Dean Winchester
Dean Winchester is one of the two protagonists from the American drama television series Supernatural, along with his younger brother Sam. He is portrayed primarily by Jensen Ackles. Other versions of the character having been portrayed by Hunter Brochu, Ridge Canipe, Nicolai Lawton-Giustra, Brock Kelly and Dylan Everett, and Chad Everett.
Development
Dean 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. Dean's name is a homage to Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac's road-trip novel On the Road, tying into Kripke's concept for an Americana road-trip television series. It was intended for the brothers' last name to be "Harrison" as a nod to actor Harrison Ford, as Kripke wanted Dean to have the "devil-may-care swagger of Han Solo." 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". Dean and his brother Sam are from Lawrence, Kansas, due to its closeness to Stull Cemetery, a location famous for its urban legends. Jensen Ackles, who portrays Dean Winchester, auditioned for the role of Sam, but was then asked to read for Dean and found he preferred the character of Dean after reading the script.Character biography
Preseries
Dean Winchester was born on January 24, 1979, to John and Mary Winchester in Lawrence, Kansas. He is the couple's first child, four years older than his younger brother, Sam. He is named after his maternal grandmother, Deanna Campbell.On November 2, 1983, Mary was killed in Sam's nursery by the demon Azazel, and in the ensuing fire Dean was tasked with carrying Sam out to safety while John unsuccessfully tried to rescue Mary. Since then, Dean has felt responsible for Sam and was always given the job to take care of him while they were growing up.
John began investigating the cause of Mary's death and learned about supernatural creatures and the people who hunted them. John became a hunter himself, and trained Dean to be one as well, though both hid the supernatural from Sam until he was 8 years old. The Winchesters constantly moved around the country, living in motels and the homes of John's friends. Dean was left to look after Sam with John being continuously absent during their childhood. When Dean was 16, he was arrested for stealing and spent time in a boys' home where he had the opportunity to go to a regular school, though eventually Dean chose to return to Sam.
Prior to the pilot of the series, Sam left to pursue his own life away from the supernatural. John held a grudge against Sam as he felt Sam had abandoned them, while Sam also held a grudge due to the huge argument prior to Sam leaving. John and Dean continued to hunt together and traveled throughout the United States.
Dean is known for handling a large number of weapons. His signature looks are black boots, a dark leather jacket and dark flannel shirts with dark blue jeans. He is also known for driving a signature black 1967 Chevrolet Impala, which he occasionally sleeps in, and he has a huge stash of weaponry in the trunk.
Series
Season 1
Dean is 26 years old when the series begins and has been allowed by John to hunt by himself. In the first episode, Dean goes to Sam, whom he has not seen for a few years, and asks for help finding John, who has gone missing. The pair are initially unsuccessful, and at the end of the first episode, Sam's girlfriend Jessica Moore dies the same way their mother did. Sam joins Dean on the road, hunting various supernatural creatures, tracking down their father and searching for the culprit behind the deaths of their mother and Jessica. After eventually reuniting with their father and coming into possession of the Colt, they prepare to strike back against Azazel, a powerful demon with yellow eyes.Season 2
Failing to kill him, they are rammed into by a semi-truck, sending Dean into a coma, whilst John and Sam receive minor injuries. Flat-lining, Dean is about to die but is saved from death at the last second when John makes a deal with the Demon to save his life.After John's soul is taken by the Demon to Hell, Sam and Dean start hunting the Demon, who eventually kidnaps Sam. In a turn of events, Sam is stabbed in the back and killed, forcing Dean to make a deal to save his brother's life. He is given one year of life. Dean and Sam are unable to stop the Demon from opening a gate to Hell and freeing Lilith. However, their father escapes as well and gives them the chance they need to kill the Yellow Eyed Demon, before his soul heads to heaven.
Season 3
While trying to cope with his impending death and make the best of his final year, Dean begins to start hunting the freed Demons. Meeting a seemingly helpful demon Ruby, Dean learns that he too may become a demon himself if he burns in Hell too long. Learning Lilith to have taken the throne of Hell from Azazel and to hold Dean's life contract in her hands, the brothers eventually confront her.Unable to kill her, Dean is mauled to death by Hellhounds and his soul is dragged to Hell.
