The Cheat Sheet/Character Guide

For anyone unfamiliar with Supernatural but reading this story (thank you!), this is a sorta brief overview to characters and important terms from the show mentioned in this collection of novella episodes. (Warning: show spoilers abound within.) Just to reinforce the disclaimer in the sidebar, I don't claim ownership of any of these characters. This post is just to help you out until you become as loyally addicted to the show as I am.

Let's start with the main characters:
Dean Winchester - main protagonist, older of the two Winchester brothers. Dean has been spirit/ghost/demon/monster hunting with his dad ever since his mom was killed by Azazel. He's intuitive, stubborn and bossy but also self-sacrificing and surprisingly mature when he needs to be. He's a master at suppressing his emotions until they finally come out in one big ball o'the ANGST. Family means everything to him; women not so much. No matter how bad the situation Dean has the uncanny ability to just keep going. Dean harbors tons of guilt because his dad traded his own soul and life to save him. He has a propensity for suicide missions, including trading his soul to bring Sam back to life in S2. At the end of S3 that bill came due and Dean went to Hell. Dean's fate came into play in S4, when Heaven brought him back to life from Hell in order to fulfill his fate as archangel Michael's vessel. Dean has never accepted that fate and is strictly Team Free Will.

Sam Winchester - main protagonist, younger of the two Winchester brothers. Sam has been out on the road with his brother Dean and dad practically since his mom was killed; Sam was just 6 months old at the time. He grew up with a strong desire to be normal and escaped his family at the first chance he got: college. Unfortunately fate has written a far different story for the poor guy: turns out he's been watched and groomed by demons since he was a baby to be Lucifer's vessel on Earth. In addition to his mother being killed by Azazel, Sam's erstwhile fiancee Jessica met the same fate in the show's pilot. Not to mention that his brother went to Hell as part of a deal bring Sam back to life. This has left with Sam a huge case of the ANGST. Sam is a big guy who's very intelligent and thoroughly analytical but has developed a terrible temper that sometimes causes him to make bad choices. And sometimes REALLY bad choices. This temper is in part caused by his brother who still sees him as a young kid that needs protecting. (Although in the last episode of S5 they had a nice little heart-to-heart about it and maybe Dean is over it. Maybe.)

And everyone else (alphabetical):
Adam Milligan - Sam and Dean's half-brother (son to John Winchester), who the boys first found out about through a call to John's cell. Unfortunately Adam had been killed by a demon taking his place which brought out the ANGST. Even more unfortunately Zachariah yanked Adam out of Heaven and convinced him to take Dean's place as archangel Michael's vessel. Which worked out about as well as you'd expect.

Alistair - The demon who tortured Dean for 40 years in hell (which equates to 4 months on Earth). After 30 years of promising to stop if Dean would get off the table and become a torturer, Dean finally gave in and spent 10 years torturing other souls. He broke the first seal of the Apocalypse when he began torturing. Alistair is a powerful demon who Sam eventually killed while juiced on demon blood.

Anna - an angel who fell from Grace by choice, became human, slept with Dashing El Deano, re-graced herself, and then tried to go back in time to kill Sam in an unwise move. Was at one time Castiel and Uriel's superior. Was tricked by Castiel into getting picked up by the angel police and sent back to Heaven for brainwashing or whatever it is they do up there.

Ash - a brilliant hunter, MIT graduate and mullet man. Helped Sam find other kids like him in S2, died not too much later in a fire at Harvelle's Roadhouse. Demons burned the spot down while looking for the Winchesters, making the boys feel responsible for his death. Dean and Sam later met up with him in Heaven where Ash declared, "I'm cool with it." Which is probably one of the best lines in the series.

Azazel - a demon commissioned by Lucifer to seek out and train appropriate hosts. Among his top choices was Sam Winchester. Azazel visited Sam several times during his life, including at age 6 months to give Sam a first taste of demon blood. Azazel has killed several key figures close to Sam, including his mom, love of his life Jessica and father John. At the end of S2 Azazel pitted Sam against three other potential demon leaders. One of Sam's competitors ended up killing him, leading Dean to make a deal with a crossroads demon to bring Sam back. Azazel is mostly known for his yellow eyes and is alternately referred to as the yellow-eyed demon or the ceiling demon (the latter for the horrific manner in which he kills his victims, slashing them on the ceiling and then setting them on fire. Yikes.) Dean killed Azazel at the end of S2 with the Colt, a gun of importance on the show.

