Dean Winchester

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Name	Dean Winchester
Actor	Jensen Ackles (Dean age 26-) Ridge Canipe (Dean age 10 - 1.18)
Dates	January 24, 1979- May 2, 2008 / September 18, 2008 - ?
Location	Age 4 - Lawrence, Kansas Present - nomadic
Occupation	Hunter
Episode(s)	All episodes

Background

• Son of John & Mary Winchester; older brother of Sam
• Dean drives a black 1967 Chevy Impala which his father gave to him ^{1.21 Salvation}
• He always wears an amulet given to him by Sam as a Christmas present in 1991.
• In an interview Eric Kripke said the reason both Jess and Dean had the same birthday was "...not a creepy, mythology, conspiracy reason. January 24 is my wife's birthday, and it's kinda my valentine to her."
• In 3.12 Jus in Bello we learn that Sam and Dean got matching tattoos depicting a pentagram that protects them from demonic possession.
• dean dies on 2 May, 2008 – Sam's birthday.
• Dean rises from his grave on September 18, 2008 ^{4.01 Lazarus Rising}
• In one version of the pilot script Sam suspected Dean of being a serial killer and the murderer of their father.^{S1Com, p. 14}

Pre-series

April 30 - May 2, 1973

A 29 year old Dean is transported back from 2008 by Castiel., He discovers his mother Mary was a hunter, as were her parents. She was very capable but ambivalent about the life and wanted to leave for a safe life with her boyfriend - a mechanic recently returned from Vietnam – John Winchester. She tells Dean the worst thing she can think of is having her children raised to be hunters. Mary and Samuel (Dean's grandfather) start hunting a demon, that is revealed to be Azazel. Dean goes to Daniel Elkins house and steals the Colt, with the hope of killing Azazel and thus preevntign the tragedies that have cursed his family. When dean, Samuel and mary encounter Azazel, he is very interested in Mary, and subsequently possess her father. He kills both her parents and John, and then offers Mary a deal in return for John's life. Dean is unable to stop the deal, in which Mary agrees Azazel can have access to her home in ten years time.

January 24, 1979

Dean is born

November 2, 1983

Mary Winchester is killed by Azazel when she interrupts him feeding demon blood to Sam. John hands the infant Sam to dean as the nursery burns and tells him to "Take your brother outside as fast as you can! Don’t look back! Now Dean, go!"

John leaves Lawrence with Dean and Sam before Dean's fifth birthday (see The Journal (diary entries)).

1985-86 (approx)

When Dean is "6 or 7", John takes Dean out shooting for the first time, using bottles as target practice. According to Dean, he "bullseyed every one of them." (Story told by Dean to Jo in 2.06 No Exit.) Dean cites this story as one of the fonder memories of his father.

1989 (approx)

Dean, played by Ridge Canipe, faces off with the Shtriga in Something Wicked

In 1.18 Something Wicked Dean recounts to Sam of an occasion when John is hunting a Shtriga in Wisconsin and leaves Sam and Dean alone in a hotel room. Dean gets bored and goes out, and comes back to find the Shtriga attacking Sammy. John returns in time to scare the Shtriga off.

1991 (approx)

When Dean is in sixth grade he makes his first sawed-off shotgun ^{<3.03 Bad Day At Black Rock>}

Christmas Eve 1991

One month before Dean's 13th birthday.

Events told in flashback scenes in 3.08 A Very Supernatural Christmas:

Dean is left to babysit Sam (8 years old) while John is on a hunt, and Sam begins to interrogate Dean about what it is that their dad actually does. Dean responds "You know that. He sells stuff." When Sam moves on to asking about their mother, Dean gets angry and yells "Shut up! Don't you ever talk about mom! Ever!" before storming out. Upon his return, Sam reveals to Dean that he found and read their dad's journal, and demands to know if monsters are real. Dean finally resigns himself to telling Sam the truth.

