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Supernatural - Discussion - The Flattening of Sam Winchester

Mar 15, 2015

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What makes a character interesting? Sometimes it’s a dark streak. Sometimes it’s a playful side. Sometimes it’s a colorful or mysterious past. Often there’s some degree of relatability. It almost always involves a certain degree of complexity – layers that may seem contradictory but are made to work. The question itself is big enough for its own article, but this article is about Sam Winchester with a critical look at the changes his character has undergone over the seasons.

Sam Winchester has always been a bit of a mystery. Some would argue too much of a mystery. You take an outwardly high-achieving college kid with younger-brother family issues, layer on a weird family business that hunts monsters, a dark history with a mother murdered under mysterious and supernatural circumstances, a tendency to internalize the dark stuff, and then add weird psychic visions that later in the series evolve into a connection to Lucifer, and you have a puzzle. The show has poked at this at least a few times, with Eva in season 2 saying, “Dude, who are you?” after Sam came to her talking about psychic visions and she discovered he knew his way around automatic weapons, and in season 5, when Sam, in response to Lindsey’s questioning about who he is, describes himself as a “riddle wrapped inside an enigma wrapped inside a taco.”

"Dude, who are you?"
The character has had quite a journey. He went from an ivy league existence to living out of a car and credit card fraud. He’s been conflicted over a desire for a normal life and a sense of duty in helping his family fight monsters. We’ve seen character growth, changing from a rebellious college student with intense anger issues toward his father to coming to accept that John just did “the best he could.” Sam died, was brought back by a brother who sold his soul for him, came to start drinking demon blood out of sense of powerless, and then jumped into Satan’s cage in a redemptive arc to make up for his role in releasing the devil and triggering the Apocalypse. And that was just the first half of the series.

The Supernatural Influence

A comment that I often see on Supernatural discussion boards is that Sam’s characterization suffers from having had too many supernatural influences. While I think there may be a small element of truth in that – I could make an argument that Sam’s “running away” and “being angry all of the time” were not organic character traits but rather season 5 inserts to try to draw links to Lucifer – I think the argument that Sam hasn’t had enough time being just “Sam” as an excuse for a lack of consistency in his character is a cop out.

The longest-running supernatural storyline Sam has had is the demon blood. Dormant most of the time, the demon blood has only had an active role in Sam's story in scattered episodes in seasons 1, 2, 4, and 5.  Most of the time (through season 5) it's been a threat in the background - something that has influenced his sense of identity and that has potential to turn Sam into a monster. The story goes that Sam was given demon blood when he was six months old, and that changed him on biological and psychological levels. He grew up feeling different from society and his family, like he was a freak, and he always sensed and feared a darkness inside which he spent his life trying to overcompensate for. An argument I often hear is that it’s important to know who Sam is without the demon blood – but why? 

Supernatural is not a story of Sam and Dean unaffected by the supernatural. The demon blood changed Sam when he was six months old. It influenced his personality during his formative years growing up. It’s a part of who Sam is now, and exploring who Sam would be without that part of himself is about as relevant as exploring who Dean would be if his mother hadn't died and he had never been brought up as a hunter.  It could be an interesting exercise for an episode or two, as it was for Dean in “What Is and What Should Never Be,” but it’s not relevant in understanding who Sam is now because even with the demon blood dormant, it has influenced the way Sam sees himself and the world.

Removing the demon blood as a factor that’s preventing us from seeing the “real” Sam, and instead accepting that the demon blood history is a part of who the real Sam is now, there has actually been very little screen time that we spent watching someone who was not Sam: an episode in season 2 when Sam was possessed by Meg, portions of a couple of season 5 episodes when Sam was possessed by Lucifer, the 11-episode soulless Sam run in season 6, and portions of several episodes in season 9 when we saw Gadreel in Sam’s body. Sam has been Sam in by far the majority of the show - more than enough time for strong characterization to have developed.

So that brings us to the next question – who is Sam?

Who Are You?

Who defines a TV character? The characterization obviously starts with the show’s creator, or a showrunner/episode writer if it’s a minor character introduced later in the series. And the actor portraying the character has a big influence on who the character becomes. But as a show progresses, a lot of people have input into shaping who the character becomes in small or larger ways: follow-up showrunners, episode writers, producers, directors, and even fans, if fan reaction effects the direction of the character. There’s a history with the character that starts to take shape as fans watch how the character responds to his world.  The nature of the character evolves from something that exists within someone’s mind to something that’s out there in the world – almost becoming shared property by the entire show community.

"Dude, who are you?"
In season 8, there was a lot of rumbling in the fandom about “out of character” writing, especially around Sam. I began to notice a lot of statements in online fandom discussions about who Sam was that seemed to contradict each other. I had my own ideas, and thought I was right, but then I would read a comment by someone who had given the matter about as much thought, but had come to different conclusions. I thought about the questions – how a character is defined, and more to the point, who decides if a character is “out of character” – and decided to throw a little statistics at them.

There’s an assumption in statistics that suggests one response can be very wrong, but as the number of people in the survey increase, those wrong answers begin to balance each other out and the margin error decreases. As you get closer and closer to including your entire group, the average results become more and more accurate.  But what would the “right” answer be for a question as subjective as who a TV character is? I decided that seeing as how an 8-year-old character (this was season 8) has a lot of history already, the "right" answer would be the average response if everyone in the community was asked to describe who the character is. I figured that while the writers can affect who the character will evolve into in the future by writing character arcs, the character's past and present is pretty well established and can be interpreted by anyone.

I don’t have the resources to poll literally everyone in the SPN community, so I had to do what I could with what I had. During the mid-season break of season 8, I ran a series of polls – each focused on one of Supernatural’s four main characters at the time: Sam, Dean, Cas, and Bobby.  The polls had a nominating phase in which fans who visited Spoiler TV could submit up to 10 descriptive words or phrases for each of the characters, and the top 20 nominated descriptions for each character were entered into the series of poll where fans could vote for up to three descriptions, creating a ranking of the submitted entries.

Like all online polls, the accuracy would not stand up to rigorous scientific scrutiny, mainly because there are a few big biases that affect online polls: the online community isn’t a representative sampling of the entire community (which includes casual viewers and show staff), websites develop communities that over time tend to slant in certain directions, and people who regularly post online tend to get defensive about their characters and as a result, don't always vote 100 percent truthfully. But despite this, I hoped to at least get a fair sampling of how the SPN community that interacts with SpoilerTV sees these characters. I had hoped for a good-size response from a mix of Sam, Dean and Cas fans, and that the atmosphere would stay friendly and not become defensive. I got my wish – a mix of people came out to participate and everyone for the most part played nice. Also in my favor was that these weren’t the type that people try to “win,” so there was no reason to campaign for a certain outcome. So here is what the results for Sam looked like:



It’s not exactly the list I would have come up with had I written my own, but I thought it was fair and seemed pretty accurate on how the community as a whole sees him. (Note that there are no submissions that made it into the top 20 representing “running” or “angry all of the time” (products of season 5).  Fans, I discovered, had a great way of filtering out the plot-contrivance inserts and focusing on who the actual character has shown to be over the long haul.)

And that brings us to where we are now. How has this list – which appears to be created from character traits more prominent in Sam in the early years of the series – stood up over time?

Although characters can and should undergo some changes over the years triggered by their growth and experiences, there are some core characteristics that should remain consistent. However, at about the second half of season 6, I began to feel like Sam was slowly and subtly being stripped of some of the core traits that make up his identity.  This was partially through omissions – ignoring parts of his history that should have been influencing the present – and partially by dialing back key character traits like his obsessiveness or sharp intelligence. In short, Sam’s complex character was becoming flattened.

This issue isn’t exclusively Sam's. A lot of this show’s history and canon has dropped, or directly contradicted, over the seasons, leaving viewers to feel like those characters in the movies that wake to be told that what they remember as real, never happened. But while this is a bigger issue, for the purposes of this article, I’m focusing on the effect these changes have had on Sam’s characterization.

Seasons 6 – Empty Vessel Sam

Season 6 started off with a radically different Sam Winchester, but there was a reason – at least at first.  He didn’t have a soul. He was sleepless, goal-driven, and without compassion – in some ways like Sam and in other ways very different. It was an interesting twist, but the show never went very deep in exploring who Sam was during this period, beyond a very superficial level. The first half was seen mostly through Dean’s perspective, and what we learned about Sam was from what Sam told Dean – and often soulless Sam lied. What exploration was done seemed to be more about looking at the importance of a soul to a person rather than exploring who Sam was.

It was in the second half of season 6 was when the real Sam should have joined us, and he mostly did. His compassion and empathy were back with a vengeance. We had several small moments in which Sam seemed be very Sam-like. There was a gag in “Mommy Dearest” in which Bobby asks for a computer and Sam hands him a tablet. While the intent behind this joke was probably to show Bobby’s reaction to a tablet, I loved that Sam – his soul out of hell for only a few weeks – had already upgraded to a tablet. The Sam from the early seasons was pretty tech savvy. Note that “geeky” is number 11 on the list.  Also note that I don't believe that we've seen the tablet since.

But in the second half of season 6, there was also a subtle shift in tone. Sam seemed more passive. Instead of coming across as one of two characters driving the action, Sam often seemed to be just along for the ride. Many episodes seemed be driven by Dean and Bobby paired up, or Dean pitted against Cas. While there was a logical reason in the narrative for why Sam might be more passive – Sam had just emerged from Hell and had a wall blocking off part of his memories that he was warned not to scratch – I can’t help thinking the old Sam would have been little bit more compulsive about needing to get at the itch. I'd chalk it up to just his season 6 storyline except that this more passive Sam didn’t change back when Sam’s Hell issues were resolved. It just intensified.

The biggest damage done to Sam’s character in season 6, though, was not in his characterization, but in the flattening of his history. Sam emerged from Hell, and of Sam’s connections to Lucifer, demons, and the biological and psychological effects of the demon blood, seemed to be purged from the show’s memory. There were still mentions of Lucifer torturing Sam in the cage – and in fact it was a big plot point – but the connection between Sam and Lucifer/demons, that had been such a big focus in Sam’s five-season arc, was never even mentioned in all of seasons 6 and 7. It seemed strange no one ever asked Sam what had happened to his psychic/ demon blood powers, especially given Cas’s warning that drinking as much blood as Sam needed to drink to contain Lucifer would change him forever.

What does this have to do with Sam's character?  A show can change plot direction, but a character's history affects how a character reacts to current situations.  Addressing the past and moving on in a different direction is a perfectly acceptable approach, but pretending that something never happened negates part of who the character is.  In the end, it was starting to look like Sam was just another hunter who had been tortured in Hell and not someone who had once been destined to lead a demon army.

Sam, at the end of Season 6


Season 7 – Exposition Man

A lot of the changes I mentioned in my write up of season 6 were continued and strengthened in season 7. Sam continued to play a more passive role in the storylines and had little proactive involvement in the Leviathan arc, or even take a strong stand in the Bobby arc, which was more personal. Sam suffered hallucinations of Lucifer for a handful of episodes, but scenes were disappointingly light in saying anything about who Sam was. Sam’s torture trauma seemed to be treated as something physical (hallucinations and sleep deprivation) rather than something emotional or psychological, and Sam didn't say much about how he "felt" about all that had happened.  Rather, the hallucinations were something that could be managed by a trick that helped him differentiate between what is real and what is in his head. When he knew it was in his head, he seemed unaffected, and as a result the hallucinations could also be completely ignored for long stretches of the season.

The effect of diminishing Sam's Hell storyline had on his characterization was long-term.  Very rarely does anyone anymore reference Sam's history with demons or potential dark side.  Sam's past should influence how he feels about demons in the present (whether that's feeling a connection or abhorrence), but his reactions these days seem to have nothing personal at all implied.

Season 7 also brought a new dumbing down of both Sam and Dean, with the pair needing to go to Frank to instruct them on how to fall off the grid (they hadn’t had experience with this already running from the feds?). Frank, and then later in the season Charlie, replaced Sam as the team's techie geek – with Sam apparently needing Frank to tell him that the Leviathans could trace them by their laptops and gadgets. Charlie has since become their go-to hacker, a role Sam used to play.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, Sam was always portrayed as someone with a little more knowledge than the average computer user, and a decent hacker for easy jobs. Sam went to school in Stanford, which for those who don’t know, is in the Silicon Valley area of California (I tend to think of it as the home base of the Google empire). What that should say about Sam is that he’s attracted to technology.  It also stands to reason that Sam would have left Stanford with a few tricks.

But that’s not the same thing as being a genius hacker. I consider Frank and Charlie as consultants with an expertise beyond that of the Winchesters (who are more generalists).  But what I would expect to see is Sam picking Charlie's brain whenever he sees her – the two tossing ideas around on ways to use technology in hunting.  Instead we tend to see Sam stepping down.  Geeky, by the way, is #11 on the list.

