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.
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 10:16:54 am
THANK YOU !!!!
Reply
Angie Elliott
11/14/2017 10:29:45 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.
Reply
Sara Smith
11/14/2017 01:16:24 pm
So bloody true! Haven't watched any as far as I know.
Reply
Clio
11/15/2017 10:07:54 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.
Reply
Jane
11/14/2017 10:39:46 am
This is not an unpopular opinion and shared by many fans. Thank you for voicing our concerns about the Winchester brothers.
Reply
Minnie
11/14/2017 10:55:00 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.
Reply
Chrissy
11/14/2017 11:29:36 am
I'm so confused how someone with a supposed objective view enough to be writing reviews can miss the point by so much?
Reply
Lelane
11/14/2017 11:57:06 am
Agreed.
Reply
Lori
11/14/2017 03:01:25 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.
Reply
Angie
11/14/2017 06:21:25 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.
Reply
Chrissy
11/14/2017 07:10:25 pm
I never said anything about a ship and Sam is not a threat to ANY possible relationship for Dean - he is his brother.
GABE
11/14/2017 07:27:33 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 02:01:24 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.
Reply
Quin
11/14/2017 11:46:14 am
Yes thank you!! I feel the same way!!!
Reply
Paula
11/14/2017 01:11:13 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.
Reply
Tricia
11/14/2017 01:11:22 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.
Reply
Winchesters
11/14/2017 02:01:54 pm
I'm so sorry !! I know I Shouldn't comment on your reply ,,and It's your opinion !! and I respect that !
Reply
Tricia
11/14/2017 02:25:31 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 :)
meun
1/30/2019 09:22:20 am
thank u.
Reply
Liz
10/30/2020 10:53:12 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.
Reply
Winchesters
11/14/2017 02:46:44 pm
first of all Thank You !! :)
Reply
kerinda
11/14/2017 03:03:10 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.
Reply
Liz
10/30/2020 11:05:48 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.
Reply
melken
11/14/2017 03:13:21 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.
Reply
Arnold H
11/14/2017 03:20:05 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.
Reply
Angie
11/14/2017 06:28:56 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.
Reply
Milla
11/15/2017 06:42:32 am
Thank you, this comment is so spot on.
Reply
Lise
11/14/2017 03:30:28 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."
Reply
Pamela
11/14/2017 04:14:08 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.
Reply
Kay
11/14/2017 05:20:49 pm
Thank you! Completely agree.
Reply
Milla
11/15/2017 06:43:33 am
All of this, great article.
Reply
Art
11/15/2017 10:09:44 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.
Reply
Sissy
11/17/2017 06:45:59 pm
Yes, they are totally communicating more effectively this season.
Reply
Mer
11/15/2017 10:17:47 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.
Reply
Nicole
11/15/2017 09:30:29 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.
Reply
Nicole
11/15/2017 09:41:43 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.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Small Screen GirlI am an unabashed pop culture and TV-aholic with no plans to ever seek treatment. Explore this blog and see just how deep my obsession goes. Categories
All
Archives
June 2021
|