Supernatural Writer Profile: Ben Edlund
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Ben Edlund then tackles Castiel in “The Man Who Would Be King,” allowing the rebel angel to explain his reasoning for his actions in the sixth season. He reveals how Castiel was mislead by Crowley, in order to keep Raphael from gaining control of Heaven. He is full of good intention that is twisted by pride. Unlike “The End,” there is no moment given that shows that Castiel will choose to fight back. The moment never comes, even though we see Castiel beg for it at the end. Edlund puts in shocking moments that tug on our heart strings, when Castiel echos his first meeting with Dean, telling Sam, “I am the one that raised you from Perdition.” We are then left to wonder if Castiel somehow left Sam’s soul behind on purpose, but Edlund is wise enough to leave this ambiguous. He instead holds up, in the visage of an angel, a mirror to humanity and how good intentions can go wrongfully awry. Castiel set out to maintain what Sam and Dean had fought so hard for—and along the way was twisted up further and further into a dark and frightening mess that he could no longer escape. By the time it is revealed, Castiel is far too entrenched to ask for help. Edlund makes us feel the loss hard through Dean’s exchange with Castiel at the end, and we see the final piece of Castiel’s hubris settle into to place when he states, “You are just one man, Dean.” In the past, that had been more than enough. It had stopped the Apocalypse.Â

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In “Repo Man,” Edlund explores Sam, showing just how far the younger Winchester will go to protect the elder Winchester. We see him put Sam through his hallucinations, giving them voice again as Sam becomes frantic over his brother. They are hunting a demon they believed to be banished, and they return to the man who was last possessed. He tells them of the next potential victim, all so he can split the pair up. He needs Dean to summon the demon. Meanwhile, Sam has no recourse but to give into the devil, taking advice from him and allowing him back into his sphere. It is a great sacrifice, and Edlund makes it come to life with subtle exchanges between Sam and Lucifer in the library. We can tell, through Lucifer’s encroachment and making a nuisance of himself that it is only a matter of time before Sam breaks down. When he tells Sam that “big brother’s probably dead,” the walls close in and collapse, and Sam makes yet another sacrifice: his sanity. In the end, he manages to locate Dean, but the cost is high and yet unknown how much. The last scene, Edlund makes certain to put a solid punctuation mark on it as he has Lucifer inform Sam that he’s there to stay and no hand trick will banish him. He shouts in glee, “Good morning, Vietnam,” and then laughs with sinister delight as the episode fades to black.Â
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Dialogue is one of Edlund’s top strengths. It can be biting, subtle, witty, and smart. His lines come with swift punches to the gut, cut through to the heart of the matter, and give us insights into the characters on screen. Edlund has no shame in playing with the wacky or strange, nor does he shy away from the emotional and powerful. The words that he puts into characters mouths come with meaning that add impact to the visual story taking place around them.Â
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His top fifteen lines are:
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15. Dean upon seeing Andy’s Van in “Simon Said,” “Oh, come on… This is magnificent, that’s what this is. Not exactly a serial killer’s lair though. There’s no clown paintings on the wall, scissors stuck in victims’ photos. I like the tiger…”
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14. Victor Henricksen to Dean over the phone in “Nightshifter.” “Ex-marine, raised his kids on the road, cheap motels, backwood cabins, real paramilitary-survivalist type. I just can’t get a handle on what type of wacko he was. White supremacist, Timothy McVeigh? Tomato, tomahto.”
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13. Sam, commenting on the movie “Hell Hazers II: The Reckoning,” in “Hollywood Babylon,” “You know, maybe the spirits are trying to shut down the movie because they think it sucks. Because, I mean, it kinda does.”
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12. Bobby explaining the rabbits foot in “Bad Day at Blackrock” “See, you touch it, you own it. You own it, sure, you get a run of good luck to beat the Devil. But, you lose it, that luck turns. It turns so bad that you’re dead inside a week.”
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11. Ruby explaining what’s going on behind the witches in “Malleus Maleficarum,” “I’m not talking about Witches, Jackass! Witches are whores. I’m talking about who they serve!”
