5 things Dean Winchester and Buffy Summers have in common
I thought it was time to devote a post to two of my very favorite television characters; Buffy Summers, the quirky and courageous title character of the cult favorite Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Dean Winchester, one of the two central characters in a equally popular show, Supernatural. These two have so much in common it’s almost eerie. Shall we see that those things are?
And now, prepare to be amazed by the similarities...
1. Both feel dead inside after returning from the dead.
Dean: I’m tired, man. I’m done. I’m just done.
-My Bloody Valentine
Buffy: I was done.
-Afterlife
Dean, after returning from Hell, and Buffy, after returning from Heaven. Both are, as noted, “going through the motions” but lacking in any real motivation. Both become disillusioned with their missions, until their faith is returned to them in the form of a supportive family member or friend (in Dean’s case, it’s Sam, in Buffy’s it’s Spike).
Both experience very similar depression, feelings of disconnect, and decreased enjoyment of life after being resurrected. Dean is haunted by the acts he was forced to commit in Hell by Alistair, and Buffy mourns being forced back into her world where "everything is... hard, and bright, and violent" (Afterlife). As a result, she initiates a violent and dysfunctional relationship with her friend Spike. Dean, hoping to dumb the pain, drinks more and seems to get more perverse satisfaction in killing then he used too. Sam also comments on how withdrawn Dean is.
2. Both are Chosen for a higher purpose, and both at times resent their calling.
Buffy is the Slayer, chosen at a very young age against her will to fight vampires and evil. Dean was not only born in a life as a hunter, he finds out later he is chosen by God to be the vessel for Lucifer, destined to fight to the death with his brother, and destroy the world. Both Buffy and Dean spend their days fighting evil and saving people, at high sacrifice. Both resent their callings, and express their desires to live “normal lives” on occasion.
Dean: [to Sam] You ever think that you’d want something like that? Wife, rugrats, the whole nine…
-Swap Meat
Angel: Before you know it, you’ll want it all. A normal life.
Buffy: [spiteful] I’ll never have a normal life.
-The Prom
3. Both reject their destiny and exercise free will whenever possible.
Buffy: [to Angel] I never do what I'm meant for. Fuck evolution.
-Issue #35
Dean: So, screw destiny right in the face. I say we take the fight to them, do it our way.
-Point Of No Return
Both Dean and Buffy are brave, courageous, and experts at what they do. Both also have a healthy amount of conviction. Despite their “destinies“, both have cheated death on numerous occasions. Both reject their fates. As an adult, Buffy fires her Watcher, rather wanting to govern herself. Dean consistently fights Zachariah’s plan for him to allow Michael to use his body as a vessel. Dean refuses to allow the Angels and Demons to use Sam as his Achilles heel, rather he chooses to fight alongside his brother no matter the cost.
4. Both are willing to (and do) sacrifice themselves for their sibling.
Buffy jumped off a tower, killing herself, because she couldn’t bear to see her sister die. Dean, on more then one occasion, has clearly demonstrated that he won’t (doesn’t want too) live without Sam. In “Croatoan”, Dean attempts to stay with Sam, knowing that Sam would kill him once he turned into the being that had infected him. Again, Dean can not live in a world without Sam, just as Buffy can not fathom a world without her sister by her side.
5. Both have died and been resurrected.
After Buffy jumped from the tower, she died and went to what she described as “Heaven,”: (whether or not that was indeed where she went is contestable. Though SPN features the existence of God, both Heaven and Hell, BtVS is a largely atheist show, leaving much to the viewer’s own discretion). Dean, after making a deal with a demon and selling his soul to bring Sam back from the dead, was killed my Hellhounds and went to Hell, where he was forced to torture people. For both characters we don’t know how long they were there. Dean says 40 years, and Buffy, in response to Spike’s inquiry, simply stats, “Longer.”
Buffy and Dean are two characters living in very different fictional contexts yet cut from the same mold; they're heroes. Guardians of the helpless. Both have a darkness in them that, when recognized and utilized, helps them do their jobs better. Both have the weight of the world in their shoulders. Both are extraordinary.
