A Tribute to Bobby Singer – Part 3: Enriching Bobby’s Character

Possessed! Bobby

Bobby’s increased screen time in seasons 5 through 7 gave the writers the freedom to experiment with his character. Fans were rewarded with some interesting and dynamic changes. The first expansion of Bobby’s roles occurred immediately at the outset of season 5, when Meg orchestrated Bobby’s possession to get close to Dean.  Although not a new concept in the story line, possession had previously only been a danger to the brothers, who projected a much higher profile in the battle against evil. Bobby’s increased role as both a front line hunter and an indispensable ally to Sam and Dean elevated his exposure to supernatural threats, however.

Season 6 had Bobby “possessed” by a Khan Worm in “…And Then There Were None” (6.16). Then almost humorously, Bobby was cloned by a Leviathan in season 7’s “Slash Fiction.” 

All of these character changes gave Jim Beaver an opportunity to explore different aspects of Bobby, just as Jensen was able to experiment with talking to himself in a dream state or in the future; or as Possessed!Sam and Soulless!Sam gave Jared a chance to play different versions of Sam. These roles also allowed Jim to shoulder more of the dialog and gave Bobby an expanded presence in story lines.

Romantic Bobby

Although Bobby’s earlier marriage had been mentioned, he had never really been portrayed as a romantic ladies’ man. The later seasons introduced this new side of Bobby, allowing more interaction between him and some interesting female characters. Appropriately, Bobby is first shown cleaning up for his wife, Karen (albeit when she is a zombie!).
 

In season 6 (6.12 and 6.21), a prior object of his affection, Dr. Eleanor Visyak, plays a pivotal role in the Purgatory myth arc (again proving the importance of Bobby’s character in expanding mythology and story lines with his history). Then an alternate time line tantalized fans by showing Bobby happily married to Ellen. Besides showing a life lost due to Ellen’s sacrifice for hunting, it also gave Samantha Ferris a chance to reprise a great character.

Lastly, in what might have had a flicker of hope for the future, Sherriff Jody Mills surprised Bobby with her offer to clean house and her accidental discovery of a weapon against Leviathans, but he had the last word!

Bobby as a Leading Man

Given all of the ways that Bobby’s character had been expanded, the logical next step was to give him the leading role in several episodes. “Weekend at Bobby’s” (6.04) was a brilliant culmination of everything that had been building into Bobby’s character in the prior seasons: 

• Researcher – Providing critical information on a Lamia for Sam and Dean; 
• Hunter – Killing a demon, summoning a ghost, burying then tracking and killing an Okami,  answering his phone bank for other hunters, and outwitting Crowley for the return of Bobby’s soul;
• Hunting History – Helping his old hunting partner Rufus;
• Ladies Man – Being the object of attentions from his neighbor Marcy; 
• Father Figure – His priceless, epic tirade to Sam and Dean about being the “taken for granted parent” that they ran to for help

6.04

Bobby:   “Sam, Dean, I love you like my own. I do. But sometimes you two are the whiniest, most self-absorbed sons of bitches I ever met. I’m selfish? Me? I do everything for you. Everything! You need some lore scrounged up, you need your asses pulled out of the fire, you need someone to bitch to about each other, you call me and I come through every damn time! And what do I get for it? Jack! With a side of squat!” 

Dean:   “Bobby – 

Bobby:     “Do I sound like I’m done? Now look, I know you’ve got issues. God knows, I know. But I got a news flash for you: you ain’t the center of the universe. Now, it may have slipped your mind, but Crowley owns my soul, and the meter is running, and I will be damned if I am gonna sit around and be damned! So how about you two sack up and help me for once?”

Appropriately, at the end of this episode the leading man is shown trying to enjoy his just desserts. In Bobby’s case, it happens to be peach cobbler instead of pie (who could we be thinking of??), but it will have to do!

In season 7, Bobby was also showcased as the leading man of a story.  The episode, “Death’s Door” (7.10) gave audiences more insight into Bobby’s life than perhaps all of his prior episodes combined. It was a remarkable tribute to the character that had been built, expanded, loved…and lost. 

