After watching the repeat of the Supernatural episode “Fresh Blood” last night — a privilege that I soon won’t have since the CW will no longer be airing reruns — I started to ponder something: is there actually anything wrong with Sam? One of the biggest mysteries in season 3 of Supernatural has been whether or not Sam (Jared Padalecki) is 100 percent “pure” after being brought back from the dead at the end of season 2. The demon Azazel taunted Dean with the notion that Sam might have come back slightly changed, and we’ve seen numerous signs that he’s not the same conscientious Winchester we once knew. If something really is wrong with Sam, what could it be, and what does it mean for the future of the character?
This entire plotline actually reminds me of another classic genre show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. On that series, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) came back from the dead in season 6 after being ripped out of heaven. After this she started hating her life, distanced herself from her friends, and began sleeping with her sworn enemy, Spike. All of these confusing emotions led Buffy to believe that she had come back wrong, possibly as part demon or with a piece of her soul missing. The big twist was that nothing was wrong with her at all. She was simply acting out of character due to the trauma of her resurrection, and she then had to deal with the consequences. She couldn’t blame her actions on anything mystical.
Will Sam follow the same path? We already know that demons lie, and Bobby also confirmed that Azazel was probably just attempting to screw with Dean’s (Jensen Ackles) head. It’s a distinct possibility that we’ll discover that nothing is wrong with Sam at all, and that he’s just been acting out due to the trauma of recent events.
Of course, if that were the case it wouldn’t explain why Sam has been so cold lately. First he emptied over 10 bullets into Jake’s body and showed no remorse afterwards. He also blew away the Crossroads demon when he decided that she’d no longer be useful. These definitely aren’t things that the old Sam would have done, but are they truly signs that something is wrong with him? After all, both Jake and the Crossroads demon kind of deserved to bite the dust.
If something is wrong with Sam, what could it be? Did he come back as part demon? Maybe his death was the first step on his road to the dark side, which is where Gordon always assumed he’d end up. Or maybe he’ll create his own destiny, and not follow that which has been laid out for him.
My guess is that Supernatural won’t go the Buffy route, if only because it’s been done before. I think something actually will be wrong with Sam due to his resurrection, but I have no idea what that may be. Maybe he’s got a little demon in him, or maybe he just needs some serious therapy after dealing with the fact that his brother sacrificed his soul for him. The sad thing is that we probably won’t find out until this pesky writers’ strike wraps up, but until then it’s fun to theorize.
– Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of the CW)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
