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Dean Winchester

Name Dean Winchester

Jensen Ackles
Hunter Brochu (Young Dean in 1.01)
Ridge Canipe (Young Dean in 1.18 & 3.08)
Brock Kelly (Teen Dean in 4.13)
Chad Everett (Elderly Dean in 5.07)
Actor
Nicolai Guistra (Young Dean in 5.22 & 7.10)
Dylan Everett (Teen Dean in 9.07, 10.12 &
11.08)
Anthony Bolognese (Young Dean in 12.22)
Paxton Singleton (Teen Dean in 15.16)
Dates January 24, 1979 – 2025 (killed by a vampire)
Heaven
Location Lawrence, Kansas (formerly)
Lebanon, Kansas (formerly)
Occupation Hunter
All episodes
Episode(s)
(except 14.01 Stranger in a Strange Land)

Hey. I'm not leaving you. I'm gonna

be with you... right here... every day.
Every day you're out there and you're
li... and you're living and you're
fighting, 'cause you... you always
keep fighting. You hear me? I'll be
there every step. I love you so much.
My baby brother. Oh, man. Well, I did
not think this would be the day. But it
is. It is, and that's... Man... that's
okay. I need you to... I need you to
promise me. I need you to... to... to
tell me... that it's okay. I need you to
tell me that it's okay.

– Dean Winchester, 15.20 Carry On

Background
Born January 24, 1979; the same month and day
as Jess. In an interview Eric Kripke said the
reason they share a birthday was "...not a creepy,
mythology, conspiracy reason. January 24th is my
wife's birthday, and it's kinda my valentine to her."
Son of John & Mary Winchester; older brother of
Sam Winchester and older half-brother of Adam
Milligan.
Named after his grandmother, Deanna Campbell.
Drives a black 1967 Chevy Impala which his father
gave to him.[1] It is later revealed that a young John
Winchester initially bought the car in part because
Dean, after being brought back in time by Castiel,
persuaded him to buy it, as opposed to a van his
girlfriend Mary Campbell (who would later become
Mary Winchester) liked.[2]
Dean is a good mechanic. He single-handedly
repairs the totaled Impala multiple times throughout
the series and is a professional mechanic in the
Wishverse of 2.20 What Is and What Should Never
Be.
He is also a good cook, as meals he has prepared
are complimented by both Sam in 8.14 Trial and
Error and Death in 10.23 Brother's Keeper.
He always (until 5.02 Good God, Y'All) wears an
amulet given to him by Sam as a Christmas present
in 1991.[3]
He always (until between 5.07 The Curious Case of
Dean Winchester and 5.08 Changing Channels)
wears a silver ring.
In seasons one and two, Dean alternates between
wearing two bracelets . One is an African tribal
bracelet and may either be a support bracelet from
Invisible Children , or an elephant hair bracelet,
which are believed to protect the wearer and bring
them good luck and fortune. The other is a
Buddhist mala, or prayer bracelet, whose beads
carved in the shape of skulls are used by Tibetan
monks during meditation as a memento mori .
In 3.12 Jus in Bello we learn that Sam and Dean
got matching tattoos depicting a pentagram that
protects them from demonic possession.
In 4.18 The Monster at the End of This Book Dean
says that his favorite songs are a tie between
"Ramble On " and "Traveling Riverside Blues "
by Led Zeppelin
Dean is Michael's true vessel, but he refused to say
yes to Michael, which forced Michael to use Adam
as his vessel.
After Sam fell into Lucifer's Cage, Dean and Bobby
parted. Dean then stayed with Lisa Braeden,
putting a hold on his hunting career. After Sam's
return from the Cage at Castiel's hand, Dean went
back into the "hunting business."
Following his abduction by fairies[4], Dean is
capable of seeing all types of them who reside in
the human realm as he was dragged over to their
side and came back. In general, humans are
incapable of seeing fairies, unless they want to be
seen.
Dean's most common catchphrase is "Son of a
bitch."
Dean loves pie, hamburgers, and diner/junk food in
general.
Dean has a love of the Magic Fingers bed
relaxation system and memory foam mattresses
In 10.03 Soul Survivor Sam says "I got your blood
type" which could easily mean he got a compatible
donor. Dean could accept type O - which is the
universal donor and can be given to people with
type AB, A, B or O. As John is AB, and whether
Mary is A, B, AB or O, Dean could be type A, B or
AB.
In 2016, Dean killed Adolf Hitler.
In 2017, Dean killed Lucifer.