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10. Harry Spangler urging Ed Zeddmore in “Ghostfacers,” “Ed, you’ve got to go be gay for that poor dead Intern. You got to send him into the light.”

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9.  Dean to Uriel and Castiel about popping in unexpectedly in “On the Head of a Pin, “You guys don’t walk enough. You’re gonna get flabby. You know, I’m starting to think Junkless has a better sense of humor than you do.”
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8. Alistair, during his torture session in “On the Head of a Pin,” “Go directly to hell. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars.”
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7. Dean to Lucifer, wearing Sam’s face, in “The End,” “You’re the same thing, only bigger. The same brand of cockroach I’ve been squashing my whole life. An ugly, evil, belly to the ground supernatural piece of crap. The only difference between them and you, is the size of your ego.”
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6. Â Chuck to Dean in “The End,” “Some free advice? You ever get back there, you hoard toilet paper. You understand me? Hoard it. Hoard it, like it’s made of gold.”
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5. Soulless Sam to Marion, in “Clap Your Hands If You Believe,” “If you want to add glitter to that glue you’re sniffing, that’s fine, but don’t dump your whackadoo all over us. We’d rather not step in it.”

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4. Dean explaining the fairy attack to Soulless Sam in “Clap Your Hands If You Believe,” “It was a little, glowing, hot, naked lady with… nipples, and… she hit me.”
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3. Bobby to Dean in “How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters, “Come on, now. You tried to hang it up and be a person with Lisa and Ben. And now here you are with a mean old coot and a van full of guns. That ain’t person behavior, son. You’re a hunter, meaning you’re whatever the job you’re doing today. Now, you get a case of the Anne Sextons, something’s gonna come up behind you and rip your fool head off. Now, you find your reasons to get back in the game. I don’t care if it’s love or spite or a ten-dollar bet. I’ve been to enough funerals. I mean it. You die before me, and I’ll kill you.”
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2. Â Dean to Sam in “Hello, Cruel World,” “I am your flesh-and-blood brother, okay? I’m the only one who can legitimately kick your ass in real time. You got away. We got you out, Sammy. Believe in that. Believe me, okay? You gotta believe me. You’ve gotta make it stone number one and build on it.”

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1. Hallucifer to Sam in “Repo Man,” “That’s what I’m talking about, Sam! Real interaction again, I miss that! The rapier wit – the wittier rape – come on, I’ll be good, I’ll even help you solve your little Nancy Drew mystery or whatever.”
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Ben Edlund tackles many forms of writing on Supernatural, and with his background it is no wonder that he is as comfortable with comedy and metafiction as he is with drama. He is capable of making the bizarre approachable and fun. Edlund has the ability to take the viewer on a journey through words—words brought to life by the actors that speak them. He can touch our funny bone and make us laugh with delight, scratch our heads at the weird scenarios he places his characters in, and break our hearts. Jared and Jensen summed it best when asked about their reactions upon receiving an Edlund script and what weird surprises might await, “It’s Ben Edlund.”Â
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Farawayeyes!
Wonderful homage to Edlund. I loved learning about his other projects. And I think your review of his Supernatural episodes show how much he brings to the table. I’ll admit he is my favorite writer on the series. He gets the brothers and Cas in ways that make me love them even more.
And his humor? So well paired with his ability to write sadness.
And kudos on choosing the 15 great lines.
Thank you for this!
Linda
Linda,
Thanks. This kind of demanded to be written, so I did.
Edlund, by far, is my favorite writer of the series. He has enough sense to be well rounded and not box himself into either comedy or drama or bizarre. He knows how to mix each one in just right.
I was really pleased when I found out he had been involved with The Venture Brothers. Back when I stayed up late I used to watch that show quite often. I knew about his involvement with Firefly and Angel, but not Point Pleasant. I kind of want to do these profiles to learn more about them. We see a lot about actors or Kripke or Gamble as showrunners, but we don’t really get to hear nearly as much about the writers who produce the scripts. So, I hope this series will expand knowledge.
