Mothers and Mothering in Supernatural
Who is your favorite mother in Supernatural?
That was the kick-off question asked of a Con-Tinual panel on “Mothers and Mothering in Supernatural” hosted by Gail Z. Martin. Gail, a professional paranormal romance novelist and writer for The WFB, asked me and six other Supernatural writers/fans to chat about how mothering is depicted in Supernatural. The topic seemed straightforward enough. In 15 years, Supernatural depicted a myriad of family models, from traditional vs. dysfunctional to supportive vs. deadly. So, as might be expected, our discussion went in some fluid and surprising directions!
On this particular evening, we tackled four questions (which we did not know beforehand) pertaining to motherhood in Supernatural. In addition to the expected Top 10 motherhood nominations posed above, we were also asked:
- How does it show that Sam and Dean grew up motherless?
- Once Mary comes back to life, how does she do as a mother figure?
- How do the boys mother each other?
Knowing the panel’s title, I prepared a long list of Supernatural‘s mothers, expecting each panelist to take a turn listing and defending their choices of favorite mother figures. Instead, rather than a broad and diverse compilation of women who would compete for a spot on the mother-of-the-year list, we all had the same names on our lists! Can you guess who was at the top of most lists? Who is the first beloved Supernatural mother that pops into your head?
You would think it would be Mary Winchester, mother to Sam and Dean! But no. Maybe because none of us wanted to tackle that particular hot topic right off the bat, or maybe because Mary Winchester’s mothering skills were fraught with complicated issues, she wasn’t the first Mom named.
It was Jody Mills. Outspoken, bring-me-your tired-and-broken-orphans, Jody.
The panel would have been rather boring if eight people all showered praises on the same person for 50 minutes, so pretty quickly it was obvious that we needed to scan our lists for numbers 2, 3 and 4! I was called upon last, so I had to come up with #8!
Mothering is often a thankless job, so let’s linger a moment to think of all the mothers who, in one way or another, shaped the lives of Sam and Dean Winchester. Who would you have put on the Supernatural Mothers list?
Human Mothers Who Lost their Lives to the Supernatural
Deanna Campbell
Dean’s namesake, Gramma Campbell lived and died as a hunter. Killed by Azazel in 1973 trying to defend her husband Samuel, Deanna never got to see her daughter Mary get married, or cuddle her infant grandsons Dean and Sam. We only saw Deanna once, when Dean went back in time to try to stop Azazel from making the deal that sealed both Mary’s and Sam’s fates. Still, Deanna was a key figure in extending the family tree that was destined to save the world.
Mary Winchester
The most prominent matriarch in the Winchester saga was, of course, Deanna’s daughter and Sam and Dean’s mom, Mary. Also raised as a hunter, Mary was killed at 28 years old in 1983 when she had the “bad luck” of surprising the same yellow-eyed demon Azazel who had killed her mother.
Many found her peace in Heaven, but supernatural forces weren’t finished with her. At Dean’s request, God’s sister, Amara, resurrected Mary to give Dean a second chance to get to know his mom. That’s when Mary’s, Dean’s and Sam’s expectations all came crashing down under the weight of reality. Doomed by fate, Mary was accidentally killed a second time by the most powerful supernatural entity in the universe, the Nephilim, Jack.
Ellen Harvelle
Ellen lived and died as a hunter. Although she wasn’t technically killed by supernatural forces, she sacrificed herself to die on her own terms, taking with her in death all of the supernatural offensive forces she was fighting. Unlike Deanna and Mary who died before they had to suffer the pain of watching their children die, Ellen first lost her hunter husband, then cradled her daughter at the moment of her death. Being a mother to her hunter daughter Jo, and being the safe-haven matriarch who provided a home-away-from-home to wandering hunters, were Ellen’s most cherished roles in life, and how she best helped Sam and Dean.
Missouri Moseley
Missouri only got to “mother” Sam and Dean twice that we saw, in season one and again in season 13, bookending their journey from naïve children to seasoned hunters. She recounted that she was a better mother to hunters than she was to her own son, who didn’t believe any of her psychic visions. Her granddaughter Patience followed in her footsteps, though, eventually ending up in Jody Mills’ wayward girls entourage. Missouri stoically accepted her death at the hands of a wraith, losing her battle with the supernatural.
Amelia Novak
Amelia was the traditional mother of a happy home, oblivious to the supernatural war that was raging around her. All that was shattered when her husband and, for a short while, her daughter, relinquished their lives to the supernatural angel Castiel’s possession. Life was never the same for Amelia. Abandoned, she was left vulnerable to the evil Grigori angel who tortured and eventually killed her. In a twisted turn of fate, it was her daughter-turned-hunter Claire who cradled her mother as she died. Orphaned, Claire, like Patience, also ended up in the care of Jody Mills.
Kelly Kline
Kelly was also an innocent civilian who got swept up in the war between the supernatural and humans. Thinking she was in a relationship with a long-time lover, Kelly unwittingly sleeps with the archangel, Lucifer, and becomes the mother of a powerful supernatural being – the Nephilim Jack. In the few months that Kelly was pregnant, she was perhaps the most vocal and strong defender of motherhood (and her unborn son) that was ever depicted in Supernatural. She staunchly refused everyone’s claims that her son would be evil, defending him to the point of having to ally herself with demons just to survive and keep him alive. Kelly died in childbirth, succumbing to the power of the supernatural infant, in a poetic irony of motherhood literally killing her.
This is only the first half of my list of significant mother figures in Supernatural, so let me pause her to let you finish your “Mothers in Supernatural” list! Have you thought of any other human mothers who died at the hands of supernatural forces? I’ll return with Part 2 to finish my list with supernatural (i.e. non-human) mothers, and more tragic mothers who lost children.
While you’re thinking, enjoy our 47 minute discussion, Con-Tinual: The Con That Never Ends Panel: Mothers and Mothering in Supernatural.
You might also visit our prior studies of motherhood:
Significant Mothers of Supernatural, Part One: One Hit Wonders (Seasons 1-5): https://www.thewinchesterfamilybusiness.com/5156-significant-mothers-of-supernatural-part-one-one-hit-wonders/
Significant Mothers of Supernatural, Part Two: The Surrogate (Seasons 1-5) https://www.thewinchesterfamilybusiness.com/10472-significant-mothers-of-supernatural-part-two-the-surrogate/
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Significant Mothers of Supernatural, Part One: One-Hit Wonders
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