Bella - a bounty hunter who stole countless important artifacts from the Winchester boys, most notably the Colt. A character with little redeeming value but one heck of a daydream sequence from Sam. Died at the hands (paws?) of hellhounds in a cruel twist of fate shortly before Dean did in S3. The fans don't seem to miss her though!

Carver Edlund/Chuck Shurley - Chuck is a prophet of the Lord who writes under the pen name Carver Edlund (a combination of two of Supernatural's writers' last names). Chuck has been writing the gospel of the Winchesters, aka a meta book series on the show which details Sam and Dean's adventures so far. When first introduced in S4 Chuck's book series was cancelled after sending Dean to Hell but he continued to have visions and eventually started writing again. Dean and Sam rely on Chuck to help them figure out their next move is when they get stuck. A little Chuck ex machina, if you will. Potentially God and an avatar for Eric Kripke, the show's creator. (Should that be a capital C-Creator?)

Castiel/Cas - Thursday's angel (appropriate given the night the show aired for seasons 1-5). Castiel was introduced in S4 as Dean's heavenly advisor who raised Dean from Perdition to serve as Michael's vessel. Castiel discovered that members of his garrison and even his superiors were intent not on preventing the Apocalypse but in bringing it on. The angel was understandably conflicted about this and has since gone rogue in the name of Team Free Will. He is a trustworthy and dependable friend to the Winchesters who ends up falling from grace in his quest to help them. He also has just as much of a crush on Dean as the rest of us do. He has been killed a few times (by an archangel guarding prophet Chuck, by an angelic sigil, and by Lucifer) but has been promptly reconstituted each time. Castiel's vessel is a man named Jimmy who has a wife and daughter in Pontiac. It's unclear if Jimmy is still alive in there.

Crowley - the king of the crossroads demons. Crossroads demons are just what it sounds like: demons stationed at crossroads to tempt humans into making dumb deals in exchange for 10 good years, and then claiming their souls for Hell. Guess which Winchester made a deal with one? TRICK QUESTION!! They all did, duh. (Well, Sam tried and was rebuffed. But you get the idea.) If you're Dean you only get one year to live in your deal, and if you're John you get about 5 hours. Anyway, Crowley came into possession of the Colt after buying it from Bela or somesuch and met the Winchester brothers when they came to reclaim it. Later, Crowley reappeared to "help" the boys defeat the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and made a deal with Bobby for his soul in the process. As the end of S5 it's unclear if Bobby got his soul back or not.

Ellen Harvelle - owner/operator of Harvelle's Roadhouse, a well-known hunter gathering spot assumed to be somewhere in Nebraska. Ellen's husband Bill was killed on a hunt with John Winchester but she has forgiven him enough to be an awesome tough-love mother figure to the boys. The Roadhouse burned down in S2 but Ellen survived. She's smart as a whip and a damn good hunter herself. Of all the female characters on this show she is the best-written and most fun. Sadly she died while helping Dean and Sam track down Lucifer.

Gabriel/The Trickster - Originally thought to be a powerful paganlike god by Sam and Dean, The Trickster took a special interest in the Winchester brothers -- specifically in messing with them. Responsible for a few of the funniest episodes in the series and Dean's death by Pig 'N A Poke for which I will forever experience giggle fits. It was revealed in Season 5 that The Trickster was actually the archangel Gabriel in a sweet, sweet mytharc twist. Died while saving the brothers from Lucifer and a bunch of angry gods. Of course "died" is a relative term on Supernatural and this character had already faked his death a few times, so I hope they bring him back anyway.

Joanna Harvelle/Jo - Ellen's daughter. She wanted to be a hunter like Daddy was but Mom Ellen will hear nothing of the sort. She ended up mixed up in a hunt or two with the Winchester boys. Like the rest of us she has a crush on Dean (unrequited) but any potential love connection has raised hell with the audience. Jo's a spitfire like her mom who is also pretty stubborn like Dean. After being attacked by hellhounds she and her mom sacrificed themselves to save the boys.

