It’s regarded as one of the safest places on Earth in Supernatural, but has the Men of Letters’ bunker always been so secure? After discovering their status as Men of Letters legacies, Sam and Dean inherited The Bunker in Supernatural season 8, and the heavily-warded base has been their home ever since. Packed with paranormal curiosities, dangerous artifacts and (much to Sam’s delight) tons of lore to check, The Bunker is Supernatural‘s TARDIS – a haven from monsters and a veritable treasure trove befitting of the Winchesters’ status.
The Bunker was supposedly warded against every possible enemy a hunter (or a Men of Letters member) could face; rife with devil traps, Enochian sigils, and enough warding to keep Earth’s most horrific monsters firmly at bay. The Bunker should have been a place where Dean could peruse the latest issue of “Busty Asian Beauties” in peace, but a variety of villains have waltzed into the Winchesters’ home over the years, beginning with the most powerful of the lot.
Chuck finally revealed himself as God in season 11’s “All In The Family,” and quickly transported Sam and Dean back to their own HQ to formulate a plan against Amara, his troublesome sister. Being all-seeing and all-powerful, it’s no surprise that the creator of everything could locate and infiltrate The Bunker with a snap of his fingers, and even though Chuck was on the Winchesters’ side then, more recent revelations have proved he was always a villain. The lack of effective warding against God has been a problem for Sam and Dean in season 15.
A few episodes later, Amara decided to visit the boys’ not-so-secret location herself after finding out their home address from the prophet Donatello. Although the warding held for a brief time, Amara soon burned through the invisible barrier and made an entrance. Fortunately for the Winchesters, no one was home at the time. As God’s sister, it’s only natural that Amara can break into The Bunker with relative ease, but she seemed to have a little more trouble than her Lord Almighty brother, perhaps because she isn’t Earth’s creator.
After making it through Supernatural season 12 unscathed, season 13’s “Bring ’em Back Alive” was another bad day for The Bunker. Then-King of Hell, Asmodeus, was on the warpath after losing his angelic juice box, and quickly determined that Gabriel had been taken in by the Winchesters. After Sam, Dean and Cass refused to hand Gabriel over, Asmodeus essentially turned off The Bunker’s warding and opened the door for his demon underlings before joining them inside. As a Prince of Hell, Asmodeus was already powerful, but had also been guzzling down archangel grace for however long. While this wouldn’t put him on the level of God or Amara, it was clearly enough to break through the defenses.
By the season 13 finale, The Bunker was about as secure as Hogwarts’ Defense Against The Dark Arts department. Alternate Michael had crossed over from the Apocalypse World, and was gunning directly for the Winchesters, busting down the door to The Bunker without breaking a sweat. Asmodeus had already used Gabriel’s grace to enter The Bunker, and Michael is confirmed to be stronger than Gabriel, so this breach comes as no surprise, especially since the Apocalypse variant of the archangel seemed a cut above his brothers.
In many ways, the increasingly creaky Bunker warding is to be expected in a long-running show like Supernatural. After a few seasons of nigh-on impenetrability, a Bunker break-in helps indicate to fans that a powerful enemy has emerged and poses a major threat to Sam and Dean. But the more this trope was used, the less effective it became, and with God representing the final big-bad of Supernatural, the Winchesters’ Bunker now has all the spiritual protection of a tent.
However, season 15’s “Galaxy Brain” did provide an in-narrative explanation for the breaches of The Bunker. As revealed by the reaper Merle, the base’s warding had been irreparably damaged by Amara’s attack back in season 11. Even though the Winchesters and Castiel believed they had repaired it, their fix job was only good enough to keep out your basic monsters and demons, not the high-grade baddies Sam and Dean now hunt. Although this wasn’t clear at the time, it does retroactively explain why villains have had an easier time entering The Bunker in recent seasons.
Supernatural season 15 is currently on hiatus. More news as it arrives.