Unpopular Opinion: 'Supernatural' Is Ruining Dean Winchester At The Expense of Sam

11/13/2017

In entertainment, there are some opinions that are universally accepted: Milo Ventimiglia is everything. Queen Sugar is wildly underappreciated. Fox was so colossally stupid to cancel its baseball drama, Pitch.
However, this critic holds in a lot of opinions that go against the fandom grain. I have enough personal baggage, so I'm unburdening that of the fangirl variety. Unpopular Opinion: Supernatural is destroying Dean Winchester at the expense of Sam.

via GIPHY

Before sending me angry tweets, let's unpack this.

The season 12 finale was riddled with loss for the Winchester clan: their beloved mother was snatched back into an alternate universe by the devil himself; their frenemy Crowley sacrificed himself for the greater good; and Castiel, an integral member of Team Free Will, was killed.  Season 13 is off to a wildly uneven start, and it's mostly because of Dean Winchester played by Emmy-worthy actor Jensen Ackles.

I can and have watched Jensen Ackles tear into an emotion-packed monologue with that ferocious talent of his for more than a decade, and I never get sick of it. The problem is Jared Padalecki is a great actor too, and Sam deserves the same insight into his psyche that Dean has gotten again and again. It's utterly frustrating just how slanted the show is towards Dean's emotions and breakdowns. For every gut-wrenching loss they've endured, Dean been allowed more and more space to break down and grieve, bogarting into Sam's.

This season, the taller Winchester has barely had time to express his own grief over losing his friend and mother, who he had a very complicated relationship with. Instead he's been Dean's therapist, protector and punching bag, absorbing the wrath of his meltdowns and the bulk of his whining.

Where's the Dean Winchester that literally died to save his brother's life? Where's the big brother that has always tried (and sometimes spectacularly failed) to put his little brother first? Instead of bothering to even ask him how he's coping, in the last episode, "Advanced Thanatology," Dean literally killed himself in front of Sam to solve a trivial monster-of-the-week case. Trauma, what trauma?

When Dean meets the newly appointed Death (welcome back, Billie!), he then decides to stay dead--a choice he's robbed from Sam many times over (see Seasons 2,3, 8 and 9). The most egregious being in season 9 when Dean tricked Sam into being possessed by a rogue angel Gadreel, who later hijacked Sam's body to go on a murder spree.

Sam's only scrap of a storyline has been raising the nephilim Jack and honing his skills to rescue his mother from the alternate universe, a move which Dean has mostly derided. Dean petulantly insists that Lucifer killed Mary, despite Sam having spent a few centuries with and probably knows him better. This, however, brings up another issue in terms of how how massive the double standard is between Sam and Dean.

In the season 7 finale, Dean was blasted into Purgatory after previously making a promise to Sam to let any future natural deaths stick. When Dean returned to earth and reunited with his brother in season 8, he berated and bullied Sam for months for doing exactly what they both agreed to. Now that the tables have turned with Dean believing that Mary is dead is viewed through the prism of his intense grief--a luxury Sam didn't have in season 8. Meanwhile the mother he loves so much is stuck in a post-apocalyptic hellscape with the actual devil.

Even worse, Sam hasn't voiced any objections or outward emotions, not even when Dean died right in front of him mere weeks after losing most of their family, or about Dean insisting that Mary is dead, despite how he's treated him in the over the same exact situation.

I totally understand that dysfunctional relationships make for damn good television, and Sam and Dean have the one of the most deliciously jacked up relationships on TV. But if the characters don't learn from their mistakes and reference them, if they don't fight each other and take care of each other, then what's the point?

The writers seem to be obsessed with making Dean this uber-macho anti-hero who's never wrong and can diffuse any situation with "bullets, booze and bacon" and one that suddenly doesn't give a damn about his brother. And that flies in the face of everything we know about Dean Winchester. This is about as right as paining the Impala bright red. I'd honestly believe that the season 13 Dean is a result of some complicated trickery from Rowena or another big bad than Sam's actual big brother.

Supernatural is an aging series, but it's one of the few that I still have faith in, albeit the dwindling kind, and maybe it's time to salt and burn it for good. Clearly it has forgotten not only the show's own mythology, and that it's the tension between the brothers and the broments that have made it such a special show for over a decade. The extended scenes with the cute yet cloying Jack only take time away from the drama between the Winchesters.

