Sam Winchester

## Samuel Winchester

"*Listen to me, you've got this dark pit inside you. I know. Believe me, I know. But that doesn't mean you have to fall into it. You don't have to be a monster... It doesn't matter what you are. It only matters what you do. It's your choice.*"
—**Sam Winchester**[src]

**Samuel Winchester**, better known as **Sam**, also known as Sammy and Moose, is a character on The CW's *Supernatural*. He débuts in the first episode of the first season. He is portrayed by starring cast member Jared Padalecki and guest stars Alex Ferris, Colin Ford, Nathan Smith, Hunter Dillon and Dylan Kingwell.

### Early Life

Mary and John Winchester put Sam and his older brother, Dean, to bed. In the night, Mary, his mother, goes and investigates a noise coming from Sam's cot. After she sees a figure standing over it, she assumes its John and goes downstairs. Once she gets to the bottom of the stairs, she sees John watching TV and rushes back upstairs to Sam's cot. John, who was asleep in the living room, hears Mary's screams and rushes to the nursery, only to find her pinned to the ceiling with a deep wound across her belly. As he stares in shock, flames engulf Mary and the room. John hands the baby to Dean and tells him to run outside before trying in vain to save his wife. Outside, John and the boys sitting on the hood of their Impala as firemen tend to their burning house.

### Hunting Again

It's Halloween and Sam and his girlfriend, Jess, go out for drinks to celebrate his good LSAT score, which should guarantee him a place in law school. Later that night, Sam awakens to the sound of someone breaking into their apartment. He wrestles with the intruder, only to discover that it is his older brother, Dean. The brothers haven’t spoken for some time, and Dean is only turning up now because their father has gone missing on what Dean calls a "hunting trip." As Dean tries to convince Sam to accompany him to find their dad, it is obvious that what the Winchesters hunt are supernatural entities. Dean plays a recording of a voicemail from John Winchester, which contains EVP of a woman saying “I can never go home,” and Sam agrees to spend the weekend looking for their dad. He needs to be back at Stanford on Monday for a law school interview. Jess seems worried, but it is clear that she does not know the truth about what Sam's family "hunts." The boys travel to Jericho, where John has been investigating the disappearances of young men that go back ten years and all seem to occur on the same stretch of road. The latest victim was Troy Squire, and when Sam and Dean speak to his girlfriend, Amy Hein, they find out about a local legend of a murdered girl whose ghost hitchhikes and kills whoever picks her up. After some research, Sam and Dean discover the girl in the legend is Constance Welch, who killed herself by jumping from a bridge after her children drowned in the bathtub. That night, they travel to the bridge, and Sam makes it clear that he doesn’t want to return to hunting with Dean and John. He also questions the value of their quest to find whatever killed their mother. During the confrontation they see a woman jump into the water, and, when they go out on the bridge to investigate, the Impala mysteriously starts on its own and pursues them down the bridge, stopping once they've jumped to safety. Upon checking into a motel, the brothers find out their father had also been staying there and that his room is still being held. They break into his room and, though it is obvious he has not been there for a few days, the walls are covered in research; newspaper clippings, notes – that identifies Constance as a woman in white. Local law enforcement have been staking out the motel, and Dean is arrested when he leaves to get food. While Dean is being questioned, Sam tracks down Constance Welch’s widower, Joseph Welch, who tells Sam that Constance is buried in a plot behind their old house, the same house where their children drowned. He also reveals that he was unfaithful to her, which makes it more likely that she is a woman in white. Dean escapes from the sheriff's station using a paper clip and a distraction provided by Sam, but before Dean and Sam can meet up again, Sam has a personal encounter with Constance. She tries to seduce him, whilst begging him to take her home. Sam refuses, but she takes control of the Impala and forces him to drive her towards her old home. The car stops outside the deserted house, and Constance attacks him. Dean arrives and shoots at her, distracting her and allowing Sam to ram the car into the house. Inside the house, the ghosts of her children materialize, and as they embrace her, all three vanish. After the case, Dean is keen to pursue John –- he has worked out that the notation he left Dean in his journal are coordinates to a town in Colorado, but Sam declines and so he drives him back to Stanford. Returning to his apartment, Sam finds a plate of cookies with a note from Jess. He goes upstairs and, hearing the shower running in the bathroom, collapses onto their bed, exhausted. He seems happy, but then something red drips onto his forehead and he looks up to see Jess pinned to the ceiling and bleeding from her belly. He screams, and, as Jess bursts into flame, Dean rushes in and pulls Sam from the inferno of their apartment. Outside the house, as firemen battle the blaze, Sam tosses a shotgun into the trunk of the Impala. He is back in the hunt again.

