As the longest live-action American fantasy TV series in history, Supernatural must have done something right over its 13-season run so far. The adventures of Sam and Dean Winchester have captivated legions of fans from all across the world... fans so dedicated that The CW hasn't even thought about canceling the show for years. There would be an absolute uproar if they did! We already know that the show's current season won't be its last: a 14th has already been confirmed, and we wouldn't be surprised if others follow.

However, even shows with a cult following as large as Supernatural's don't always get everything right. Almost 300 episodes of Supernatural have been broadcast, and the show's writers have had a difficult job making sure that new plotlines make sense in the context of old ones. Of course, nobody's perfect, and some pretty confusing situations have developed thanks to accidental slip-ups making it into the show's final script.

From plot holes to continuity errors, all the way to logic flaws and general ridiculousness, plenty of things have happened in Supernatural that make very little sense. Not that the fans mind, of course—they're more than willing to give their favorite show a break! Either that or they make these confusing moments into jokes or memes for us all to enjoy. Still, here are just some of the Supernatural moments that left us all scratching our heads in confusion. Some of them are troubling, others trivial, and some just plain hilarious.

25 Castiel's Complex

Since his first appearance in Supernatural all the way back in season four, Castiel has been one of the show's most beloved characters. In fact, he's so popular that the writers had to bring him back from the grave multiple times to avoid total outcry amongst fans! His close bond with Dean and strong friendship with Sam has thrown Castiel into the center of Supernatural's action numerous times, whether this powerful angel wanted to get involved or not. As of season 13, he's still a dedicated ally of the Winchester brothers.

One of Castiel's most memorable storylines came back in seasons six and seven when he temporarily declared himself the new God. Having absorbed every soul present in Purgatory, Cas becomes all-powerful and demands that both his friends and foes now recognize him as their Lord. If they refuse, he'll end their lives. Yikes!

While this certainly was a dramatic plot twist, it actually made very little sense in the context of the show's other events. For one, actual God (aka, Chuck) was still alive and well at this point. Surely two versions of God couldn't exist at the same time? Wouldn't Chuck have something to say about Castiel's proclamation? Either way, Castiel quickly realized that playing this way wasn't all it was cracked up to be. He returned the souls to Purgatory and became plain old Cas again. Well, a traumatized and insane version of Cas, but that's another story...

24 Dean And Sam's Finances

In the second ever episode of Supernatural, Dean coined that famous phrase that sums up the Winchesters' lives: "Saving people, hunting things. The family business." To be fair, it's accurate in one sense: it turns out that Sam and Dean descend from hunter families on both their maternal and paternal sides. However, can hunting demons really be classed as a "business" when it doesn't actually earn the brothers any money? In fact, how exactly do Sam and Dean earn any money? They need some way to pay their basic costs: food, fuel, bills, and the like. Thing is, they're never actually shown engaging in any paid work at all.

According to the show itself, the Winchesters earn most of their money through less than honest means. They're shown using stolen credit cards on a few occasions, and Dean comments that he makes his money through hustling pool. However, there are a couple of questions surrounding this. Firstly, Sam and Dean live on the road for pretty much all of the time. Where do their credit card companies actually send the fake cards to? How have these guys not been caught out yet?! As for the pool side-gig, Dean must have to spend a LOT of time doing that to cover his bills. All in all, it seems like the Winchesters must have a magic money tree hidden somewhere.

23 Whatever Happened To Adam?

A lot of TV shows have fallen into the trap of introducing a new family member into the fold, and then totally forgetting about them later on. Even in Friends, one of the most popular sitcoms of all time, Ross' son Ben ceases to exist in the later seasons. Supernatural is another show that's guilty of "missing family member syndrome", to the extent that this character's absence has become a meme amongst its fanbase.

I speak, of course, of poor Adam.

The Winchesters first learned of their half brother's existence in Season Four, although it was a short but sweet meeting. It turned out that Adam had been slain and taken over by a ghoul, and Sam and Dean ended up burning his body before they'd actually met the guy himself. Wow. Talk about an awkward family reunion! Adam was resurrected in Season Five, however, and appeared in quite a few episodes.

