Sam Winchester

Samuel "Sam" Winchester is a fictional character and one of the two protagonists of the American drama television series Supernatural along with his older brother, Dean. He is portrayed primarily by Jared Padalecki. Other versions of the character have been portrayed by Alex Ferris and Dylan Kingwell (child), Colin Ford (teenager), and Colton James (body switch with Gary Frankle in Season 5).

Sam Winchester was created by Eric Kripke, creator and original showrunner of Supernatural, when he pitched a show to the WB about two brothers who investigate the supernatural. Sam's name is a homage to Sal Paradise in Jack Kerouac's road trip novel On the Road, tying into Kripke's concept for an Americana road trip television series. It was originally intended for the brothers' last name to be "Harrison" as a nod to actor Harrison Ford; however, there was a Sam Harrison living in Kansas, so the name had to be changed for legal reasons. Combining his interest in the Winchester Mystery House and his desire to give the series the feel of "a modern day Western," Kripke settled on the surname of "Winchester." Sam and his brother Dean are from Lawrence, Kansas, due to its closeness to Stull Cemetery, a location famous for its urban legends. Jared Padalecki, who portrays Sam Winchester, was almost turned down for the role because he portrayed a blue collar character with no aspirations of college for his role as Dean Forester on Gilmore Girls, but won his chance to audition after his manager pointed out that the actor was a National Merit Scholar, where his chemistry with Jensen Ackles earned him the role.

Sam was born on May 2, 1983, to John and Mary Winchester in Lawrence, Kansas. He is one of two focal characters in the series, along with his older brother, Dean, who is four years his senior. He is named after his maternal grandfather, Samuel Campbell, and comes from a line of expert hunters on his mother's side of the family and men of letters on his father's side, respectively. Sam's childhood is explored in the form of flashbacks (as well as present day dialogue) in episodes throughout the series. When Sam was six months old, his mother Mary (a retired creature hunter) was engulfed in a massive conflagration by yellow eyed demon Azazel (one of four Princes of Hell). Her death was not premeditated, but rather a result of her incidental interruption of Azazel's visit to Sam's crib in the night – a contractual option Azazel had acquired with Mary's "consent" years before Sam was born, and which Azazel was now exercising in order to feed Sam his own demon blood to bestow him with psychic powers. Sam was saved from the ensuing housefire by his father, who then gave him to then four year old Dean to carry outside, but Mary tragically died. Soon after, Sam seriously considered fleeing his life, as a runaway, with his imaginary friend, Sully (1991), but ultimately rejected the opportunity to escape and expelled Sully from his life. Sam started hunting alongside his brother and father at the age of 8–12, assuming increased responsibilities around the time that Dean left temporary foster care at Sonny's (1995); however, he began wanting a normal life without monsters again. A couple of years later (1997), a teacher, Mr. Wyatt, took interest in Sam, encouraging him to carve out a life away from the "family business" upon reading his writing assignment: a precocious story about a werewolf hunt, which Wyatt interpreted as an allegory and an in depth character study about family dynamics. Throughout the rest of his teens, he continued to provide support to John and Dean, including in an advisory capacity for a kitsune hunt (1998) which he stumbled into personally in direct connection to meeting teenaged Amy Pond. At nineteen, after a heated argument with John, Sam matriculated into Stanford University, thus finally splintering from his family and their hunting crusade, until the main story events unfolded in Season 1, pulling him back into a role of saving people. Bloody Mary, and shapeshifters. During this time, Sam begins experiencing episodes of precognitive dreams

As the search for John continues, Sam argues with Dean constantly – mostly about the way Dean obeys his father's orders without question, while Sam questions them and resents his father's treatment of them as "loyal little soldiers". The brothers eventually split up, with Dean going to investigate a mystery his father has assigned him while Sam decides to search for their father elsewhere. The two are eventually reunited after Dean apologizes. Later in the season, John is captured by demons, and the brothers manage to rescue him. However, they soon learn that the demon who killed their mother is in possession of their father's body. Though John begs Sam to kill him, Sam instead shoots John in the leg using the Colt, and the demon escapes. As Sam drives his father and a badly wounded Dean to a hospital, a truck driven by a demon possessed man crashes into them, totaling Dean's Impala and gravely injuring the Winchesters.