Season 4
While there Lilith orders a demon called Alastair to brutalize Dean. Dean spends four months dead, equating to 40 years in Hell. Dean had joined Alastair in torturing souls after previously refusing for 30 years. However, Dean awakens from his grave and reunites with family and meets the angel Castiel who is revealed to have saved from Hell and resurrected Dean. Struggling with his actions in Hell and trying to get Sam to quit drinking demon blood, Dean meets Azazel again when sent back in time by Castiel.At one point, Dean opened to Sam and revealed how he not only tortured but enjoyed the events while in Hell.
Dean encounters another angel Zachariah who implores Dean to keep hunting after he nearly gave it up when learning Alastair had tortured John, who never broke in his time in Hell.
During Jump the Shark, Dean and Sam learn of their half-brother Adam with Sam. Although initially disbelieving, Dean is convinced of the relation with pictures. Dean is also against Sam using the teachings of their father on Adam after he is attacked by monsters. At the end, it is revealed that it was a ghoul and impersonating Adam who was killed but Dean saved Sam and the brothers burned Adam's body.
Eventually, Dean learns that the angels the want the Apocalypse to start and that if one of the Demon's Special Children, of whom Sam is the only one left, kill Lilith, Lucifer will be free. Castiel helps Dean escape the angels, as Dean kills Ruby but arrives moments too late to stop Lucifer from breaking free.
Season 5
After Lucifer is freed, Dean and Sam are teleported onto an airplane by an unknown force. Later learning of his role as the vessel for the Archangel Michael and Sam's role as Lucifer's vessel, the brothers meet the King of Crossroads Crowley and fight against the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to defeat Lucifer.On their search to find a way to defeat Lucifer, the brothers attempt to use the Colt and look for God, but it is revealed that the Colt cannot kill Lucifer and God does not care about the Apocalypse. These actions make Dean decide to become Michael's vessel even if the result is the deaths of millions of people, however, Sam's faith in Dean pulls him back into finding another solution. Upon the death of the Archangel Gabriel, the brothers discover that by using the rings from the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, they can reopen and trap Lucifer back into Hell. As Dean and Sam already have War and Famine's rings, they search for Pestilence and Death's location, leading Sam to meet his old college friend Brady: the guy who introduced Sam to Jessica and the demon ordered by Azazel to kill Jessica. Dean lets Sam kill Brady after getting the information they need.
Learning from Death how to trap Lucifer, Dean eventually lets Sam become the devil's vessel, but his strong bond with Dean helps him fall into Lucifer's Cage with Michael, who is using the boys' younger brother Adam as a vessel.
Season 6
Quitting hunting and moving in with an ex-one-night-stand, Lisa, Dean begins to move into a normal life but is thrust back into hunting when attacked by a Djinn and mysteriously saved by Sam. Shocked to learn of his brother and maternal grandfather's resurrections, Dean is placed even more on edge when Sam acts cold, ruthlessly and lets Dean get temporarily turned into a vampire. This is mostly shocking because out of the brothers, Sam has always been the gentler of the two. Later learning from Castiel that Sam is lacking a soul, Dean sets out to fix his brother. Getting Sam's soul back, from Lucifer's cage, through Death, the brothers begin to unravel a conspiracy involving Crowley and Castiel. Defeating Eve, the mother of all monsters, Dean cuts ties with Lisa and learns Castiel to have taken Purgatory's souls to become the most powerful angel alive.Season 7
Requesting Death's help, Dean is unable to get Castiel to return the souls of Purgatory in time and the Leviathans break free and begin an effort to take over the Earth. After their father figure Bobby is killed by Dick Roman, the Leviathan leader, they gain an ally through Kevin Tran, a new prophet.With the Word of God, Dean and Castiel kill Roman but are themselves killed in the subsequent explosion and dragged to Purgatory.