In season 7, Sam became noticeably quieter in expressing what was going on with him.  But while we lost point of view, Sam found a new purpose later in the season, and that was Exposition Man. Especially in the Bucker/Ross-Leming episodes, Sam would have a special role in restating what had been going on with the plot.  He also came in handy for delivering a lot of the set-up questions, such as "what do you think?" that allowed other characters to explain what was going on in the hunt.  In fact, a lot of Sam's dialogue seemed to shift toward questions in the second half of season 7.  Having a character mostly ask questions avoids committing the character to a clear point of view and muddies the viewers' understanding of who the character is and how he thinks. It also makes the character more passive, which directly contradicts a lot traits on this list.

Sam, at the end of season 7


 Season 8 – Who Are You?

Season 8 was when things got really wonky. We started off the season with a Sam who seemed conflicted on seeing his brother again, who apparently didn’t look very hard for Dean after he went missing, and who – instead of trying to rescue Kevin whom he had seen being kidnapped by Crowley – stashed away his phones so that he couldn’t be contacted even if there was news.

The fandom was in a tizzy, coming up with alternative rationales for what had happened, such as the angels put a spell on the brothers, Sam had actually made a deal to get Dean released from Purgatory, Sam had suffered a mental breakdown, or Sam didn’t look because he believed Dean was dead. Some of these had some credibility – there was a mysterious figure watching Sam the identity of whom has yet to be revealed, Sam in flashbacks showed signs of depression and mental instability, and Sam at one point did say he thought Dean was dead. 

But confusing things were other factors. Sam didn't just not look for Dean (assuming this was because he believed Dean was dead), but he didn’t look for Kevin either, and he had no reasons to believe that Kevin was dead. Sam didn’t see Dean die, he saw him disappear, and supernatural disappearances are just another day on the job for the Winchesters. Sam also made a comment that he didn’t know where to look, which seemed at odds with his later statement that he thought Dean was dead. While there are some hints of an emotional breakdown, that wasn’t clearly shown, and why wouldn’t it have been? Why wouldn’t have Sam just come right own and explained what had happened to Dean?

All of this was out of character for Sam on so many levels. Sam always tries to save Dean, and has shown on numerous occasions that he’s willing to sacrifice his own life for Dean’s. When things go very wrong on a personal level, Sam does not run. Sam becomes hyper-focused on fixing the problem. Sam is determined and smart. He wouldn’t quit just because he didn’t have a starting point. He would have kept poking at it until something came to him.

This all left many opinions on what had occurred. One thing I found interesting in reading fan response is how many fans were more likely to believe that Sam had chosen to not look for Dean over the alternative that Sam ran because he didn’t know where to look. Number 1 on the list of Sam attributes is “Smart / Intelligent.” Sam is first and foremost a guy with a plan, and when one isn’t initially obvious, he comes up with something (Resourceful, #18). He’s also seen by fans as stubborn (#8), obsessive (#13), driven (#17), and hopeful (#14), which points to a profile of someone who wouldn’t have given up because he didn’t know where to start looking. He’s heroic (#9) and loyal (#16), so he wouldn’t have abandoned Kevin.

We also started the season with learning that Sam had left hunting and started a relationship with Amelia while Dean was in Purgatory. This decision to have Sam leave hunting to pursue “normal” directly contradicted a major development in Sam’s seasons 1-5 character arc. Sam said several times in later seasons that he no longer wanted to go back to a normal life. He had changed and accepted his role as a hunter. The Amelia arc reset the character’s development back to a pre-season 1 era.

We ended the season with "Sacrifice," an episode liked by many fans because it offered a rare peak into Sam’s emotions and vulnerability, but I questioned the characterization we were shown. The part I questioned that's relevant to this article (continued in the Season 9 premiere) was the suggestion that Sam might be borderline suicidal. It’s reasonable Sam could become suicidal, given all he's been through, but the build up wasn't there. It also seemed to contradict Sam’s hopefulness (which was more consistent with Sam’s nature in the earlier seasons) and was at odds with the speech Sam had given to Dean in "Trial and Error" about wanting to survive the trials and seeing a "light at the end of the tunnel."

This example reflects what had been becoming a regular pattern in the writing for Sam – the authenticity of Sam’s reactions have seemed to become less and less important, and secondary to serving whatever plot contrivance need there is at the moment. Characters can change, in both positive and negative ways, but there needs to some build up – a character arc showing how and why the change occurred. Most everything that Sam did in season 8 could have been explained with proper build up, but there was no time invested in it. As a result, by the end of season 8, fans were a lot less sure of who Sam was than they were going into the season, and this further flattened the character.

Sam, at the end of season 8


Season 9 – Wait, What?

In season 9, Sam lost the ability to express his thoughts coherently. Sam woke up from his coma, unaware that this brother had tricked him into letting an angel possess him to heal him. When he did learn the truth, it was after the possession had gone bad, and the angel used Sam’s body to kill Kevin. While there was still some wonky writing for Sam spilling into this season (for example, Sam’s continued death wish and extreme mood swings from intense anger at Gadreel to referring to him as one of their friends), a lot of Sam’s reactions made some sense and basis for them could be found in the show's history if one bothered to look. For example, Sam’s anger at Dean taking away his voice in his possession made sense when thinking about other Sam's other possessions and demon manipulations – Meg in season 2, Lucifer in season 5, the demon blood). However, Sam – who was once excellent at expressing himself – never clearly laid out the reasons behind his anger, and not all fans remember the history.

From Sam, we got a series of half-finished thoughts:  "Don't go thinkin' that's the problem" (Me: What is?);  "You are certainly willing to do the sacrificing as long as you're not the one being hurt" (Me translating: both Sam and Dean understand that it's easier to be the one dying than the one left behind); "I lied" (Me: When, where?); "I'm saying, you want to work? Let's work. If you want to be brothers..." (Me: No idea).

Brain trauma from the coma? Possibly, but not likely since brain damage is not new to the brothers – it seems to be one of those things the show ignores. The result was extreme confusion and anger in areas of the fandom. Fans defensive of Dean interpreted Sam’s reaction as uncaring and mean. While personally I think most of Sam’s reactions were understandable if you look at the big picture and can translate the garbled messages, I do think that while Sam would have been angry, he also would have softened earlier upon recognizing Dean’s pain, as he did in season 3 when he was angry that Dean had sold his soul for him. Number 2 on the list of Sam’s characteristics is “empathetic / sympathetic,” and I think that trait should have played a bigger role in the writing for Sam in season 9.

Sam, at the end of season 9


So there you have it.  At the end of season 9, we were left with “lonely,” “rational,” and “introverted” from the list. If this is how the writers see Sam, that actually explains a lot about why they can't seem to be able to think of much more to do with Sam these days other than knock him out or have him possessed by another character.

Season 10 – Sambot

Finally, we're at season 10, and we're seeing a much more supportive Sam.  But Sam is still missing something.  In season 5 of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Spike – a vampire with an obsession with Buffy – has a “Buffybot” built for him as a sex toy. Unlike the real Buffy, who was often cruel and demeaning toward Spike, Buffybot, who admittedly lacked some layers, was always supportive and has a singular purpose – to help Spike. I’m of course exaggerating a little in comparing season 10 Sam to the Buffybot, but it does seem that the once-layered Sam has been reduced down to a singular purpose this season, and that is to be unquestioningly there for Dean.

I want to make clear that I’m not opposed to the brothers supporting each other. Far from it. The episode “Hunted” was one of my favorites from season 2, and parts that I love inlcude the way Sam was unquestioningly there for Dean when he learned Dean was in trouble. Dean was captured by Gordon, and Eva argues that in her vision, she sees Sam die trying to rescue Dean. “Doesn’t matter, it’s my brother,” Sam says without hesitating.

The difference between then and now is that Sam and Dean were both fleshed out characters with other concerns and motivations. Sam was in Indiana against Dean’s wishes because he had to follow his own path. Dean was pursuing Sam against Sam’s wishes because Dean also had his own point of view and priorities. I love it when the brothers come together, but without all of the rest of this (all of the history and traits that make up a layered character), the brother moments feel a bit empty.

I will give Jeremy Carver some credit though in correcting one of the bigger issues of the previous seasons, and that is restoring the brother relationship. The biggest element affecting both Sam and Dean is that they love each other and would do anything for each other. This point didn’t make this list because of the question that was asked, but the brother bond is core to the show, so it’s nice to see a step in the right direction in that regard. The next step is restoring Sam’s history and other relevant character traits that seem to have been lost.

About the Author - Chris684
Chris684
Chris is a New Englander with a background in print and digital media, who currently earns a living by making web and technology products easier to use. She has a weakness for TV characters who are 'dark and twisty' (to quote Meredith Grey) and reviews The Walking Dead, Legends, Halt and Catch Fire, and Dig for SpoilerTV.
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173 comments:

  1. If you made it through this whole article, congratulations. I think this may go on record as the longest article I've ever written for SpoilerTV. This grew out of rant I found myself writing when I was reviewing the show last season and attempting to write a season wrap-up. I got several hundreds words into this before I realized I wasn't actually reviewing the season. Anyway, I saved it off in a different file and it's been sitting and growing on my laptop since. I finally decided I just needed to publish it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's really interesting to see what happens when the tide shifts.


    Sam/Dean fans have always been a fickle bunch, I've seen more Sam-fans telling Dean-hards that the show is about "the brothers" and the heavy Sam focus was Deans storyline and that's why he was treated like Sams driver. Now for the first season ever we actually have a heavy Dean focus and BOOM, the Sam-base explodes.


    Granted, I don't care for either Sam or Dean anymore but it's....a bit ironic to see how hypocritcal and petty fanbases can get when feeling treated less well by the writers.






    I'm not really hot on SPN anymore in general but this article reminds me why I always had an issue with its fanbase.


    Hey, at least it warrants a whole spoilertv article I guess

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well, you obviously didn't read the article because it's not about who has the more focus on in the central plot. I wrote an article focusing on Dean's storyline a week or two ago. You might appreciate that one more.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The accusation about a character being "less well written" usually is a nicer way of cutting around the "you focus less on him, you should give him more exposure".
    It's a reading between the lines thing, really. I got the gist of it.


    And hell no, I don't appreciate Deans storyline either, SPN is something I watch when I really have nothing else to do since it's not my thing anymore.


    However you absolutely overstated Sams past characteristics in a major way.


    The character you have right now is exactly the same you got 10 years ago, only difference? He's not the kid with special abilities that is carried on a silver platter by every other character anymore.


    The article felt less like a character analysis than a massive rant about how you dislike the shift in writers and their preference of characters. I did realize that too, because Sam right now has the part Dean used to have in our first 8 seasons: he's driving the other brother around and props him up whenever he can like a superhero.


    I get that it's annoying, however Sam never was any different from the way he's now

    ReplyDelete
  5. For the first 6 seasons,SPN was pretty much sam-centric and dean was there as a supporting character only.So,i'm okay with dean taking the centre stage now.I love both jared and jensen but there's no denying the fact that jensen is a much better actor compared to the former,no offense so,i don't mind this changed scenario.TBH,the show has lost all it's spunk currently-the only thing that keeps me going is the brotherly bond & jensen's awesome portrayal of the character!

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  6. Since the author got the original characteristics from a poll of people, I don't think he made up the original character of Sam from out of the blue. He then described how these characteristics have been portrayed less and less. I'm not sure you read the article. I understand you disagree with the conclusion, but chris didn't just pull this out of thin air.

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  7. In earlier season Sam was written totally out of three episodes (one due to physical injury). In this season's mid-season finale Sam had a total of 781 words. Dean has never been written out of an episode, if Jensen needed a bread we got old Dean or teen Dean. This isn't about focus of the mytharc, although I think they are dropping the ball on that as far as Dean goes this season, it is about the fact that Dean was a major part of the story, with consistent characterization even when Sam had the mytharc AND when Sam's characterization was being hidden "in the background" (a direct quote from Eric Kripke).

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have a feeling I'm going to be repeating this a lot, but the article wasn't about who is more central to the plot this season. The article is about a general degradation of the characterization, which I've been noticing and commenting about on these boards since season 6. As for the quality in acting, I don't like these types of arguments and I don't want to get into one with you, but let's just say I think they both have their strengths and weaknesses. Jensen does something things better and Jared does some things better.

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  9. That's okay,everyone has their own preferences.As for Sam,he needs to speak up for himself a little more-he's acting way too timid off late IMO.They need to change that pronto.

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  10. It was long but insightful. You made a lot of good points about the decline of Sam Winchester as a character. I still look back as the first five seasons as his greatest period of character development.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This was great to read; I agree with so many points and my frustration with the show is so great that I'm never be able to properly articulate why. I loved this show loyally until Season 5 (when Kripke always planned to end it), and since then, it's been a slow, agonizing death of a show that I barely recognize anymore. I've tried to stay with it the past few years but my heart just isn't in it anymore. It's literally painful to rewatch the first few seasons and reminisce in all the reasons why this show sold me before the pilot episode was even over - only to compare it to now.


    I'll keep the first five seasons close to my heart; for me, that's all that is worth remembering.

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  12. i completely agree, i just wanted to say very interesting, accurate article, even the Sambot comparison to the Buffybot, i absolutely see the similarities.

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  13. Thank you for putting this together and articulating so many of my frustrations regarding Sams treatment post s5. As a character he has been stripped away gradually, and you a great job of demonstrating that including the poll of fans interpretations of Sam and contrasting that season by season.

