Without even appearing in the episode, John Winchester made a huge impression on last night’s episode of Supernatural. Unlike Grey’s Anatomy, Supernatural doesn’t need Jeffrey Dean Morgan to appear as a ghost to get its point across. Even though Dean was right about John’s long lost son Adam Milligan being a trap, he was also wrong, because it turns out John really did have another kid.
Not only did we learn a lot more about John’s secret past, but we learned more about his relationships with his sons. He showered Adam with affection and baseball games not because he loved him more, but because John wanted some level of normalcy, and he knew he could never have that with Sam and Dean after what happened to their mother.
John Winchester was fiercely protective, trying to shield Adam from thetruth, but in the end, that failed. Adam was killed by a lowly Ghoulbecause he wasn’t prepared for the world of demons. Sam and Dean, asmuch as they may resent the life they’ve been given, are only alivebecause of what John taught them.
More importantly, the episode ended with an interesting conundrum. Dean admitted that even though he tries his hardest to look and actlike their dad, it’s Sam whois actually the apple of his father’s eye. Sam wasn’t sure whether being compared to John was a compliment, andit’s a question fans are now asking themselves.
On the one hand, John Winchester was brave and fearless, an experthunter who cared deeply for his family. He also proved his braveryafter his death, as Alastair told Dean that John refused to stop thepain of Hell by making the same deal Dean made. John sacrificed hisown well-being for the greater good, something Dean wasn’t able to do.
Sam, however, lives by this same code. All season long he’s beendrinking demon blood, slowly giving up a piece of his humanity, inorder to become strong enough to defeat demons. Hunting was somethinghe never wanted to do, but now it’s his life and Sam will do whateverit takes to do it.
Supernatural has always been about the sacrifices people make. Deanwas willing to give up his soul to bring his brother back to life, butthat isn’t the kind of sacrifice men like John and Sam believe in. Samis giving up his humanity not to save the life of someone he loves, butfor good. He’s willing to go over to the dark side and drink up thedemon power in order to do what must be done.
On Supernatural, even though Dean looks and acts like the tough guy,he’s the whiny liberal while Sam is Jack Bauer. Dean would give up hisown life to save someone he loves. But would he give up his life tosave a total stranger? Or would he kill someone in order to saveothers? Sam would in the blink of en eye, which is why he’s more likeJohn Winchester than Dean could ever hope to be.
FAN SHOUT-OUTS:
-First, congratulations to ChrisBlair2 for being the first user toidentify my reference to The Big Bang Theory by suggesting the brothersplay Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard Spock. There were quite a few ofyou who got it, but ChrisBlair2 was the first and for his trouble, hewon a Get Out of Hell Free Card from me.
-Kudos to BardicVoice, who pointed out that the motel the Winchestersstayed at in this episode was called Kim Manor, a tribute to the lateKim Manners, and the sign also featured a picture of Manners.
-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy of the CW)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