The slightly confusing part of the Adam storyline comes after the character has actually left the show. We last saw the youngest Winchester brother being locked in Lucifer's Cage, with Sam and Dean promising to find a way to break him out. However, they just... haven't. We know that escaping the Cage is possible; Sam did it, after all! So why have they allowed Adam to languish there? So much for "family first", guys...

22 Nothing About Angels Makes Sense

Despite a lot of the plot of Supernatural revolves around angels and their antics, these heavenly beings make very little sense in the context of the show. As previously mentioned, one of them (Castiel) is one of the show's main characters. Surely this means that the showrunners have a clear idea in their minds of what angels can and can't do? Well, apparently not. There's very little consistency when it comes to these beings, and nobody seems to care anymore.

If you look back at angels' various appearances over the course of Supernatural's 13 seasons, it quickly becomes clear that the show's writers didn't even try to keep things logical. In fact, their powers and weaknesses seem to change frequently in order to fit the events of a certain episode. Sometimes, they can banish other angels without being affected themselves (mainly if their name is "Castiel"). On other occasions, using such a sigil will banish the user as well. It all depends on whether the writers need a particular character to stick around or not.

On a less serious note, angels' capacity to eat human food is also inconsistent throughout Supernatural's run. In Season Nine, Castiel remarks that angels can't taste food like humans do. However, in Season Five, he was seen happily wolfing down delicious hamburgers and enjoying their taste. Plus, his fellow angels Gabriel and Balthazar also eat— and quite clearly taste—human food at various points. SO MUCH INCONSISTENCY.

21 The Colt's Disappearing Act

The Colt is a nifty little hunting tool that was first introduced in Supernatural's first season. It's a powerful revolver that has the ability to defeat almost every dark creature out there. It got quite a lot of use from Seasons One to Five, despite landing in the hands of the enemy thanks to a thief named Bela Talbot. In any case, The Colt was a powerful asset for the Winchesters, giving them an edge in the majority of their hunting encounters. You'd think they'd still be using it to this day... right?

Well, of course not; that would make way too much sense!

The Colt totally disappeared after Season Six, despite Dean managing to reacquire a version of it when he traveled back to 1861. The present-day version remained with Crowley—aka The King of the Underworld—until Season 12, when he passed it on to Ramiel, one of his Princes. Bizarrely, the Winchesters made no attempt to reacquire it during these six years, apparently deciding that this all-powerful weapon simply wasn't worth the hassle. Great logic there...

In Season 12, the Colt finally made it back into the Winchesters' hands. They once again realized that it comes in pretty darn handy when trying to destroy powerful evil beings, and consequently used it a fair bit. However, it's currently in a broken state. Will Sam and Dean actively try to fix it, or will they simply forget about it for another six seasons? Probably the latter.

20 Working With The Enemy

Over Supernatural's many seasons, pretty much all of Sam and Dean's friends have dropped off the radar. Some of them have met grisly ends. Some have had to go into hiding. Whatever the case, even Dean himself admitted in Season Seven that the Winchesters are running pretty low on buddies. The sensible solution to this would be to either appreciate the few friends they still have or to make trustworthy new ones. But do Sam and Dean take this logical path?

Of course they don't; it's Supernatural.

Instead, the brothers frequently find themselves working with people who they once considered their mortal enemies. Admittedly, this isn't too revolutionary in the context of a TV show: characters often have to begrudgingly work with people they don't like for plot or drama purposes. However, Supernatural takes this trope a little too far into a ridiculously unbelievable territory.

Take Crowley, for example. The King of the Underworld is quite clearly not the most trustworthy of guys. Pretty much every time Sam and Dean agree to work with him, he pulls some kind of trick on them and betrays their trust. Then in future, they always go back and work with him again! Why would they do that to themselves?! Then you have the hunters Walt and Roy who (temporarily) ended Sam and Dean's lives back in Season Five. Seven seasons on, the Winchesters accept these guys as allies. Sure, forgiveness is a wonderful thing, but there must be a limit!

