Sam and Dean and The Winchester Formula: Survival, Posttraumatic Growth and Heroism Under Supernatural Circumstances
A hero is the one who does what he can. The others don’t.
Romain Rolland
Two independent, gutsy, at times goofy guys in a gorgeous classic car, some of the best rock music ever written, constantly blaring from the radio, a new town each day, all across the country – the epitome of the all American road trip.
Now, let me try this: two interdependent, damaged, albeit still functioning young men in an often absent father’s car, inner voices of guilt, fear and invalidation incessantly at work, seeking some kind of redemption by fighting evil as they go – the poster image of a ‘how-to-survive-under-the-most-traumatic-of-circumstances’ guidebook.
Both statements are true.
But there is more to it.
From the beginning of Supernatural, and even more as we have been taken further into the Winchester story, I couldn’t help but wonder: How do they survive? How do they manage to keep their sanity? As insane as some of their actions might seem, considering their psychophysical state within clinical standards, they do not show signs of – what a layman might call – insanity.
However – Sam and Dean Winchester experience one traumatic event after another, from early childhood on and even more these days as we follow their footsteps on a weekly basis to a more than ever uncertain future. The black and white days of the first episodes are long over, which adds to the fascination of the show, but also makes their journey a more intricate one. By the end of the fifth season the fate of the whole planet rested on their shoulders.
With what we know about their lives it’s been a sustained source of amazement to me how they didn’t end up with any mental condition leading straight to a rubber room (well, of course, as we have seen in Sam, Interrupted, all they would have to do is tell a shrink the truth – hello, cuckoo’s nest). You see, I watch the show with a fan’s enthusiasm, but every once in a while I can’t help it: the academic part of my persona wants to take a look, too, and I’d like to find out what makes the Winchesters tick, and even more so – what helps them survive?
Are they simply heroes that are able to hold out no matter what? Of course not. They are human to their core. They are insecure, they succeed, they fail big time and carry experiences with them some people might not even tell their therapist. Now, how is it possible that they are still standing, after all we’ve seen them go through?
Clinical psychologists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists speak of traumatic or posttraumatic growth. What does this term denote? Posttraumatic growth happens with the attempt to adapt to highly negative circumstances that might most likely engender high level psychological distress, such as fighting demons, ghosts and other supernatural riff-raff on a daily basis, learning of your father or your brother selling their souls for your benefit, losing your girlfriend, losing your mother, finding out that you are some super-demon’s favourite kid to bring on the Apocalypse (with – supposedly – Heavenly consent, and, furthermore, Lucifer’s preferred ride), torturing souls in hell and then finding out you actually jumpstarted the end of the world, because you were not the man your dad was, and that you are intended to be some archangel’s condom… And so on.
We usually don’t find posttraumatic growth as a direct result of trauma. It is rather the individual’s struggle with the new reality in the aftermath of what happened. It has been likened to the mythical phoenix rising from the ashes – the capability of finding a new beginning in life and awakening abilities that were dormant before.
It is in fact an old concept to be found in early teachings of the ancient Greeks, Hebrews, Christians, Buddhists – the potentially transformative power of suffering.
And that, I believe, is one possible answer.
Other aspects, such as psychological resilience, personal resources and stable relationships serve as protective factors to prevent the descent of a person’s soul into the deep pit of posttraumatic stress.
In real life (in my line of work) I’ve met people that have lived through the most horrendous hell imaginable and emerged not unscathed, but sometimes with dignity and new strength. Not every person is capable of that. The Winchester brothers seem to be made of that kind of substance.
We are dealing with young warriors here. It’s safe to assume that from the moment they could wobble on their little infant feet John undoubtedly taught them how to hold a gun or a knife, to be able to defend themselves in one way or another, preparing his sons to be ready. And they are.
When you see them in a fight, their moves are instinctive, their bodies react to danger in a way you almost want to call precognitive, as they are fast, precise and imaginative. They are a unique team, formed in endless hours of sparring and weapons training – and experience in the paranormal field. Even after months apart and under the influence of anger, sadness or desperation the routines kick in.