After spending a week in Palo Alto looking for the thing that killed Jessica, Sam and Dean head to Blackwater Ridge and the coordinates their father left in his journal. At the Lost Creek Trail Ranger Station, Ranger Wilkinson mistakes the brothers for friends of Haley Collins, the sister of a boy, Tommy Collins, who went missing while on a camping trip. On a hunch, Sam and Dean visit Haley, and she shows them the last video Tommy sent her via cellphone before he disappeared. She also informs them that she and her younger brother, Ben Collins, have hired a guide and are heading into the hills to find Tommy the next morning. Sam does some research and finds that people go missing in Blackwater at regular intervals -- every 23 years. He also plays Tommy's last video in slow motion, and he and Dean spot an extremely fast moving shadow on a tent wall. They go to visit Shaw, a survivor of an alleged bear attack in 1959, and the old man tells them that it was not a grizzly that attacked his family, but a creature that was smart enough to unlock the cabin door, roared like no man or animal, and moved like lightning. They go back to Blackwater the next morning and arrive just as Haley, Ben, and their guide, Roy, are setting out for Tommy’s campsite. When the group reaches the campsite, they find ripped tents and damaged equipment. Screams for help sound in the distance so they all run to check, but no one is there and when they return to the campsite their packs have been taken. With the help of their father's journal, Sam and Dean realize that they’re facing a Wendigo. They inform the disbelieving group, and Dean draws Anasazi symbols for protection as they make camp for the night. Sam tells Dean he wants to abandon this hunt and search for their father. Dean replies that they have to help others; it is “the family business.” Once again, cries for help can be heard, and Roy ignores Dean’s warnings and runs into the dark with his gun. He doesn't return. The next day Sam and Dean explain that wendigo means ‘evil that devours.’ They were once human but became something else when forced to eat human flesh to survive. Tommy may still be alive, as wendigo hibernate and like to store live food, so they follow the wendigo's bloody trail. Eventually, Roy’s dead body falls from a tree and the wendigo appears, causing everyone to scatter. Haley and Dean are taken by the wendigo, but Sam and Ben follow a trail of peanut M&M’s that Dean leaves behind. They eventually find Dean, Haley, and Tommy hanging from the ceiling of an abandoned mine, and they cut them loose. Dean finds two flare guns along with the rest of their stolen supplies, and while Sam leaves with the Collins siblings, Dean tries to draw the wendigo away. The wendigo follows Sam instead, cornering their group; however, Dean appears from behind it and shoots his flare gun into its chest. The wendigo bursts into flame and dies, and they're able to escape and get help. The group fabricates a story to tell the police - they were attacked by a bear. Haley thanks Dean and then leaves with Tommy and Ben in the ambulance. Dean states that he hates camping and informs Sam that they will find their dad. Sam agrees but in the meantime -- he’s driving.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Spell Casting:** Like Dean and Bobby, Sam has shown the ability to cast spells despite not being a witch. These include summoning and tracking spells and the Fairy Banishing Spell. When the shapeshifter was fighting Sam, it was luminously obvious that he was trying when fighting him, even though he had super strength.