John Winchester - Sam and Dean's dad. Died in early in S2 when he traded his life & soul in exchange for bringing Dean back to life. John is a former marine and widower to Mary Winchester, who died in a pilot flashback. After her death at the hands of the demon Azazel John became obsessed with hunting and killing the demon. He lifted his two sons from Lawrence, Kansas and became a road warrior for years. Dean learned to be the good soldier who followed Daddy's orders while Sam resented their rootless lifestyle. John wasn't exactly affectionate with the boys but clearly loved them. His actions late in S1 bred resentment in both his sons and the audience.

Lilith - a high-ranking demon who appeared in both child and adult meatsuits on the show. Originally thought to be the leader of Lucifer's army once Sam refused the role, it was later revealed that she was the final of 66 seals to be broken in order to start the Apocalypse. (Dean broke the first one in Hell.) Ruby convinced Sam that Lilith held Dean's deal to stay in hell so Sam became obsessed with killing her to free his brother. Even after Dean returned Sam wanted to kill her, for vengeance. Sam succeeded but thus freed Lucifer from his cage.

Lisa - a one-weekend stand of Dean's who has a son (Ben) that acts an awful lot like Dean. Lisa insisted Ben wasn't his though his age is right to be Dean's son. Dean reconnected with her first in S3 as one of his last hookups before going to Hell (classy!, though the lady refused) and then again in S5 as a refuge from the Apocalypse. At the end of S5 Sam tells Dean to go find her and live a normal life, and as of the last scene it seems as though he did.

Lucifer - on this show, a fallen angel who sets out to bring on the Apocalypse so he can go home. A powerful demon who has his minions evaluate several possible candidates for his vessel before settling on Sam Winchester. Once out of his cage Lucifer initially inhabits a vessel named Nick. Lucifer is also the younger brother to archangel Michael, who is tasked with killing him and once again sending him back to Hell. Invincible against the Colt, Ruby's knife and most other demon hunting tools. Eventually convinces Sam to say yes in S5 in an arc that may continue into S6.

Madison - a tragic love of Sam's. He met her on a hunt while looking for a werewolf. Turns out, she was the werewolf. Sam had to kill her in a very sad but very awesome episode of S2.

Mary Winchester - Dean and Sam's mom, John's wife who was killed by Azazel when Sam was 6 months old (Dean was 4 or 5 I believe) as seen in a prologue during the pilot. She has appeared on the show in flashbacks, time travel episodes and as a cruel spectral used by the angels to try to convince Dean to be Michael's vessel. Her father was a hunter whom Azazel possessed and used to kill John shortly before he and Mary were married. Mary made a deal with Azazel to bring John back, thus setting poor Sam's fate in motion.

Meg - one of the earliest demons on the show, later revealed to be Azazel's daughter. Introduced herself to Sam as a fellow road warrior but was in fact a demon trying to steer Sam towards his demonic fate. Very nasty with awesome one-liners. She was exorcised by Bobby in S1 (though her host sadly died) and later possessed both Sam (in S2) and Bobby (in S5). Inspired Sam and Dean to get their amulet tattoos which ward off possession. Though why Bobby didn't get one I'll never understand...(so I might just retcon it, you're welcome fake-TV-show-character-person).

Pamela Barnes - a psychic friend of Bobby's who the boys use to contact Castiel. Castiel had not yet joined with his vessel, and since only certain people can see angels' true form Pamela's eyes were burnt out. She later died while helping the boys on another hunt. Dean and Sam saw her in Heaven in the same episode where they saw Ash.

Robert Singer/Bobby - a hunter who owns a metal scrapyard in South Dakota. He's known the Winchester boys since they were little. He's a key ally who provides exposition and knowledge on the show. The Winchesters first learned about tools like Devil's Traps and exorcisms through Bobby. Bobby's also very no-nonsense and smacks some sense into Dean and Sam when they need it (god love him). Bobby was forced to kill his own wife after she was possessed and became a hunter after that (we have only heard about this on the show, never seen it). Bobby was able to shake a demon that possessed him (Meg, S5) but not before stabbing himself and becoming wheelchair bound. He was recently regifted his ability to walk but at an expensive price: his soul.