19 Men Of Letters?

In Season Eight, a new and mysterious organization was introduced into the Supernatural world: the Men of Letters. While the original Men were wiped out in the 1950s, the Winchesters were informed of the group's existence by their time-traveling grandfather (more on him later). As well as learning the ways of this ancient secret order, Sam and Dean inherited their pretty swanky bunker full of artifacts, antique furniture, and books. Lots and lots of books.

Now, life as a hunter doesn't exactly leave much time for being able to kick back and do some light reading. Sam and Dean are constantly running about the place, saving people, hunting demons... The usual! However, considering they now have a vast amount of resources available to them in the bunker, you'd think they'd try and find some time to learn some new monster-hunting techniques.

The Men of Letters thoroughly researched demon banishing techniques, time travel spells, supernatural warding charms... The list is endless! While the Winchesters have undoubtedly picked up some impressive hunting skills over the years, there's always room for improvement! It doesn't make much sense that they'd seemingly pass over all of the secrets that the bunker has to offer. Maybe they've been reading the books off-screen? Hopefully... if not, that's just a waste!

18 Sam And Dean's Nine Lives

In Supernatural's second season, Dean comments that "what's dead should stay dead." Clearly, he wasn't thinking about himself, his brother, or his friends when he made this judgment! It's a long-running theme in the Supernatural universe that pretty much nobody remains alive for long. Every major character has bitten the dust at some point; sometimes multiple times. Of course, they usually get resurrected too! People pass in and out of the afterlife like it's a holiday resort. They usually come back emotionally scarred and traumatized, but hey... at least they come back, right?

As the show's main characters, Sam and Dean are particularly susceptible to perishing every now and again. Honestly, it's remarkable that they've managed to come back to life as many times as they have. Will being deceased never be a permanent state for these guys? They say cats have nine lives, but the Winchesters clearly do too; and then some.

As of Season 13, Sam has passed on eight or nine times, depending on how you're defining things. If you think that's a lot, wait until you hear about poor Dean's experiences. In just one episode in Season Three ("Mystery Spot", to be precise) he went to a "better place" over 100 times. Poor guy!

17 Is Garth Still Alive?

Speaking of characters who've kicked the bucket, is Garth still living these days? His fate is pretty ambiguous right now! For those who can't quite remember who this affable ally of the Winchesters is, Garth is a human-turned-werewolf who often worked with Dean and Sam back when he was a hunter. He was a bit weird but extremely loveable, and pretty darn good at his job.

Things changed somewhat for Garth, however, when he became a werewolf. In Season Nine, he reveals that he was bitten while on a hunting mission and has now become a lycanthrope. It was an interesting turn of events for the character, but one that ultimately left him in a lot of danger. In Supernatural's twelfth season, it becomes clear that the British Men of Letters consider all werewolves to be enemies. They intend to hunt them all down... including Garth. Poor, innocent Garth!

The last we heard, Garth was retreating into hiding to avoid meeting a sticky end. However, we still don't know whether his efforts were successful. Why would the writers leave us hanging like that?! Plus, since the Men of Letters are pretty skillful hunters and trackers, is there even anywhere Garth could successfully hide? We certainly hope so...

16 The Four Horsemen's Rings

Back in Supernatural's fifth season, Dean and Sam undertook a dangerous but crucial mission. They set out to acquire the rings of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Death, Famine, War, and Pestilence. When combined, these rings formed the key to Lucifer's Cage: a portal that the brothers needed to open in order to trap Lucifer himself inside. It wasn't easy, but Sam and Dean eventually achieved their goals; the rings were theirs! They opened the Cage, Sam got stuck inside, and, well... That's a story for another time.

