By season nine, Supernatural's focus had shifted to the ongoing war between heaven and hell, leaving less time for small, but powerful episodes like "Bad Boys." When Dean gets a call from a man from his past, the boys travel to a reform school in New York where Dean spent a few months when he was younger. The episode combines a spooky monster-of-the-week (a little boy's dead mother is slowly going mad as she tethers herself to Earth to protect her son) with a deep dive into a previously unexplored period of Dean's life.
"Bad Boys" reveals that Dean had a chance to thrive in a life that didn't involve hunting, and knowing that was ripped away from him gives this instalment the extra punch it needs to be a standout.