For Dean, from early on, it has been a calling to follow dad’s footsteps, and he found a tremendous amount of gratification in trying to be like John, doing his father’s bidding, ‘saving people, hunting things’. Before John went missing, and the brothers embarked on their perilous journey to find and save him, Dean did hardly ever consciously question his life. He seemed to actually love it. Dean loved the adrenaline rush, the flair he found there and the self-esteem it gave him. He was able to tackle creatures other people would not even dare to suffer in their worst nightmares.
That gave him satisfaction. He needed that – because apart from that his life was one-dimensional and, in terms of emotional attachment, rather lonely.
He never had a relationship with a girl that would have outlasted a few weeks. He hardly ever had any relationship outside of his family, that is: his younger brother and his father. His whole universe focused on the one job he considered the most important, taking care of his baby brother: ‘I always tried to protect you, keep you safe. … This was always my responsibility, you know. It’s like I had one job.’
Being able to do that well gave Dean stability. He experienced a huge amount of self-efficiency. He was the one who kept the family together, when dad was out, hunting, and Sam didn’t understand. He protected both. He defended dad, explaining to Sam to the best of his abilities why John had to leave them and consoled his brother when he was desolate with missing dad. And he served without doubt as a buffer in the fights Sam and John had.
After losing his mother, in the years after Dean found a way to strengthen the most important asset in his young life: the close relationship with his brother. Without that, I’m sure, Dean would have not survived this long. He would not have endured decades of infernal torture and not mustered up defiance against the angels’ plan for him. Had he not been able to hold on to the strongest resource in his life, his brother and the love he had for him, Dean probably would have said yes and, for sure, would not have gone along with Sam’s reckless plan to overcome Lucifer, and in fact, he almost failed before he reminded himself of not wanting to let Sam down.
Sam, on the other hand, always felt different, and he tried his best to fit in his family. Since John was frequently absent on a job young Sam didn’t know much about, he found his strongest connection in the Winchester clan with his older brother. ‘I’ve been looking up to you since I was four, Dean. Studying you, trying to be just like my big brother.’ But even that was not enough, as Sam never felt right there. He didn’t see himself in a life as a hunter. Being blessed (or cursed – I guess it has both sides) with an academic mind, he wanted to achieve something else, probably from his point of view something better, and become a lawyer. There he would also be helping people, but within a normal life.
Very thought provoking Jas. So well written. One of your finest. Didn’t have a chance recently to comment on all your articles, but loved each one. Thanks for sharing!
I loved this article so very much. I actually laughed out loud when I read about Rambo and thought of how ridiculous that character development was to me. This article really did remind me of how much of a tragedy the Winchester’s lives have been and how they are made heroes from it. I love this show because of the brothers and the lives they lead. Thanks a lot for writing this!
Great article, Jas! The brothers’ determination to continue and to do whatever it takes to keep others safe is, I think, a key to their psychological survival under stress. Whatever his flaws as a father, John served them well by giving them a mission to save others and the training to be able to do it.
Thank you Jas, for this insightful psychological analysis of our heroes.
I can’t help but feel sorry that the brothers I met in season one have changed so much. I loved those guys. Loved Dean’s cheeky smartass horny ways and Sam’s sense of morality and protectiveness towards the victims they encountered and the snark, bitch, jerk exchanges between them signifying the love that was front and centre even though a no-no to be expressed.
I still love them though and will continue to no matter what changes them, as I’m sure something will next season.
No matter the monsters, demons or angels, it is always the brothers that hold me hostage to this series and will till the bitter end. (hope it won’t really end bitter though). 😕
Jasminka, I bow to you. To look at Sam and Dean through the eyes of a professional is fascinating. Wow!
From late season 3 I’ve been thinking ‘How have these guys not just given up yet?’ Buttloads of crap have been flung at them, day in day out, since they were kids, crap that lesser men would have gladly succumbed to years ago.
Before I read your professional diagnosis, I’d have always thought Sam and Dean were poster boys for depression. No self esteem, no say in their own futures, one traumatic event after another, not caring if they lived or died. In ‘The Curious Case of Dean Winchester’, we learnt just how nonchalant they are towards their own demise when they freely accepted they won’t make it to old age, ‘…like either of us is going to live that long’. It wasn’t said to get a laugh; it was a statement of fact, a long accepted truth between them. Anticipating that each day could be your last, that would send even the most well adjusted person into a funk.