The last two episodes have offered a glimmer into Sam's emotional state, especially during one tense meeting with a grief therapist in "The Big Empty" though the they wasted her shape-shifting skills on Jack when they should've been used on Sam.

Here's hoping the feels scales will shift in Sam's favor soon. If not, this won't be the last unpopular opinion I'll be sharing.

36 Comments

Winchesters

11/14/2017 09:16:54 am

THANK YOU !!!!

Angie Elliott

11/14/2017 09:29:45 am

All of this is so heartwrenchingly true. I think a BIG problem is that the new writers have not watched enough episodes of Classic SPN.

Sara Smith

11/14/2017 12:16:24 pm

So bloody true! Haven't watched any as far as I know.

Clio

11/15/2017 09:07:54 am

You keep saying this, but the writers have seen all the eps. Davey and Steve watched from the beginning when they were hired, and they’re telling the story as directed. We don’t know better than the writers.

Jane

11/14/2017 09:39:46 am

This is not an unpopular opinion and shared by many fans. Thank you for voicing our concerns about the Winchester brothers.

Minnie

11/14/2017 09:55:00 am

THIS! Thank you for voicing my exact opinion. God I wish this could be heard by someone who can make a difference, but I'm afraid we're drowned out by a small but loud group.

Chrissy

11/14/2017 10:29:36 am

I'm so confused how someone with a supposed objective view enough to be writing reviews can miss the point by so much?

We know from multiple interviews that Sam will face things later in the season and this early form of Dean is depressed and mentally unstable. He's going to be getting better now that Castiel has returned. Things are going to shift and we will see Sam come centre stage as things with Lucifer and Jack come around.

I really struggle to understand the outrage when we are only 5 episodes in? There is a big neon sign over why Dean is acting how he has been this season (and basically since they removed the mark) and if that reason is rejected then sure it makes no sense and he seems OOC. Perhaps it's time to reevaluate ones view of a character if they feel they're consistently OOC.

On the other side Sam is clearly coming into his own, especially since mid season 12! The Jack/Lucifer plot is HIS. Cas/Humanity is Dean's and Cas has been dead for 5 episodes so yeah of course Sam helped him through it and was his support, it's a beautiful brotherly story and one that I'm sure we will see in reverse later in the season with the Jack/Lucifer storyline coming to the forefront.

I am sad that the writers get attacked like this when they're just in the exposition part of the season and haven't moved into the main arc yet let alone tieing it up yet we see people yelling about how unfair and un-tied up it is... it's literally only just started. Just wait and see.

Lelane

11/14/2017 10:57:06 am

Agreed.

Lori

11/14/2017 02:01:25 pm

The reason you struggle to understand the outrage is precisely because you're only viewing it as only occurring in the last five episodes. This has been an ongoing trend for several seasons. At the very least it was happening even back in season nine. There was eminently more focus on Dean during the whole Mark of Cain storyline and it seemed they used Sam just to randomly assure Dean they would find a way to get rid of the Mark and nothing more.

Angie

11/14/2017 05:21:25 pm

The fact that you think Cass is all Dean's storyline is very telling. Of course you don't see anything wrong with Sam being erased. It makes your ship easier to imagine.

11/14/2017 06:10:25 pm

I never said anything about a ship and Sam is not a threat to ANY possible relationship for Dean - he is his brother.

What I said was that I expect Sam's story to become more prevalent as the season develops.

Dean's story historically centers around the fact that he represents Humanity and in season 13 so far this is focused on Cas and other hunters whereas Sam's Lucifer mytharc focuses on Jack.

Character development based on established canon since season 1 has nothing to do with a ship or romance. It's how other characters interact with the main protagonists Sam and Dean that is important and there is a clear divide between Dean/Cas and Sam/Jack so far this season. That's all I'm saying. The fact that you made this ship related when I'm just talking about canon is quite funny actually.