Dean: I swear, if you ever tell dad I told you any of this, I will end you.

Sam: Promise.

Dean: First thing you have to know is...we have the coolest dad in the world. He's a superhero.

Sam: He is?

Dean: Yeah. Monsters are real. Dad fights 'em. He's fighting them right now.

It is hinted at that Dean still believes that his father is a "superhero" at this point, and continually excuses his flaws, while the tension between Sam and John is clearly starting to take root.

Disappointed with John's lying and absence, Sam gives dean the repsent intended for his father : the amulet.

1995

Dean is 16.

As told by Dean to fellow hunter Gordon in 2.03 Bloodlust:

Dean: ... So, I picked up this crossbow, and I hit that ugly sucker with a silver-tipped arrow, right in his heart. Sammy's waiting in the car and, uh, me and my Dad take the thing into the woods, burn it to a crisp. I'm sitting there and I'm looking into the fire, I'm thinking to myself... I'm sixteen years old. Kids my age are worried about pimples, prom dates... I'm seeing things they'll never even know. Never even dream of. So right then I just sort of...

Gordon: Embraced the life?

Dean: Yeah.

1998 or 1999

Dean is 19 or 20.

In 3.02 The Kids Are Alright, Dean says it has been "8 years ago", then edits himself to say it has been "8, almost 9 years". The episode is based in 2007, therefore, depending on when "8, almost 9 years" ago was precisely, he was either 19 or 20 at the time.

Dean goes on a road trip that was supposed to be "5 states, 5 days" while Sam (15 or 16) was "in Orlando with dad, wrapping up that banshee thing". However, Dean reveals in 3.02 The Kids Are Alright that he spent most of his time in Lisa Braeden's loft. "She was a yoga teacher. It was the bendiest weekend of my life."

sometime between 2001-2005

Sam leave for Stanford. While there he becomes estranged from Dean and his father, and doesn't speak to them for at least a couple of years.

During this time, as Dean tells Sam in 1.13 Route 666, he met Cassie Robinson while he and John were in Athens, Ohio for a hunt. She was "finishing up college" (she was therefore approximately 21 or 22) and they "went out for a couple of weeks". Dean was in love with Cassie, who was the first person he'd ever seriously dated (as Sam says "for more than one night") and the first person he'd ever felt that way about. When he found out he was leaving, he told Cassie the 'big family secret' about hunting because, as Dean says in the episode, he "just couldn't lie to [her]". Cassie, however, declared him 'nuts' and dumped him. This, as Dean also revealed in the episode, really hurt him, and he decided at that point that it was "stupid to get so close" and that he didn't need to open up to anyone.

Note: It is likely that it was around 2003 or 2004, during the "almost two years" that Dean did not speak to Sam, because Sam claimed that Dean hadn't told him anything about it. That means Dean was approximately 24 or 25.

October 2005

Dean is 26.

In 1.01 Pilot, Sam asks Dean why he didn't go with John when he left to check out the hunt in Jericho. Dean explains that before he showed up in Palo Alto to get Sam from Stanford, Dean was "working [his] own gig ... this, uh, voodoo thing down in New Orleans".

Sam asks, "Dad let you go on a hunting trip by yourself?" to which Dean replies, "I'm twenty-six, dude." This implies that before Sam left for college when Dean was 23 (see again Canon Discrepancies: How long did Sam spend at Stanford?), Dean had not gone on a hunting trip by himself. Considering the two men had not spoken in "almost two years", as Dean points out in 1.01 Pilot, it could mean that Dean hadn't hunted alone until he was 24 or 25.

Season 1

When John Winchester goes missing, Dean goes to Stanford to enlist the help of the brother he hasn't spoken to for a couple of years. After spending an unsuccessful weekend trying to track down John, Sam returns to Stanford, despite Dean's obvious desire for him to stay.