The Song Remains the Same shows another hugely poignant moment which highlights just how low the boys consider themselves; when Sam and Dean accepted, and were even excited about, the thought of not being born. ‘We’re okay with that, believe me’. Acknowledging that the world would have been a better place had they (especially Sam) never existed?? It would take some man to take strength from that!
The facade of the boys (Dean especially) is Oscar worthy. Which is the true Dean? The confident, cocky guy with the devil may care attitude or the guy in Croatoan where his mask crumbled and we learned he would willingly die with Sam, because he was ‘tired of it all’. Having to show a consistently confident face to give others strength has got to be crippling.
I guess the main problem with destiny is that it strips you of hope. Best intentions count for nothing. What’s the point in having hope when every decision you make is negated by the stars (or the angels/demons). Think of Cold Oak; Sam knew the stakes if he ‘won’ so he choose not to (knowing it would probably mean his death) because he hoped to escape his destiny. However, despite the fact he died, he was still the last man standing. What was the point in even trying, it didn’t change anything.
What about when everything is over, will there be reason for hope then? What will Sam and Deans life be like should they survive THIS mission? Long term relationships, jobs, families, a white picket fence life, is any of this on the cards? I can’t see either guy having kids for fear of THEM being possible future vessels. I especially can’t see Sam having kids for fear of passing on the demon blood. Sam and Dean are too honourable to consider passing on the Winchester family ‘curse’. (And if Ben, by some scriptwriting brain freeze, turns out to be Dean’s biological son, then I kid you not SPN writers, there is nothing on earth that will protect you from the Tim!)
If every man has a breaking point, the Winchester boys must be some men to have not reached theirs yet. What enabled them to carry on? What prevented them from just saying ‘That’s it, I’m done, it’s over’ and ending it all. God knows, they’ve had ample reasons to over the years. Inner fortitude, resilience, growth, definitely but how long before it gets to be too much? What happens when their inner strength isn’t enough, what keeps them going?
Maybe because they faced death so often they knew that life, no matter how hard or insignificant it was, was still LIFE. Possibly the fact that they knew what they would face in the afterlife was a factor but for the most part I think it was the fear of letting each other down. It’s the reason why Dean didn’t say yes to Michael, and why Sam did say yes to Lucifer.
After Sam fell, all Dean wanted was to lie down and die (a prophet said it, it must be true) but he didn’t and now he is now merely existing from day to day, not truly living. Dean is a walking shadow of the man he could, and should be but he won’t give up because that would mean letting his brother down. Ditto for Sam when Dean died.
Like Jasminka said, Sam and Dean are each other’s weak spots; but they are also each others hope and that’s more than enough reason for these wayward sons to carry on.
Sablegreen, Darun Zahn, Mary, Bevie and Tim, I am humbled by your comments, thank you!
Sablegreen, I was working some time on this one, and I am happy that you liked it (and the others). Thanks so much, dear!
Darun Zahn, yes, indeed, I also always found Rambo quite ridiculous. But with Supernatural we find an utterly different quality, and we have every right to be proud of that show for it…
Mary, how great to hear your Bardicvoice again, it is always highly appreciated! Yes, John did a lot for the boys, and I felt the need to stress that here, too, even though I still want to slap him…
Bevie, when you love someone, be it a real person or a fictional character (and the ones here are so brilliantly depicted that we might think of them as real), you love all about them, don’t you? Their flaws and their bright halos. And I am sure, we will continue to do so from now on – I’m right there with you, I hope the end will not be too bitter… but a happy ending would also not fit, to my mind, ah, dang, we’ll just have to leave it to the writers, sniff…
Enchanting Tim, thank you for your thoughts! Just as you I have seen depression written all over their faces, and I believe both have been depressed to some degree (indeed, who wouldn’t), and they somehow still managed functioning (not always in favour of themselves…).
I think what keeps them going is in part their own aspiration and claim to do good, to save others, even at the highest price, not only hope (because they lost that a considerable amount of times, before regaining it). That became an internalized order at a very early age in their lives. But they have changed in some ways.
Perhaps we will experience their breaking point in the season to come. Hopefully not. Personally, I have thought I had reached my own breaking point a few times in my life, but had kept going for various reasons only to discover that it had not been actually a breaking point.
It might just be a very subjective thing altogether. Sometimes, if we just go on, we find our strength. The Winchesters have been doing so for a long time.