More to the point, what exactly happened to those rings after Sam and Dean had used them to open the cage? Nobody's quite sure, to be honest! They're pretty powerful pieces of jewelry and have the potential to wreak havoc on the world if they fall into the wrong hands. You'd think that Dean and Sam would lock them away somewhere safe to avert any future disasters. Maybe they have, and they just haven't found a reason to mention it in the show!

Still, it makes no sense that this wouldn't be addressed at some point. Do Dean and Sam just have a closet somewhere in which they store all of the weird and wonderful objects they've acquired? We need to know!

15 The Mystery Of The Antichrist

While he may have looked innocent enough, young Jesse Turner had the potential to cause the Winchesters a lot of grief back in Supernatural's fifth season. Jesse was actually a half-demon, half-human cambion who was destined to become the Antichrist. Yikes! He was created after Lucifer sent a demon to impregnate an unsuspecting human woman, who quickly gave the child up for adoption when she realized what she'd created.

Of course, young Jesse couldn't escape his destiny forever.

Sam and Dean met him after realizing this young child had the potential to cause utter destruction both on Earth and in Heaven. While Castiel thought the best option was to destroy Jesse, the Winchesters instead convinced the young boy to use his powers for good. Jesse was last seen teleporting away in an attempt to protect those around him from his unbelievably strong powers.

Thing is, Jesse is never heard of again after this point in Season Five. Since he's the literal Antichrist, you think he'd have a bit of a larger role to play in Supernatural's overarching plotline, but nope... he's seemingly been forgotten about! Surely Sam and Dean would keep close tabs on a being that could destroy the human race if he wanted to? Sure, Jesse has chosen to shun evil for now, but that may not be a permanent life choice! It seems strange that this important character would only appear in the show once.

14 Just Yell "Christo"

If you cast your mind all the way back to Supernatural's first season, you may remember that one word cropped up a whole lot. That word was "Christo", the Latin for "by Christ". In Supernatural canon, this one word can do a whole lot of good in the fight against demons and other sinister creatures. Just yelling "Christo" makes any demon flinch; it's a handy way of discovering whether you're dealing with one of these monsters or not. Neat, right?

While "Christo" isn't the most powerful weapon that the Winchesters have, it still has the ability to buy them time. Making a demon flinch momentarily gives the hunters an upper hand. So, you'd assume that Sam and Dean would utilize this technique frequently throughout their adventures, no?

Sadly, that just makes too much sense to happen in the Supernatural universe.

In reality, the "Christo" trick is used predominantly in just one episode of the show. That's right: ONE episode out of LITERAL HUNDREDS. Where is the logic in this? Why would Sam and Dean totally abandon a super helpful technique and never mention it again? It just makes no sense at all. Sure, it might get a bit repetitive if it's used every episode, but once in a while wouldn't be too bad!

13 The Grand Canyon Mystery

While this nonsensical aspect of Supernatural's canon isn't that crucial in the grand scheme of things, it's still a pretty funny mistake. One of the show's most infamous inconsistencies relates to whether or not Dean and Sam visited The Grand Canyon as children. See, I told you it didn't really matter that much! Sure, the Canyon is an impressive natural landmark that everyone should see at least once in their lives, but it ultimately doesn't affect the Winchesters' hunting abilities.

Anyway, back in the second season Supernatural episode "Croatoan", Dean briefly mentions that he and Sam have never been to The Grand Canyon. So far, so simple. It's a shame, of course, but it's nothing to get up in arms about. However, in Season Eight's "The Great Escapist," Sam totally contradicts Dean by describing a visit to the Canyon when he was four years old. Scandal! One of the brothers is lying! Did Dean simply forget about this trip, or is Sam making things up?!

In reality, it was Supernatural writer Ben Edlund who was to blame for this slight mistake. He was the creative mind behind "The Great Escapist", and he simply forgot that The Grand Canyon had been mentioned six seasons previously. To be fair, it's hard to keep track of the content of every Supernatural episode ever! Small errors are bound to occur from time to time.