    I can't define Sam anymore, because the writers seem to portray him I such a way that the audience has to define him for themselves. His character is wide open to individual interpretation. And for me this means I see Sam slowing fading and disappearing from the narrative from the story. Season 9 and 10 He has been like a card board cut out Dean drives around with, one dimensional with a few words of murky dialogue given to him. This is no way to write a lead character, and I'm not sure these writers have the interest or ability to dig themselves of tusk hole they dug for themselves when it comes to Sam. And I say this not to critizie Jared's portrayal of Sam, there is only so much he can do with what he has been given. I think the joke in fandom is that Jared has to strain himself with eye acting to portray Sams presence given the lack of dialogue.

    And I just wanted to add I personally set aside the old sam vs dean arguments to read this, because I could see that is was not what this was about. Which was so refreshing to see! To me this was not about story arcs or who has the focus. This was about characterization, which both Sam and Dean should be given, considering this is the central premise of Supenatural from the beginning. Thank you, well done!

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  14. Great analysis. By and large I agree with it and have little to add, except:


    1. Though I'm still enjoying Season 10 a lot, I've been annoyed at the increasingly formulaic opening scenes between the brothers. Reminds me of NCIS and the requisite bullpen conversations that begin each episode. Over time, they feel forced and trite and like they're ticking boxes (Irreverent comment from Tony – check. Geeky input from McGee – check. McNickname – check. Unexpected appearance by Gibbs – check.). In earlier seasons of SPN, not every episode opened with a banter/expository/oh-look-a-case! scene between Sam and Dean; the time was instead spent on the action of the episode or on character development. And when we did get those scenes, they were meatier and more revealing.

    Now, almost every episode begins with one of those scenes that ticks all the "expected" boxes. Instead of fleshing out Sam and Dean as characters or their relationship as brothers, or even diving right in to the action, those scenes plug in surface-level character traits we already know about (Dean likes porn. Sam likes research. Dean likes food.) purely as a means to introduce the case and, often, to get a cheap laugh. Contrast this to earlier seasons when each case itself seemed likes a means to exploring Sam and Dean.

    All that to say: I think that's one more contributing factor to the flattening of Sam. The writing relies on a formula that says, "What can Sam and Dean say about this case?" rather than, "What can this case say about Sam and Dean?" This is certainly not true of every episode or every scene, but it's most noticeable in those throwaway opening bits that could be so much better utilized.


    2. Sam's speech in 8x21 about being purified by the Trials was one of the most fascinating things he's ever revealed about his own psyche, and, potentially, his future characterization. I so wish the show had delved into it further! The supposed purification could partially explain Sam's switch from "light at the end of the tunnel" to "So?" – in Sam's mind, if he has to sacrifice himself to save the world (again), but the process purifies him totally, then that is his light at the end of the tunnel. Just speculation. Again – wish we had gotten some more time with the purification idea.

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  15. Fantastic article, delving into the very reasons I and my friends have been increasingly baffled (and disgruntled) by the version of Sam we've been getting since mid-season Six. (Big Soulless Sam fan, here, full disclosure!) I could go into how the writing has generally declined over the past few years for ALL the characters, but that's a topic for a different day.

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  16. About the only thing you can say about Sam's character now is that he's Dean's brother.

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  17. I agree that Sam's character has been "flattened" (into a prop, really), but he isn't the only one. Both Winchesters have lost their show, and I think they prefer it that way, because it means they have to work less. IMO, neither character has been developed since the end of S5, when Sam's 5-year story was over. Neither character has had any character growth at all, and now this season and last, we get stories about one-bit characters that nobody cares about. We get backstories for Charlie, Jodie, Sheriff Donut, and even vampire Len and Barbie werewolf Kate.


    Yes, Dean has the mytharc since the the halfway point in S9 and it's kind of been carried through so far this season, but nothing has happened and nothing has been done with it. There were plenty of things that could have been explored with both Sam and Dean, but they weren't even thought about.


    Sam should have been learning to accept responsibility for his repeated bad choices and learning something from why he continued to make them. Didn't happen. We got, "I lied," and now he's committed to hunting (I guess) and committed to helping Dean.


    Dean should be dealing with his time in Hell (which the writers have apparently forgotten about), because torturing souls is what made him think that he was nothing but a killer. He should have explored why he liked the purity of the year he spent in Purgatory, and that should have changed him in some way. The driving force behind Dean's whole character was losing his mother. He learned five or six years ago that she started the whole mess with both Sam and Dean by making a deal for John. What does Dean think about his mother now and how did that change him?


    This batch of writers have no interest in the two Winchesters. What they have is three or four traits for each and that's what they consider 'characterization.' I don't believe a single one of them has watched the series from the beginning with a critical eye to even see where they could have taken the characters. The show isn't going to get better because of the lack.

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  18. While there are a few points I disagree with you on, I do think characterization is a huge problem that the show is suffering from. However, I think Sam is just the first character that has truly been engulfed by this effect while the other characters, Dean, Castiel, and Crowley are slowly following this terrible lead. I think it is more noticeable in Sam, because Sam hasn't been given anything to sort of work to do while the other characters at least have the bare minimum-the cracks are starting to show.

    Take for example, the list of people returning from the past to confront 3/4 main characters. Crowley has his mother. Castiel has Claire. Dean has Cole. Sam has no one. Yet, Cole hasn't amount to much other than another moment for Dean to explain how he a lost cause (no growth or depth of characterization for Dean), Claire was about Claire (just another idealized runaway teen of the season with no growth or depth of characterization for Castiel or for Claire), and Crowley's mum has started something for Crowley (personally, I think she strips away Crowley's brains and is a terrible addition with boring scenes). And while it may be painfully obvious that there was nothing planned for Sam, nothing has really shown any characterization or new insight for any of the other characters, so, Sam has nothing, but has he really lost anything when nothing has amount to anything for the other characters as well?

    The actors are still committed to the show and when they are given something to work with they shine. Like the last episode, the end scene with Jared was wonderful even if it was just three words and look. Jensen did a great job too. When the show gives them something, they are amazing. However, those moments are becoming less and less and the actors are relying on the fact they are good rather than aspiring to be great. That’s what make seasons 4-6 the best acting seasons for me, because everyone from Jared and Jensen to Misha, Jim and Mark S. (seasons 5-6) had something to sink their teeth into. They aren’t being challenge by teen girls and formulas (which include staring in mirrors while looking at his arm and quietly waiting for someone else to save him). I understand that the actors don’t want to work the same hours, but other shows have several leads and they still manage characterization and plot. It isn’t the actors fault. It’s like when they blamed Jared and Misha for why Castiel and Sam couldn’t have scenes. It is called movie magic for a reason. They can do it, but it all comes back to the origins of any story: the writers.

    There is something going on in the “writers room” that simply isn't working.

    We have a set of different writers who simply cannot write the show the same way other writers in the past have. Robert Singer has publicly said that the show doesn't plan out. They had no idea what they were going to do in the second half of the season, yet, cut the Demon Dean storyline short to do it. I don't think this group of writers or Jeremy Carver can really do by the seat of their pants style writing. I don't think Singer has the ability to do it anymore because he doesn't have the same writers who could do it once before. Now, here's the thing, that doesn't mean that they are bad writers. All that means is they need a plan. (Buy a planner! It really can be that simple.) The show needs to adapt to the best of their abilities they have now, not what they used to have. I think it is clear that the show is lacking in strong L.A. leadership and a direction. They have a ton of potential, but they have no focus or drive to write, well, Supernatural.

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  19. Yes – hearing that the writers don't plan very far ahead was a little disconcerting! And it shows, especially this season with the awkward curtailment of the Demon Dean storyline and the prolonged Mark of Cain plot. Kripke made it (mostly) work because he had at least some idea of where the plot could go and how the characters could evolve if he was given more seasons to play with. The current team's plan seems a little murky in both departments (plot and characterization), like they analyze those questions as they go – or afterwards – instead of looking at the future big picture. As you said – they need a plan!

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  20. Additionally, I think by S5, Dean had learned that Sam was his own man and could make choices for himself. All that backslid after 5 and Dean went back to making (sometimes covert) decisions about Sam's autonomy. Or lack thereof.

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  21. That is one thing I miss about SG as a show runner. When I rewatched season six, you could see that the storyline of Cas actually played through the entire season. Sam getting his soul back was intended to run through the entire season, and I think that got pulled too quickly, but fan reaction to Soulless!Sam wasn't good at the time. It's viewed better now than it was then. But SG didn't manage the financial side of show running so either mid season six or in season seven and Singer took charge and became co-showrunner. That was when the "not planning storylines" got really obvious.

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  22. I actually blame that devolution on the existence of Season 6. If Season 5 had ended the way it obviously was going to, as the series finale, the show would have closed with Dean finally letting Sam go.

    But then Season 6 became a thing, and the writers had to bring Sam back, and then they wrote in that Dean tried desperately to get him back (because the Season 8!Sam backlash would have happened re Dean if Dean hadn't), and it all went downhill from there as far as Dean letting Sam go. And by the end of Season 9, Sam was in the same position. I hope the show ends with the brothers finally letting each other be at peace.

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  23. Agreed – for all its faults, Season 6 is one of the most thoughtful and cohesive in the long-term. Cas' storyline, the Alphas, Eve – all of it worked towards Purgatory, and most episodes (including the goofy ones!) tied into that plot in one way or another.

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  24. I do think the Demon Dean story got cut short because they decided they wanted to do Fan Fiction as the 200th episode and if Dean were a Demon they couldn't make it work. Dean had to be there and couldn't be a threat. So DD got dumped for the sake of meta. I'd be more upset, but they have done so little with making the Mark of Cain that I don't think Demon!Dean would have been handled well. Even when he was a demon, all Dean did was sing bad karaoke, kill other demons, keep Lester from going to Hell because of his deal and be honest with Anne Marie that he was just in it for the sex. In Tall Tales regular Dean got a girl into bed by lying and saying he was a Hollywood producer, so in some ways DD was better than regular Dean. Basically, I think the writers are afraid to have Dean do anything too bad, which makes both Demon Dean and MOC Dean less than compelling.

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  25. Actually, Kripke said that if the show had ended in season five, Dean would have said yes to Michael and both Sam and Dean would have gone into the Cage, so the original plan didn't include Dean letting Sam go quite as thoroughly as he did in season five.

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  26. Really? Didn't know that. Interesting! I stand corrected then. Though I still think Dean's 180 on that front between Seasons 5 and 6 was sort of a turning point both brothers' characterizations haven't recovered from.

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  27. Which is why I watch Supernatural and keep myself away from the fanbase in general.

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  28. *standing ovation*

    It's refreshing to see my exact perspective about this article articulated so well.

    Couldn't agree more with:

    1. Sam/Dean fans have always been a fickle bunch - indeed throw in a bro hug and make the universe center around Sam and they seem pretty happy. Give Dean the spotlight and there is trouble in paradise.
    2. Sam-fans telling Dean-hards that the show is about "the brothers" and the heavy Sam focus was Deans storyline. - Ah, yes, this was still happening as recently as last season when Dean fans wanted more focus on Dean, we were told that nonsense, Dean's focus and storyline has always been Sam. We should be content! Even Jensen would toe the party line on this one on occasion for the sake of PR.
    3. Now for the first season ever we actually have a heavy Dean focus and BOOM, the Sam-base explodes. - Sam's characterization has been weak since season 1. Ten years later, when Dean finally has a story focused on him, everyone suddenly speaks up about Sam. Suddenly the bro-bond isn't what's important and what should keep Sam fans happy as Dean fans were told. Uh..huh.
    4. I don't care for either Sam or Dean anymore - And how could you? The characters are going in circles, poor copies of what they were in the early years. This series should have ended after season 5.
    5. Hey, at least it warrants a whole spoilertv article I guess. - Is that what it was? An article? It read to me like pure whiny, drivel. I almost wanted to give the author a pacifier.
    6. .Sam was never a well developed character - 100% agreed. Underdeveloped, two dimensional, not very likeable, and just plain boring. It's why every season the writers have to give him bells and whistles. He just doesn't cut it on his own. Dean has always been the more popular, better developed character from the get go.

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  29. Agreed.
    It's taken fandom 10 years to finally speak up for Sam and realize how boring and flat the character is. What a coincidence it happened when the spotlight was finally shone on Dean. Even the polls cited by this author were from 2 years ago, meaning season 8 yet the article claims Sam lost of a lot of his qualities since season 5. So what was fandom doing between seasons 5-9 that they waited this long to make these complaints known?

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  30. Let's be honest here. The author could have picked any 20 positive characteristics at random and made them to fit Sam, and then also showed how they are no longer applicable. Within 10 seasons, 200+ episodes, there is ample room to show how any character has changed. In fact someone could show the exact opposite, how these characteristics are still in place if they really wanted too, but since Sam is quite boring/flat character, I won't hold my breathe on anything boring to write it or wanting to read it.

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  31. Spot on article and very true to the slow decline of Sam as a character on SPN. I admit I have stopped watching season 9 was the final straw for me the treatment of Sam was inexcusable .However as much has it would be nice to see some of Sam's characterstics restored , his past acknowledged and the connections to a world he had a major destiny in recognised I have no belief it will happen.

