#samanddean

Chapters: 6/6 Fandom: Supernatural (TV 2005) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester Characters: Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, Jody Mills Additional Tags: Episode: s08e01 We Need to Talk About Kevin (Supernatural), AU, Suicidal Sam Winchester, Djinni & Genies, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst and Porn, Getting Together, Oral Sex, Top Dean Winchester/Bottom Sam Winchester, but they're open to switching, Suicide Attempt, Oral Sex, In the Shower Summary:

When my children were young, I did not watch much television. So, I missed a good ten years’ worth of Stuff.

This is my excuse for being utterly unaware of Supernatural until the end of season 10.

Even then, I was only marginally aware of it. My older daughter took it up because her friends watched it. She watched it on her computer, until she decided I would like it. We often chose shows to watch together, and we tended to choose shows that fit into our extremely busy lives—Firefly, Freaks & Geeks—so I was, in theory, open to new shows.

“Mom,” she said, “you should watch this show with me.”

“How many seasons?” I asked.

“Season 9 is finished, season 10 will be on Netflix in September, season 11 starts this fall!” she said.

Ten seasons of catch-up stretched before me like an impossible task. “I’m sorry, kiddo. I don’t think I have the energy to start on a series that is already up to season 10 before I’ve even heard of it.”

But, she persisted.

Our house had a great room—living room, dining room and kitchen in one large room with 10-foot ceilings. I had an office, she had her bedroom, but when I was in the kitchen, the living room TV was unavoidable. She would wait until I got involved in something in the kitchen, and then come in and turn on an episode she thought I would like.

I was enjoying the show, but I wasn't really committed to it.

Then, she happened to put on a season 4 episode.

I was just walking through the room.

“Who is that guy?” I asked.

“Which guy?”

I waited for the dark-haired, trench-coated, grim-faced character with the gravelly voice to reappear onscreen. “That guy.”

“Oh, that’s Castiel,” she said. “He’s an angel.”

“He’s a regular?”

“Uhmmmm…” she understood that she’d finally found a hook that would draw me in to a shared activity. “Starting in Season 4, yeah.”

I sat down next to her on the couch. “Okay,” I said. “I will watch it with you.”

She gave me a tolerant look. “Okay. But I want to talk about the show with my friends, so we have to start with season 9.”

“Is Castiel in season 9?”

The teenager eyeroll was audible. “Yes.”

“Okay!”

I quickly decided she and I were the mother/daughter incarnation of Sam and Dean. We’d already had this exact conversation:

Me/Sam: How can you eat this stuff? Do you even read these labels? Look at all these chemicals!

Her/Dean: All I see is "pie." The rest is just "blah blah blah."

Suddenly we had a whole new vocabulary for who we were: The thoughtful label reader. The incautious lover of pie. The devoted family. The inseparable monster-hunting team.

My girl was so Dean that she dressed as Dean for Halloween one year.

I also drew some parallels to my other fandoms:

Me: Whenever other hunters show up on Supernatural, they're like the redshirts on Star Trek. They're gonna die.

She: Everybody in the show is a redshirt. They all end up dead.

Me: Not Castiel. Castiel's not gonna die.

She: I wouldn't be so sure. They're all at risk. He's already died a couple of times, he just came back.

Me: No. God's not gonna let Cas die, because he is So. Very. Pretty.

She (groaning): Mom. Really?

Eventually, I had to go back and catch up the earlier seasons. Which proved a lovely opportunity to embarrass my teenage daughter:

Me: So, you haven't seen that episode?

She: No, there were some in Season 4 I skipped because I was trying to get caught up.

Me: I thought that was in Season 5.

She: No, I'm pretty sure it would have been season 4.

Me: Didn't Dean get dragged off to Hell at the end of season 4?

She: No, that was season 3. Season 4 is when Castiel shows up.

Me: THAT'S right! Season four is when Cas shows up, so then the other episode I was thinking of must have been in Season 5.

She: Wait. Mom. You can't date your Supernatural episodes based on Castiel. Most fans date them by how long Sam's hair was, or how happy Dean was, or something like that.

Me: But... Castiel is the PRETTIEST one! So I NOTICED when he showed up!

She: Mom. You're so embarrassing.

Me: My job here is done!

Hardest death scene @jnelluda

Jared's right eye is in shadow so you can't see his "little tear" in the scene. But I definitely teared up, again, at Jensen's powerful performance 🥹

And the thing that hits me over and over is this. Here are two immensely talented actors with unmatched chemistry who have captured the hearts of fans and made the show iconic. And they continue to capture hearts with their kindness and humility with fans, whether it's during cons or in the wild.

On top of all this, is the fact that their bond is so intense and beautiful and heartwarming - Jensen's toughest moment was watching Jared get emotional during the "I'm proud of us" scene when Metatron kills Dean in S9. Jared was tearing up, while acting dead, in AHBL2 because he could feel and hear what Jensen was experiencing!