GABE

11/14/2017 06:27:33 pm

That statement was a huge red flag for me too. How many times does the show have to explicitly state that Cas is just as much Sam's friend/adopted family as Dean's before some people accept it? Jack doesn't exist to give Sam a separate storyline from Dean and Cas, who aren't going to have one without him because that's not the show any of us are watching.

Tina

11/15/2017 01:01:24 pm

You know if I had a £5 note every time someone said wait and see where Sam was concerned I would be well off.

Maybe they will maybe they will not I stopped trusting the writers with Sam along time ago , this article does sadly hit upon some truths that are hard to ignore.

Quin

11/14/2017 10:46:14 am

Yes thank you!! I feel the same way!!!

Paula

11/14/2017 12:11:13 pm

Thank you. I agree with everything you wrote. Dean's emotions have always come first on this show, the writers rarely can be bothered to delve into Sam's emotional life. Dean gets pages of emotional monologue, Sam gets a couple of lines (if we are lucky). Sera Gamble was the best Sam writer and she is long gone from show. Writers have talked about how good Jared is at conveying emotion with his eyes, seemingly they see this as an excuse to not give the guy dialogue.
Sadly I have long become used to this treatment of Sam and the double standards between the writing of Dean and Sam. Unfortunately I can't see things changing, the writers aren't interested in Sam or Sam fans and when we do speak up we get drowned out by that particular very loud subsection of fandom anyway.

Tricia

11/14/2017 12:11:22 pm

You, of course, have a right to your opinion. What I want to focus on is how interesting it is to me how so many viewers can have totally opposite views of the same show. For me, personally, I think the shining moments of S13 so far *have been* the Broments.

When Dean and Sam talked about the possibility of Mary being alive in the car in episode one. The time Jack overheard their passionate argument about Mary and Cas in episode three. Sam exploding during "therapy" about his feelings about losing his mom, and Dean telling Sam he needed him to have faith for him both in episode four. Dean confessing how badly he's feeling to Sam in episode 5, saying how badly he needs a win.

"Where is the Dean Winchester that died to shave his brother's life?" This is called character development. Dean Winchester will always, 100%, unequivocally die for his brother if it means saving Sam. I don't think anything in S13 has shown us different than that. He was willing to accept his death, sure, but I don't think that was anything against Sam. I know I saw that move as thinking that Dean is so depressed that he feels like he's no good for ANYBODY, including Sam, and that he's just dragging his brother down with him.

I also think it's a little dramatic to say that he killed himself in front of his brother when the entire point was to come right back three minutes later *because* of Sam. He was putting his life in Sam's hands, because he loves and trusts him.

"Where's the big brother that has always tried (and sometimes spectacularly failed) to put his little brother first?" This is the entire point to the arch this season. Don't you see that? Those hugely important characteristics of Dean Winchester are gone! Dean is SO LOST in his grief for his mom, his best friend, and Crowley, that Dean isn't himself anymore! These are classic signs of depression. For once in all of 13 seasons, Supernatural is actually letting somebody deal with grief properly and that's why the fans don't recognize this Dean anymore. Because it isn't "the old" Dean!

Sam and Dean have both lost people before, but at some point it was going to push them over the edge, and THIS TIME was that for Dean. Maybe it's not for Sam! Of course, Sam still lost his mom, but like you yourself pointed out, he didn't have the same relationship with her as Dean did. Same as Cas. Yes, Sam and Cas were friends, but they aren't best buddies like he and Dean were. And the same can be said for Crowley. Dean spent a lot more time with him than Sam did.

The reason they aren't showing both of them grieving is because they are not grieving in the same way! Sam is handling his losses the way his big brother Dean taught him to: by working! (Yes, sometimes with Jack.) Dean just can't do the same this time. That's why he goes to Sam to ask him to have hope for the both of them.

As for Sam only having "a scrap" of a story line? It's not unusual for a season to go back and forth between focusing on Sam and Dean's story lines. Yes, I agree that so far, Dean has had a bigger story line. But we're only 5 episodes into what will be 23. I have faith that it will balance out :)

11/14/2017 01:01:54 pm

I'm so sorry !! I know I Shouldn't comment on your reply ,,and It's your opinion !! and I respect that !
,,
I don't think This Dean is a result of a character development ,, If you are right he wouldn't kill himself to save Sam ,,, And of course wouldn't do It in a random Case ! ,, If it's a development It would mean he might react differently to Loss ! but It wouldn't mean he will Ignore Sam completely !
The Big Brother Dean ,, is part of him !! he can't grow out of it !! he doesn't need to babysit Sam ,,he just need to be a brother!!
and Dean shouldn't be reminded of being a brother !!