### Former Powers

* **Special Child Abilities:** Sam has been shown to possess talents such as telekinesis and precognitive abilities (manifesting as visions). As the series progressed, Sam has learned to further develop his powers allowing him to exorcise demons from their human vessels and eventually to kill demons.
	+ **Premonitions:** Sam's premonitions began "about six months" before Jessica's death. Initially they only occur when he's sleeping (through dreams), but they eventually occur when Sam is awake. Sam cannot control when the premonitions occur or what they're about, and they are often accompanied by intense headaches. Sam and Dean theorize that Sam only has premonitions when they are somehow related to the Yellow-Eyed Demon. This is likely true, for Sam ceases to experience visions after the demon's death, which also suggests that his visions were a result of some sort of link between himself and the demon. His first vision was about 6 months before Jessica's death, Sam begins having "nightmares" - visions of her death while he's asleep. Sam has a sleeping vision about the occupants of the Winchester's old house in Lawrence being in danger. Sam has sleeping & waking visions of other psychics, Andy Gallagher and Ansem Weems. Sam has sleeping visions of Dean killing Duane Tanner.
	+ **Telekinesis:** Sam first displays telekinesis during a moment of desperation, allowing him to move a heavy cabinet blocking his path to Dean. Sam tried to repeat this ability afterward but was unable to do so. In fact, his telekinesis did not manifest again until after he began training with Ruby and drinking her blood. By the time he wields his power again, Sam is shown to be highly adept at hurling a demon as powerful as Alastair across a graveyard with little effort. He can also maintain a grip on demons, preventing them from moving or using their powers. Sam throws Alastair with telekinesis after he proves immune to Alastair's own telekinesis. He seems to be able to simultaneously hold a demon telekinetically and use his exorcism powers on it. Sam also uses his telekinesis to throw Lilith across a room. Sam uses his telekinesis last to throw a demon across the room after he gives in to his demon blood cravings.
	+ **Exorcism:** Sam can force a demon to leave its host through sheer force of will. Initially, using this ability caused Sam a great deal of stress and would often result in severe headaches and nosebleeds, but with time and practice he was able to exorcise a demon without these side-effects. Once removed, the demon "smoke" falls to the ground and burns a black circle as it descends back to Hell. Unless the host is already dead, the vessel will survive this process (though he admitted to unintentionally killing a few during training). While Dean went to hell, Sam trained with Ruby. Dean finds Sam practicing his exorcism powers and brings him to promise him that he will never use them again. Sam breaks that promise when he exorcises Samhain. Sam later attempts to exorcise a demon who is attacking Jimmy Novak's family. However, he is unable to do it. Later, in the warehouse where demons are holding Amelia and Claire Novak, Sam exorcises a demon from Jimmy's wife Amelia, after drinking blood from the neck of a demon possessed human. After Sam gives into his craving for demon blood, Famine offers his demons to Sam so he can drain them of their blood. Sam refuses and instead exorcises all five demons at once before exorcising the demons that Famine has consumed and effectively defeating him.
	+ **Immunity:** Sam has immunities to demonic attacks that steadily expand over time. At first, Sam was vulnerable to all forms of demon powers, being easily overpowered by telekinesis from both yellow eyed demon and lesser demons. However, his first bout of immunity manifests after being exposed to the Croatoan Virus. Sam proves immune, and is later able to survive Lilith's "light" without any harm. Though still susceptible to the telekinetic attacks of other demons (like Alastair, for example) and possession by the Meg, Sam eventually reaches a point where no demon can harm him so long as he's high on Demon Blood. To this end, Lilith is practically defenseless against Sam during their final confrontation.
	+ **Execution & Torture:** When fueled by a certain amount of demon blood, Sam powers are strong enough to allow him to not only exorcise demons, but kill them too. Killing a demon creates the same light inside their body as when they're killed by the Colt or Ruby's knife. When killing Alastair, Sam was able to do so with ease, but Lilith required extreme concentration and will, the result of which drained him of all his powers upon completion. After consuming several gallons of demon blood in preparation for becoming Lucifer's vessel, Sam was powerful enough to kill two demons without moving a muscle. Sam is also capable of inflicting intense pain on any demon, which proves useful in torturing them for information for the agony is so great that Lilith's servant begged for death after just a few minutes of exposure.
	+ **Clairsentience:** Sam has a sixth sense that allows him to detect impressions or a sense of supernatural presence. Sam describes this as a "vibe." Sam is able to sense supernatural presences in the old Winchester family home. Sam was able to sense Dean's spirit during a time of great stress.
* **Dream Walking:** Sam temporarily gained the ability of Dream Walking through African Dream Root which allowed him to enter Dean's dreams and battle Jeremy Frost. Sam was able to shape the dream similar to Jeremy's ability to distract and kill him. Bobby suggested that his psychic abilities may have had something to do with this, but Sam didn't think so.

