Good or Evil? The Supernatural Question
Is good evil? Is evil good? Is it right to kill when it means you will avert some other disaster?
I believe in moral absolutes. You need to know that because it frames how I write this article; sin is sin, murder is murder, right is right, wrong is wrong. Do I see the world in a black and white way…hmm, that’s a good question. I suppose one of my philosophy professors from years way in the past would be happy that I’m finally taking the time to formulate my own thoughts on that question. Yes, there are black and white, right or wrong choices in the world. It is wrong to kill someone, even when they are threatening your life that’s not to say I wouldn’t do it to save myself, it simply means I choose life over death and in so doing I killed someone else. Call it in self-defense – which it would qualify for in this hypothetical – it is still murder.
So, if I kill someone who is attempting to kill me thus saving my life while taking theirs, am I a bad person? In the eyes of the law it is debatable. Was there some other choice I could have made? Could I have escaped? Could I have only injured that person? I’m sure someone far more adept at debating could come up with more than those options but I’ll stop there. In the end the law might very well exonerate me, however, does that make me any less of a murderer? No. I still took a life, justified or not, I killed.
So, what’s the point of this depressing opening? Ah, glad you asked, I thought a little exploration into whether or not Sam and Dean are murderers would be fun. – yes, I did say discussing murder would be fun, I’ll admit, I’m twisted; who out there is surprised? *crickets chirp madly away*
This idea sparked in my sick little brain while reading a rather passionate series of posts on another site from a fan who was concerned that Sam was now forever to be cast as a murderer and no longer redeemable as a hero because he is presumed to have killed the nurse in Lucifer Rising through drinking all her blood. This person was quite honestly stricken to think that Sam was forever to be a murderer and how could Kripke et al do that to this worthy character.
There’s a lot more thought and coherency that went into that individual’s several posts and debates on the topic, and we traded a few respectful and coherent posts and I’m glad to say that in the end the individual realized that while Sam is incredibly flawed, he is very redeemable. *pats self on back for having saved an individual from the chasm of despair* J
Therefore, with a month left in hellatus (and as I’m starting to write this it is actually August 10th!) I thought I’d explore the many murders that have littered the Supernatural landscape for 82 episodes and see what we’ve learned about Sam and Dean through them. This is not a complete list, simply what my brain remembered whilst typing away. Here we go:
There were lots of killings during Season one, Wendigos, angry spirits, shapeshifter, vampires, do they count as murder? Well, I suppose for the sake of argument angry spirits do not count here simply because they are remnants of a former life. I’ll let the boys off the hook, so to speak, for all those. How about the Wendigo though and the shapeshifter, sure they’re creatures but they were alive, same thing goes for the vampires. While Gordon would relegate them as monsters and thus stuff them into the category of be killed before they kill, there should be some pause given to the fact that these were live beings that were killed; sure the boys were in danger and/or they were rescuing someone else in danger or they were preventing future danger – point is, there was life and then there was not.
However, if I try to wrap my feeble brain around all the life in the supernatural realm, I’ll get tangled up in my own bedclothes and never get this thing done – and never mind coherency – so, I’ll focus on humans. How many humans were killed – by the boys – during the seasons and when was the first one? I’m pretty certain the first one was Meg and then her unidentified brother. Dean took the prize on both those humans, he killed them both. It’s a wonderful scene no doubt most have memorized in Devil’s Trap where Dean recognizes just how far he’ll go to save his family. I say the show turned a major corner right here:
Dean: Hey, Sam?
Sam: Yeah?
Dean: You know that guy I shot? There was a person in there.
Sam: You didn’t have a choice, Dean.
Dean: Yeah, I know, that’s not what bothers me.
Sam: Then what does?
Dean: Killing that guy, killing Meg. I didn’t hesitate, I didn’t even flinch. For you or Dad, the things I’m willing to do or kill, it’s just, uh …. it scares me sometimes.
The body count doesn’t end there, nor do the repercussions from the events of Devil’s Trap. It may be a stretch – but what the heck it’s worth thinking on – but perhaps some of Sam’s thoughts in Croatoan are predicated on Dean’s actions from Devil’s Trap.
Fantastic article. I do think the writers have changed their tune quite a bit over the seasons, and then changed them back when they needed to. Bobby was very concerned for Meg in season one, but then rather calmly shot Ruby in “Sin City” to see if the colt worked.
So, do I think the boys are murderers? I think they’re killers, but when I think murderer I think of innocent unsuspecting victims and I’m not so sure that they crossed that line. Sam possibly with the nurse in Lucifer Rising, but she was still a demon so in most ways it really wasn’t any different than the knife.