I hadn’t had the lines in there originally, but in a rereading I thought that it made sense, considering a script is all dialogue with vague action cues mostly. And I went for the ones that stuck out to me and touched me. The ones that long after the episode has ended come back and haunt me in my daydreams or whatever.
I also learned, as a writer myself, about how much Edlund has influenced me in the last year and a half or so. I can see it now in the text I’m producing, and while he’s not the only influence there I can sense his stamp on my own writing. That’s pretty damn cool.
I hope to tackle Jeremy Carver next. I know he’s not writing for the show, but those that enjoy his writing might like to learn about his non SPN projects, too.
Thanks again for teh wonderful comment. I had a lot of fun with this and I hope to continue it.
Far Away Eyes
LOVE LOVE LOVE Ben Edlund. He’s fantastic! Great profile. He deserves an Emmy several times over. The French Mistake especially because it was so orginal. And a lot of times when shows try strange ideas they end up jumping the shark. But FM weaved so wonderfully the hysterical and the “reality based” that it just knocks it out of the park. It even had some poignants moments. “We’re not even brothers here” and Gen’s affection with Sam (he gets so little).
You did miss some of my favorite lines. But he has so many great ones I’m not surprised.
I look forward to your profile on Jeremy Carver.
Thank you for the response.
I agree. Edlund knows how tackle so many strange or unusual story that keep it from going too far into left field while embracing the wacky and weird. It’s a fine line and Edlund certainly knows where that line is.
As for lines, please, share yours. It was hard to keep it to just 15. I had started with just 10 and I just kept going “OH YEAH that line and THAT line and THAT line.” I decided to keep it to 15 so it wouldn’t go on too , too long. I also had inserted them into the actual text that I didn’t want to repeat. So please, share your favorite Edlund lines. I’d love to see what others love.
I enjoyed learning about this writer and getting to know the others in SPN Staff Past and Present.
Ahhhhhhhhh. Thank you! I’m in love with this man.
I have “We keep each other human” tattooed on my arm. 1. Because for me it represents not only the brother’s relationship but also who Dean is, that when faced with everything they were faced with, he made the choice of family, he chose to put everything behind him for Sam. 2. Because well, it’s a lovely sentiment we all should remember and 3. It comes from Edlund…..and it reminds me of what I want to be.
He makes me want to write, he makes me want to be a better writer, he makes me want to be a great writer.
Thank you so much for this. He is one of my idols and I’m as much a fan of Ben’s as I am of Jensen and Jared. Seriously.
🙂
You’re welcome and thank you for the wonderful comment!
I am an Edlund girl. Last year I went to my first convention, and while no writers were there, I think I would have fangirled had Edlund been there. I told my friend that I’d kill to go to a Con and meet Edlund and a few of the other writers just to talk writing with them. Not about just the show, writing in general, to see how they do it. I’m a geek, I know.
I loved that exchange between Sam and Dean as well. It allowed them to know there’s things to work on, but that they’re in it together through it all, and I think Dean’s actions in season 6 concerning Soulless Sam proves this line well. And yes, it is something we should all remember.
I got into this show for its writing, (though the pretty boys didn’t hurt!) and the deeper I went down the rabbit hole and the more I started to notice writers names the more I realized Edlund was writing my favorites. And much like you, he makes me want to be a great writer—though I am a fiction and he’s a screen writer.
This is a wonderful idea to get us some more info on the writers. I really enjoyed that. Ben Edlund is my favourite writer on Supernatural. I love his episodes.
I am not sure, but isn’t My Bloddy Valentine a Ben Edlund ep also. Always thought he wrote that one too.
I’m glad you liked this profile and I really do hope to write a few more. I think it’s nice to see what the writers are about, too.
Yes, Edlund did write “My Bloody Valentine,” too. I kind of picked a few of the episodes from each season he’s written for when I put this together. It’s a great one in many ways, too!