Deaths
Dean dies over 100 times as part of Gabriel's time
loop. Known causes of death include getting shot in
the chest, being hit by a car, being crushed by a
dresser, choking on a sausage, eating a bad taco,
being electrocuted plugging in an electric razor,
falling in the shower, accidentally being bludgeoned
by an axe, getting shot with an arrow by Doris, and
getting mauled by a dog. After Gabriel ends the
time loop, Dean is shot by Cal and remains dead
for six months until Gabriel sends Sam back to the
Wednesday when he was killed, only without Cal.[5]
Dean dies when he is torn apart by a hellhound on
May 2nd, 2008, when his crossroads deal expired.
Dean is pulled out of Hell and resurrected by
Castiel on September 18, 2008.[6][7]
Dean almost dies when Zachariah gives him Stage
IV Stomach Cancer. Reversed moments later at
Castiel's order.[8]
Dean dies when two angry hunters -- Walt and Roy
-- shoot both him and Sam for Sam's role in starting
the Apocalypse.[9]
Dean dies when Dr Robert injects him with
something that kills him, in order to give him time to
talk to Death. He is revived 7 minutes later.[10]
Dean dies after being stabbed in the chest by
Metatron with an angel blade. Several hours later
the Mark of Cain brings him back as a Knight of
Hell.[11]
When Dean thinks Sam is dead, Dean overdoses
on barbiturates and dies in order to talk to Billie the
reaper. She tells him that Sam is not dead, and she
is there to reap Dean and take him to the Empty.
However, Dr. Kessler is able to successfully
resuscitate him.[12]
In order to get out of a remote federal prison where
they are being held for attempted assassination of
the president, Dean and Sam must die. Dean asks
Billie the reaper to let him and Sam die and come
back one more time, and then she could take a
Winchester for good. Being temporarily dead allows
them to be transported to another room, and they
sneak out once Billie brings them back.[13]
Dean dies after he injects himself with something
that stops his heart in order to speak to the ghosts
who are haunting a house. Sam injects him with a
syringe full of another substance that is supposed
to restart his heart, but it doesn't work. Billie shows
up, and she brings him back, after a conversation
in which she reveals that it is not his time to die
yet.[14]
In a nightmare Sam has, Dean's neck is
telekinetically snapped by a Sam who had given
into the demon blood.[15] Like the rest of Chuck's
Endings, this is revealed to be an alternate-reality
Dean.[16]
In another nightmare that Sam has, Dean tries to
kill a Lucifer-possessed Sam with the Colt only to
fail and have the archangel burn him alive.[17] Like
the rest of Chuck's Endings, this is revealed to be
an alternate-reality Dean.[16]

Michael's True Vessel

According

Michael's true vessel is Dean Winchester.

to Zachariah, Dean is the "Sword of Michael"

meaning that Dean is Michael's true vessel. His
brother Sam is Lucifer's true vessel. The archangel
Gabriel states that the Winchester brothers were
always destined to be vessels, partially because of
their bloodline, and partially because their
relationship parallels that of Michael and Lucifer.[18]
Michael himself tells Dean that his line goes all the
way back to Cain and Abel, thus explaining why
Dean is destined to kill Sam.[19]

Gabriel: Why do you think you two are

the vessels? Think about it. Michael, the
big brother, loyal to an absent father. And
Lucifer, the little brother, rebellious of
daddy's plan. You were born to this, boys.
It's your destiny. It was always you. As it is
in heaven, so it must be on Earth. One
brother has to kill the other.

Dean consents to being Michael's vessel in 5.18

Point of No Return; as Michael begins to appear,
Dean reneges and kills Zachariah. He tells Sam
that he changed his mind because he didn't want to
let him down. Their half-brother Adam Milligan is
taken as the vessel instead.
In 13.23 Let the Good Times Roll Dean consents to
being Apocalypse World Michael's vessel in order
to battle Lucifer. He demands that he remain in
control, but after Lucifer is killed, Michael reneges
on their deal and takes over Dean's body. Michael
suppresses Dean, but Dean fights back and
Michael leaves him after about a month's time.[20]
Before leaving, however, he leaves the "door" to
Dean's mind open, which enables him to remotely
see what Dean does and provides a way for
Michael to later re-occupy Dean's vessel without
his consent again.[21] This time, he creates an
illusion in which Dean is happy (Rocky's Bar) to
stop him from fighting back. Sam and Castiel enter
Dean's subconscious, and help him repress and
contain Michael within his mind.[22] After being
knocked unconscious by the gorgon Noah Ophis,
Michael is able to escape Dean's mind and
possess Rowena, but he is exorcised and
destroyed by Jack Kline.[23]
Following the return of the original Michael in 15.08
Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven, the archangel
shows no further interest in Dean as a vessel and
is instead content with using the body of Adam with
whom Michael has reached an agreement to share
control of said vessel.