Ruby - a demon who successfully convinced Sam she was an ally when she was in fact not. Dean was always skeptical of the demon who was cuddling up to his brother. First appeared in S3 in an awesomely snarky host before trading that meatsuit in for a brain-dead walking corpse that ended up becoming Sam's de facto girlfriend in S4. (And yes, it's just as repulsive as it sounds.) Somehow upgraded the Colt to make it more effective. Served as an agent of Lilith, a demon who rivaled Sam to control Lucifer's army. Convinced Sam to start drinking demon blood to increase his Azazel-given powers. Ruby later told Sam he didn't need the blood to use his powers, however whether that was true or not is an unresolved plot point. When Sam discovered Ruby was using him, he killed her with her own knife.

Uriel - a member of Castiel's garrison and one of the angels trying to help bring on the Apocalypse. He killed other members of their garrison and tried to take out Castiel. Not exactly friendly, especially towards Dean. Uriel was the first angel to use a scimitar on the show, which established it as angelic weapon used to kill other angels. Sigh. Killed by Dean in S4.

Zachariah - a higher-level angel (described to resemble a seraphim on the show, though it's never said outright) who is one of Castiel's superiors. The show refers to him as "middle management." Zachariah was tasked with getting Dean to agree to become Michael's host vessel but Dean repeatedly refused. When bribery in the form of cheeseburgers and promises of eternal peace, etc. don't work Zachariah turns to torture and eventually the Winchester boys' half-brother, Adam Milligan. Awesomely evil angel. Killed by Dean in S5. (That Dean -- not a fan of the angels.)


Now for some terms from the lexicon:
Metallicar/The Impala - Dean's car, which he inherited from his Dad. In a time-travel episode we find out Dean actually helped John pick it out. Gets a complete history in the S5 finale. Was smashed to bits after being t-boned by a semi in the S1 finale but Dean completely rebuilt it. Dean is insistent on keeping it real and threw a tantrum when Sam dared to install an iPod dock.

The ANGST - the unfortunate tendency for the show to devolve into chick flick moments, despite Dean's assurances in the pilot that this would never happen. That would be where this blog's URL comes from. This broken promise of course makes him a....

LYING LIAR WHO LIES - A TWOP-coined term for the hilarious way everyone (and everything) on this show lies at one time or another.

Hellhounds - invisible dogs that come to claim human souls at the appointed hour and drag them back to hell. Dean was among their victims during S3.

The Colt - a gun specially crafted by Samuel Colt that is both demon killer and a key to a gate to hell in Wyoming. Successfully killed Azazel but only seems to work against certain demons. Did not work on Lucifer.

Ruby's Knife (aka The Knife) - A knife that kills some demons, including herself. Did not work on Alistair. Currently in Sam's possession.

Demon blood AKA CRACK - Sam started drinking this in S4 because he's dumb like that sometimes. OK, actually he did it because Ruby convinced him he needed it to kill Lilith. Allows Sam to exorcise demons from their hosts without killing the host with what TWOP calls the Hand of Ipecac because of the way meatsuits vomit out their demons. Later on allowed him to outright kill demons. Unless of course he never needed it, which as mentioned above in the Ruby section is still unclear. This practice scared the crap out of Dean.

Scimitar - a silver knife angels use as weapons. Kills angels.

Devil's Traps - circular symbols that trap demons within when they step on, over or under one.

Sigils/Angel B-Gon - a symbol carved in blood that when pressed causes angels to be flung somewhere else via a heavenly beam of light.

Latinating - a TWOP term for performing an exorcism.

Meatsuits vs. vessels - Meatsuits are people involuntarily used by demons as host bodies. Vessels are voluntary hosts who must say yes before an angel (including Lucifer) can take over their body. Dean calls this "wearing [x person] to the prom" or in a less-tactful way, being an "angel condom."

4 Horsemen - War, Famine, Pestilence and Death. Each one has a ring that when combined open up Lucifer's cage.

Croatoan - a virus used by Pestilence/demons to turn people into zombies. Sam is immune.

The Waiting Room - Where Zachariah took Dean (and later Adam) to convince him to say yes to archangel Michael. It's actually a room within an abandoned tire factory in Van Nuys, California. Don't ask.