Can I just. Freaking. YES. So, during his interview, Jared got a question about whether Sam knows that Dean was “a mother and a father” to him, and how he feels about that.
And I was wincing in wait for the grossly idealized parentification some portions of fandom like to embrace, but Jared is a true hero, and he, of course, treated the issue with the gravity it deserves.
He acknowledged that “Sam and Dean love each other as much as two human beings can love each other,” but they are capable not only of loving each other but of hating each other/pissing each other off in some situations. He says that things are completely forgiven between the two of them, but, “It doesn’t mean that there aren’t things [where] Sam wouldn’t say, like, ‘Man, that was not okay. That wasn’t cool.’”
Which is important, I think, because Dean is a fascinating and complex character. The fandom likes to sell this idea that Dean was some flawless saint of a parental figure in Sam’s life, but their lives were messed up, and Dean, as he himself admitted in 12.22 in that wrenching scene, sometimes failed. It’s impossible for a young boy to fill the roles of both parents. It just is. I appreciate that Jared was willing to acknowledge the complexity of that particular relationship.
Jared also returns with this: While Dean did his best to be what Sam needed even when he was only a child himself, Sam has done the very same, and been what Dean needed.
Such a lovely, well-thought-out answer. I am overjoyed. As expected from Jared Padalecki.
Which One of Us is the Monster, Sammy?!
Carly. 19. Bit of laughter, bit of tears. Thats it.