    Unless we get a Sam thinking writer in the writers room who sees Sam's pov and wants to see it I cannot see much changing.

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  32. Sam Winchester has always been the most boring, "flat" character in the series, and the only difference I'm seeing in season 10 is that Dean finally has the main arc focused on him. As far as fandom waking up to how boring and flat Sam is, well, it took you long enough. I guess this is what happens when fandom romanticizes the "bro bond" and the "toxicity" of having characters joined at the hip over individual characterization. As a Dean fan, nonshipper, I'm glad the focus of season 10 is on Dean. Happy to see all the overrated bro moments gone, and shipper baiting eliminated. The show is much better with Dean as the focus and everything else supporting it. Don't forget that for years upon years, Dean did this for Sam even though Sam was always so flat and boring and pandering to Sam fans made no sense. Well, now the writers have woken up and realized that the dynamic Dean Winchester works best driving the show. Unfortunately for Sam, all other characters do seem to easily outshine him. Even Cole and Crowley this season have captured by attention more, and quite effortlessly too. I see more people asking about Cole and Crowley than Sam. Ratings seem to show that the way the show is written this season works. I hope they continue with Dean as the focus and what's his name in the background.

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  33. There can be articles about Sam and ones that can actually be well thought out .Chris is echoing alot that ex fans like me have been feeling. Sorry if Dean fans like yourself cannot relate to the article but there is a Dean one that might suit you better .

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  34. Really you think it is only now where have you been ?

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  35. Thanks for the article Chris.

    I'm not quite surprised at the Dean Defense force showing up, I'm talking about those who can't tell the difference between a character being a plot device and a character having POV. Mind you, I understand how they mind be confused on the subject, because unlike Sam-fans, they can always take Dean's POV for granted.

    Just know this : Dean can have the mytharc. It's OK. We don't care. Because mytharc without character development or consistency (so Sam's mytharc since season 6, as pointed out by Chris) is completely useless. Dean is not the problem, so you can chill now.


    And we're really starting to complain loudly now because without the mytharc, which was just an illusion of development, its become evident for pretty much everybody that Sam is, in fact, barely a supporting character anymore. This season he's even behind Crowley, Castiel and Rowena IMO.



    There are multiple possibilites for the writers to try to build Sam as a character without removing Dean's screen time : cutting on the horribly long Rowena/Corwley scene for example, or using the standalone eps for that. They just don't though. But there's no way I'll accept that.

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  36. Co-signed. Season 10 has been refreshing. Finally giving Dean a mytharc has really paid off. Sam for me is a non-issue at this point. I haven't found his character interesting since season 2 and even then he was never my favorite character. Most of these traits given to him were by fans who over idealize him. I don't believe he ever exemplified many of these traits to the fullest then or now, so what has been lost isn't much at all.

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  37. Sam has always been used as a plot device. That has been part of his character from the get-go and he never had as much development and characterization as other characters. This article reads to me like people complaining that vegetables are healthy. Yeah, what's new. Sam was wallpaper in season 1, season 2, season 3, season 4, season 5, season 6, season 7, season 8, season 9, and *gasps* season 10. I'm shocked.

    Where are the articles about how much time Dean's character was sidelined for Sam? *crickets*

    Yeah, thoughts so...

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  38. This article or it's breakdown of traits isn't scientific or even objective. Where's the article on Dean and what he has lost being Sam's shadowed. Probably an article that won't be written for obvious reasons.

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  39. I've been in fandom for a long time and the complaining about Sam has gone up this year because Dean was finally given an arc of his own away from Sam.

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  40. I think you hit the motherlode with that NCIS comparison! SPN does seem to be structured like a crime procedural with a myth arc, not unlike any CSI or CM, Specially in later seasons, where if the stories are still compelling in their own right, the character's become solidified in their roles and there is little evolution in their narratives.


    Pick any character from any procedural show, Sam and Dean are much more alike to a Mac Taylor or Derek Morgan than to a Buffy Summers or Root. They have become static characters even when they have a myth arc.


    And I do think it is the crux of a long running series. There's always the fear of ending up way far from the start, and it's easier to keep the characters recognizable, but I don't think SPN should have given up in evolving its leads. The writing is not actually bad, but there is no effort on it, no desire of complexity nor risk.

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  41. Dean gets a storyline away from Sam. Instant complaints about how Sam is being sideline and isn't interesting anymore. Predictable.

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  42. And this is why he was popular to begin with. I can't imagine Supernatural without Dean. But I can imagine Supernatural without Sam.

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  43. Souless Sam was one of the worst storylines of Supernatural. SG's run on SPN was not something I look back upon fondly. She took an already forgettable character and essentially gave him a lobotomy. What was she thinking?

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  44. Demon Dean was always going to be dropped so that Dean and Sam could be together solving cases and then to have a midseason cliffhanger and a resolution in the finale. It's always been that way with major storylines like this. It would have been very easy to give Demon Dean a temporary, one-episode fix, and then have him revert back after the 200th had they really wanted demon dean for the entire season. These are writers. Writing is their job and if they really wanted demon dean, they would have had him. I happen to enjoy the way they plotted it out. I enjoy everything they've done with Dean this season and enjoy the Cain storyline immensely.

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  45. He's very beautiful tall, dimpled, blue-green eyed background wallpaper though. Give the guy some lines or just have him stand around naked I say. That will please the crazies that just want him silent and pushed aside on the Dean show and Sam fans as compensation for turning him into a glorified guest star on the show.

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  46. Thank you for the interesting and insightful article, cris684.
    Please ignore the haters and extreme fans. Reading their comments it is quite obvious they have not even read your meta nor have they grasped what you were trying to say. They are just repeating their usual phrases and complains they always do when someone writes something about Sam.

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  47. ^THIS!Thank you!

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  48. Couldn't agree more!

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  49. "I will give Jeremy Carver some credit though in correcting one of the bigger issues of the previous seasons, and that is restoring the brother relationship." Crediting Carver with fixing something he was one offenders in breaking sounds pretty off to me.

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  50. Thanks for the comments. Back in the Sera Gamble days, this site used to get an instant flood of Sam haters whenever there was a spoiler about Sam. I'm happy to say I haven't seen it in a while. Don't worry, this stuff rolls right off me.

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  51. Is your argument that using lead characters as plot devices is good writing? I wrote an article focusing on Dean and the MOC storyline a little over a week ago. When I considered writing this one, I looked at the results of the other character polls as well and thought that the characterists that people had submitted for Dean were still in place in the writing . That's why I didn't write the same article for Dean. It would have been very short - a sentence maybe.

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  52. Thanks. Personally I've always had an argument that one character "has the mytharc" because the mytharc really should be bigger than a single character's storyline - and has on this show until recently. The YED storyline/Apocalypse were much bigger than a single character. But anyway, that's not what this article is about. Thanks for reading and commenting.

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  53. The problems with your argument is that there are Sam fans (there wouldn't be if he was always been boring and flat) and that this is isn't the first season anyone's noticed any issues with his characterization. I can't speak to the show's early years because I wasn't in the fandom then. I do speak up though when I think Dean or Cas is given crap to work with too and thought season 7 was a good example of that.

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  54. Thanks. Unfortunately I tend to agree with a lot of your points.

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  55. Thanks for the comments. There are a lot of different issues with this show. When I was thinking about writing these articles, I was thinking of 3 articles (one for Cas too) and realizing that the issues that I was focusing on most strongly with each of the characters may be most strongly represented with that character, but transcends them and is seen to a lesser degree in the other storylines as well. For example, I think Cas's characterization is a mess too, but the decline is harder to define because his identity has always been so closely tied with being an "angel" rather than an individual. Anyway, I'm not sure I'm making sense, but thanks for commenting, and feel free to expand more on what you disagree with too. I'd love it if there was some smart discussion that came out of this.

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  56. I think there are a lot of issues and the shift away from Sam and Dean driving the action is one of them. I put together a "top ten" list of issues last spring, with that issue was number 1, but could have easily kept writing and adding more issues!

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  57. Sad but true. I'm mourning the character. He was a big part of what drew me into this show.

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  58. Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  59. Wow, your article expresses all the reasons I do not watch SPN the night it is on any longer. Carver ruined the show for me his first ep when Sam had not looked for Dean. The "ran, hit dog, met girl" was AWFUL and Sam would never have done that. I did not like Sacrifice and was screaming at the TV, "ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS..SAM" There have been some good eps in the Carver arc, but not having the Kripke Sam has taken the family bond out of the mix and that is what I watched the show for.

    Can not stand Charlie and her smarter than you and I have to save you every time I am on screen. I did not mind soulless Sam, thought Jared was super in those eps.

    So for me SPN is just another show that goes to my Hopper for later and that makes me very sad, the Winchester brothers were members of my family and I just want all the fleas from a hundred camels to infest Carver's crotch. ;)

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  60. I never had a favorite brother until Sam did not look for Dean and I just have a hard time now caring about Sam..makes me sad.

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  61. Couldn't agree more. Sam from 1-5 I could relate to, though in some ways he was a bit selfish but relatable. Sam in 6 and 7 I took had been beaten down a lot so was understandably all over the place.


    Sam in 8 and 9, well it killed most of my good will towards Sam, at best he was boring at worse he turned into a whiny kid in an adult body who we have to wait to the season finale to suddenly make a declaration that will explain why he's been a tool for so long. And what was his reasoning in season 8 - he was jealous of Dean's friends and didn't feel good enough. What a cop out, because I had no problem with him not looking until they had him use the agreement and telling everyone who would listen that he was not to blame for doing things but then it was because in Sacrifice he felt he let Dean down and he was sorry for it??? Two second declaration doesn't balance out a season of episodes saying 'it was because of x, I did y'


    Season 9 the flopping and flipping, sure Sam could be angry but there was no way I could say he had a right to be for so long in such a way that hit Dean the hardest considering while Dean came wandering back with a mark from the father of murder. Sam held onto what in essence was the same anger Dean did in season 8, because being abandoned for Dean is equivalent to Sam being not in control of things. But Dean was told to stow it which he did. And he kept in gone when Sam needed to be taken care of. But Sam not so much - the best we got was 'I lied' after he kept watching Dean be used as a weapon that had been verging on going nuclear a number of times. So that made me scrap the caring brother angle for Sam because 'I lied' and saying Crowley will do as he is told doesn't balance out the rest or show real growth for me.


    As for season 10, sure he's been on the surface the emotional rock but still I don't have a sodding clue why he has turned into that after 8 and 9's performance outside his own shame because I don't get Sam has actually learned anything because did I see growth at the end of each finale - no two minutes later I got a cliff hanger which didn't show me Sam growing. Hell Lester was still 'I only did that because you were a demon' like it was also Dean's fault just like he was saying in season 8 with the agreement.


    Take away the mytharc from Sam and give him a POV and the writers have given us a conflicted somewhat boring mess of I don't know what but sure as hell ain't smart or relatible because Sam's declaration of 'Dean's in trouble?' Really, Dean as a character has been screaming that since season 4 personally and season 9 with regard to the mark and Sam is supposed to declare it now? Like it has sunk in and we are supposed to get it? No, Sam is coming across with that declaration as someone who has just binge watched on Netflix and got what the rest of got years ago. Unless he has suddenly gotten that Dean is in trouble in a way that isn't making a statement about him - if so when did that revelation happen? And if it suddenly did it took Sam till 32 to get that that was possible?


    If Carver's idea is to deconstruct Sam and build him back up he hasn't done much with the building up in a way that makes me want to care for the guy.


    And Sharonally I get you are about to tear me a new one for saying all of this but it is how I feel the writing for Sam has gone in the past few seasons.

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  62. I completely forgot about that guy watching Sam from the street whilst he was at Amelia's. I'll just decide that that man was supposed to be her boyfriend. Even if it makes no sense. Really interesting article by the way. Thank you for writing it! I hope the writers see this, I really do.

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  63. I enjoyed Soulless Sam and the acting from Jared pulling all the different parts back together was one of the best I've seen from him.

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  64. Sigh, based on your many, many comments, someone clearly didn't read the article. Perhaps you should try taking off your Dean-tinted glasses for once. Are you actually trying to say people only like Sam because of his relationship with Dean? That is laughably inaccurate. And no one is trying to take the mytharc away from Dean. Jeez you're acting out the pettiness you accuse Sam fans of. *Ooh someone wrote an article about Sam, and not Dean, how dare they?!*

    The writer of the article is spot on in discussing fundamental issues with the writing of Sam. Sam shows up for five minutes an episode to deliver exposition and get knocked out. Whenever Sam has had a mytharc of some sort, Dean has had a massive emotional arc. Think back to the Gadreel stuff, and how much emotional material Jensen got to sink his teeth into, while we barely saw Sam. The past few seasons have involved Dean having both the myth and emotional arcs, while Sam does nothing. Not to mention all of the relationships Dean has with so many other characters, while Sam has none. Supernatural used to be Sam and Dean's story through Dean's eyes; now it is Dean's story through Dean's eyes, which is inherently problematic.

    Sam and Dean (and Jared and Jensen) are equal leads and should be treated as such. At this point, Sam is written as a background character. And no, it is not due to lack of interest. Contrary to your imagined fantasy land, there are actually tonnes of Sam fans out there still invested in his character.