Pre-series
March 5th, 1861
Dean, along with Sam is transported back in time by
Castiel to Sunrise, Wyoming to kill a phoenix and get
its ashes to use against Eve. Sam retrieves the colt
from Samuel Colt himself, which Dean uses in a
showdown with the phoenix.

November 1943
Dean is sent back in time by Lucifer to the USS Bluefin
to retrieve a Hand of God, in this case a piece of the
original Ark of the Covenant.

November 1944
Dean attacks Chronos, the god of time, and is
accidentally taken with him to 1944 where he meets
and teams up with Eliot Ness to kill Chronos.

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; she 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, which is
revealed to be Azazel. Dean goes to Daniel Elkins'
house and steals the Colt, with the hope of killing
Azazel and thus preventing the tragedies that have
cursed his family. When Dean, Samuel and Mary
encounter Azazel, he is very interested in Mary, and
subsequently possesses 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 that can have access to her home
in ten years time.

Spring or Summer 1978

Dean and Sam are taken back in time from 2010 by
Castiel so that they can defend their parents from Anna
Milton. Anna has come back in time to kill John and
Mary, thereby preventing Sam's birth. Mary remembers
Dean from his previous time travel, but John does not.
The two are married, and Mary does not want their life
interrupted by hunting, something she has left behind.
She is persuaded to accept Sam and Dean's help
when Anna goes after John, and the family retreats to
a safe house. Once there, Dean tells Mary about her
future, and reveals his true identity. He tries to warn her
about the night in the nursery when she will be killed.
Sam suggests that it is not enough for her to avoid the
nursery. She must leave John so that Sam and Dean
will never be born. Mary informs them that it is already
too late: she's pregnant. Anna attacks, but Michael
intervenes by using John as a vessel. He destroys
Anna, then wipes the memories of John and Mary so
that they will continue with their lives as before. He
then returns Sam and Dean to the present, assuring
Dean that he will one day consent to being a vessel.

January 24, 1979

Dean is born.

1983
The Journal mentions that prior to Mary's death, Dean
played t-ball.

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).

1985-86 (approx.)

Dean faces off with a shtriga.

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.)
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. Dean is haunted by his failure to defend
his brother.

In 7.10 Death's Door, Bobby has a flashback to a

sunny afternoon in "89-ish," when he took young Dean
to a park. Ten-year-old Dean tells him, "Dad says I'm
supposed to practice with the double-barrel," but
Bobby insists that he gets to throw a ball around "like a
regular snot-nosed little jerk."

1991 (approx.)
When Dean is in sixth grade he makes his first sawed-
off shotgun.[24]

Christmas Eve 1991

Dean after receiving his Christmas present from Sam.

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 present intended for his father: the
amulet.

Dean and Sam with Caitlin and Travis Johnson.

In 15.16 Drag Me Away (From You), Sam and Dean

are left at the Rooster Sunrise motel in Wadsworth,
Ohio, while John goes on a hunt. During their stay, they
meet siblings Caitlin and Travis Johnson. After Travis
has an encounter with something supernatural, Sam
and Dean try to get in contact with their father through
Bobby, who tells them John is out of range for two
days. Despite not knowing what they are dealing with,
Dean decides to handle the hunt himself, and believes
to have killed the creature that is later learned to be
Baba Yaga.

Summer 1994
In 5.12 Swap Meat we learn that Dean and Sam spent
a portion of the summer being looked after by Donna, a
maid at the Mayflower motel in Housatonic,
Massachusetts, while their father was hunting. On one
occasion, John was gone for two weeks. It was the
summer before Sam entered sixth grade, and he
assigned himself a summer reading list. Dean possibly
had a crush on Donna.

16-year-old Dean with Robin, during his time at the boys

home.

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.

Dean spends two months in 1995 at a boys home after

getting caught stealing food, prior to being arrested he
mentions to Sonny that he got his injuries during a
werewolf hunt.[25]

Teenage Dean and Sam.

In summer 1997 John, Dean and Sam are hunting a

werewolf.[26]

In November 1997, John "parks" the kids in Fairfax,

Indiana, where they attend Truman High School. While
Sam is having trouble with a bully named Dirk
McGregor, Dean gets a girlfriend, Amanda Heckerling;
although he becomes uncomfortable when she wants
him to meet her parents. When she catches him
cheating on her with another girl, she challenges him,
charging that his "cool" persona is a cover for his
loneliness.[26]

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 leaves 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,
called 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.

Episodes

John, Dean and Sam, after escaping the house fire.

