that he’d failed in his life’s mission.
As it happened, he gradually broke down completely as he spoke to Sam’s body, itting he had no more reason to live now that Sam was gone. In this scene, it became apparent that Dean decided to sell his soul to bring back, as he didn't care that he’d go to Hell since he couldn't live in a world without Sam.
Castiel's Demise After Declaring His Love For Dean
Fans had been speculating on the “Destiel” pairing for more than a decade before Castiel’s last scene confirmed it. Here, he realized that Billie would kill both of them and decided to experience his true moment of happiness by declaring his love for Dean in order to summon The Empty to take him.
This is how it happened, as Castiel tearfully acknowledged his feelings to an equally heartbroken Dean just when Billie burst in and The Empty manifested to take Castiel and Billie. Dean was then all alone mourning the loss of his friend.
Sam's Reluctant Killing Of Madison
Sam could never really catch a break throughout the series, and he had a habit of tragically losing his love interests. Madison was the greatest of them all, as Sam had to kill her himself due to Madison being a werewolf who wanted Sam to pull the trigger.
An emotionally struggling Sam couldn’t contain himself as he tearfully prepared himself to take Madison’s life, something that brought Dean to tears as well as he watched his brother struggle with what he had to do. The sound of the gunshot even rattled Dean despite him having seen so many people die previously.
Sam's Loneliness After Dean's Death
The true representation of how much Sam and Dean needed each other was shown in the last episode when Sam lived out his life following Dean’s demise. Here, Sam sat around in a depressed state in the Men of Letters bunker all by himself, as he had nobody with him anymore.
Sam’s melancholic state was highlighted when he found nothing enjoyable, as he chose to be in Dean’s old room and weep over the loss of his brother. The scene proved that Sam’s loneliness was his own personal Hell and that he would never get over Dean’s death.
Sam's Descent Into Hell
The Season 5 finale remains the episode that Supernatural fans consider to be the best one, with its climax showing the bond of the brothers. In this scene, Sam overcame Lucifer’s possession after he was reminded of his love for Dean as all the memories of their lives came rushing to him.
For his part, Dean remained unwavering in his hope for Sam to come back, even after he was beaten to a bloody pulp by Lucifer. As he witnessed, Sam overpowered Lucifer and threw himself into Hell to save Dean and the world, but Dean was left broken upon the realization that Sam was gone seemingly forever.
Dean And Sam's Final Goodbye
Although the death of Dean remains a sour point for many fans over the finale, there’s no doubt it was high on the feels. This scene played out longer than most as it served as Sam and Dean’s final goodbye. Here, Dean let Sam know that he felt the latter was the better man and that he was happy to die as he gave his blessing to Sam to live his life on his own.
In a callback from the first episode, Sam told Dean he couldn’t live without him, which his brother assured him he could. Since this was the definite death of Dean after so many resurrections, the farewell carried all the weight as the brothers embraced one last time before Dean ed away.