Thank you so much for this article. Like everyone in the Supernatural fandom, I love Ben Edlund, definitely my favourite writer. I can watch “On the Head of a Pin” over and over again and still find so much hidden in that little gem of a script. He can bring the pathos along with the comedic so darn well. I get all tingley when I know the script is from him. It was really interesting to learn the other things he’s been involved in. Along with Jared’s and Jensen’s career post-SPN, I will be following his also.
I will be looking forward to your article on Jeremy Carver, and hope that you tackle other writers as well. I love Sera Gamble’s writing so much, sometimes I’m sorry she’s the showrunner and too busy to write as many episodes as she used to, “Appointment in Samarra” is one of my all-time favourites. And I sorely miss Kathryn Humphries (she deserves better than “Ringer” IMO) and Julie Siege also.
Glad you liked this look at Edlund. I really loved “On the Head of a Pin,” too. I think it’s one of the first episodes of his that I really sat up and paid close attention to the fact that he was the writer for it and then I went back and looked at some past episodes to find that he had written those, too. He has a way with bringing the human condition to light in either comedy or tragedy or a mix of the two. It’s so amazing to me and I often go back to his episodes to hear great lines.
I do hope to make this a series. I think we don’t hear enough about the writers, so hence why I kind of came up with this idea. Edlund is just my favorite, so my starting point. Outside of reviews and responding to an episode’s story, we don’t often really focus on the writers that put those scripts together, so here is that shot.
I like Ringer, but I agree, the weakness in the show at times drags down the really hard work Humphris and others put into it. I miss her scripts on the show. Hopefully I’ll get to the Carver profile soon!
“I love Sera Gamble’s writing so much, sometimes I’m sorry she’s the showrunner and too busy to write as many episodes as she used to . . . And I sorely miss Kathryn Humphries”
I would like to strongly support this opinion, Sylvie. I think Ben Edlund is completely brilliant and I miss having Jeremy Carver writing for SPN. But nobody writes more emotionally devastating episodes for Sam and Dean than Gamble and Humphris. Following one of their episodes, I am absolutely devastated, a pool of roiling emotions that leaves me ruminating for days on end. IMO nobody does it better.
Thanks for the comment!
I have to agree. Gamble has written some of my favorite episodes, too. “Faith” was the second episode I saw and it really helped hook me on the show. Only reason I didn’t start with her or Kripke is because we hear an awful lot about both as show runners, either current or former.
I do intend on covering her at some point, though!
Thank you for this, Farawayeyes. I’ve been paying more attention to the writers and directors – which I guess you do after you’ve watched each episode a million times. I didn’t realize Edlund was the one to do The Tick. I used to love that show! Back when I was single, childless and worked from 5 pm to 1 a.m., I’d come home and put on Cartoon Network so I could catch that show. It was so witty. And he was 17 when he originally wrote the comic? Color me impressed.
It’s so great going deeper into all these aspects of the show and learning about things from all these perspectives. Can’t wait for your next one!
Thank you for the wonderful comment!
As much as I love learning about Jared and Jensen’s careers and other cast members, I like to learn about the behind the scenes people like the writers and directors, too. Guy Norman Bee is awesome, finding out about his camera work before getting into directing is just cool.
I have to admit I hadn’t really seen the Tick, but having found out that Edlund wrote/created it, I’ll have to go back and look at it.
Hopefully, as I do more of these, we’ll learn more about the writing staff, past and present.
I stand completely in awe of the awesomeness that is Ben Edlund! May he continue his magic with this show until it ends!
This article was completely awesome! 8)
Hey, I’m no writer! 😀
Thanks!
I agree. I hope Edlund continues to write for this show. He is brilliant and one of my writing heroes, for sure.
I can’t really claim the awesomeness when it’s all his, though.
Thanks for this homage to Edlund. The man is truly a genius. I would so love to meet him, talk to him, and interview him about his creative process. But, much like Misha Collins, I doubt he gives straightforward answers. I don’t think his brain works that way.
I think Edlund is truly brilliant because of his ability to perfectly mix comedy and tragedy. In that mixture, he always deliver some new insights on what it really means to be human.