When Sam's girlfriend, Jessica Moore is killed in the same manner as their mother, Sam goes on the road with the aim of finding their father – and the thing that has killed Jess and Mary Winchester.

Through Season one, we see Dean is happy with his life as a hunter, and he tries to draw Sam back into the life" "Saving people; hunting things. The family business."^{1.02 Wendigo}.

Throughout the season, Sam and Dean become reacquainted with each other after their long separation – and often clash. In 1.06 Skin, the shapeshifter reveals Dean's anger at Sam's leaving for college. They clash over Dean's loyalty and obedience to John. In 1.10 Asylum while influenced by the spirit of Dr Ellicott, Sam tries to shoot dean for thwarting his attempts to find his father. In the following episode Sam actually does leave Dean, who tells him he was always proud of how he pursued what he wanted. Sam eventually returns to Dean.

In 1.12 Faith, an accident while hunting leaves Dean with a fatal heart condition, but he is saved when by a faith healer whose wife is controlling a Reaper. When dean asks why he was saved , Roy Le Grange says he looked into dean's heart and saw: A young man with an important purpose. A job to do. And it isn’t finished.

In 1.12 Shadow, as they prepare to battle Meg, Dean confesses to Sam that he wishes Sam would stay with him and keep hunting, even if they manage to kill the demon that killed their mom, and Jess.

In the season finale, the two Winchester brothers and their father face Azazel, who possesses John. It is Dean who senses something is wrong, when his father, uncharacteristically, praises him.

Azael taunts Dean as he tortures and heavily injures him:

You know, you fight and you fight for this family, but the truth is they don’t need you. Not like you need them. Sam – he’s clearly John’s favorite. Even when they fight, it’s more concern than he’s ever shown you.

Even though John pleads with Sam to shoot him with The Colt, Dean pleads with him not to. The demon leaves John's body after Sam shoots him in the leg, and the three Winchester men drive towards the hospital, when the Impala is totalled by a semi.

Season 2

The Season opens with Dean comatose from his injuries. He encounters a Reaper, Tessa, explains that Dean’s choice is either to stay as a disembodied spirit, and become the type of vengeful spirit that he hunts, or pass from this world with her. Just as dean is about to choose, he is returned to his body and good health, because John has made a deal with Azazel, trading his life for dean's. Before he dies John shares a secret with Dean – that had to save Sam, and if he couldn't save him he had to kill him. Through this season dean struggles with this heavy secret and his grief over his father's death, for which he feels a great guilt.

In 2.20 What Is and What Should Never Be, a djinn attacks dean and uses a strong desire from Dean's subconscious (that his mother never died) to holds Dean captive in a dream world where Mary is indeed alive, and Dean has a girlfriend and a job, although Dean and Sam are not close. However when dean finds out that it is a fantasy and that allt he people he has saved are dead in this reality, he struggles to escape it.

In this Season's finale, Sam is kidnapped by Azazel and pitted in a batlle against the other Special Children. Dean, with bobby, arrives as Sam is battling Jake, and Sam dies in his arms. Grief stricken, Dean makes a deal with a Crossroads Demon - Sam's life for his, and he is given one year to live.

In the climax, the boys battle Azazel. The Devil's Gate is opened and demons and souls pour forth – including John. He helps fight Azazel, who Dean finally kills with the Colt

Season 3

Season three tracks dean's last year before his deal is due. He starts off enjoying the victory over Azazel, and a sense of freedom. But as time progresses he starts to get more scared. He withdraws from Sam, who is frustrated at this, and dean's seeming inability to care that he is going to die.

In 3.10 Dream a Little Dream of Me, Dean takes Dream Root and travels into his own subconscious, where he confronts long buried anger about his father. After this he admits to Sam that he doesn't want to die, and they actively start seeking ways to break Dean's deal, which they find out is held by Lilith. Despite all their efforts, the hellhounds come for Dean. He dies and the final shot of the season is Dean being tortured in hell.