I haven’t delved into the guys’ psyche for a while now and I am happy that you liked this (If you’re interested, Tim, check out some other article I wrote about that).
Folks, thank you so much for commenting! It always moves me to hear what you think and when you like it – ha, happy dance.. :-). Jas
LOVED the article.
LOVE this site, the writing team, the people who comment, Alice……Everyone.
Diane, thank you, thank you, thank you :D! Haven’t heard of you in a while. Great to have you back! Cheers, Jas
Hi Jasminka. Ok, please don’t take offense at this cos I’m only messing about but I was looking at the factors listed re: resilience and I kinda thought about them from an Irish POV (i.e. f**ked up!). Just wondering how they apply to the boys. If nothing else, it shows just how insanely surreal the show is…
1. Maintaining good relationships with close family members, friends, and others – Ok, that one they have down, apart from the choosing demons, promising to hunt each other down and beating the crap out of each other aspect of their relationship
2. Avoid seeing crises or stressful events as unbearable problems – Would the apocalypse be considered a stressful or unbearable problem? Bet they wish they could avoid that one…
3. Accept circumstances that cannot be changed – Dean, accept his destiny?? No way, Jose. The Dean doesn’t DO destiny.
4. Develop realistic goals and move towards them – Ok, goals. Um…. Stop apocalypse. Put Lucifer back in cage. Defeat archangel. Yeah, that’s realistic.
5. Take decisive actions in adverse situations – Jump. Pit. Eternity. Torture. Hell. That’s both decisive AND adverse. Good stuff, boys.
6. Look for opportunities of self-discovery after struggle with loss – Um, yeah, I got nothin’…..
7. Develop self-confidence – Ha ha haaaaaa. The Winchesters! Self confident! Man, that’s funny (wipes away tears of laughter).
8. Keep a long-term perspective and consider the stressful even in a broader context – Long term perspective as in which is worse, demon army leader or Apocalypse starter? Plus, it’s the freaking Apocalypse; it doesn’t GET any broader than that!!
9. Maintain a hopeful outlook – See point 7. Add extra ha.
10. Take care of your mind and body (exercise, pay attention to your needs and feelings, relax) – Ah yes, the rarely mentioned food group; burgers, beer and M&Ms. Also, you won’t find sex listed as a cardio workout on ANY gym programme so it’s NOT exercise (Dean, take note). However, with the magic fingers bed, he does seem to be relaxing plenty.
11. Learn from the past –Well, drinking demon blood, selling your soul, becoming an angel condom and jumpstarting the Apocalypse ARE mistakes you make only once….
12. Maintain flexibility in life – The boys. Flexible?!? Tim, get your mind out of the gutter!! Damn, too late…
Dr. Tims professional (titter!) diagnosis: these boys are about as resilient as a chocolate fireguard…
Enchanting Tim, no offence taken, don’t worry. Is it a typical Irish thing to mess around?! ( ;-))
(by the way – just thought of one of my fave quotes by an Irishman made in the series ‘Sharpe’ – perhaps you have watched it? When Sharpe, Yorkshire officer and his trusty Irish adjutant Pat visit his home, Sharpe asks: ‘Well, Pat, what do you think about Yorkshire?’ Pat goes in his lovely Irish tongue:’ah, they have an awful way of massacring the English language’ Love that!
Sorry, back to your post – not agreeing in all points (you knew that, eh? :-))
So here’s my thought on those points:
1.maintaining good relationships et al:
agree, of course. They managed to find those good relations again, despite the differences that occured. forgiveness.
2.Avoid seeing crises of stressful events as unbearable problems:
to my mind this means not to avoid events, but to change perspective – see a perhaps unbearable problem as something that can be mastered. The guys did that numerous times, don#t you think?
3.Accept circumstances that cannot be changed
Agree that Dean ‘don’t do destiny’, but both accepted that soome circumstances couldn’t be changed – like the death of John, Sam drinking blood to contain the devil, Dean going to hell because he made a deal, etc.