### Abilities

* **Skilled marksman/Firearms:** Due to his training as a hunter by his father, Sam is skilled with firearms and melee weapons. Both Winchester brothers are excellent shots, and are very skilled at both armed and unarmed combat.
* **Hunter training:** It is revealed that John started training the boys when they were quite young, as Sam, at 14 years old, manages to beat a boy twice his size to the ground without much effort. In the first two seasons he is often hesitant about using these skills because of his desire to be a 'normal' citizen, however this lessens over time. On two separate occasions, Dean has warned the powerful vampire Benny not to underestimate Sam, as he could and would kill him given the chance. He is proficient in hand-to-hand combat and possesses remarkable physical strength for a human, being able to hold his own and even overpower certain supernatural creatures such as certain types of monsters and lower-level demons. The most recent example being him overpowering a Hellhound and killing it single-handedly. His strength has limits, as he was also overpowered and badly beaten by a teenaged Djinn, however at that time he was weakened from the trials and not at full strength. He is also well-versed in weapons use, from blades to firearms and can kill any creature that is affected by this type of weaponry. Sam is also quick to think on his feet; succeeding in preventing a demon from escaping his vessel by reciting an exorcism chant backwards. After taking a semi rough beating from Jake, Sam was able to kick him around with just one foot, and also later into the fight, with just one arm. When two ghouls tore into him, Sam lost a ton of blood but he was able to retain consciousness and it didn't do any permanent damage. Sam spotted a tripwire when Rufus, Bobby and Dean didn't see it.
* **Occult knowledge:** Sam has vast knowledge of the supernatural and is considered an "encyclopedia of weirdness" by Dean. Both of them have some knowledge of pop culture, as they frequently make references - such as Dean calling Sam "Dumbledork". He is skilled in reading, speaking and memorizes text and spells in foreign languages (usually Latin) and is often stuck with doing the research for their latest hunt. Having learned how to make hex bags from Ruby, Sam also possesses the ability to hide from demons. In season 5, Castiel carved sigils into Sam and Dean's ribcages, which hides them from angels.
* **Bilingual:** He is also shown to have an adequate knowledge of Spanish.
* **Knowledge of the Law:** Sam has an in-depth knowledge on the workings of various law organizations (FBI, CDC, Police, etc) enough to pose as one if the situation requires it. Sam is also the technology expert of the duo, as he's the one doing research and technology-based jobs.
* **High-level intellect/Master detective/Tactician:** Sam is perceptive to body language and can easily pick up on unconscious gestures to read their "poker face" - he is very good at poker. Sam was able to outwit a nine-hundred year old witch in poker, when Dean and even Bobby couldn't. He is an expert tactician, able to fight or diplomatically steer his way out of many complicated situations, and generally prefers to use words instead of brute strength. He also has a great sense of direction and time, at one point being able to find a vampire's nest while blindfolded by keeping track of the time, the number of turns the car took and the sounds he heard during the journey. Also, soulless Sam was able to simply maneuver himself out of a knotted rope.
* **Physical and mental endurance:** One of his greatest traits is his physical and mental endurance. After his revival and having his soul restored, Sam managed to cope with the mental hallucinations caused by being tortured by Lucifer for several months - at one point staying awake for about four days straight - while remaining a functional hunter, before ultimately starting to cave in. The next year, when undertaking the trials to close the gates of Hell, despite the extreme physical damage and resulting weakness it caused him, Sam still managed to perform some respectable feats, such as knocking Dean unconscious with two punches.

## References

1. ↑ "Something Wicked", *Supernatural*, The CW
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Pilot", *Supernatural*, The CW
3. ↑ "Wendigo (Episode)", *Supernatural*, The CW
4. ↑ "Clap Your Hands If You Believe", *Supernatural*, The CW
5. ↑ "Skin", *Supernatural*, The CW
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Bloody Mary", *Supernatural*, The CW
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Nightmare", *Supernatural*, The CW
8. ↑ "All Hell Breaks Loose: Part 2", *Supernatural*, The CW
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Home", *Supernatural*, The CW
10. ↑ "Simon Said", *Supernatural*, The CW
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Croatoan", *Supernatural*, The CW
12. ↑ "Death Takes a Holiday", *Supernatural*, The CW
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Lucifer Rising", *Supernatural*, The CW
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "My Bloody Valentine", *Supernatural*, The CW
15. ↑ "Lazarus Rising", *Supernatural*, The CW
16. ↑ "Metamorphosis", *Supernatural*, The CW
17. ↑ "It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester", *Supernatural*, The CW
18. ↑ "The Rapture", *Supernatural*, The CW
19. ↑ "No Rest for the Wicked", *Supernatural*, The CW
20. ↑ "The Monster at the End of This Book", *Supernatural*, The CW
21. ↑ "On the Head of a Pin", *Supernatural*, The CW
22. ↑ "Asylum", *Supernatural*, The CW
23. ↑ "In My Time of Dying", *Supernatural*, The CW
24. ↑ "Dream a Little Dream of Me", *Supernatural*, The CW
25. ↑ "All Hell Breaks Loose: Part 1", *Supernatural*, The CW
26. ↑ "Jump the Shark", *Supernatural*, The CW
27. ↑ "...And Then There Were None", *Supernatural*, The CW
28. ↑ "The Curious Case of Dean Winchester", *Supernatural*, The CW