12 The Leviathans Aren't That Bad

Now, I know what you're thinking: how can any rational person claim that the Leviathans aren't scary? Their entire faces are just gaping holes filled with rows of super-sharp teeth! In Supernatural's canon, they're introduced as super-strong beings that were God's first beastly creations! Their violent tendencies were so extreme that even the Man Upstairs himself couldn't control them, and had to lock them away in Purgatory. In Season 7, Bobby Singer commented that nothing can defeat these creatures. They must be pretty fearsome, right?!

Well, in theory, perhaps...

But in practice, the Leviathans were actually surprisingly easy to defeat.  Turns out there is one thing that causes them to perish: the "bone of a righteous mortal" that's been washed in "three bloods of the fallen." Sure, this isn't just something you can pop to the grocery store to acquire, but it's something!

Plus, after the leader of the Leviathans—a creature that's taken over the body of businessman Dick Roman—perishes at the hands of Dean, the rest of these monsters totally lose the plot. They seemingly can't function as a group now that Dick is no longer with them. It doesn't really make much sense that these powerful beings completely rely on one person to give them their strength and ferocity. Ultimately, Supernatural's writers left a confusing contradiction behind when they made the "undefeatable" Leviathans become pretty pathetic in the end.

11 Old Grampa Winchester

Remember what we said earlier about Supernatural's tendency to bring characters back from beyond the grave? Well, in Season Eight, the writers decided a resurrect someone we'd not yet met: Henry Winchester, Dean and Sam's paternal grandfather. Prior to meeting Henry, all his grandsons knew was that he'd apparently abandoned his family—including their father, John—after he mysteriously disappeared decades before.

However, it turns out that the truth was way more complicated. Henry was a member of the mysterious Men of Letters... and a time-traveler!  After showing up in the present day and meeting his future grandkids, he couldn't understand why his future self would leave his family. Sadly, the reason behind this turn of events quickly became clear: Henry was mortally wounded while assisting Dean and Sam, and never made it back to his own time.

While this storyline tugged at every Supernatural fan's heartstrings, it actually makes no sense continuity-wise. A previous episode back in Season Four totally contradicts the idea that Henry disappeared when his son John was still a young child. In "In The Beginning", Dean travels back to the 1970s and spots a 20-something-year-old John. At one point, a friend of John's asks him to "say hello to your old man for me"; John happily agrees. Thing is, how would John be able to pass this message on to his father if Henry had already been missing for some years? It makes no sense!

10 Sam's College Years

The very first time we meet Sam Winchester, he's a Stanford College student preparing to be interviewed for a place at a law school. The guy is one smart cookie! Of course, we all know that Sam didn't end up becoming a lawyer. He abandoned his studies to join Dean and become a hunter. The rest, as they say, is history!

However, the subject of Sam's college years is more than just a source of inspiration for many Supernatural fanfiction writers. The younger Winchester brother's education has become one of the most notorious canon discrepancies that the show has to offer, and to this day makes very little sense. In the very first episode of the show, Sam, as we've mentioned is about to interview for law school. This would imply that he's a college senior, and about to complete a four-year bachelor's degree. So far, so simple.

However, two episodes later Dean makes a reference to the fact that Sam has only been away at college for two years. Hmmm. That doesn't quite add up, does it? Plus, the original promotional material for Supernatural states that Mary Winchester met her end in 1985 when Sam was just six months old. This would make Sam 20 years old when the show begins; a couple of years too young to be a senior! Sure, this doesn't exactly impact Supernatural's plot too much, but it still makes no sense...

9 There's A Human Inside Those Demons...

When it comes to demons, angels, and other celestial beings, Supernatural has always set down a ground rule: they need a human vessel to inhabit while on Earth. Castiel, for example, takes the form of a guy formerly known as Jimmy Novak. At various points in the show, Dean and Sam themselves become vessels of various beings, both harmful and benign. Getting these angels and demons out of human bodies can be achieved in a number of ways, including exorcism.