4. Develop realistic goals and move towards them:
Well, dear, in the world of Supernatural, I guess that was realistic…
5.Take decisive actions in adverse situations:
no further comment necessary. 🙂
6.Look for opportunities of self-discovery after struggle with loss:
after losing Dean, Sam probably discovered about himself how far he actually was willing to go (even after denying it to Dean in NoRestForTheWicked); Dean learned about himself that he actually could trust Sam enough to follow his plan after not trusting him for almost the whole fifth season, etc
7.Develop self-confidence:
tough, but some they found some – Dean ‘grew up’ and followed Sam’s lead, Sam trusted his instincts enough to let Dean leave Bobby’s panic room, that is at least some palpable confidence.
8.Keep a long-term perspective and consider the stressful in a broader context:
as in ‘we need to do this for the greater good’, paying the price for that has somehow always been the Winchester way, eh?
9:Maintain a hopeful outlook:
okay, I admit, this one is twisted, indeed. But would they have got into that fight at all without even a hint of hope? Sam had a lot of that during season 5 before nearly losing it again, Dean didn’t want to let Sam down with saying yes to Michael – if he hadn’t had any hope, he probably wouldn’t have gone that way…
10:Take care of your mind and body:
Well, the guys need to heed that one more, of course. I do assume, however, to remain as fit and ready as they are, that they do some training off-screen. They fight like people who do that every day. You need exercise for that.
They should work on their diet, though. A bit more meat for Sam, I guess, and a bit less bacon cheeseburgers for Dean.
11: Learn from the past
well said, Tim. They actually learn from the past, but perhaps should invest more time in that (come to my couch, boys, I’d be ready to help :D)
12: Maintain flexibility in life
of course, flexible, Tim, and not only horizontally… is there anything more flexible than adjusting to a new environment almost every day, to a new kind of enemy all the time, to another slap in the face by fate and still remain standing… puh, I call that flexible…
So, dear, these boys are resilient, because they are not made of chocolate (though being as sweet).
Cheers, Jas
Ooooh feck. Jas, I wasn’t actually being serious with what I posted above (lodging feet firmly in mouth IS an Irish thing, unfortunately). Seriously, I’d be worried if anyone agreed with ANYTHING I said. And I’m really, really sorry if you felt you had to defend the points made. You definitely don’t need to cos what you said, both times, was spot on.
I was only looking at it in a whimsical kind of way i.e. if SPN did spoofs or if The Simpsons got a hold of the show. I completely agree with you re. the boys resilience and growth since Season 1. Like I said, lesser men would have crumbled years ago but the boys keep bouncing back. Anyway, you couldn’t be made of chocolate and survive in hell and both these guys did that so that pretty much negates my entire post!
Memo to self: Irish humour, like its Guinness, does not travel well. Seriously though, Jasminka, I was wrong (and pretty tactless) to make light of things (feels lower than that stupid maggot in the worms bum now). I’ll send you a basket of chocolate chip muffin by means of apology…
Jas,
Another stellar piece from you, my friend!
SPN has shown an ability to deal with and have the characters deal with and yes, grow — hopefully wiser –from what they’ve endured. That Dean dealt so openly with John’s death (or dealt with it so badly, could go that way as well, easily 🙂 ) makes sense as John was his focal point, his leader. That Sam spent most of Season 1 crushed by Jess’ death shows that he was experiencing the loss of not only the woman he loved but what came with her…that apple pie life.
Over the seasons we’ve seen Dean almost reject John and I find that natural in that he’s breaking out of that role he so rigidly kept himself in ‘dutiful son’ and sometimes in the breaking out of something it comes with some element of violence…or anger (Dead-beat dad)
For Sam his focus more and more on the hunt and being a hunter similarly makes sense to me as he sees (and in Season 5 really saw) how intertwined his life is in the supernatural and that perhaps the best way to get along is to embrace that life-long mission.
I also agree that I’m glad Dean didn’t just pick himself up and go back to the Dean of S1 and even S2 after Hell…forty years in hell, he almost forgot about the Impala, makes sense that it would take him time (and frankly he handled it really, really well in Season 5).
For Sam, sure he spent most of Season 5 trying to refind his way but since he spent most of Season 4 losing his way it also makes sense that he doesn’t just turn 180 and get back to basics, events take time to ‘get over’ and hopefully they do change a person.
This was a great article, I love it when you mix your profession with SPN. Gives insight into the show (as well as you) and makes me even more secure in the hands of the writers for what they do.