    But who I am kidding? You won't properly read this. You will simply accuse me of trying to steal 'Dean's big story' for Sam. Talking to Extreme Dean Girls is like talking to a brick wall.

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  65. all the fleas from a hundred camels to infest Carver's crotch.


    lol


    But heartedly agree, he can't control the writers room as we get Charlie and the neo duo and sex slave dogs

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  66. I agree with many of the points made in this article. The thing that annoyed me the most (still does) is the dumbing down of Sam. Here was a guy who went to Stanford (on a full ride) and in Season 6 could recognize an Enochian symbol on a heart but couldn't recognize Enochian when it was scratched all over the side of the Impala? Really?? Also when the name Metatron was first introduced from the tablet, Sam says a transformer wrote it? Sam never was that stupid. He would have recognized the name of the Scribe of God. They are making him less than what he was before. Sam was a smart, computer savvy guy with a dark side (admittedly). Now he is Deans paler shadow who doesn't seem to get any of the smart ideas he used to. Sam not looking for Dean when Dean went to Purgatory was out of character, I admit, but he had a very difficult year -losing Bobby, his sanity and everything else so I could excuse that to a point. Anyway, very interesting article.

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  67. Thank you for an excellent article. I've written a few essays (well, articles, rants whatever they may be called) about Sam and his declining presence in the show. This articulates how I have been feeling for a few years now. A good example of just how bad this has become, is a moment from a recent episode when Dean says: "Alright, so big brother didn’t get along with little brother, was pissed that he was driving his baby. I get it." This presented a great moment for them to reflect that Sam HAS, in fact, driven Dean's car (twice) when he thought he was dead. It was hugely poignant and instead we got Sam saying: "What are you saying, If you died and I drove your car, you’d kill me?" It became a joke - but not a self aware one, as it should have been (and it even seemed to forget - and make light of the fact, that Sam thought Dean WAS dead at the end of the last season). This highlighted just how irrelevant Sam's past experiences have been up to this point. But that is what Sam has slowly become. He's a mess of inconsistencies. There's been no follow through on either his emotions (Dean tricking him, Kevin's death, Dean's death, demon!Dean's accusations and attempt to kill him) or his what he's been through in the past - specially his blood addiction in light of Dean's current situation. It's heartbreaking to see such a wonderful character whittled away like this. Sadly, Sam's not a fan favourite (as in, majority of fans), so I don't think the writers actually care that much. He plays a role that feeds the story lines and that's pretty much it now. Though, I'd argue he's barely that in S10. Thanks again for the thoughts. It doesn't help keep up my hopes, but it does at least make me feel like I'm not the only one seeing the disintegration of a once deep and layered character. Ash

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  68. After reading the article and then reading the comments I have to say something. Can people stop calling Sam fans bitter/childish? Gun to my head, I'd say that Dean is my favourite character (one of my two favourite characters ever). However that doesn't mean that I don't agree with every single point made above. Sam isn't even half the character that he used to be. I don't see how people can deny that. Sure one of these articles could be written about Dean too, but I feel like the flattening of characters can best be seen in Sam.

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  69. I agree. The two Winchesters no longer drive the story or plot -- they are driven by it -- when attention is paid to them, and very little is. Both Winchesters serve more as stage props or are pimped as cameos just to remind viewers that they are watching Supernatural. The average ten minutes they are in an episodes does not satisfy me in any way.

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  70. Oh, I couldn't agree more w/you about Carver. He has been the WORST thing to happen to this show, and I won't give him credit for not further destroying the brothers' relationship as he attempted to do in Seasons 8 and 9. Granted, they are not fighting but that is largely b/c Sam is not even "present." You can't fight or argue w/someone who never disagrees or puts up a fight.

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  71. Ross, I believe Bob Singer or someone else associated w/the show said that person was indeed Amelia's ex.

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  72. Agreed. The Demon!Dean story was awful so prolonging it probably wouldn't have made it any better.



    I feel bad for JA b/c, IMO, Jensen still hasn't been allowed the freedom to be anyone other than Dean. I know he wanted to do something new, but that, clearly, ain't gonna happen. We should have seen DD wreaking havoc or causing problems instead of being boring, but we didn't. MOC!Dean is no better. He has been described as bloodthirsty and consumed by rage by Metatron and Cain, but we have yet to see any of that. All I see on my screen is good ole Dean.


    This has been the most boring season of Supernatural I have ever watched. Nothing is happening w/anyone.

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  73. But that is just your view. and one that does Sam a disservice I did not give Sam traits that were not already there nor were they invented by fans with 'stars in their eyes' and if that is a pov you want to put forward then the same argument can be made for Dean.


    Whether you like it or not Sam fans like me did relate to those traits and not because they were invented in my little fangirling heart.

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  74. I really enjoyed S6. IMO, it was better than S5 though the second half of S6 wasn't as strong as the first half. I wish they hadn't caved to pressure b/c I enjoyed SS and wouldn't have minded if that arc had lasted all season. It was interesting.



    I was prepared to enjoy DD, but the first episode showed me the writers were unwilling to take any chances w/Dean's character.

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  75. Yes, I think S6 is the best post-Kripke season.

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  76. I agree that the writing is lacking for BOTH Sam and Dean this year. As you said, Dean has the "mytharc" but b/c of the writers' unwillingness to take any chances w/his character, he may as well NOT have it b/c nothing is being done w/it.

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  77. This was a well thought out and well written article, thank you. I left Supernatural boards a long time ago and rarely post here on SPN threads because of comments like below. SPN brings out the best and the worst in the fandom. I choose to focus on the positive.
    Dean Winchester is my favorite male character, that is no secret. That doesn't mean I agree with how Sam is written and the absolute schizophrenic writing for him over the past 10 seasons. I hate the fanboy wars, I hate the shipping wars and I hate the constant whining. Sam's character has been through development, decimation and digression. Now he's holding steady at just being Sam. He's just being a brother. There is nothing wrong with that. The fact that the past few seasons have more characters than the early seasons has a lot to do with that. While I love Crowley and like Cas, nothing replaces my brothers sharing screen time. I am into Supernatural for the story. Not for which ever brother is the focus right now. It is right now because tomorrow, next week, or next season, it will all change and it will be a different group of fans crying foul. I didn't start this show to watch the Sam show. I didn't start it for the Dean or John show. I started this show to watch a creepy, fun and scary show on urban legends, lore and the love of two brothers. I may not have liked some things, I may have even hated some things, like every single breathing thing about Jeremy Carver, but ultimately, my love for this show won't let me stop watching. I FF through Claire. I FF through Cas when he was with Hannah. I FF most of the Angel stuff and most definitely FF through Metatron while cursing like a sailor. I do that because I get that to love something does not mean you like every single thing about it.

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  78. I actually don't think there would have been any backlash on Dean if Dean hadn't tried to find a way for Sam to escape the Cage. The difference btw the two is Dean saw and knew what Sam did and where Sam had gone. Sam also knew there was no way out of the Cage. I can honestly say I wasn't expecting Dean to search for a way to rescue Sam, and I don't recall there being a lot of speculation about what Dean was doing to help Sam over that summer. Plus, Sam reappeared at the end so there was a lot of talk about what Sam was.



    However, btw S7 and S8, there was a lot of talk about how what Sam would do to find Dean. Even Sam haters assumed Sam would search for Dean. No one expected him to not do anything, which is what Carver had him do. Plus, the way Dean "died" was not absolute. At the end of S7, Sam sees Dean and Castiel disappear. In their world, a disappearance doesn't equal death so what made Sam decide Dean was dead? I'm fine w/Sam not looking for Dean if he truly believed Dean died and was in Heaven, but why did he think Dean was dead? That was the real question people wanted answered, but Carver refused to actually tell a story. As Chris pointed out in her article, if Carver had taken just a few of his precious Amelia FBs and devoted them to Sam's state of mind instead and what happened immediately after Crowley disappeared on him, the story would have been infinitely better . . . . . assuming, of course, that Carver addressed Sam's state of mind and his reasoning behind thinking Dean was dead.

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  79. I read your post and agree 100 % ... thx

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  80. Let me start by saying, each Carver season has been progressively worse - as a whole - in my opinion. With that in mind, S10 has been the absolute WORST season of Supernatural ever written for me. It is completely boring. I barely remember what happened in an episode the next day b/c nothing significant or interesting actually happened. I am bored w/all the main players though Sam is the most boring of all w/Castiel as a close second. I know the focus of your article is on Sam, but I must say I think the entire season has been bad and has its problems. To me, this season has been very forgettable.

    But w/r/t Sam, I think your SamBot analogy is perfect. Sam is not actually present w/any thoughts or feelings. He serves as a plot device and a "yes man" to anything Dean wants. While that kind of support is great in real life, it makes for pretty boring tv. I am a bi-bro fan. I honestly love both brothers equally though I find myself complaining about the writing for Sam more than I do for Dean. I have no problem w/Dean having the mytharc and never did. I was looking forward to DD. I was fine w/Sam supporting Dean. I wanted to see that b/c we rarely get to see that. My one fear w/this switch was that the writers wouldn't actually let Dean do anything controversial or interesting (which they haven't), and that the writers would not give proper attention to Sam's POV (b/c they rarely do). I can't say I am shocked that my fears came to pass, and the season is playing out as I assumed it would.

    To stick w/Sam, his support role has been completely passive. It's just not interesting, and that has nothing to do w/Jared; that is a problem w/the writing. The writers are not giving Jared anything to do. There's only so many worried/concerned looks he can give. He's just there, supporting Dean. It's boring. I'm not saying I want the brothers at each other's throats or arguing all the time, but what's wrong w/Sam pushing back on Dean a little, challenging him a bit, finding Cain on his own, talking to characters, being active. When Dean supported Sam, he was never "absent" from the arc. We would see Dean doing stuff, talking to people, giving orders, etc. Here, Sam just blends into the background. He's so absent from the show, Jared may as well not be on set, IMO.

    I hated Sam's OOC speeches last year, but at least that conflict held my interest. There is not a single aspect of the show that is holding my interest this year. I am literally watching out of a habit and to conclude the season . . . . but that is for another article.

    I think the problems w/the writing for Sam began in Kripke's run, but have worsened during Carver's run. I disagree w/you about S6 and S7 taking away Sam's characteristics. I think the writing just didn't focus on Sam in the way it should have once those mytharcs he had were resolved, which brings us back to this show's problem of not properly exploring Sam's POV/emotional arc. I didn't see Sam as really becoming a non-entity until this season. In seasons 8 and 9, he was just largely written OOC in my opinion.

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  81. Then you and I are looking at different sites. BY FAR the most I've ever seen Sam fans upset was Season 8.

    And she didn't once say she wanted Sam to have the "arc" this year. She was complaining that he's not being fleshed out and spend WAY to much time tied up or hit over the head. I don't care if he has the arc. Jared had the Gadreel arc last year and we STILL got almost nothing from the character Sam. That was the point. It's not screen time or super powers she's was talking about. It that he is no longer being written as the complex character he is.

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  82. Well I wouldn't watch the show without either of them. Coming from the writers and creator's mouth the show IS the brothers. Which even in the last few seasons they've maintained, despite everything else.

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  83. I can imagine Supernatural without Sam now as well because he gets to do nothing because Dean is the center of the Supernatural world because fans made it that way.

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  84. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I get the sense that a lot of people (several writers included) think that without the supernatural mytharc, Sam is just a blank slate, and that's not true, or at least it didn't use to be. There's some truth to the argument that there's always been more inconsistency in the writing for Sam than Dean, but that doesn't mean there was nothing there. That much came across when I ran the poll. Fans had a better idea of who he was than they probably realized.


    I really enjoy episodes that focus more on Sam on his own, Sam developing relationships, and other small things like that. I'd love to see a season where Sam really drives the action by bringing his own style and talents to the mix.

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  85. Thanks for the comments. I was expecting to get some heat on the Buffybot comparison, but it just seemed to fit for me.

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  86. Thanks. I'm glad you liked the article. I feel like there's been so much inconsistency in the way he's written these days that some of the writers have figured he's a blank slate, and they can write him whatever way is convenient at the moment. I remember watching the Amy episode in season 7, and liking that Dabb and Loughlin seemed to be trying to do something deeper with Sam, but at the same time, thinking, "Hey, why are they about season 4 issues?" (the monster stuff). And then I realized, "Crap, that means the writers have never had the discussion of who Sam is now (post-Apocalypse) and where his character should go from here. They're trying to do something, but they don't know what the plan is so they're recycling old stuff."


    It was disappointing because I was really hoping that season 7 would address, more than anything else, how all that had happened to Sam (Lucifer possession, demon blood, Hell, soullessness) had changed the character and what the new Sam would look like.

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  87. Thanks for the comments. I was semi-optimistic at the start of this season that the writing for Sam might be better (with the teasers of a dark arc, the first few episodes writing Sam in a more proactive way), but then it didn't last. Something shifted maybe about 6 or 7 episodes in and things just seemed to be revert back to the way it's been. It's hard for me to explain because I've been so checked out of the show recently, but maybe someday someone will take his characterization seriously again.