At the beginning of the second season, the Winchesters are at the Nashville hospital, with Sam and John escaping with minor injuries, while Dean is on the brink of death. In a deal with Azazel, John sacrifices his soul and the Colt in exchange for Dean's life. While the boys mourn their father's death, Sam expresses much guilt about never having a chance to reconcile with John, leading him to believe that his father died thinking his own son hated him. As the boys start to take a more active role in hunting, Sam begins to search for psychic children like him to find out Azazel's plan. Eventually Sam learns from Dean that, before their father's death, John told Dean that Azazel is planning to turn Sam evil, and that Dean must either save him or kill him. Although angered at his father and brother upon learning this revelation, Sam decides to save as many people as possible so that he can change his destiny. In the season finale, Sam is transported to an abandoned town along with Azazel's other chosen children. There he learns Azazel's plans: he and the other children must kill one another until there is one survivor – who will lead a demon army (as the Antichrist). Sam also discovers that Jessica was killed because her death would lead Sam back into hunting and Mary interrupted Azazel during the process of feeding Sam demon blood, and thus was killed. It is also revealed that Mary somehow knew Azazel. Although Sam tries to protect the other children, various fights ensue, and the children are killed off one by one. Eventually, only Jake Talley and Sam are left, at which point Sam is stabbed by Jake. Sam dies in Dean's arms. In the aftermath, a desperate and lost Dean trades his soul to the Crossroads Demon for Sam's resurrection. With the help of fellow hunters Bobby Singer and Ellen Harvelle, Sam and Dean track down Jake, but are unable to stop him from opening a gateway to Hell on Azazel's orders. However, Sam subdues Jake and kills him in cold blood. Eventually Bobby and Ellen manage to close the gateway while Sam and Dean battle Azazel. With the help of John's spirit, Dean finally kills Azazel and John shares an emotional moment with his sons before finally moving on. Afterwards, Sam learns that he was dead and Dean sold his soul to bring him back. He then promises Dean that he will save him no matter what it takes.

Sam continues to do whatever he can to save Dean from going to Hell; he begins to become more ruthless and is willing to kill anything demonic even if his prey is part human (i. e., demonically possessed humans), human witches, and even Gordon Walker, who became a vampire. Sam later reveals that he is trying to become more like Dean so that, if he fails to save Dean's soul, he is ready to face a world full of demons on his own. who tries to gain Sam's trust by helping the brothers in fixing The Colt, she is also revealed to hold Dean's contract for his soul. In the season finale, Sam and Dean, armed with Ruby's demon killing knife, confront Lilith in a last ditch effort to save Dean's soul. Sam is incapacitated by Lilith and forced to watch as his brother is killed by a hellhound. Lilith then tries to kill Sam; however, her powers have no effect on him and she flees, leaving a crying Sam with Dean's mutilated corpse.

Four months after the season three finale, Dean wakes up in his own grave and claws his way out. He and Bobby meet up with Sam at a motel, where an overwhelmed Sam joyously reunites with Dean. While trying to figure out how Dean returned from Hell, Dean and Bobby confront the being who revived him, Castiel, an angel who was ordered by the Archangel Michael to raise Dean from the fires of hell and resurrect Dean. They discover that this happened because the angels need Dean and Sam's help to stop Lilith, who is breaking the 66 Seals of God. Once the Seals are all broken, Lucifer, the first fallen angel and chief adversary in the war of angels and demons, will be freed from Hell, bringing the Apocalypse upon the Earth. It is also revealed that Lucifer spawned all of the demons starting with Lilith who is now active. Castiel develops a friendship with Dean and helps him understand the upcoming events. Castiel also reveals the Winchesters' past and shows Dean the connection between the now deceased Demon Azazel and his family. He reveals that Dean's mom was a hunter and working cases around the time Azazel was making crossroad deals in 1973. She and her hunter family, the Campbells, tracked the yellow eyed Demon down and eventually the Demon was stopped, but not before the Demon possessed and killed Mary's father and mother and killed her then boyfriend John Winchester. Shockingly, Azazel makes a deal with Mary to bring back John in exchange for certain debts owed 10 years later. When Mary protests over the cost being her soul, Azazel says that he does not need her soul – just a favor years later. Dean is shocked that Mary's deal resulted in he and his brother's permanent lives as hunters. It is revealed that in the months without Dean, Sam – depressed, drinking heavily, and carrying a death wish – tries to bargain with various Crossroads Demons in order to exchange his soul for Dean's. None of them accept the offer. Realizing he cannot save Dean, Sam plans to kill Lilith in revenge. He makes contact with Ruby – now in a different host – who teaches him how to use his powers to exorcise demons. In time, he and Ruby become lovers and he appears to be moving on from Dean's death – to an extent, at least. When Dean finds out about Sam's powers and all the secrets Sam has been keeping from him, Sam responds by saying that he does this because Dean looks and treats him like a freak. Sam then promises Dean that he will not use his powers anymore but breaks the promise when it becomes apparent that his powers may be needed to prevent the Apocalypse. During Jump the Shark, Sam and Dean learn of the existence of their half brother Adam Milligan with Sam using the teachings of his father on Adam after he is attacked by monsters. They also learn that their father had an affair with Adam's mother resulting in him being born on September 24, 1990, and kept it secret so Adam could have a normal life, unlike the boys. At the end, it is revealed that it was a ghoul (that wanted revenge on John for a previous hunt) and impersonating Adam who was killed but Dean saved Sam and the brothers burned Adam's body. Sam's powers become an important part of the fourth season as they are shown to fluctuate – at times so weak that he can barely exorcise a demon, whereas at other times they are strong enough to kill a demon. It is revealed that drinking demon blood makes Sam's powers grow stronger

