Bobby Singer

Lore & Background

Bobby Singer is introduced as an old friend of the Winchester family, first appearing in Season 1, Episode 21 'Salvation' when Sam and Dean seek his help after John is kidnapped by demons. From his extensive collection of supernatural literature, Bobby shows the brothers how to create a devil's trap and assists in their hunt. In the season finale 'Devil's Trap,' the demon possessing Meg Masters is not exorcised; Meg is killed by John Winchester with the Colt. After John's death, Bobby allows the brothers to stay at his home. In the second-season finale, Bobby helps Dean locate a missing Sam but watches in horror as Sam is fatally stabbed. Bobby tells Dean that Sam is gone and that they need to let him go, but does not specifically beg for burial. He is distraught when Dean sells his soul for Sam's resurrection. Bobby assists throughout the third season, helping defeat the Seven Deadly Sins and repairing The Colt. In the fourth season, Bobby locks Sam in his panic room to recover from demon blood addiction, but later lets him escape. In the sixth season, Bobby is demonically possessed but temporarily retakes control and stabs himself with Ruby's demon-killing knife, surviving. His paralysis is caused by a gunshot wound in a later episode, not from the stabbing. He sells his soul to Crowley in exchange for information on how to kill Eve (specifically, the location of the bone of a righteous mortal washed in the blood of a fallen angel), not the Leviathans. Bobby remains paraplegic after the possession and stabbing, but in Season 6, Episode 22, Crowley resurrects him, fully restoring his mobility and allowing him to walk again.

In Their Own Story

Starting in the season 12 finale "All Along the Watchtower" and carrying over into season 13, an alternate reality version of Bobby is introduced. This Bobby is portrayed as the leader of some of the surviving human population in a post-Apocalyptic world though sharing many of the same traits as his counterpart. This Bobby continues to appear throughout seasons 14 and 15. In the series finale, the original Bobby returns for a brief cameo appearance after having been missing from the show since the eleventh season. In The Winchesters, Bobby makes a cameo appearance in the first season finale alongside Dean and Jack.

Reader's Guide

Bobby Singer is a salvager and proprietor of Singer Salvage Yard. He was first introduced to the supernatural world when his wife, Karen, became possessed by a demon. As detailed in the third-season episode "Dream a Little Dream of Me," he was uncertain of how to save her and instead ended up being forced to kill her. Her death prompted him to dedicate his life to hunting supernatural creatures. The later episode "Death's Door" expanded on this by revealing that Bobby's last conversation with his wife was an argument about his reluctance to have children, also revealing that his father was an abusive man whom Bobby shot when he was a child (his mother subsequently telling him that God would punish him for this). Bobby reflected that his father's example left him afraid of becoming an abusive man himself in case he became a parent as bad as his father. After the death of Mary Winchester, her husband John became a hunter, eventually allying and learning from Bobby. Mistrustful of most hunters, Bobby is one of the few with whom John allows the boys regular contact, allowing Bobby to teach them how to shoot and track while he is off on hunting trips. At times, Bobby defied John's wishes to teach the boys more mundane, normal activities, such as playing catch, so that they could have a break from the intensive training regimen.

Did You Know?

• Bobby is named after the show's executive producer.
• Jim Beaver believed his role would merely be a 'one-shot deal' when he first appeared in Season 1, Episode 21 'Salvation.'
• Bobby does not appear in every season of the show; he is absent from Season 8 (except for a brief hallucination) and Season 9 (except for a ghost appearance in one episode), and does not appear from Season 10 onward as a
• In the second-season finale, Bobby does not beg Dean to bury Sam; instead, he tells Dean that Sam is gone and that they need to let him go.
• Bobby sells his soul to Crowley in exchange for information on how to kill Eve (specifically, the location of the bone of a righteous mortal washed in the blood of a fallen angel), not for knowledge of Death's.