Thanks for writing
Enchanting Tim and Elle2, hello ladies!
Tim, you most enchanting Irish lass, ha, I got you back, eh? Hey, I thought I’d play along and take on the role of advocatus diaboli… I know from what you’ve written before in other comments that you love the show, don’t worry. Perhaps it was my intention that didn’t carry that well… ahem (*cringes blushingly* note to self (taking your example): never mix British, Balkan and German humour, doesn’t work)…:o
No apology needed, you were not tactless at all, dear (I wouldn’t mind the chocolate chip muffins, though – you hardly get any good ones here), and I’ll drink a Guiness tonight when I get home in your honour (I love that beer, actually, and Kilkenny… it does travel well, at least with me)…
If we can’t make light of these things, we are definitely taking the show too seriously… let’s see…
The children of Israel wanted bread and the Lord sent them manna,
Dean wanted to save the world and the devil sent him Anna….
There once was a young man named Sam
Who was not an innocent lamb
His thoughts got all bloody
Resentful and muddy
That pissed the fans off, oh damn!
:-)Joke on, Tim, no worries!
Elle2, too much praise, dear friend! Isn’t it wonderful to be able to feel secure in regard to what the writers do? The storyline is so well developped and thought through that I have the highest respect for the continuity they manage to maintain.
I am very curious where the upcoming season will take the characters that have become such an integral part of our lives that we can discuss them, for the sake of debate, as it they were real people…
Thank you so much for commenting! Three cheers, Jas
This was a wonderful article Jas, I love it when you go all professional on us and analyse our boys , and God knows if there were ever two heads that are in need of analasis would it not be these two ?
I hope anyone who still does not like the fact that they are not the boys from Season one will read this and understand just how unrealistic it would be if they were. Yes, we loved those boys but do we not also love the men they have now grown into flaws and all, in fact now more so because of those flaws .
Cant wait for Season Six but I do have a feeling they are going to again need your services and we will have to squeeze up to make room on the famous couch, Thanks for all the hard work (even if it is a labour of love ) Ju
That Cassie from Route 666 WILL be back next season! Unfinished business ya’ll!!
Jas as usual I love your professional insight into things.
I am one of those who loved the boys of season one and love to go back and watch them again but I wouldn’t want those boys to show up in season 6 again. Since they are men now. They know a lot more than they did 5 years ago, went through a lot and in reality no person who went through some traumatic stuff will ever be like the person they were before that happened. I love it how the writters except that fact and make our guys look more real than the leads on so many other more popular shows.
Have to add I was utterly shocked at one point.
Jas you watched Rambo? Never thought you were up to something like that.
Keep up the good work and keep letting us see the psych explanitions behind it all. I just love that.
By the way let me know once those choclate chip muffins get here. I will organize the Kilkenny
Julie, Dany, I say, and Yirabah, you read this, wow, thank you!
Julie, there is always room on my couch for you and I’ll be most happy to provide more room when the new season sends us into emotionals whirls again and again. Thanks so much for your recognition, dear friend.
Dany, I’m right there with you with what you say about love – you take the good with the bad, of course. I remember Peter Ustinov (whom I hugely admired, as you know) once saying: ‘We admire people for their accomplishments, but we love them for their flaws’ (or something like that). How true. Thanks for enjoying it so much when I venture into our ‘boys’ psyche, sweetie.
I say – oh, no, please, ye gods… not Cassie! Or at least another actress. Unfortunately that lady was not exactly the most competent actress…
Yirabah, the development we’ve seen the writers give to our beloved characters is indeed phenomenal.
Oh, I didn’t mean to shock you, dear – yes, I watched Rambo years ago (actually on vacation once out of boredom, and those were the only films in the movie theatre) and I found it ridiculous, wanting and poorly acted, the first one did have some substance, but then, ah…I know there are people out there who love it. I could never muster that up.
And, don’t worry, there’ll be more articles like this coming in the future. I’m happy that you like them.
KIlkenny? Sounds good.
Love Jas
Much too late to the party to add anything that hasn’t already been said, so I’ll simply add to my continued praise of your therapeutic genius.
P.S. Rambo’s gonna be coming for you. 😀
Hi Jasminka
This was a wonderful read.
I always wondered how these two ever got out of bed each day after everything they have gone through. I guess that’s what makes them hero’s.