,,
and the part about How sam isn't as sad as dean about losing Mary and Cas
,,
Sam needed his Mom even more than Dean !! he had No memories with her ,,he told her that having her fill in the biggest hole in his Life !!
,,
he was trying so hard to connect with her !! It should be harder for Sam actually !
,,
and Cas !! how he is a best buddy of Dean !! he betrayed them so many times ,,he did horrible things to Sam ,,and Dean ,,,the Dean that Kripke created ,,would of killed him just for that !
,,
but the boys forgave him ,,and kept forgiving him ! ,, he didn't do anything special to be called a best friend to dean !! ,,
and losing him shouldn't have that effect at all at him !! and if the boys considered him a friend after all of what he did ,,,, he had the same relation with both of them !!
so I don't get that part either !
,,
having sam in the background is pretty obvious to a lot of fans !
,,
It's okay If you don't agree though !!!
I understand and respect that :)
,,
also I hope you are right and in the next episodes we will get more Sam ! ^_^

11/14/2017 01:25:31 pm

I don't think losing his mom is *not* harder for Sam, I just don't think he's dealing with it in the same way. It's not a competition over who is missing their mother more. If one brother chooses to deal with the pain by working a case, and trying to develop Jack's powers to try and get back to Mary, and the other brother chooses to deal with it by drinking beer in his room, listening to music, and being a dick, it doesn't mean that either of them are WRONG, they're just different :)

It's not up to us to say if Dean should or should not be best friends with Castiel. Dean has said that he is. He has said that he's a brother to them both more than once.

Dean and Sam go behind each other's backs and lie to one another to try and protect each other just as often as Castiel has done to them. (You can even see this as recently in S12 when Sam chose to work with the BMOL knowing that Dean didn't want him to, and he hid it from him for as long as he could get away with, too. That doesn't make Sam a bad brother! He just made a mistake by lying.)

Sam and Cas don't have the same friendship as Dean and Cas do. The show shows us this over and over again by *always* having Dean be the one to contact Cas on the phone, and vice versa. Last season when Cas was M.I.A. it was *always* Dean who was looking for him. "What about Cas?" Sam, Dean, and Mary came crashing into the hotel room where Cas is there with Kelly, and Cas says, "Dean?" Not. "Guys?" We've seen Cas and Dean work together many times (and will again next episode), but the only time we see Sam and Cas work together is when it's directly about Dean (going behind his back trying to save him) Castiel himself mentioned that he and Dean have "a more profound bond" than he and Sam do.

Sam and Castiel are absolutely, 100% friends, it's just not the same as it is for Dean and Cas.

I actually think that with Castiel coming back, a lot of the focus will switch away from Dean (since he won't be grieving so hard) and move back to Sam. I guess we'll see :)

I appreciate your response and that you were able to be polite and civil even while disagreeing!

meun

1/30/2019 08:22:20 am

thank u.
Dean needs to put himself first
he is big bro,not anti hero,actual hero.but in first place,he is a human just as you are

Liz

10/30/2020 09:53:12 am

The issue I see is that people talk about how Dean’s actions are because he’s going through this or that or he’s feeling this emotion, or that emotion (depressed, angry, betrayed, etc., etc.,) Always some reason or rationale. We need to stop making excuses for Dean’s bad behavior because this is never done for Sam because WE NEVER GET TO KNOW HOW HE’S FEELING. In fact we barely even get to see behavior. Also we can’t say Sam has any plot around him. Bringing up 2 minute conversations here and there is not a season plot or plots.

