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Author: Jaymee Snow
Website: http://jaymeesnow.tumblr.com/
I have recently found myself in the somewhat uncomfortable position of being a fan-girl. I never really got fandom. Then I watched Supernatural… and I plunged immediately down the slippery slope of SPN fan-girl status. It started innocently enough. Watch another episode, then another. Look up Ackles and Padalecki. Fall a little more in love. And you all know how this story ends. Now nine seasons later I obsess with the best. Oh, I try to hide it from my normal friends. My Twitter pic isn’t Dean or Crowley or the “Keep Calm and Carry On My Wayward Son” graphic. But being a closet addict doesn’t change my addiction. I need these boys… should I apologize?
I mean, as far as every day, real life- Supernatural doesn’t really follow. I don’t like monsters- heck, I don’t even like scary movies. And one thing I won’t apologize for is that I love God. For real. Like, for me the biggest mystery of the show is where does Jesus factor in? We have God (although absent), and we have the devil (although caged). I hope every episode that writers fit Jesus into this epic good/evil battle that has taken J2 from Heaven to Hell and all places in between. Then, as I was watching Dean struggle with Sam’s recent revelations, I decided Jesus has been there all along- it’s Dean. WHAT?!? Yes, Dean Winchester as the Christ-figure is a bit of a stretch, but there is a case for it.
Throughout literature, the Christ figure represents a character who shares multiple characteristics with the Biblical Jesus. Things like fighting for justice and the down-trodden- check; sacrificial love- absolutely; displaying love and kindness -yes, Dean does this all the time even if it is reluctantly; death and resurrection- yup, been there, done that; being guided by the spirit of a father- uh yeah; and last but certainly not least on Dean’s list, sacrificial martyrdom for a cause larger than himself- like every episode.
First, justice is at the heart of what Supernatural is about. Sam, Dean, and even Castiel have a clear sense of right and wrong (even if it isn’t ashared sense). You do the job even when it is hard. Their fight is about the victim, about righting wrongs. Across miles of highways, in episode after episode, like Christ, Dean serves justice up to monsters. Maybe in a less peaceful way (I mean the only cheek Dean would probably turn is to say “kiss this”), but the victims are at the heart of Dean as much as they were to Jesus.
Next, Jesus’s love is a sacrificial love. The whole idea of Jesus as Savior is based on him dying on the cross even though he didn’t deserve it. The one who was sinless took on the sin of the world. No one is going to make a case for Dean being sinless- and thank God for that. Honestly, his gritty and numerous faults are one of the reasons we love him. Dean’s self-sacrifice, the burdens of guilt he takes on himself, and his totally sacrificial love for Sam are unarguable. You can’t deny that he willingly takes on the guilt of others. “That’s on me,” he says multiple times. He puts himself in the way of danger to protect those he loves, and he serves up himself for punishment that isn’t his to save his brother. “Greater love hath no man than this”, says John 15:13, “that a man lays down his life for his friends.”
Next on the literary Christ-figure list: death and resurrection. I think Dean covered this sufficiently in the end of season three- even a descent into Hell, and then a resurrection at the beginning of season four. Whether a real death like Wesley in The Princess Bride or metaphorical as Edmund’s in Dumas’sThe Count of Monte Cristo, the death and resurrection is the most central characteristic of a Christ-figure, and it is perhaps the characteristic that Dean covered most clearly.
One of the most poignant scriptures in the Bible is Jesus praying in the garden before his crucifixion. He says, “Father if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). The whole ministry and purpose of Jesus was guided by the will of his Father. And on a different scale, Dean’s whole life and purpose have been guided by the will of his father. John Winchester hasn’t been on the show for seasons now, but his hand still very much guides Dean’s actions, and his view is still the lense through which Dean views the world. There have been many times that Dean wished he could pass the cup, but his father’s will is his driving force, and so like Christ, he drinks from the bitter cup of responsibility and sacrifice.
The last example here, although really not the last one possible, is the Dean who is martyred for a cause bigger than himself. As Jesus’s life and death represented more than just a trial, conviction, and punishment, so does Dean’s struggle and sacrifice represent more than just a few dead monsters and a few more oblivious humans. It is what we desire- love beyond reason, and it is what we fear- being alone (and those things that go bump in the night). And as bigger-than-life as Dean is, those causes are even bigger than him.
Whether it is love, the desire for redemption, or the fundamental battle of good and evil, there is something that keeps us coming back for more. Dean the martyr, Dean the Christ-figure, Dean the hottie, all are part of what makes a fictional character as real to us as a friend and as important to us as family. There is in us all a desire for a Savior, someone who loves us more than his own life. Perhaps that is why this show resonates with its faithful fans. We want a Dean (and you can read that however you wish ;)…
So, although I still don’t know how comfortable I am with the label, I am a fan-girl. I am a fan of the actors, the writers, and even the fandom websites (people who share my addiction). Although we might all need a 12-step program when this ride is finally over, I will cherish it while it lasts. And I won’t apologize.