Wincest (Sam/Dean) Analysis

From the pilot episode, Hunters have been shipping Wincest, even before they were Hunters and before the term Wincest was coined.  Merely hours after the pilot aired, the first Wincest fanfic appeared online.  Despite the taboo nature of Sam/Dean slash ship—or perhaps because of it—fanfic authors from all over have been furiously typing away on their computers and laptops about the duo.  The ship has grown and grown, as the abundance of brotherly love for each other was proven time and time again on the show.

Or was it all entirely “brotherly”…

In 4.18, Sam and Dean discover a somewhat poorly-written set of novels about their life called “Supernatural.”  With the help of Sam’s quick researching skills, they quickly discover the online fandom, including shippers.

Sam appears perturbed by the accusation that they could be romantically or sexually involved.  Dean, however, seems to give an expression of guilt.  Is it possible his face conveys more feelings we didn’t know he had about his brother?

Later, in 5.01, Sympathy for the Devil, Chuck Shurley (SPOILER ALERT: aka God) gets in contact with one of the biggest fans of his “Supernatural” books, Becky Rosen.  Before Chuck contacts her, she is overheard writing Wincest fanfic.  The fanfic she reads is a real story created by the writers behind Supernatural. It can be read here.   Eight episodes later, in 5.01, The Real Ghostbusters, Sam and Dean are led to a “Supernatural” fan convention under false pretenses.  Among all the cosplayers, Sam and Dean become stuck with a pair, Demain and Barnes, who are acting as, shocker, Sam and Dean.  While the pair does not promote Sam and Dean as a couple in their cosplaying, they do come out to the actual Sam and Dean as a couple.  While this does not directly imply Wincest, it does do so in a sort of roundabout way.

Throughout the series, the boys have bombarded us with numerous “chick flick moments,” as Dean would call them.  Moreover, there certainly seems to be a more-than-brotherly bond between the two.  In 5.16, Dark Side of the Moon, Sam and Dean are both shot dead by two hunters frustrated about the start of the apocalypse.  When they awake, they are in Heaven.  Eventually, they are discovered by Ash, a friend who had died a couple years prior.  He reveals to them that each person has a heaven that is theirs and theirs alone, except for soulmates, who can share.  This points to the fact that Sam and Dean share a heaven.  Perhaps we could chalk this up to their intense brotherly bond, but perhaps it is a not-so-subtle hint at the true relationship, or potential relationship, between Sam and Dean.

Some references are a bit less subtle.  In 5.18, Point of No Return, the angel Zachariah attempts to convince Adam that the Winchester’s are not to be trusted by saying “You know Sam and Dean Winchester are psychotically, irrationally, erotically codependent on each other, right?”  Highlight that word, erotically.  Now, what does that word mean?  According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, erotic is “of, devoted to, or tending to arouse sexual love or desire” and “strongly marked or affected by sexual desire.”  Generally speaking, Zachariah is not a person who we would normally trust to distinguish brotherly love from erotic love, especially when we consider Castiel’s sincere and severe lack of understanding of human motives.

Over the seasons, Sam and Dean’s relationship has been put under the microscope by many other characters, let alone fans.  In 6.06, You Can’t Handle the Truth, Lisa, Dean’s on-again off-again love, stated “You two have the most unhealthy, tangled up, crazy thing that I’ve ever seen.”  In 8.04, Bitten, Michael Wheeler and Brian Wilcox film Sam and Dean as they investigate a case.  On first sight, Michael comments “Is it just me or are you getting a workplace romance vibe from those two?”

It isn’t clear whether these references to Wincest are actual implications, or purely for humor’s sake.  The writers are very adept at teasing the fans, whether they mean to create canonical ships or not.  Ultimately, the evidence is there for Wincest, but is it really Wincest, or just a completely insane, destructively intimate, brotherly bond?

Ever your Assbutt,

Castielle

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