11/14/2017 01:46:44 pm

first of all Thank You !! :)
,,
and I'm so glad you accepted my comment ! ^_^
,,
I don't think I agree with you about Cas and Dean's friendship !
,,
and I think Sam and dean working behind each other's back ,,Isn't the same as say breaking Sam's Wall ,, !! he almost killed Sam that time !! and the list goes on!
,,
yes ,,Dean consider him a close friend and that's actually weird because if anyone else caused 1/2 of the damage cas did specially how he hurt Sam ,,Dean would Never forgive him
,,
they worked together like 2 /3 times without Sam I think !
,,
and Sam worked with Cas that Time saving Dean ,,and they stayed together for weeks in season 9 when Cas was healing Sam ,,they connected after that (nothing is worth losing you line)
,,
and I think (IMO ) the reason they always make it looks like Dean is the only one who asks about Cas lately to please some shippers in the fandom (which is okay they can ship what they want ) ,, but it's not convincing for me and so many others that I know of !
,,
the point is I think their friendship even If it's not exactly the same ,,wouldn't be that different ,,or it makes sense to make Sam look like he doesn't care !
,,
and of course it shouldn't have that major effect on either of them !!
Dean always says that he and Sam are all what they got !! they keep losing people but they have each other !
,,
so I will get seeing Dean Sad ,,and even angry ,,but not to that extent !!
again It's just my opinion !!
and I'm sorry again to bother You !!! and thank You !! :)

kerinda

11/14/2017 02:03:10 pm

thank you so much for this you hit the nail too the head here. I think the writers do not know how too write for Sam anymore and its all about Dean And I for one is getting really sick of it We Sam girls have the right too bitch about it because its never going too end untell the writer wake up to the fans who want too see some of Sam feeling too and his heartbreak we are not asking for much just give us that.

10/30/2020 10:05:48 am

Completely agree. Kind of tired of hearing “Well Sam grieves differently or reacts differently from Dean” when the writers show no reaction or emotion at all from Sam from any significant event.

We can’t say...the absence of anything means “something”. That’s not how life/nature/common sense/logic works.

melken

11/14/2017 02:13:21 pm

YES. So much YES. They're making Dean into a parody of himself and the focus of the story, while shortchanging Sam of any opportunity to show his own loss. Lately it has been the Dean Show with Sidekick Sam. And I hate that. The entire point of the series; the driving force behind everything, is the relationship between the brothers, the alternating push and pull of their personalities. But the way it's being handled, it's entirely Dean's story.

The writers have simplified it into Dean, the action hero, and Sam, the mild-mannered softy. Where's the badass bookworm we know and love? Last season his role was pretty much "Sam gets knocked out again."

I'm convinced the writers don't understand Sam, and don't know how to write in a way that allows Jared to show Sam's internal conflicts while still being a killing machine when necessary. Instead they take the lazy way out and give us a slapstick version of Dean (also shortchanging Jensen's abilities) with Sam in a supporting role. And both characters are diminished.

Arnold H

11/14/2017 02:20:05 pm

Very astute. Thank you. Can I also add, the writers seriously need to give the Castiel fanservice a rest. This is another way they are ruining Dean's character in the last 2 seasons, (awkward mixtape scene included). His suddenly not caring about Sam anymore is NOT character growth despite what the very pleased Cass fans and shippers are saying (seeing as it fits right into their agenda of making Cass more important in Dean's eyes). Dean's new indifference to Sam is abrupt and jarring and goes against every grain of who Dean is and who he was written to be. Suddenly in S12 we're not allowed a moment to show him giving a damn about Sam after he was tortured and missing for 2 days?!?! We see Castiel have several emotional monologues and hugs and several episodes dedicated to his stale and contrived storylines, but no real story between the brothers or around the brothers that doesn't involve them bickering over useless side characters, Mary included? The boys are no longer intergral to the mytharcs and that's also a problem. S12 was the beginning of the end for me. That, and the continued elevation of one of the most irrelevant and fanserviced characters (Castiel) in history has made it where I literally cannot stomach the show I used to be utterly obsessed with before S12. I didn't even bother to buy the DVDs after an 11yr tradition of doing so. Why on Earth the writers wouldn't let Cass' much needed death stick is mind-boggling. Now the writers are steadily pandering to their favorite shippers on Twitter to score popularity points. And you know what, all of this Cass and Wayward Daughter spotlight scenario would be much easier to swallow if they hadn't utterly distorted the brother's epic relationship beyond recognition in the meantime. That WAS the show. It's simply treasonous to take over a narrative and destroy it's emotional core and turn the attention towards several side characters outside of the Winchesters clan. Dear Kripke, please come back.