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. Sam's commitment to returning to shaken
when his girlfriend, Jessica Moore is killed in the same
manner as their mother. Sam joins Dean, and they go
on the road with the aim of finding their father and
killing monsters along the way. In particular, they are
after the demon that killed Jess and Mary Winchester.

In season one, it is obvious that 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."[27] To some extent, Dean sees himself as a
soldier, and his father as his commander. Gradually,
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
going to college, while he had to stay and look after
their father. He states that he knows eventually
everyone will leave him. They clash over Dean's loyalty
and obedience to John. In 1.09 Home, Dean first
becomes aware of Sam's psychic abilities, when he
has a vision of trouble at their old home in Lawrence,
Kansas. In 1.10 Asylum while influenced by the spirit of
Dr. Ellicott, Sam tries to shoot Dean in a spirit-induced
rage over Dean's insistence in obeying John's orders
rather than going to California to find their father. In the
following episode Sam actually does leave Dean, who
insists he and John are both selfish because all they
care about is revenge then later who tells Sam he was
always proud of how he pursued what he wanted. Sam
eventually goes looking for Dean when he can't reach
his brother on his cell phone.

In 1.12 Faith, an accident while hunting a rawhead

leaves Dean with a fatal heart condition when he is
electrocuted, but he is saved 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 1.16 Shadow, as they prepare to battle Meg, Sam

announces he will return to Stanford after the Yellow-
Eyed Demon is killed, to which Dean says he wishes
Sam would stay with him and keep hunting, even if
they kill the demon that killed their mom, and Jess.

They come closer to this possibility in 1.20 Dead Man's

Blood, when John reveals that there is a weapon that
can kill the demon: The Colt. The Winchesters manage
to acquire it from a group of vampires. The Yellow-
Eyed Demon and his "children" Meg and Tom are quick
to act, and begin killing John's friends and threatening
to kill more until John gives them the Colt. John tries to
trick them and is captured. In the season finale, the two
Winchester brothers must rescue their father and face
the Yellow-Eyed Demon, who possesses John. It is
Dean who senses that something is wrong, when his
father, uncharacteristically, praises him. Azazel is able
to hold the brothers in check with his powers, and
begins to torture Dean. The demon taunts 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."

John manages to resurface and hold the demon in

check. John pleads with Sam to shoot him with the
Colt, but Dean begs 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.
Suddenly the Impala is totaled by a demon driving a
big semi-truck.

Season 2
The season opens with Dean comatose from his
injuries. He encounters a reaper, Tessa, who explains
that Dean’s choice is either to stay as a disembodied
spirit, and become the type of vengeful spirit that he
hunts, or leave this world with her. Just as Dean is
about to choose, he is returned to his body and healed
because John has made a deal with the Yellow-Eyed
Demon, trading his life for Dean's. Before he dies, John
gives Dean a last, secret command – that he should
save Sam, and if he can't save him, he should kill him.
Throughout this season Dean struggles with this secret
and his grief and guilt over his father's death. As much
as he wants to, he has trouble admitting the secret to
Sam. He becomes increasingly concerned about
Sam's powers as the season progresses, but attempts
to be supportive. During Sam's possession later in the
season, Dean insists that Sam could not be
responsible for the actions attributed to him, because
in spite of Dean's own fears he believes in Sam.

Dean makes a deal with a crossroads demon to resurrect

Sam.

Dean's police record begins to be a problem for the

brothers this season. Dean is picked up in Baltimore on
suspicion of murder, and the national authorities
become aware that he is alive. They associate the
crimes of the dead shapeshifter who took Dean's form
in 1.06 Skin with the living Dean, who is now officially a
fugitive. Matters become even more convoluted when
Sam and Dean deal with another shapeshifter in 2.12
Nightshifter and end up holding people hostage to find
it. In this episode they first become aware of Special
Agent Victor Henriksen of the FBI who has been
tasked with hunting Dean down. Their notoriety does
allow the brothers access to a prison they are
investigating in 2.19 Folsom Prison Blues when they
allow themselves to be captured. They later escape.

Some of Dean's inner desires are revealed in 2.20

What Is and What Should Never Be, when a djinn
attacks Dean. It uses a strong desire from Dean's
subconscious (that his mother never died) to hold
Dean captive in a dream world. There, Mary is indeed
alive, Dean has a girlfriend and a job as a mechanic,
but Dean and Sam are not close, and rarely speak.
However, when Dean finds out that it is a fantasy and
that all the people he has saved are dead in this reality,
he struggles to escape it. He decides in favor of his life
as a hunter, but he later admits to Sam that "I liked it
there. I didn't want to leave."