Killing Bobby 

Okay. The subject can’t be avoided any longer. To the shock and dismay of Supernatural fans everywhere, Bobby was killed off in Season 7. According to published interviews, the idea was to remove all of Sam and Dean’s support systems so that they would be completely and utterly alone facing the Leviathans. One by one, their sanctuaries were taken away from them. The Impala. Their long-standing routines of rock star aliases, road side hotels, and any and all hunting allies, including Bobby. 

Removing Bobby as a safe haven began with the destruction of his home. In a clever play on words, the episode “Hello, Cruel World” (7.02) ended with the vision of Bobby’s house, the only permanent structure the boys had repeatedly retreated to, reduced to smoldering ashes. Besides the impact on the boys’ story, Bobby was now symbolically and literally without a home base. This was perhaps a foreshadowing of his ultimate vulnerability. The next episode showed him briefly retreating to Rufus’ cabin, but he soon began his untethered wanderings to reassemble his library. 7.04 showed him roaming, 7.06 back at the cabin, 7.09 travelling with the boys and staying in an abandoned house to hide from Leviathans. Then in the tradition of so many before him, Bobby was killed by the supernatural epitome of evil that he was hunting. It was shocking. It was painful. Fandom cried along with Sam and Dean. How could Bobby be gone? 

Since this aspect of Bobby’s story upset almost everyone in the Supernatural family, his death didn’t last long.  It might have been in the plan all along, or it might have been sparked by the universal outrage at the lost of a beloved character, but it led to the last aspect of Bobby’s character that was introduced. It wasn’t without precedent, but still it was a little surprising….

Lazarus!Bobby (Bobby as a Ghost)

Although Bobby almost died hunting several times, in 5.22 “Swan Song”, Bobby joined the elite ranks of characters who were thoroughly killed dead then brought back to life.  Without thinking about this too long, up to this point Sam and Dean were the only humans who could previously claim the honor of having their bodies revived. Mary and John also had their spirits revived once their corporeal bodies had died, so there was definitely precedent for Bobby’s return to the story. After Bobby was resurrected the first time, though, his revivals became almost as common as Sam or Dean’s! 

In “And Then There Were None” (6.16) Bobby presumably died by electrocution of the Khan Worm and is resuscitated by Sam and Dean. In “Death’s Door” (7.10) Bobby’s body dies but his spirit starts to attach itself to the brothers almost immediately.  Then in “Party On, Garth” (7.18) Bobby’s ghost finally becomes visible and begins a journey of its own.

Through the next few episodes, Bobby’s ghost becomes vengeful, however, until finally in the climax to season 7, Sam and Dean released Bobby’s spirit from this world. 

So that would be the end of Bobby’s story in anybody’s sane expectation of a plot line. Then, in what has to be a reflection of Bobby’s stature as a truly beloved leading character of the series, his soul accomplished something that had only been done previously by Sam, Dean and John – his body/spirit/soul is rescued from Hell. In his only appearance in season 8, Bobby is found in Hell by Sam in “Taxi Driver” (8.19). 

Bobby is rescued, brought back to Earth and his soul is released to Heaven. 

So Bobby’s journey from a single episode in season 1 to a resurrected character that survived seven years made what appeared to be its final transition. Is it reasonable to assume that this, finally, is the end of Bobby’s storyline?  Will the fans let him go?  Will Sam and Dean? Will the writers? John’s spirit went to Heaven and hasn’t been heard from since, but then again, John wasn’t in 55 episodes before his demise. The only other supporting character that has had that level of impact on the show is Castiel, who ironically, also has been in exactly 55 episodes. As Jim Beaver has said so often, “This is Supernatural.  Anything is possible.” One can only hope…

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I hope you have enjoyed this photographic journey through the character of Bobby Singer. We started with the first picture of Bobby in the series and we ended with the last picture (so far!!). Please share any favorite moments that I might have missed.  Are there special shots of Bobby that weren’t included in the photos? Are there aspects of his character that you perceived that I didn’t mention?  I might do a follow-up article on “Things I Have Learned from Bobby”, but I think I’ll give Bobby a rest for a while. What are your thoughts? I promised that the article would be spoiler free, but I make no promises about the comments, so proceed at your own risk!

This series of articles would not have been possible without the wonderful information found on:

www.homeofthenutty.com

www.supernaturalwiki.com

www.Wikipedia.org

www.imdb.com

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