I have to agree that it would have been very unrealistic for them not to of had the brothers change over the years, not to of shown the impact of what their lives have done to them, not to of had them grow up to being men.
However I have to admit I miss the boys we met 5 years ago, the banter, the light heartedness and the Bitch/Jerk moments. I hope deep down that eventually some of this magic between them will return to them in season 6.
Thanks again Jas for sharing this.
Mmmmmmmm Guinness……Kilkenny, suddenly I’m thirsty.
Randal and Karen, thanks so much for commenting, dear fellow writers…
Randal, I am humbled, thank you! And – not afraid of that botoxed guy in jungle-wear 😉
Karen, you know, truth be told, I do miss those bitch/jerk moments, too. And I believe that is still possible, even after the guys have changed. Humour is, after all, a great way of coping with difficulties. Even if it is a black, wry one.
Come on, Tim, get these choc muffins hither, let’s break out some Irish beer and celebrate that we’ll soon be able to watch the next exploits of our heroes! Yey!
:-), Jas
They’re on the way. Just had a wee bit of trouble getting them into the letterbox. And as for getting the stamps to stay on them!! I sent them to ‘Jasminka, c/o TWFB, Someplace in America (probably)’. That’ll get to you, right?
Anyway, why am I celebrating? Season 6 hasn’t even been announced for Ireland yet. ANNOUNCED!! Oh God, I bet they won’t show it!!. They’ll put on another bloody procedural cop show or season 87 of Grey’s Anatomy or some programme about farming. I won’t be able to see it until it comes out on DVD at the end of 2011. Oh God. Oh God….
Great article Jas, as always. Sam and Dean are truly remarkable men (characters). Despite everything they have been through, John did something right in raising them because they are always willing and able to put other people before themselves. Their one true mantra is what Dean told Sam in Wendigo, way in the beginning. When Sam asks Dean how he does it, how does John do it and Dean points over to Hailey and her brother and Dean says “For them” As screwed up as their lives were, helping others was the one thing that helped make it bearable. Dean even repeated it in ’99 Problems’ to Cas when Cas asked him how he does it – deal with the disappointment and Dean responds, “on a good day I get to kill a whore.” However depressed he is and mired in his own hell, Dean still is thinking about helping others, stopping evil and believing that he can somehow make a difference.
Many people would not feel that way or even act that way. Many times we tend to whine about our lives and muddle in our pathetic situations and not think about helping others. This was never the Winchester way and indeed it is something to look up to.
Ditto to what is said above. Except the return of Cassie bit.
Well written and insightful and all around enjoyable to read Jas. Thanks again!
Tim, Evelyn and Yvonne, sorry I’m a bit late with answering your comments, ladies!
enchanting Tim, I live just across some water in continental Europe, so if you sent it to the US the muffins won’t be food anymore, but Darwinism… Don’t worry, we’ll provide you with links to watch it online..
Evelyn, I agree that many people would not think like Dean, but – and there is hope – some do, which proves that human beings can be heroes, sometimes at least, but mostly at a high price.
Yvonne, cheers to you!
THank you so much for raising your heads, Love Jas
Jas, you never disappoint with your wonderful articles! I’ve often wondered how the guys could survive mentally & emotionally all that they have endured, but people face horrible experiences all over the world every day, & still they go on. I guess that is the strength of the human spirit. I am biased in thinking our boys are extra special for all they’ve been through, & it is the fact that they have changed & grown in character in response to the events throughout their lives that keeps me so devoted to the show. I too miss the Season 1 boys, but I would be disappointed if the writers kept their characters the same 5 years later. Here’s to a great Season 6!
BagginsDVM, I join you in your toast to season six. I am as curious as you are what our Winchesters will experience, and let’s hope they’ll continue growing. Well, with what we’ve seen them endure and survive so far, I hope their strength will serve them.
Thank you so much, Dawn, for your sweet comment, love Jas
Sorry I got so behind, but I was just able to read this. It’s fabulous! Like a lot of commenters have said, I love it when we get your professional opinion about Sam and Dean’s psyches. It’s so interesting to hear about them from a professional point of view instead of my woefully inadequate attempts to figure out just what the heck is going on with them. So thanks so much for taking the time to write these up for us because they’re super valuable!