There is no doubt among Supernatural fans that Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s John Winchester wasn’t an ideal father to the show’s protagonists Sam and Dean Winchester. Although John made several missteps in his upbringing of his sons after his wife’s passing, the nature of his abuse toward his sons was never made explicit.
On social media, one Supernatural fan raised the question of just how grave John’s abusive behavior was. The user asked whether John’s abusive nature meant that he physically assaulted Sam and Dean during their childhood. However, most other fans refused to believe the dark theory despite the concerning nature of his parenting style.
One Supernatural fan questioned the nature of Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s abuse in the series
In Supernatural, actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays the role of John Winchester, the father of the main characters Sam and Dean Winchester. At the start of the series, John has mostly abandoned his sons to pursue clues leading to the person responsible for his wife’s mysterious death years ago.
Dean’s behavior and overall story arc have been semi-confirmation of John’s abusive behavior toward his sons, especially since he is known for tending to leave them alone for long spells to peruse monster-hunting. As a result, one fan on Reddit speculated whether John was also physically abusive to his sons.
Dean had actually been shown to even throw punches at Sam. More than a few times I think even. This leads me to wonder if John ever raised a hand to Dean similar to that that made Dean act that way. Cycle of abuse and stuff like that.
User @Ihdkwhatimdoinghere made the above statement in a thread started on the Supernatural subreddit.
The user used Dean’s violent behavior in the earlier seasons as a sign to hypothesize John’s physical abuse toward his sons, describing it as learned behavior. As a result, the user made a strong case for John being violent with his sons during their childhood, which explains some of the issues Sam and Dean face with their masculinity and self-identity
Supernatural fandom refuses to believe John Winchester was physically abusive toward his sons
Following the user’s hypothesis using Dean as a means to establish the theory of John being physically abusive toward his sons, several other fans refused to believe the dark truth regarding the Winchester patriarch. Here is what they had to say on Reddit regarding the theory.
As the comments suggest, most fans refused to buy into the idea that John was physically abusive toward his sons.
While fans admitted that John was emotionally distant, abusive, and neglectful of his sons, there is enough evidence within the series to suggest that he did not physically beat them. However, it is also important to remember that the character is a fan favorite because of Morgan’s performance. As a result, the ambiguity over the scenario might be difficult to judge because of how much fans love the actor.
Supernatural is streaming on Netflix.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
