30 Days of Halloween — Day 29: 'Supernatural' Episode 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester'

It’s really easy to choose a scary episode of Supernatural and reference it for Halloween. There are a lot of those, from “Bloody Mary” to “Asylum” and "Monster Movie", which includes a shapeshifter changing into his favorite monsters from old movies. The irony is that in all its nine seasons, the show has only had one Halloween-based episode. “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester” has Sam and Dean investigating a case the day before Halloween. Probably the only episode in the show’s history where you’ll see Dean munching his way through a lot of candy (and trust me, he munches on a lot of food throughout the show).

The episode is named after the famous Charlie Brown special, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown". It starts off with Luke Wallace who, unable to keep his hands away from the candy his wife has stashed in the cabinets, ends up choking on dying from razor blades that he’d swallowed. 

When Sam and Dean find their way to the case ad investigate, theyfind hex bags, an ancient Celtic coin, and a charred bone of an infant hidden in Wallace’s house, though neither can find a reason that a witch would want him dead.

The hunters soon discover that a powerful witch is attempting to raise the demon Samhain. And when the angels Castiel and Uriel show up in Sam and Dean’s hotel room, they learn that Samhain isn’t just any demon, he is one of the sixty six seals that is attempting to broken and he can only rise every six hundred years. Break all sixty six and Lucifer will rise.

“It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester” is a very strong episode. It’s the seventh episode in the fourth season (which is one of the strongest seasons in the show’s history). By this point, we’ve met angels, which are new to the Supernatural landscape. The stakes are much higher, too. Dean’s just been raised from hell, and Sam’s hiding a secret so large it has the ability to put a permanent rift between the brothers.

There are a lot of reasons to love this episode. One of which is the continued information we learn on the angels. If you watch the show, you know that Castiel isn’t as obedient as he once was. When he’s introduced, he’s the ever-loyal soldier of heaven and his very bromantic and ever-changing friendship with Dean really begins to take hold in this episode.

Also, Sam's long cemented faith in something greater like god and heaven begin to crack, eventually leading him down a much darker path later on in the season. Uriel really shows us that angels aren’t necessarily as kind and helpful as we are often led to believe and we see as Dean watches Sam use his demon powers for the first time.        

There are kids in costumes, one of which is an astronaut who is a little too into candy. His altercation with Dean (AKA the big kid) over said candy is funny. Usually, Dean's great with kids, but not when candy's involved apparently. 

Astronaut: Trick or treat.
Dean: This is a motel. 
Astronaut: So?
Dean: So we don't have any candy. 
Sam: No, we have a ton in the...
Dean: We did, but it's gone. Sorry kid, we can't help you.
Astronaut: I want candy!
Dean: Well, I think you've had enough.
Astronaut gives him an epic glare of doom and then later eggs Dean's beloved Impala, to which the elder Winchester only has one thing to say: ASTRONAUT!

"The Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester" is an essential watch and has all the elements that make Supernatural such an awesome show! It's combination of drama, creepy things, creature lore, and witty dialogue make it one of many memorable episodes. 

And in true Halloween fashion, the episode also gives us a woman bobbing for apples, witches, demons, scarily carved pumpkins, zombies, and ghosts. And really, what would Supernatural be without any of those things on a weekly basis?