Now, as a part of their "saving people, hunting things" day jobs, Sam and Dean obviously have to face dozens and dozens of malignant monsters that have taken over human bodies. They wouldn't be protecting the world if they didn't destroy some demons from time to time! However, you'd think that "saving people" included sparing the life of the unlucky person who was chosen to be a vessel. Strangely enough, Dean and Sam frequently seem to forget that there's an often innocent human attached to the creatures they vanquish and make little effort to save them.

This wasn't always the case, of course.

In the early seasons of Supernatural, quite a lot of exorcisms take place and many people are saved. Later on, though, this suddenly stops happening, and Sam and Dean straight-up end any human who's unfortunate enough to be possessed. That doesn't sound like "saving them" to me!

8 How Are The Winchesters Not In Jail?

Now, we've already discussed the fact that Sam and Dean Winchester have apparently undertaken credit card fraud in order to fund their hunting excursions and general living costs. That in itself is enough reason for the police to be after the brothers. However, they've been implicated in so many other crimes—rightfully or not—that it seems absurd that the Winchesters aren't in jail yet.

Sam and Dean have been in trouble with the law so many times throughout Supernatural's thirteen seasons that the topic has its own page on the show's fanmade Wiki. Like, this is an ongoing issue with these brothers! Over the years, they've impersonated police officers; attracted attention due to seemingly ending the lives of multiple people (who, of course, were actually demons); and have stolen a car or two as well. Oh, they were also once arrested by the FBI for attempting to "assassinate" the President of the United States.

As if that's not bad enough, Sam and Dean's Leviathan clones back in Season Seven committed such atrocities that the brothers were placed on the FBI's Most Wanted list. Of course, it wasn't actually them that broke the law that time, but the feds don't know that! All in all, it's frankly ridiculous that the Winchesters haven't ended up serving some serious jail time. Are the police so incompetent that they can't get hold of Sam and Dean somehow?

7 Can Castiel Still Resurrect People?

We've already discussed the fact that angels, in general, have wildly differing powers and abilities depending on what each specific Supernatural episode demands of them. However, one particular celestial being is a notable victim of this constant inconsistency. As one of the show's main characters, Castiel has often stepped in to save the day. He's known to be an especially powerful angel and has pulled off some impressive feats over the years—not least that one time when he became God.

However, the specifics of Castiel's powers make little sense due to the constant inconsistencies between Supernatural episodes. One example of this is the power of resurrection. Castiel demonstrates that he can bring people back from the dead in Season Five when he restores the Winchesters' good friend Bobby Singer. It doesn't even take much effort on the angel's part: he can do it just like that.

You'd think that from this point onwards, Castiel would make full use of his ability to bring others back from the afterlife. After all, it's a pretty nifty skill to have in a show where pretty much every character passes away multiple times! Unfortunately, though, Supernatural's writers have chosen to sweep this ability under the carpet. Castiel does resurrect a couple of other people over the years—notably Dean—but it's been a while since he did so. Does he still have this power? Does he just choose not to use it for some reason? We're so confused!

6 Dean's Gradual Voice Change

While this fairly minor element of Supernatural's canon doesn't really affect the show's plot at all, fans love to bring it up anyway. Fans who've been with the series from the very start have found it difficult not to notice that Dean's voice has changed considerably. It's got deeper and a lot more "gravelly" as each season of Supernatural has passed.

Of course, in a fandom as dedicated and passionate as the Supernatural fandom, people were inevitably going to come up with theories about why this voice change took place. Was it a deliberate character choice, or did yelling "SAMMY!" so often simply make Jensen Ackles' actual voice break for the second time? Is it supposed to reflect how moody and brooding Dean is, especially after all of the dark things he's seen? Was the whole thing just a massive accident? Either way, someone's voice dropping that many octaves in such a short space of time made very little sense!

As it happens, the truth is a combination of these factors.

At the Jus In Bello convention back in 2013, Ackles explained that Dean's voice change was both a creative decision and somewhat out of his control. He initially decided to make it deeper to reflect the "gritty" nature of the character, but then his natural voice started to deepen! Dean's had to as well, hence the huge difference between Season One Dean and Season Thirteen Dean's voices.