Trina,
You bring up an excellent point regarding Bobby (and I hate to admit but he never entered my thoughts here — and I think Bobby is AWESOME!)
You are right though, he had great concern for Meg yet none for Ruby…wow…wow.
I agree regarding your thoughts on killers vs. murderers…would have made an even better title (sometimes I just get stuck on the titles, Alice even added to mine and made it better but Killer or Murderer would have been really cool.
I just love looking at the show from many angles…and with now only (Whee, ONLY) less than four weeks to go, there’s that much less time to look at the angels.
Thanks for commenting
Great article, Elle2! It’s an interesting look at the show.
I tend to agree with Trina, that “murderer” and “killer” are two different things. I’m inclined to think that if one takes a life in self-defence, that they are more aptly classified as a killer whereas a murderer is one who seeks an innocent person out to snuff out their life for the sake of killing. Even killer seems to be the wrong flavour – I wouldn’t consider someone who fought in a war to be a killer, though they likely had taken many lives. I don’t believe there is a truly perfect term for one’s who, like Sam and Dean in the Supernatural world, take lives in the course of warfare whether it is self-defence, defence of others or stopping serious evil. (By the way, I don’t mean to imply I condone warfare or justify it, I’m simply looking at circumstances and scenarios in which certain terms are more applicable than in other instances).
Hmm, tricky, tricky….
😐
Hi, Elle,
It is tricky, tricky, you’re right. THat’s the whole point of the article…well, at least one of several, is that there is no easy answer here. They boys are flawed, they’ve done unspeakable things (that we, of course, speak about) and some of the things they did were for self-defense, some because of pride (Dean’s and Sam’s) some because they were left with nothing left but despair (again, both Dean and Sam) and the list goes on and on.
Do I condone war? No, but I understand the necessity of it, however. And you’re right, what is the best term and is there even a ‘best’ term, killer, murderer, defender of good? And then who defines good…brings me back to my beginning, I believe in moral absolutes, some things are good and others are not, it’s how we discover those truths and then live them out that defines us.
I’m enjoying the journey of the brothers and from what I glean from the ‘teasers’ coming out about Season 5, it’s going to be an awesome year (again!)
🙂
In legal terms ” murder ” implies premeditation, if someone is trying to kill you and in the struggle to preserve your life you end up killing them it’s not murder. I know this sounds like so much sophist hair-splitting but I do think the circumstances leading up to an incedent have some bearing on the judgement of the incedent itself.
This all means jack shit when applied to demons and whatnot but it does make good nailbiting TV. I think you’re quite right that Sam and Dean have both ended up somewhere they never intended to be surrounded by the smoking wreckage of their moral code. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions … I’m looking forward to seeing how the writers shine them up again!
Interesting and thought provoking!
I, too, see a difference between murder and killing. For example, the police shot Ronald in “Nightshifter”. They were doing their jobs, murders? I think not, killers? Yeh, the guy did die.
Possessed Sam murdered Steve Wandell, not possessed Sam murdered Jake (there was no danger from Jake at that point and Sam could have just incapasitated him). I could list more “meat suits” that were probably ok and would have lived if not stabbed by the knife or shot with the colt.
I think Dean has become more sensitive to the human host than Sam (although Sam tried to justify his demonic exorcisms as being more humane…I think it might have been more a case of him lying to himself).
However, I do want to debate Meg. She likely died when she went out of the window. Sure you could say it’s all Sam’s fault for flipping the alter, but I think not. I don’t blame the boys for her death at all. And the “demon brother” shot her with the fake colt anyways, that also killed the human.
Hi, Alysha,
Great comments. It’s interesting, I too think Dean has become softer to the human ‘meat suits’ while at the same time telling Sam to use the knife to kill the demons which in turn, of course, kills the human…tis a quandry.
The Supernatural highway is littered with broken, battered and in many cases lifeless bodies…sheesh, what does that say about us fans who still adore it? 😕
Great post, elle2.
Another layer of complexity in the show is that the question is not just who you kill and why, but also how. For instance, if Sam hadn’t been using his psychic powers (and presumably, if he hadn’t been drinking demon blood to, as he thinks, enhance them), Dean would be dead and back in Hell (On the Head of a Pin).
Faellie is correct that it was Sam and not Castiel who saved Dean in “Head of a Pin”
And its possible the Alastair’s host was already dead from the angel torture, which was stated to have taken place off screen, and if not from them, then when Dean took over.