The Supernatural Character Fans Wish Had Stayed Longer

Stalking the airwaves from 2005 to 2020, the monstrously popular horror-fantasy series "Supernatural" riveted audiences throughout its 15-season run as Winchester brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) hunted down the show's evil entity of the week (via IMDb). Chronicling the brothers' heroic quest to save the world from a mind-boggling menagerie of demons, ghosts, vampires, fallen angels, risen devils and every other imaginable form of creature, the show's tight scripting, respectable special effects, and often self-deprecating style attracted a large and loyal following, averaging over 4.5 million viewers an episode in the first season as it aired (via The Hollywood Reporter).

But as the Winchesters' continuing monster-hunting adventures played out in later seasons of the show, it's revealed that being a lead in the series doesn't necessarily protect you from dying — more than once. In fact, Dean dies and returns to life over a hundred times in the Season 3, Episode 11 outing titled "Mystery Spot" due to an incident with a time loop (via TV Line). In the same vein of the dead not always staying that way, monsters in "Supernatural" don't always stay monsters. They can change and become heroic. One such monster-gone-good is a character that fans wish they could've seen more of in "Supernatural."

Among the vast array of multifarious monsters on "Supernatural" is the horror mainstay of the bloodsucking vampire. One of the highest-profile vamps to appear on the show is the recurring character Benny Lafitte, portrayed by Ty Olssen. Benny, as it turns out, eventually becomes one of the good vampires, developing a close relationship with Dean and even helping him escape from Purgatory — where all slain monsters end up, occasionally joined by one or more of the Winchesters.

When Benny ultimately saves Sam's life by dying, going to Purgatory for a second time, and then exiting the show, fans did not take it well. Commenting on the "Supernatural" sub-Reddit thread titled, "Benny deserved so, so much better....,' user u/ Therealgoobyyoobydoo wrote, "I always loved Benny and he deserved so much better than to just end up dying ... it breaks my heart ..." They went on to note how they especially disliked him having died for Sam when Sam didn't have much empathy for him.

Reddit poster u/mkp132 also took issue with the show's tragic-vampire storyline, writing, "I love Benny to death. He deserved everything in [his undead] life." A user on another Reddit thread also felt Benny's sacrifice deeply, writing, "Honestly, watching his relationship with Dean is one of the saddest things. In his final episode when he and Dean are talking before Dean sends him back to purgatory to help Sam, holy crap. I almost started tearing up at him trying to laugh off the situation." 

With the series having concluded in November 2020, it's unlikely that fans will see Benny again — but at least there's a "Supernatural" spin-off series in the works for viewers who aren't quite finished enjoying the show's universe yet.