As Sam begins to feel the guilt over abandoning his brother, he and Ruby capture a demon that knows Lilith's location. Using his powers to torture the demon, she gives the location, but as Sam is about to drink her blood, the demon gives control to her human host, inciting immense guilt in Sam. A message from Dean, altered by the manipulative, arrogant angel Zachariah, manipulates Sam, pushing him to continue his original mission to kill Lilith; he then drains the woman of her blood anyway. Ruby and Sam go to St. Mary's Convent in Ilchester, Maryland, where they find Lilith. As Sam attempts to kill Lilith, Ruby holds the doors shut to keep Dean, who has just arrived, from interfering. Sam hesitates when he hears his brother yelling for him, but when Lilith mocks him for his inability to do the job – even after becoming a monster to do so – he finishes her off, fulfilling his true destiny as the "special child." Lilith's death breaks the final seal and begins forming a portal for Lucifer. At this point, Ruby reveals that she was leading Sam along the entire time so he would break the seal. Dean finally enters the room and kills Ruby with her own knife, while Sam holds her in place. Sam apologizes to his brother as a white light shows a portal beginning to open.

After Castiel's actions result in the release of the Leviathans – God's first beasts – Sam is left struggling with the restoration of his memories of his time in Hell, even if he remains dedicated to helping Dean and others stop the Leviathans. During this time, he has a reunion with his old Kitsune friend, Amy Pond, who has become a mortician feeding on the dead to sustain her, although Dean nevertheless kills her when he discovers that she has been killing to help her sick son. As Sam experiences hallucinations of Lucifer taunting him with the idea that he is still in Hell, he initially tries to control them by focusing on wounds he sustains in the real world, but matters become worse when he is forced to rely on information from the hallucination to save Dean. As his mental state becomes worse, Sam foregoes sleep to stop his visions, but is sent to an asylum when he is hit by a car while running away from Lucifer. While trying to find a healer who may be able to repair Sam, Dean encounters an amnesiac Castiel, who, when restored to his full powers, sacrifices himself by taking Sam's mental damage. Sam is shown to possess great guilt about this and rejects hope that Bobby's ghost may be helping them out after an attempt to communicate with him fails. Sam is initially happy when it is shown that Bobby's ghost is there helping them, but changes his mind after Bobby shows more and more signs of becoming a vengeful spirit. During the final battle at Sucrocorp, Sam rescues Kevin Tran – a Prophet who can read the Word of God – and is horrified to hear of Dick Roman's plan to kill all the skinny people in the world through poison in their coffee creamers. He and Kevin head to the lab where they find Dick Roman being killed by Dean and Castiel. After Dick explodes, Dean and Castiel disappear and Crowley appears and takes Kevin, leaving Sam completely on his own, not knowing Dean and Castiel are now trapped in Purgatory.

The year Sam spends while Dean and Castiel are trapped in Purgatory is revealed through various flashbacks in the first half of the season. Now left on his own, Sam believes that Dean had been killed when Dick exploded, and gives up hunting. After several months, he accidentally runs over a stray dog and, panicked, takes it to an animal hospital. The veterinarian who saves the dog's life – Amelia Richardson – convinces Sam to take responsibility for the stray by adopting it. Despite a rocky start, Sam and Amelia fall in love and even buy a house together in Kermit, Texas. They later find out that her husband Don, who she had believed was killed in action, was actually still alive. In the season premiere "We Need to Talk About Kevin", Sam runs into Dean and learns that Dean had just escaped from Purgatory; upon learning about what Sam had been doing the past year, Dean is upset that Sam had not even tried to save him or continued hunting. They find out that Kevin had managed to escape from Crowley six months ago and left Sam a string of desperate voice messages, begging for help. Sam feels guilty and joins Dean in tracking down Kevin, who reveals that he has discovered a passage in the Word of God that would banish all demons from Earth forever. After meeting Benny – the vampire who helped Dean escape from Purgatory in exchange for Dean resurrecting him Around this time, Sam and Dean encounter their time traveling paternal grandfather Henry Winchester and discover that through him, they are the legacies to an extinct secret society of compilers of supernatural information and artifacts known as the Men of Letters. Although they manage to subdue the demonic Abaddon, who has pursued Henry into the present, their grandfather is killed, leaving Sam and Dean the last link to the Men of Letters. They then inherit the bunker of the Men of Letters as their first real home. Sam completes the second trial – saving an innocent soul (in this case, Bobby) from Hell and sending it to Heaven – in "Taxi Driver" with the help of Benny, who sacrifices himself in the process of guiding Sam and Bobby out of Hell and thus finally causes Sam to admit to Dean that he had been wrong about Benny. Unfortunately, Sam's illness from the trials worsens to the point that Dean temporarily restricts him from hunting out of worry for his condition. Nevertheless, Sam remains determined to finish the trials and seal Hell because, viewing all the times he has failed Dean in the past (such as not looking for him when he was in Purgatory) as his worst sins, he has become obsessed with not letting Dean down anymore. He and Dean attempt to use Abaddon for the third trial, that of restoring a demon's humanity, but she escapes while they are distracted by a call from Crowley, who has begun murdering everyone they have ever saved to force them to call off the trials. After Crowley kills Sam's love interest, Sarah Blake from Season 1's "Provenance", Sam states that his abilities are connected to Azazel and anything related to his actions, such as the other special children. This argument was further proven after Azazel's death, as Sam stopped having visions of both the demon and the other psychics,