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  88. You have a point, although I think he had some help.

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  89. Wow, with the graphic imagery! haha. I kind of got tired of talking about the beginning of season 8, but I certainly saw and agreed that there were serious issues. Thanks for commenting.

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  90. To me it doesn't count if it's not on the show. Filling in plot holes through interviews is cheating!

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  91. Oh, I agree. I was just confirming Ross's guess. While never confirmed in the show, according to the writers/producer, the guy in the shadows was Ameila's husband.

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  92. Don't even waste your time trying to explain it. Some will always think any complaint about the writing for Sam automatically means that person begrudges Dean getting a storyline or the mytharc. It's ridiculous.



    I don't know how many times I've been told - on other forums - I hate Dean or have been called a "Sam stan" simply b/c I complain about the writing for Sam. Never once have I ever advocated that the writers STOP writing for Dean or that they NOT flesh out his character b/c unlike those ppl, I actually like both brothers and both actors. Wanting some character development for Sam does not mean Dean shouldn't get any. The two are mutually exclusive in my mind.

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  93. I have been shouting about the lack of Sam's story since season 4. That was the first year that the show changed from the story of two brothers to "What's wrong with Sam according to Dean". Deans story has always been right in our face, but in Season 4 we had to leave Sam's story in the background to maintain the mystery.

    Plus, how can anybody think that Dean hasn't had the myth arc until this season when he sold his soul at the end of season two and we watched every step of his struggle all the way through season 3... He went to Hell and nearly every episode in Season 4 revolved around Dean and his mission for heaven. People like to ignore all of the focus on Dean through Season 4 and 5 just because we never saw him as Michael. Bull! Lazarus Rising was the first of many episodes where Sam seemed to appear just to maintain Jared's contract and to add a little mystery.

    If we look at episodes that may "seem" to be about Sam, like Jus inBello (demons seemed to attack because Of Sam)... they often are so focused on Dean and what he is feeling that we barely hear from Sam... Except for exercising the assistant DA / demon, nearly every other moment was all about Dean. Sam's story is shown to us through other characters talking to Dean. Dean's story is told to us by Dean talking to other characters until he finally opens up to Sam. Dean talks up his feelings for ages with a demon in the basement. He brushes off his fears about Hell and she ups his worry about Sam...

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  94. Season 10 is better than season 9 though. Season 9 was like the writers last attempt to make Sam the center of the universe even though he's always been really boring. Season 10 was like, "Okay, everyone loves Dean. Let's also make him the center of the major story and see if the works," and surprise, surprise it did because this season is 10x better than last years and the only people complaining about it are extreme sam girls.

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  95. lmao to the brickwall comment. someone spends way too much time at spn gossip. but anyway this is what happens when you're an extreme sam girl but your priority is tinhatting about j2 being lovers. you focus on the wrong thing and 10 years later, whoops sam is boring as hell and no one likes him anymore.. whoops.

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  96. flattening of characters can best be seen in Sam because he was always the flattest character to begin with. please fight me on this. you can't.

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  97. So according to all the Dean stans Sam has always been the center of the story while being so incredibly boring that he should really be written off. BUT the show was renewed NINE times, in spite of this boringness? Because not many shows make it to season 10, which you declare is the FIRST and ONLY time Dean got his due. But Supernatural did.

    Well, Okay then.

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  98. A quick glance at your username indeed confirms it'd be a waste of time to argue with you on this.

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  99. Thanks for the detailed response and I'm glad you liked the article. To address a couple of your points:

    " I see Sam in the 2nd half of S6 up to end of S7 as someone who is convalescing after a serious illness, while afraid at the same time that the illness will come back."

    I agree with this up to a point. Had Sam rebounded back to his usual self after Cas took away the Hell damage, then I wouldn't have included it in the article. But this passiveness is still there, and how long has it been since the show had made a reference to Sam's time in the cage? That storyline has been long forgotten. So I see it as the beginning of a long-term change rather than temporary response to Sam's state.



    About his obsessiveness/driven aspect, I see his Stanford history as another example of this. What Sam did - his high level of achievement that earned him a place at Stanford against all odds given his upbringing - is a sign of a driven personality type. He's a type-A compulsive personality type, and that wouldn't just change, even given the lessons he learned in season 4. I also think there have been a lot of events since then that would have triggered a more compulsive response from Sam - basically any time Sam was feeling not in control (the hallucinations, the possessions, whenever Dean was seriously threatened, when the Leviathans were hunting them, succeeding in the closing the gates of hell, etc.).

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  100. Thanks. Great post!

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  101. Thanks for the response. I'm all for character growth if it feels organic, it's shown and makes sense all along the way. I don't feel like that's what I'm seeing here, which is why I have issues with it.

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  102. I agree with so much of this. As I've alluded to and even said before, I think things went downhill once SG lost control of the show. Certainly, the first two episodes of season one set up a story for exploring Sam's hallucinations and emotional POV. Then it got dropped like a hot potato. Jared has said that he tried to do things like showing Sam grounding himself by pressing his hand in every episode only to find out that it all landed on the cutting room floor. I don't know exactly why the decisions to totally neglect Sam's story in season sever were made. The last blow, for me was having Cas "take the worst of Sam's hallucinations" and then showing how SAM'S insanity affected CAS.

    As I said I like season six, but seven really started the elimination of Sam's characterization.

    As to season eight, for me it's not that Sam was OOC in not looking for Dean or Kevin. In many ways it is, but I could see him coming to that place. The problem was we NEVER saw why Sam made those choices. At first I bought Carver's line that he thought Sam was being mature, but fandom was very vocal about it being OOC and then later Sam became hated for not looking. It was then that they needed to backtrack for one episode to give a look at Sam immediately in the aftermath of destroying Roman Enterprises. I read somewhere recently, that Bob Singer was asked if they were going to look at Sam between the end of season seven and the beginning of season eight and the answer was no. So people are still expressing the desire to see what happened to Sam and the writers have dug in their heels and outright refuse to do it.

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  103. You mean from the writers he employs?

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  104. I'm a relatively new SPN fan (hiatus before Season 9), so it's interesting to hear about all the fan speculation and arguments that have happened throughout the series. I can imagine how jarring it was for fans to find out Sam hadn't looked for Dean. Thanks for the insight! And I see what you mean about the differences between the two "deaths" and potential fan response.

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  105. I've been shouting with you since season four. My opinion is that I want Dean to have as much mytharc as he can handle as long as he gets the exact amount of insight into how he feels about it that Sam has in prior arcs and as long as Sam gets the POV Dean had when Sam had the mytharc. Other subsections of the fandom want Dean to have both the mytharc and the look at his POV while Sam gets coffee.

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  106. I agree. I shouldn't have to go to a convention or read an interview to find out what was going on. It makes me angry to do so. OTOH, it also allows me to ignore "canon" that doesn't appear on screen. Cough Chuck is God cough.

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  107. Robert James WatkinsMarch 16, 2015 at 2:19 AM

    I completely disagree, Sam is the likeable screw up. He tries to do the right thing, and often screws up.

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  108. I disagree. The destruction of Sam began in season 8. Also not see Sam supporting demanding an injured Dean tell him he had to kill the 5 guys when Sam abandoned Dean and didn't even note he was missing until the racket of Dean fighting the guys caught his attention. The talk with Cas about how Dean, Cas, Sam had to kill but what Dean did fighting multiple guys alone. And when Dean asked him Sam doesn't try to reassure Dean that it shook him but he doesn't think badly of Dean. He doesn't contradict Dean's assumption that Dean is a monster. Yet again end of 9x14 he's all light with Dean and then tells Cas Dean's in trouble. Why would he think that? Why didn't he say it to Dean instead of shining him on? He tells Dean it's not good to go off hunting but work on the MOC. Yet very next ep telling Dean to stop researching MOC and work on the case of college coeds. Yet again in 10x15 he hides what he's researching from Dean and has a problem that Dean wants to go on a case not attached to the MOC. Hardly looks supportive to me.

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  109. I have often seen the panic button hit by some when you mention Sam having a pov .That it automatically equates to wanting Sam to have everything and deny Dean anything which is as far away from reality as you can get.Although there are those who are quite happy to want the other way round and Sam be punished for having the audacity for having the mytharc to begin with.

    Sam's issues and damage as been treated with indifference , that somehow they were not relevant enough to be explored esp if those who 'care' about him are the ones inflicting the damage on him .And now are not even really reflected in Sam at all..

    For any character pov is important but even more so for a lead and that seems to be something the show has forgotten and speaking for myself the over exposure of Dean's pov has not done him any favours. The earlier seasons just seem to get a far fairer balance than the season's following season 3.

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  110. Sorry, it was meant as a little bit of a joke. What I meant is that breaking the show seems to have been a group effort.

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  111. TigerlilyPeatfingersMarch 16, 2015 at 1:37 PM

    Thank you so much for not only articulating but backing up with research and analysis why I've been having so many problems with the show since season 6, and why I have been niggled by a constant feeling of Sam being missing. I've discussed this so many times with lots of different people but your article is a great summary. I am actually a Dean girl through and through, but as far as I'm concerned, Sam sits at Dean's heart, and therefore you can't love one without the other.
    I also think Sam's absence has damaged Dean's character too, and there has been a certain amount of the same 'flattening' going on with Dean - the show has such a rich history built up for each of the boys, yet seem intent on ignoring it and wasting it.
    I still love watching and intend to watch to the end, but man, I miss both of the rich, layered characters we started with.

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  112. Thanks for jumping in on this conversation. It's good to hear feedback from newer fans too. It sometimes helps to put things in perspective. I jumped in seasons 5/6-ish and I see view seasons 4 and 1, especially, very differently than a lot of people who have been watching from the beginning.

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  113. Thanks for jumping in with this. It's good to hear a different perspective from someone who considers himself more of a Dean fan. I feel like there's a lot of overlap with a lot of the issues (this being one of them), but like you said, issuses often seem to present themselves more strongly with one character. When I was looking at the poll results for Sam, I was struck at how many of these traits were just not being written anymore. Although there were a few on the Dean poll that you could debate, the majority are still very present in the characterization.

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  114. No it has not and I have also been in the fandom along time . Dean has had sl's away from Sam so really him getting the mytharc makes little difference to any of us. It is what Sam needs as a character not what Dean gets that is important to fans like me.

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  115. For sure! It also makes a huge difference when you binge-watch something instead of waiting week-to-week. I breezed through all the brotherly drama in Season 4 and Season 8, but it had to be more agonizing (and annoying) to fans who watched it live.

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  116. Exactly. "Sam, Interrupted"? About Dean. I'm always surprised when fans say the Gadreel storyline was about Sam because Sam was barely present. It was about Dean, what he'd done and the consequences of it for him. It could have been much more about Sam, but as Chris pointed out, how if effected Sam was largely glossed over.

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  117. Wonderful piece, Chris -- really well researched, laid out, and insightful. You've articulated a lot of issues I've touched on over the past few seasons and especially since Carver has come on board as showrunner. I can't help but feel that along with the Alpha vamp, the leviathan, and Sam and Dean being major fugitives, much of Sam's history was written out of the show.

    This example reflects what had been becoming a regular pattern in the writing for Sam – the authenticity of Sam’s reactions have seemed to become less and less important, and secondary to serving whatever plot contrivance need there is at the moment.
    Sam getting knocked out and tied up in most episodes is symbolic of his purpose in the story. He is indeed little more than a plot device. Unlike Dean in the early seasons who still had a very active role in the story, Sam is mostly passive.
    While it's true that Carver has brought the boys back together, he raised the conflict level to eleven for much of two seasons first, and tbh, I don't trust him not to do it again.

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  118. Yep. I particularly appreciated your analysis of how Sam's hell memories were handled as more of a physical issue than emotional/psychological in season seven. That was the season that I started to become uncomfortable about how the writers were treating him as a chew toy rather than a character. It was like they sat around the writers' room tossing ideas around for what would be wrong with Sam next. Since then we've gotten trial sickness Sam and possessed by an angel Sam. This season there's no ailment and he's just a faded shadow of himself.

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  119. Are you sure you aren't thinking of Cas? ;)

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  120. Carver refused to actually tell a story
    Yes! Exactly! I think an argument can be made that Sam had a breakdown, but we shouldn't have to make an argument. Fans shouldn't have to track down clues. It's really a perfect example of how Carve et al simply aren't interested in telling Sam's story.

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  121. I put a post together a few months ago that showed how Castiel's choices are what had driven the overall story arc from S6-8. It wasn't until Dean made the Gadreel deal that either brother really did anything that amounted to a hill of beans. It was that angel storyline that kept things rolling and dragging the Winchesters along with it.

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  122. Agreed. Season six was cohesive and gave us some great episodes -- Adam Glass's best, "Mommy Dearest." Soulless Sam was fascinating, funny, and dark. I wish Gamble had had the kind of support from within the show as well as fans as Carver has gotten.

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  123. The writers didn't have any backbone in writing demon Dean or Sam's "dark" acts while looking for Dean. Kripke showed Sam drinking blood and having sex with a demon. Carver's team gave us Dean punching out abusive boyfriends and singing karaoke. Pfft. There's just won't take chances anymore and there's no horror in the show. It's become a genre soap opera.

