Spoiler Alert for Buffy and Supernatural.

Not only was the latest season 7 episode of Supernatural worth sitting on the edge of your seat, but it also had some great throw backs to Buffy! This isn’t the first time this has happened, and it’s no surprise since it’s no secret the series creator and writers are big Buffy fans. However, Whedon’s inspirational touch seemed especially prevalent in “Hello, Cruel World.”

To begin with, there was a small nod when Dean used the phrase “big bad.” Am I wrong here, geeks, or did this really pick up its steam with Buffy? First the fans used it, and then the word even worked its way into the series.

Then the entire premise of Sam questioning his reality echoed Buffy‘s season six “Normal Again.” And just as with that episode, when Sam begins to question his reality, even though you know what’s true as the viewer, you can’t help but get a little swept up in it. I still get chills thinking about Buffy sitting in the corner of the room in the psych ward, contemplating whether Sunnydale and all its inhabitants are the real world or the created world. What a way to mess with the psyche!

Finally, “Hello, Cruel World” had some nods to Buffy‘s First Evil. Remember when The First Evil showed its big mouth to Buffy in season three’s “Amends”? And again even more frighteningly through seven season? Did you feel the same imagery when Supernatural‘s Leviathans showed us their teeth?
Furthermore, The First also would trick individuals by appearing as someone else. We could get picky and say The First only took on the image of dead people, but the effect was the same here when Sam’s imagined Lucifer posed as Dean. (Although, Dean has died, so I imagine that The First actually could pose as him were world’s to collide ).
And the final nod came when Lucifer tried to convince Sam to kill himself, just like The First Evil tried to convince Willow to kill herself in season seven’s “Conversations with Dead People.”

There you have it people. All good things come from Buffy. 

I have been so impressed with everything Supernatural has developed after the originally planned five seasons. Can’t wait to see more!

And, on a final note, is Castiel really, really gone this time? I’m fighting back the tears until I get solid proof.