That's all, folks. I'm sure with more thought, many other similarities could be found but that's all that comes to me right now.
Thoughts?
And now, prepare to be amazed by the similarities...
1. Both feel dead inside after returning from the dead.
Dean: I’m tired, man. I’m done. I’m just done.
-My Bloody Valentine
Buffy: I was done.
-Afterlife
Dean, after returning from Hell, and Buffy, after returning from Heaven. Both are, as noted, “going through the motions” but lacking in any real motivation. Both become disillusioned with their missions, until their faith is returned to them in the form of a supportive family member or friend (in Dean’s case, it’s Sam, in Buffy’s it’s Spike).
Both experience very similar depression, feelings of disconnect, and decreased enjoyment of life after being resurrected. Dean is haunted by the acts he was forced to commit in Hell by Alistair, and Buffy mourns being forced back into her world where "everything is... hard, and bright, and violent" (Afterlife). As a result, she initiates a violent and dysfunctional relationship with her friend Spike. Dean, hoping to dumb the pain, drinks more and seems to get more perverse satisfaction in killing then he used too. Sam also comments on how withdrawn Dean is.
2. Both are Chosen for a higher purpose, and both at times resent their calling.
Buffy is the Slayer, chosen at a very young age against her will to fight vampires and evil. Dean was not only born in a life as a hunter, he finds out later he is chosen by God to be the vessel for Lucifer, destined to fight to the death with his brother, and destroy the world. Both Buffy and Dean spend their days fighting evil and saving people, at high sacrifice. Both resent their callings, and express their desires to live “normal lives” on occasion.
Dean: [to Sam] You ever think that you’d want something like that? Wife, rugrats, the whole nine…
-Swap Meat
Angel: Before you know it, you’ll want it all. A normal life.
Buffy: [spiteful] I’ll never have a normal life.
-The Prom
3. Both reject their destiny and exercise free will whenever possible.
Buffy: [to Angel] I never do what I'm meant for. Fuck evolution.
-Issue #35
Dean: So, screw destiny right in the face. I say we take the fight to them, do it our way.
-Point Of No Return
Both Dean and Buffy are brave, courageous, and experts at what they do. Both also have a healthy amount of conviction. Despite their “destinies“, both have cheated death on numerous occasions. Both reject their fates. As an adult, Buffy fires her Watcher, rather wanting to govern herself. Dean consistently fights Zachariah’s plan for him to allow Michael to use his body as a vessel. Dean refuses to allow the Angels and Demons to use Sam as his Achilles heel, rather he chooses to fight alongside his brother no matter the cost.
4. Both are willing to (and do) sacrifice themselves for their sibling.
Buffy jumped off a tower, killing herself, because she couldn’t bear to see her sister die. Dean, on more then one occasion, has clearly demonstrated that he won’t (doesn’t want too) live without Sam. In “Croatoan”, Dean attempts to stay with Sam, knowing that Sam would kill him once he turned into the being that had infected him. Again, Dean can not live in a world without Sam, just as Buffy can not fathom a world without her sister by her side.
5. Both have died and been resurrected.
After Buffy jumped from the tower, she died and went to what she described as “Heaven,”: (whether or not that was indeed where she went is contestable. Though SPN features the existence of God, both Heaven and Hell, BtVS is a largely atheist show, leaving much to the viewer’s own discretion). Dean, after making a deal with a demon and selling his soul to bring Sam back from the dead, was killed my Hellhounds and went to Hell, where he was forced to torture people. For both characters we don’t know how long they were there. Dean says 40 years, and Buffy, in response to Spike’s inquiry, simply stats, “Longer.”
Buffy and Dean are two characters living in very different fictional contexts yet cut from the same mold; they're heroes. Guardians of the helpless. Both have a darkness in them that, when recognized and utilized, helps them do their jobs better. Both have the weight of the world in their shoulders. Both are extraordinary.
That's all, folks. I'm sure with more thought, many other similarities could be found but that's all that comes to me right now.
Thoughts?