Across 15 seasons, Supernatural wove a veritable tome of demonic lore. Knowing your Knights of Hell from the King of Hell became crucial to understanding Supernatural‘s demonic dangers, and each demon packed a different kind of punch. Even Hell itself didn’t seem to quite understand the demon hierarchy at times, but the basic principles of the “bad place” and its residents remained largely the same.
A power angels and demons alike wielded was possession. Both species could only walk the mortal realm via a human body, and while demons would typically force their way into whichever unsuspecting victim they preferred, angels had a moral obligation to only possess willing individuals. Demons were also restricted from possessing anyone with specific markings, which was how Sam and Dean remained free from any unwelcome body guests.
One of Supernatural’‘s demon rules was seemingly broken after a single episode, but upon further examination, there was a logical reason it didn’t last.
Why Supernatural’s First Demon Entered Through The Eyes, Not The Mouth
The image of demonic possession fans will associate most with Supernatural is the cloud of black smoke forcing its way through the host’s mouth. That wasn’t how the trope began, however.
While Azazel was part of Supernatural lore from the earliest scenes, season 1 episode “Phantom Traveler” marked the first time a demon featured prominently. This was also the episode that introduced the idea of possession, as the plot revolves entirely around Sam and Dean tracking down a demon hiding inside a plane passenger.
Contradicting later lore, this episode established the notion that demons possess humans by flying in through their eyes. This idea never resurfaced again in Supernatural, and subsequent demonic characters would reliably take the oral route instead, creating the show tradition we all know and love.
In hindsight, it’s easy to dismiss season 1’s eye possession as a Supernatural plot hole. The inconsistency certainly could have come about due to Supernatural not yet having a firm foundation for its demon rule book in season 1, and the show’s creative team changing its mind. Regardless of whether the eye/mouth switch was a retcon, however, the change can be easily explained by the show’s lore.
The demon in “Phantom Traveler” was actually a special breed known as a disaster demon. One could argue that it makes no sense for a disaster demon to access a host through their eyes when even high-ranking hellions like Lilith are forced to go through the mouth like a commoner, but the distinction still works as a canon explanation for why we never see demons possess humans via the eyes again. This is the only disaster demon shown in Supernatural, leaving nothing to contradict the rules “Phantom Traveler” created.
The disaster demon excuse could also explain other differences between Supernatural‘s first demon and every other demon in the show – the grainy appearance of the black cloud, for example. Again, we can assume the Doylist explanation for this was the show changing how it visually presented demons, but the Watsonian explanation (that the disaster demon played by different possession rules) still holds water.
- Release Date
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2005 – 2020
- Showrunner
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Eric Kripke