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  124. Yes, and you are making sense. The problem with Cas is that his character has been all over the place since season six -- not unlike the way Sam has been treated. Dean is the only one who, up until the Mark of Cain storyline, was just himself without possessions or mental illness or mind wipes and whatnot.

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  125. Very well done analysis. I wish 1) writers could read it and 2) fans don't make it a Sam vs Dean because this is not what it is about.

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  126. Yeah, Carver was extremely defensive during S8 about Sam's storyline. He was warned that fans wouldn't like it, and he did it anyway. He said in an interview that it was a "what if?" storyline. What if Sam didn't look for Dean? I guess because that's what everyone expected. In order to tell his what 'if story,' he had to retcon the "agreement" and warp Sam's characterization. He might have pulled it off, if he'd shown Sam's breakdown or something that would explain his behavior and done it early in the season instead of waiting till the ninth ep to give us some clues about Sam living in a dream world and rubbing the scar on his hand as though doubting his sanity.

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  127. I started this show to watch a creepy, fun and scary show on urban legends, lore and the love of two brothers.
    And what happened to the scary show on urban legends? That too has largely been lost to the angel war.

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  128. Robert James WatkinsMarch 16, 2015 at 6:12 PM

    Sam is, just think about it. He constantly tries to do what he thinks is right, but it often ends up badly. He finally didn't look for Dean, and look how that turned out. He doesn't go through with closing the gates of Hell and look how that ended up. He trusted Ruby and killed Lilith.

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  129. No, I agree. I was half joking because that is Castiel's MO as well but on a whole other level of destructive.

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  130. That was kind of my point. Especially when talking about Carver.

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  131. I completely agree on Dean and I'm leaning your way on Sam. However, considering the way Sam was thrown under the bus in the not looking for Dean part of season eight, and the decision to portray Sam's feelings at being violated by Gadreel as being pissy, bitchy and "mean to Dean" in season nine, I'm unwilling to state categorically that Sam won't do something unforgivable trying to save Dean, who will be shown to be strong and able to control the Mark so Sam will, yet again turn himself into a monster for no reason because he just doesn't trust Dean enough.

    If I thought a dark turn for Sam would actually come with a decent exploration of mindset, I would cringe at the Dark Sam rerun, but accept it. But if they go that way, I'm fully expecting a lot of Dean lectures on how Sam is more of a monster than Dean as a demon and with the MOC. If that is the case, I'd prefer the writers to wimp out on both boys going dark, but right now, I'm bracing for Sam is just evil at his core and can never ever do anything right, while Dean is so pure of heart that even under the influence of dark demonic forces he remains good.

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  132. Right. With Dean having done nothing monstrous as a demon and the interpretation -- apparently -- of what Sam did looking for him as terrible...things don't look good for Sam. They would have to take both characters somewhere dark for it to work. What would be a great twist -- and won't happen -- would be if they both came to the same place from different directions. But even then, Dean would have the "excuse" of being a demon.
    What's funny to me is the idea that Sam is evil at all. Sam has made mistakes with the best of intentions. Cas has done far worse and he gets a pass. I just don't understand the Sam hate, but I know I'm preaching to the choir, hon.

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  133. Great article, and I agree with every point.
    Thank you so much.

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  134. Also It's really funny how the 3 Dean stans who attacked this article actually didn't look like they even read it, it's their typical way is spreading their bitter thoughts and hate about anything Sam related!

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  135. Please don't generalize, seriously why some Dean stans think their opinion is the world wide opinion??
    A lot of SPN fans loved soulless Sam, they still keep talking about it in cons as one of the Sam versions they enjoyed so much.

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  136. Your arguments are laughable, you are living in a really self centered zone.
    You seems to tell yourself that Sam doesn't have fans and it's all about Dean, and sure you are royally wrong in this stupid assumptions.

    The boring character you are talking about is the main arc star for many years, and the show kept doing great and kept getting renewed.

    Sam has a lot of fans who watch the show for him, and there are many more of fans who watch the show for both brothers together.

    Don't even start the ratings game because you won't like it, the ratings of the second half of S9 are less than the second half of S8 (Sam's trials story), some of the episodes in the second half of S9 got a very poor ratings although it was a heavy MOC episodes, the ratings this season are on the same level and it's dropping lately too.

    Seriously, why you need to push so hard that Sam is boring and isn't important, are you not that secure about your favorite character, so you need to dismiss Sam completely??!
    Because I'm Sam fan, but I find no need to make any other character less important to shine my favorite, it's about how secure of my believes I'm, maybe you need to try that sometime.

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  137. And the show would be cancelled in a heartbeat. Just sayin'.

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  138. Exactly! He literally said that everyone already knew the story of Sam looking for Dean, so he wanted to explore the "what if" of Sam not looking, but as you said, he failed to actually tell a story and couldn't understand why the fans weren't pleased!

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  139. It still baffles me why Carver was so stubborn and short-sighted about that arc. Did he really think the audience would accept Sam abandoning both Dean and Kevin as well as the hunting lifestyle without even a minimal investigation into what happened to Dean?!?!?! That story was a FAIL from the story and complete re-write of Sam from even the S7 finale.
    In that finale, Sam didn't appear defeated. He questioned Crowley about Dean's whereabouts. He seemed unsure, but determined. Carver expected us to believe that w/in 10 seconds, Sam just randomly decided Dean had died so he better move on w/his life?!?!?! Huh? And then he was upset that people were still questioning his illogical, irrational arc well into the second half of the S8 and just doubled down on his "mature" nonsense!
    Ugh . . . Carver destroyed the brotherhood in S8 and S9. He has pretty much ruined the show for me.

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  140. Oh, I agree. Don - thanks for supplying his name b/c I had forgotten - was a complete copout. Why would Don be creeping in the shadows? If I had returned from the war, I would just walk inside my house . . . no creeping necessary.
    I completely believe that shadowy figure was supposed to be someone else but the arc was dropped.

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  141. I always wondered if it wasn't them being a bit spiteful? I mean they TOLD us this was Sam maturing. They TOLD us that Amelia was a wonderful character and the fans didn't fall over themselves with joy about Sam and didn't fall in love with Amelia. They didn't want Carver's creation? Well then screw it. He was going to cut the Amelia story short the way the fans demanded but that meant that he was never going to write what Sam went through. Fans would just have to accept that Sam going to Amelia was mature, by God! And then the writes stamped their collective feet and REFUSED to ever address the fans concerns again.

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  142. I definitely think Carver dug in his heels about that arc. He was very upset w/the fans for not enjoying his crappy "mature" story for Sam when the real problem was he didn't tell a story around Sam's decision to not look or Sam's decision. I remember reading an interview w/him where he was clearly frustrated that people were still asking about Sam's decision to not look. He was like, "Sam just didn't look. They agreed to it, and there's no more to it than that." I just thought to myself, "Well, buddy, blame yourself for doing a crap job at telling a story!"
    To me, it just showed how clueless he was about the show, the characters, and the vast majority of fans. I also began to think he was NOT the inspiration behind those episodes he penned during the Kripke years. EK had to be the one to come up w/those ideas b/c JC doesn't seem to have even a basic understanding of this show, IMO.

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  143. Exactly, I keep hearing... "The second half of the season will be about Sam". Then, we might have a couple of episodes where Sam participates more in the action (before being tied up). But we seldom get to learn something new about Sam. However, if we do, he is probably having a conversation with Dean.

    As an example of some of the unfairness in the character exploration, I want to go back to season 4 again because that is the point where I stopped watching each episode obsessively. I Read spoilers relentlessly because I found Lazarus Rising to be an incredible introduction for angels into the story and Sam seemed to suddenly have control of his powers. All summer I had hoped that he would save Dean, but Angels seemed great. Then, In the beginning (4x03) happened and I was kind of totally thrown for a loop. What happened? Was Jared sick? Why didn't Sam get to see his parents like Dean did? They must have an incredible episode for Sam to focus on what he did while Dean was in Hell... after all, they wouldn't just leave Sam out of an entire episode...

    Oh yes they would. They just had an episode totally focusing on Dean and how he got out of Hell... Not only did we see nearly every step he took after he dragged himself out of his grave, we had started to see his PTSD popping up in the shop, we see him finding out how long he had been gone, etc. Then, just 2 episodes later Sam isn't needed at all. Episode 4, Monster Movie, we again focus on Dean and he opens up to the bar wench and Sam is unconscious while Dean cleans everything up. When we finally get to I Know What You did Last Summer (this was supposed to be "the" Sam episode), It starts with Alistair and his special relationship with Dean, then progress to Anna and her "You're Dean. The. Dean." Yes, we learned a bit about what Sam did while Dean was gone, but his portion of the episode didn't tell us much more about Sam than Monster movie told us about Dean.

    Now let's compare how Dean's story was handled when he got out of Hell to how Sam's story was handled. We get one flash of Sam being out of Hell at the end of Swan Song, then that is pretty much it. When we come back from the Hellatus, the montage we get in Main Street is all about Dean's loss and how he is handling civilian life... Then, we see him get drawn back into hunting and we finally get a glimpse of Sam... We get nearly zero information from Sam... The entire episode focuses on getting Dean back into hunting and getting him acquainted with the Campbell's. Sam's story again happens off screen. We eventually find out why he is practically absent, but we still don't learn anything.

    I am just tired of people thinking that I need everything to be about Sam to be happy... I just want to know about him. I don't want him to be off screen while Dean is talking to Bobby about him. I don't want him to just over hear and walk in like nothing happened. I want him to participate and talk to people. I want him to have interactions with Georgie for more than a couple of seconds... And I don't want him out of the room unconscious or interviewing someone while Dean opens up to some stranger! It is way past time for Sam to open up and participate in this "story of two brothers".

    I have found this season that I recognize Sam better than I have in 8 or 9, but he is so flat he is nearly invisible. That 2 second line to Castiel was exciting to me because I saw "Sam"... That is all I need, a few more of those... I should have to wait 10 episodes or so for a peek at Sam.

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  144. I just need little things... Maybe we can allow Sam to talk to the main guest star for a minute or two about something besides the case. Maybe Sam and Dean can have another conversation like they did in the warehouse back in season 7 where they sympathize with each other and open up about something.

    i kind of don't remember much that happened last season, so I can't comment on too much about it... I tried looking at the titles on IMDb and I just remember the one about the "fish taco". I just know that this season hasn't made me as mad as last season, but when the sent Dean ALONE to "talk" to Claire when he is having trouble not slaughtering everyone in the room, I set my DVR and I decided to give up watching the show live. That was the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of.... Let's not send in the empathetic Sam, the only one that didn't kill a father figure of Claire's.., let's send Dean. Gah!!!

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  145. I always enjoy our conversations...

    I would like Dean fans to get a sample of what it is like if Dean had as little POV as Sam has, but it is never going to happen... I would love to have a Sam version of In My Time of Dying, What Is and What Shoul Never Be, IN THE BEGINNING, THE END! But, I think the writers have given up that type of episode...

    However, I could be satisfied if I had just a conversation with Sherrif Mills about his feelings for Dean... A conversation with Castiel would be nice as well, but Sam wouldn't be able to go deep enough with Castiel... However, little snippets add up. At this point I would be satisfied with not having any more characters "bond" with Dean until he gets his murdering impulses under control. Let them go to Sam for protection from Dean....

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  146. It took a while for me, but once Sam admitted "there's something wrong with me", I was hooked. I finally knew why Jared's performance was so jarring. He was playing a different character so convincingly I thought he still had a bit of Lucifer in him... Then, I loved soulless Sam! I didn't always like what he did, but I loved the character... Clap Your Hands is one of my top 5 episodes ever.

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  147. LOL. I was joking as well.

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  148. Thanks. I'm not sure if I would use the word "flattening" for Dean, at least not to the extent as what we're talking about here, but the character has been changed, and to my mind, not for the better. In the earlier seasons Sam and Dean could learn from each other and take moments to listen to each other. I think seeing that equal give and take in a family relationship is critical to appreciating it. I don't see much of that anymore. Dean's become so much of the singular hero that I don't see much growing anymore and have trouble relating to him. I loved early Dean and his attitude toward life. I feel like he's been bogged down in so much despair that he's lost something.

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  149. "Chew toy" haha, I like that. Although there's certainly room for criticism in writing for Sam before Season 7, that period is the one that stands out to me as the point in which they stopped trying. We still got occasional good episodes about Sam from Edlund after that, but without some kind of planned out arc, the thoughts Edlund would introduce just died as soon as the episode was over.

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  150. I still say Carver has not told a story for Sam OR Dean since he took over. SG didn't either. She showed us various versions of someone called Sam, but there was no story behind them, insofar as the character did not learn anything or grow as a character. He just jumped from one version to the other while Dean was parked off somewhere or trying to figure out 'what was wrong with Sam.'


    I also completely agree with lilac that Carver (and not a one of these writers) know the Winchester characters and have no interest in knowing them. Since Carver took over, both Winchesters are just there doing whatever it is the (supposed) plot wants them to do. Carver and his stable of writers dream up individual ideas for episodes and we are getting a season of skits -- not a story about the Winchesters.