11/14/2017 05:28:56 pm

I want to marry every last word of this comment. I hope the writers pay attention to the many, many, tags they got and read this article, and hopefully read the comments, too.

Milla

11/15/2017 05:42:32 am

Thank you, this comment is so spot on.

Lise

11/14/2017 02:30:28 pm

"The writers seem to be obsessed with making Dean this uber-macho anti-hero who's never wrong and can diffuse any situation with "bullets, booze and bacon" and one that suddenly doesn't give a damn about his brother. And that flies in the face of everything we know about Dean Winchester."

What? It was Sam pushing these things on Dean to "get him back to normal," and misreading Dean completely.

Dean is grieving and yes, being selfish in his grief. It's not pretty, but losing hope rarely is.

I do agree that Sam could get a bit more screen time for his feelings and concerns this season, and has been getting short-shrifted here a bit, but he's been speaking with/to Jack in every episode, and expressing his feelings over the loss of Mary in this way, with a character who has also just lost the mother he barely knew. That's kind of clear?

Pamela

11/14/2017 03:14:08 pm

I think the writers move between Sam and Dean quite equally. The fact that they are different emotionally means the more vocal one (Dean) will appear to get greater coverage. Dean is the impetus, impulsive one and sometimes has tantrums. Dean already admitted that he has been here before and he will get back in his own way. Sam has not lost hope and is priming Jack so that he can open the alternate universe to save his mother. Sam seems to be the patient one and understands that Dean needs his space to work things through. Right now Sam is the one who is working through his grief with an actual plan to save his mom. Maybe he is the one to do because he can be a bit more clear headed about his mom than Dean.

Kay

11/14/2017 04:20:49 pm

Thank you! Completely agree.

11/15/2017 05:43:33 am

All of this, great article.

Art

11/15/2017 09:09:44 am

Why are you people so opposed to character development? I’ve watched since the beginning and both brothers have matured and their relationship is so much healthier now. Thank chuck for that.

Sissy

11/17/2017 05:45:59 pm

Yes, they are totally communicating more effectively this season.

Mer

11/15/2017 09:17:47 am

I don't see how Supernatural is ruining Dean at all, actually. And I'm aware we're not just talking about this season (which is only 5 episodes so far). Dean is in the anger stage of grief, Sam is in the denial stage of grief. This was pointedly stated in The Big Empty by a terrible "therapist" who, in siding exclusively with Sam, framed Dean clearly for the audience as a "bad griever" whereas Sam is a "good griever." Now everyone feels vindicated for their sudden hatred of one of the two main characters of the show because of his treatment of the new young woobie - a woobie who openly admitted that he doesn't feel bad about things even though he says he does and knows he should (that's the definition of a sociopath). Grief takes many forms, none of which are wrong unless you're actually becoming physically violent towards another person or yourself or breaking the law. Denial comes before anger. Dean is actually farther through the grief process than Sam is.

Furthermore, by trying to manage Dean's grief (as he did when John died) into something Sam finds more "acceptable," it allows Sam to further distance himself from having to deal with the loss of Mary and Cass. That so many people in the viewing audience seem to be looking at the way Dean is grieving and saying, "Dean unhealthy" vs. the way Sam is dealing with grieving as "Sam healthy" is absolutely baffling to me, and makes me wonder if anyone who is criticizing Dean has ever themselves gone through a profound loss (such as of a parent, spouse, or child) or had anyone close to them go through a profound loss. Sam is not unwillingly shoving away his own feelings in order to make Dean feel better. He is embracing this role because it allows him to continue in his state of denial and just not have to deal with anything. This is not healthy either, but this is how Sam has been shown to cope repeatedly over the course of the series. He deals with grief by managing how Dean deals with grief, which allows him to not ever have to actually process any pain - he can just bury it. He undoubtedly eats as healthy as he does so as not to inflame his multiple ulcers.