Science fiction (and that’s pretty much the category Supernatural falls into) is often seen as one of the lesser lights of literature. Much like comedies never get Academy Awards, science fiction rarely gets much widespread critical acclaim and praise. (Has a sci-fi ever won a big prize like the Pulitzer, the Man Booker, the Governor-General’s Award in Canada? Don’t know, but doubt it.) Sci-fi is generally viewed as geek-lit.
But really good sci-fi examines the world we live in now. It may use spaceships, or time travel, or a fight between angels & demons, but it’s always just a metaphor for what’s happening in the here & now.
The really brilliant sci-fi writers, like Edlund, have some profound things to say about where society is today, where we’re heading in the future, and how human strengths and frailties may alter both the journey and the destination.
That’s why I think Edlund’s episodes continue to have resonance, and just staying power.
Long may he write. Long may we benefit.
Thanks, PD!
I, too, would LOVE to take the time to talk with him and talk craft especially. Unfortunately, I think you’re right. I have a funny feeling he’d not be exactly straight in his answers, but who knows what great kernels we’d get!
I absolutely agree with you on science fiction getting looked down upon by the hoity toity in the writing world. Too often they dismiss it as silly or bad or lazy, when in reality so much of it is more current than other literature on the market.
Edlund shows the best of this genre and proves that he can write a sci fi show that will touch on the human condition and society as a whole. Anyone who disputes that should sit down and watch “The End.”
May he continue to write for Supernatural till it is over and write for many years after that.
Thank you for this article about my favorite writer on the show. We get to learn a lot about Jared and Jensen but, the show is SO much more than just them. The exceptional writing, the lighting, the art department, etc…. It is nice to delve a bit deeper into one of the “behind the scenes” members.
I used to watch The Tick cartoon and, although I haven’t seen if for years, I still regard it as one of my favorites of all time. So to see it was a creation of Ben Edlund actually made me squee a bit. 🙂
Thanks again and I am looking forward to your next installment.
You’re very welcome. I’m glad you liked this look.
It’s one reason I chose to do this. I am very curious about the behind the scenes people, and while I don’t know about other aspects such as lighting or directing, it might be something I’ll consider tackling once I am don with the writers.
I really didn’t watch the Tick, but I will now just to see something Edlund did outside of SPN—as well as anything he does after. I squeed over his small involvement in The Venture Brothers, though. Such a funny show.
I do hope to do another one very soon. Thanks again for the wonderful comment.
Love love love this! I loved Jared’s delivery and timing of the line “I’m not supposed to laugh, right?” After Dean said the fairy hit him. Hilarious!
Thanks for the awesome essay! I look forward to the rest.
Cheers, -RG
You’re very welcome.
I also loved Jared’s delivery of that line, too. It is a big portion of how the writing comes to life.
I do hope to eventually talk about other behind the scenes folks, too. Russ, the Location Manager, would be an awesome and fascinating one to tackle.
Thanks again!
Recognizing the writers is an excellent idea. I absolutely love BE’s dialogue, for it’s efficiency and for his warped, a little off color humor. Just love it. I, too, get all excited when I see hear about an upcoming episode by Ben.
With others, I wished Catherine Humphris was still with us. I really like her, too. The new ones I am liking is Dabb and Loflin. While On the Head of a Pin was powerful and remains a favorite of mine, Dark Side of the Moon and Point of No Return rival it for being powerful, so I’ll be looking forward to your articles on them.
I’m glad you liked this idea.
I think it’s a neat thing to look at this show through each script writer, and while I’ll cover those no longer involved with the show, I think some newer ones are proving to be good, too. Robbie Thompson comes to mind.
I hope you’ll continue to enjoy the series as we get further along. I like learning a lot about the behind the scenes people of the show, and I think it’s only right to share what I learn!
Yes, Robbie Thompson for sure! Let’s hope he’s with the show until the end (snif). I’m going to my happy place, I don’t want to think about the end yet.
Thompson’s Slash Fiction really sold me, and then I saw his Time After Time and I KNEW they had found a great writer for the show.
I’d love to see more from him for it, too. He’s witty and really gets these characters.
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