    It really is time for TPTB to think about wrapping the show up. The writers have no interest in the Winchesters, the original two leads don't want to work full time, and the "legacy" they worked so hard at in the beginning is being degenerated to an embarrassing level.

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  151. Sam became the easy target for writers .Dean 'going dark' was always going to be a problem because people including Jeremy and the writers want it both ways with him both hero and victim.
    So we get a overabundance of Dean relatable writing and the opposite for Sam , so as last season Dean becomes a victim of Sam's meanness and lack of understanding while Sam was suppose to be grateful and simply understand Dean just cannot help himself because he cannot let Sam die.

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  152. I kind of agree with you on this. Dean's character has been changed and it has not been a fun change. As I have stated a couple of times in these comments, I think it's because the writers only have a cardboard cutout idea of both Winchesters. One of those cardboard characteristics is that JA can emote very well. I do think that what little we see of earlier Dean nowadays comes solely rom JA's acting and his protective instinct for Dean's character. I don't like what these writers have done to either Winchester, yet they seem to be under the impression that everything they do is "perfect," then go to social media for validation of their awesome writing abilities.

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  153. I wish I knew why some Dean fans (and by "Dean fan" I mean one who prefers Dean over Sam) automatically assume that wanting some POV for Sam means you want Dean shoved to the background or that you want him to have no role at all. Who even said that??!?!
    Honestly, I think those fans are projecting their own feelings onto others. I think they prefer Sam the way he is this season (largely absent, shoved to the background, and completely ineffectual) so they assume other fans who want more for Sam want Dean to get what Sam is getting. That's not the case w/me. I prefer my brothers both active and involved in the story! That would be ideal.
    I agree w/those who feel the balance shifted in S4, but I didn't notice it then. I enjoyed S4 quite a bit. I didn't notice how much the writers neglected Sam's emotional development until S5 when it was quite relevant to the story, IMO.
    For a show with only TWO leads, you'd think the show would do a better job of writing for them. It shouldn't be this difficult.

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  154. Yeah . . . that was really stupid. I guess they just wanted Dean to confront the two random psychos who were going to kill him, but it wasn't executed well. It would have made more sense to send Sam, not Dean, but Sam is apparently forbidden from speaking to anyone not named Dean!

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  155. SI was disappointing b/c I thought we were going to get some insight into Sam, but it was just more focus on Dean and the weight he was carrying. Okay. We didn't learn anything new there.
    The little insight we got into Sam literally came out of nowhere. Since when was Sam irrationally angry all the time?!?!? He was angry for that one episode. He was not angry after that episode or before it. The "Sam is angry all the time" was solely written for a single episode. Plot point writing at its finest. It's not like anger played into Sam saying yes to Lucifer or anything. The anger didn't mean anything at the end of the season so what was the point of that episode?!?!!

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  156. Yeah. I never saw Sam as unreasonably angry. The show made angry a bad thing because Sam said he felt it. But Sam has lots that he can be justifiably angry about. He was sold out, unintentionally, by Mary. He was tainted when he was six months old. He never had a stability that he craved. His father threw him out for wanting a different life and then ordered his death if he stepped out of line in an undefined manner. His girlfriend was murdered. He was picked to host the ultimate evil. All of these are things to be legitimately angry about. But the show decided that while Dean can hit Sam because Sam says Gordon isn't Dad or because Sam had the audacity to get himself possessed by Meg, or because he didn't tell Dean about what Azazel told him, Sam can't even feel anger that 95% of the time he doesn't even express because if Sam's angry then it's a sign that Sam is evil and deserves to be Lucifer's vessel.

    I had a lot of issues with season five. This was a big one.

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  157. I said at the time that they needed to have Sam's anger actually be a issue throughout the series to pull off using his'anger' as reason he would let Lucifer in in season 5. None of it rang true but then alot of Sam's writing does not ring true , it is just done for the moment to fit a sl.

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  158. I agree that Sam has a lot of reason to be angry, but I never saw him as an "angry" character. I still don't. That's why the episode failed for me. Sam was not running around angry all the time so what was Kripke trying to say. He didn't do it in Seasons 1-4, and he sure didn't do it in the episodes leading up to SI in S5. Sam is, IMO, a relatively calm guy. He doesn't generally fly off the handle. His whole speech to Dean at the end of the episode came out of nowhere to me. I was literally like, "Huh? What are you talking about Sam?"
    Now, if he was supposed to be suppressing his inner rage, the show did a crap job at showing that too! They could have built up that story but he was really only "irrationally angry" for one episode, so it was generally pointless.

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  159. Exactly! If the idea was that Sam was suppressing rage or was always a powder keg on the verge of blowing, the show needed to actually set up that story. They didn't. For whatever reason, Sam was needed to be angry in that one episode. I'm not even sure why.

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  160. I totally agree with what you guys are saying about the "angry all of the time" not being shown. There was anger in season 1 but it seemed to be exclusively aimed at John. So the guy had daddy issues. I might even buy some repressed rage at Lilith in season 4, but Sam showed no signs of anger in seasons 2 and 3. The funny thing is that that "angry" didn't make it into Sam's top 20 character traits poll, but it made it into Dean's, and came in 13th.

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  161. Well they were trying to make us think that Sam would say yes to Lucifer because he was EEVOL! They started running with the whole Sam is Prideful schtick in season three*, but releasing Lucifer was pretty humbling. So then they had to come up with another reason why Sam would willing say yes to Lucifer, so they came up with angry as the next negative trait that would make Sam look bad. It was trying to make us mistrust Sam AGAIN. I have issues with seasons four and five. They are great and have some wonderful episodes, but they are also, for me, where they started to refuse to let Sam speak for himself or defend himself in any legitimate and continuing way. The focus was on Dean's disappointment and distrust, with little to no exploration of where Sam was as a character.

    *I'm still not sure why being proud that you were able to get a full ride scholarship, or being smart is a BAD thing. Being arrogant maybe, but again, I never saw Sam as being prideful or unjustifiably proud. It's part of the idea that since Dean has such in your face self esteem problems that if Sam is proud of anything it shows him in a negative light.

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  162. I can't say I'm surprised "angry" didn't make it into Sam's list b/c "angry" is not a word I would ever think to use to describe him. He's just not an "angry" dude, IMO. He's pretty calm and rational for the most part.

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  163. Well they were trying to make us think that Sam would say yes to Lucifer because he was EEVOL!
    Haha! Good point! But they didn't even carry through w/that thread, which is why S5 is not a favorite of mine. Of course, it's better than any Carver season, but it is one of the weakest Kripke seasons, IMO.
    I mean did anyone really think Sam was going to say yes to Lucifer? I never once thought he would, and the show never made me doubt my opinion on that. It was just never gonna happen. S5 was just bad, IMO. From what I have read about it now, it seems like Kripke had pretty much checked out of the show, which is pretty evident w/the bad follow up to S4. I think he put his all into S4 b/c they thought they were going to be cancelled so he had nothing to give to S5.

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  164. "I mean did anyone really think Sam was going to say yes to Lucifer?"


    I was new to the show at the time and seeing things out of order, so I don't know what I thought, but looking back, I think they could have pulled it off if they had played up the differences in perspective more. The show has the framework to be a lot more complex in the way it deals with some of the morally ambiguous choices (protecting the individual vs. the greater good, hunter vs. monster, shades of gray, ambition rooted in good intentions). They started down this path in presenting Sam as someone who sees things differently than Dean and than hunters (and IMO, Dean's way isn't already the right way) and who is more comfortable with shades of gray. If they had built on this, they could have built a plausible case that Sam might have said yes to Lucifer not as a trick but because the decision was not so black and white and Sam's rationale made sense too. They sort of started down this path with "The End," in that Dean's decision whether to say yes seemed almost wrong at the time. Anyway, I think they might have built on that angle more, and ended with Sam really meaning it when he said yes to Lucifer, and Dean killing him, if the decision hadn't been made to renew the series.


    They still might be looking to get back to that path with the end of the series, but if they do, they have a lot of work to do in building Sam's voice and credibility back up again.

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  165. Chris, I was wondering if you saw this from an interview with Travis Aaron Wade:


    As for Cole’s relationship with
    Sam, Wade described it as a bit “softer.” “I think [Sam] is a little bit
    more sympathetic. There’s a bonding that happens when you beat and
    torture someone. There is an actual scientific name behind it. It is an
    interesting phenomenon. So many people I know that have been through
    that in the military end up having some connection with their torturer.”
    [Editor’s note: He’s referring to Stockholm Syndrome.] (http://www.ew.com/article/2015/03/18/supernatural-travis-aaron-wade-the-things-they-carried)

    the idea that Sam is "softer" than Dean is indicative of how his character has been flattened. He may be a bit more sympathetic, but considering the horrors and tortures that Sam has survived, the foes he's beaten, Cole's little abduction and beating don't amount to a hill of beans.

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  166. Thanks for posting! That is so weak and ridiculous. I actually thought of Stockholm with Lucifer (especially during the RepoMan episode), but with Cole, Sam was held, what, a day or two at most? It's probably PR because someone's been reading the gripes about how it's been forgotten that Sam was tortured.

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  167. Hi Chris, I'm late responding, but I just wanted to say I agree with EVERYTHING. I'm in mourning for my favorite character. Great article.

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  168. Wow, such a great article. You said what I wanted to say all along but didn't have the words.
    I am (was) a supernatural fan. Starting watching on Netflix a few months ago. The best scenes for every episode were the ones focused on the brothers and their dynamic (and with their dad/mom). Some of the earlier seasons had some of their best interactions. Laughing, fighting, punching, teasing, hurting each other but together.
    I always know where Dean is coming from; there is so much inner monologue, interaction with other characters that you know his point of view immediately. And that's great.
    With Sam, I am always left wanting. There is no light shed on him personally at all. We all know he is an introvert but he is the softer brother of the two. How does he not connect with people better than Dean? Its always Dean having a moment with everyone. And it has been downhill ever since season 6. And you are right Chris, comparing Apples to Apples, Dean's time in hell vs Sam's time in hell; it doesn't make sense at all why Sam's time in hell was so little explored. It was the ultimate sacrifice; should have carried a bit more weight.
    Another point that really bothered me was how little they show Sam connecting with his parents. It would have been so great to see him with Dean during the time travel episode. Why did they leave him out? It would have been wonderful since Sammy does not remember his mom at all. They have left that unexplored completely. Such a potential there. Those complaining about the actors abilities should remember the emotional scenes Jared did so well; so there is no excuse there.
    I have not caught up with Season 10 completely but hope is fading fast. All I see Sam doing is standing around while Dean is talking or getting knocked out waiting for Dean to save him.
    Thanks for the article again. Adios b***tches.

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  169. I dont know. I don't particulary beleive in the brothers' "relationship.". Honestly, Sam is 1000% percent more active, interesting, , a sense of humor - not to mention a better person and better hunter when he is NOT with Dean.

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  170. I think the mythical "brothers bond" is the biggest and longest running myth the show has going. It's not that they don't love each other, because they do, but the brothers have been at odds since the Pilot. The show started out examining the relationship between the two brothers, beginning with them getting used to and learning to work together as adults. Once the "brother bond" caught on in the fandom's head, the writers started playing up the endearing love they had for each other and the rest is history.


    Funny that I think Dean is way better off when Sam isn't around, too; but the general consensus in fandom is that the brothers can never be separated more than a few minutes on screen. Personally, I am okay with them splitting up and working with different people. I think both their characters come out better when they do.

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  171. Thanks for your response. How far are you into the series? I'm curious because I've often heard that people who marathon the show experience it differently than people who watch it live and then comment online. With Sam, I found the earlier seasons had a lot of clues that took a couple of rewatches to sort through, but in the later seasons everyone seems to have given up. It's a shame because the character had so much potential.

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  172. I just finished the 201st episode and now I am waiting for the season to finish before I watch all of it. Though I have peaked at some of the comments for the later episodes. :) Doesn't look like Sam gets any more scenes than usual but I hope I am proven wrong.
    On the point of binge watching the 9 seasons, I feel that since I sprinted through the seasons, there are so many episodes I remember fondly from the first five seasons; even some of the painful ones; with the later seasons; its all a little blurry. Sometimes I confuse seasons while remembering stuff. 'Sacrifice' was great, but again because Sam got a few words in but there was no progression to it.
    What I liked about the show was the bond between the brothers fighting together (I am a mom of two little boys :) ), I feel everything else about the story should support that. Be it angels' story, the demon story or whichever myth or lore. They have so little interaction between the brothers now; it is sooo unsatisfying.
    I also like both the brothers equally. I love how Dean bosses over Sam, punches him and Sam just takes it. But Dean loves Sam more than anyone. I love how Sam feels Dean is the only family he's got. But I do have a soft spot for Sam - because of the fact that he is supposed to be smart. There, I said it. TV shows always seem to nerdify (is that a word?) smart people as if it is something to be ashamed of. Sam should be proud of it and they should show more of that when they solve their cases.
    Just equal weight to the two brothers. That's not too much to ask. I have seen the boys grow up 10 years in about 3 months; but they seem so distant now as compared to before. There is less laughter, no meaningful conversations, no tangible closeness and there won't be any of it unless Sam is left in the dark.

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