Eric Kripke’s hugely popularSupernaturalhas many highlights, and Misha Collins' favorite episode features a particularly wild storyline. Since its inception in 2005,Supernaturalaccomplished many impressive feats. The first was bringing exorcism horror to an Americana road story, while another was constantly reinventing itself to stay relevant over the years. Fans need look no further thanthe many versions of Sam Winchesterto see this strength.Supernaturalhaving multiple versions of a main character demonstrates exactly the kind of meta storytelling that Collins appreciates in his favorite episode.
Playing one ofSupernatural’s best supporting characters, Castiel, Collins has an opinion worth considering when it comes to the show’s best episodes. Castiel joined the show in season 4’s “Lazarus Rising,” which in itself could be on any self-respecting list ofSupernatural’sfinest moments. This installment introduced a character that would grow far beyond his original supporting role, making it a key milestone in the show. ButCollins' favorite episode comes from halfway through season 6, and it is rightly recognized as one of the outing’s best.
Misha Collins' Favorite Supernatural Episode Is “The French Mistake”
Misha Collins Appreciates The Show’s Most Meta Episode
Collins spoke toE! Newsand confirmed that his favorite episode is “The French Mistake,” which findsSam and Dean Winchestertransported to another reality. In this episode, the angel Balthazar slams the Winchesters into this version of existence to temporarily keep them safe while Raphael is hunting down Castiel’s allies. What makes the episode so meta is that,in this alternate reality, they are not actually Sam and Dean Winchester. Instead, they’re Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, two actors playing Sam and Dean Winchester in a TV show.
In this episode, Padalecki and Ackles play Sam and Dean becoming Padalecki and Ackles playing Sam and Dean. As you might imagine, it’s completely absurd. Despite the tentative pioneering ofBuffy the Vampire Slayerin making humor meta for fantasy TV,television had never quite seen the likes of “The French Mistake.“As Collins stated, “It was brilliant and daring and ridiculous.” And that made it completely hilarious. Thankfully, Eric Kripke was able to build on this strand of satirical humor, resulting in an even bigger TV series:The Boys.
Jared Padalecki & Eric Kripke Also Cite “The French Mistake” As Their Favorite Episode
“The French Mistake” Is Popular With The Supernatural Cast
It isn’t just Misha Collins that “The French Mistake” charmed, with Jared Padalecki and Eric Kripke also listing it as their favorite episode out ofall 15 seasons ofSupernatural. Kripke and Padalecki toldEntertainment Weeklythat"The French Mistake” topped all the episodes of the show for them, citing its great sense of humor as the reason. Padalecki raised the show’s meta nature as its strength, while Kripke confirmed that episodes as funny as “The French Mistake” are “the ones I pull up, and I still laugh at them.”
Why “The French Mistake” Is One Of Supernatural’s Best
“The French Mistake” Makes Sam And Dean Legendary
“The French Mistake” is one of thebestSupernaturalepisodes that break the formula, sacrificing the series' usual style for a radical new concept. Kripke agreed, confirming toEWthat it “can break format.” Debuting on August 01, 2025,“The French Mistake” proved thatSupernaturalstill had new ideasand could still challenge boundaries and norms in television. It is episodes like this that raiseSupernaturalabove standard fantasy or horror television, exploiting both serialized and episodic storytelling to provide both brilliant standalone episodes and longer arcs with deeper meaning.
“The French Mistake” was written by Ben Edlund and directed by Charles Beeson.
The deep relationships inSupernaturalblossomed over multi-episode narratives, allowing the space for excellent standalone episodes like “The French Mistake.” It was probably the funniest hour of television that year, and it inspired future brilliant episodes like “Fan Fiction” in season 10. Ackles' “I’m a painted whore” line will be completely immortal, especially given the cutting social commentary that came before it. (Ackles was minorly accosted by a crew member, calling back all too many real-life incidents.) “The French Mistake” really wasSupernaturalat its finest.
Supernatural
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Supernatural is a television series that follows brothers Sam and Dean Winchester, who were raised by their father to hunt and combat supernatural entities after losing their mother to a demonic force. Traversing the American landscape in their ‘67 Chevy Impala, they face numerous paranormal threats.