For all of his talk about how Dean doesn't open up about how he's feeling, Sam is the one that locks things away and figures if he doesn't deal with it ever, eventually it will just go away without him ever having to deal with the hurt. You can tell Sam went to college and Dean didn't because Sam deals with grief in an intellectual manner - rationalization, denial, playing therapist to his brother, etc., and believes this is the "enlightened" way to deal with grief and trauma - whereas Dean deals with grief in a practical manner - finding something to fix, setting up protective barriers, lashing out when he feels his boundaries have been crossed, etc., which is to Sam (and many in the viewing audience, it seems) an "unenlightened" way to deal with grief and trauma. Neither way is wrong; it's just different.

Sam's actions are also indicative of how the boys have always chosen to show their love for the other. Dean physically cares for Sam - makes him food, asks how he's physically feeling, tells him to sit things out when he's afraid it will make Sam sicker. Sam emotionally cares for Dean - asks how he's doing mentally, tries to cheer him up even when it makes his skin crawl, spends an enormous amount of energy worrying over Dean's mental state. This is so clearly established that even Castiel has picked up on it - making both the boys sandwiches, trying to acquire pie, and frequently asking both "how they're doing". Cass has learned that these actions are how you show you care for your family from observing it so often between the Winchesters. Seeing this play out in a big way this season isn't destroying Dean or forsaking Sam.

I hope later in the season the writers explore how Sam is feeling, but Sam himself won't be forced to deal with anything as long as he has something external he can redirect his energies to in order to avoid dealing with trauma (and he's got a backlog of trauma). I hope at some point in the season Sam does try to open the rift to get Mary back and Dean stops him (because Billie said it was a no-no) and everything Sam is burying just comes spilling out like emotional vomit, because he has clearly expressed that he wants a relationship with their Mom and for Dean to try to stop him will feel like a deep betrayal. I expect that when Jack vanishes, there will be a huge focus on Sam and his emotions, because he's the one who's bonding with the kid, he will feel that he has failed, and everyone who's currently griping about Dean's character assassination will be griping that Dean doesn't get to emote anymore, that suddenly it's all about Sam.

Bottom line, the reviewer is absolutely allowed to have an opinion on how Dean and Sam are being presented this season, but if you want to see some real character assassination, head on over to TWD. At least the characters on SPN still hav

Nicole

11/15/2017 08:30:29 pm

Thank you for the article, to me this isn’t an unpopular opinion and FYI we’re only 5 episodes into s13, each brother is grieving differently and the character development for Sam and Dean I’m absolutely loving because the writers are making huge strides with them.

In all honesty I disagree with some saying the writers haven’t watched old seasons of SPN, which I’m sure they have, but you also have to understand they have new writers that are going to give characters a new flow which is great especially with the character development. And so far I’ve had NO issues with were the brothers are heading.

Again I’m loving the changes between the brothers as individuals. Both brothers are Allowed to grieve. It may seem that Sam’s emotions have been put on the back burner, but we are getting glimpses as to what Sam’s next plotlines will be, but again it’s still to early to tell what will happen especially if it involves Jack and Dean wanting Sam to keep the faith for both of the brothers.

The brothers have made SO many promises/deals that winded up being really horrible or they’ve lied until the very last moment. Also going back to Sam emotions being put off, Sam went to college he had that opportunity to figure himself out and “grow up” in a sense. Meanwhile, Dean did not all he was able to do was watch out for Sam since he was 4 and hunt with that in mind Dean is definitely more mentally unstable than Sam and when his brother left and then eventually John he grieved and was stuck with his co-dependency issues that he wasn’t able to shake off. Again, don’t think that I don’t want Sam to grieve because he absolutely It’s just with his college background he’s has a better grip on his emotions.

11/15/2017 08:41:43 pm

I also agree with MER’s comment above, yes I did say in my comment that Sam went college and had a better grip on his emotions well that is true but just like MER said Sam does clamp up too not as much as Dean since Dean does always check to see how Sam is doing overall.

But again, I agree That we will see more of Sam’s emotions coming out, especially when Jack disappears since he did bond with him and will probably feel responsible for not watching out for him better.

Unpopular Opinion: 'Supernatural' Is Ruining Dean Winchester At The Expense of Sam

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Unpopular Opinion: 'Supernatural' Is Ruining Dean Winchester At The Expense of Sam

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