I’m sure there’s someone somewhere saying “celebrating a fictional character’s birthday is weird” but frankly, I don’t care. When a character is important to you, any excuse to celebrate their “existence” is welcome, and what better excuse than a birthday?
Research is on my side. We don’t just develop “parasocial relationships” with real people who happen to be celebrities – we also develop them with our favorite fictional characters. Spending time “with” those beloved characters feels as good as hanging out with our closest friends and family; our brains don’t distinguish that familiar face being on a screen instead of two feet away. That explains why I miss Dean Winchester so much, and why doing a Supernatural rewatch always makes me feel happy, content and just a little bit safer in the world.
Know what feels even better? Being reminded that I’m not the only one who feels this way about Dean! Every year since Supernatural ended (and it’s going on five years now), I’ve wondered – will this be the year that no one celebrates on January 24? Will I be the only one missing a fictional character and wanting to share my enthusiasm to celebrate another year?
So far, every year the answer has been no, and this year was no exception. Fans organized a #HappyBirthdayDeanWeek (thanks @pussels68) and for the past week there have been themed posts about our favorite character every day. Not only did that mean more Supernatural content than usual, so YAY, but it also gave me a chance to remember all the things that make the character so special.
We celebrated our favorite Dean hugs and our favorite moments with other characters. Never enough Dean hugs, but every one we got was cherished! Jody, Donna, Charlie, Garth. After so many years waiting, his mom. His dad. Castiel. And of course, Sam.
These are just a few of the posts that crossed my timeline, brightening up the past week because I never get tired of seeing Supernatural (and Winchesters) there!
There were other special moments with lots of characters too, all of them memorable.
Many of them heroic.
From saving a drowning little boy to going toe to toe with Death himself – and eventually with both God and the Devil.
It was fun to look back on some of Dean Winchester’s memorable quotes, which have ranged from hilarious to inspiring. Thank you, writers, for showing us the full range of our favorite character (and I’m forever grateful for the range of the actor portraying him so brilliantly).
One of my favorite look backs was favorite outfit or clothing. Dean Winchester (and Jensen Ackles, let’s be real) can pull off just about any look and make it attractive – thanks to the Supernatural wardrobe department for coming up with so many iconic outfits!
I posted Dean in his original hand-me-down leather jacket in my own post, because that’s the Dean Winchester I fell in love with. I’ll never forgive that unnamed person who stole the jacket after only a few seasons – an entire fandom hates you, whoever you are!
Dean Winchester in flannel will always be iconic too. And cozy.
Hoodie Dean is so popular (albeit rare) that he’s had his own social media communities in the past. Understandably.
Talk about rare – we rarely got Dean in a single layer, but every time we did, the fandom was grateful.
Unsurprisingly, Dean cleaned up well too. His various more formal wear made many people’s lists of favorites. Understandably.
But even outfits that should not be appealing somehow made the lists too. Nobody should look this good in an orange prison jumpsuit (even if they did tailor it for him…)
Some of Jensen’s favorites were a chance to dress up in a different way – and somehow Dean Winchester looks just as attractive in every single one!
He can even pull off sleepwear that should NOT be this adorable.
And then there’s the thigh holster.
Yes, it gets a category of its own.
I once was invited to the set and when I arrived, I ran into Jensen in the craft services tent grabbing a snack. Dressed as Dean. Wearing the thigh holster.
Took a minute to find my voice, not gonna lie.
I also posted Dean’s boots as one of my favorite items of clothing. I’ve always been sentimental about them, something that Dean (and Jensen) wore the whole time, for fifteen seasons. I vividly remember another time on set when they were filming in the beautiful Vancouver woods. Jensen was walking ahead of us, in full Dean wardrobe, and I was staring at his boots thinking “those are Dean’s boots.” It felt like I was walking in Dean Winchester’s footsteps, and I admit I had an emotional reaction to that thought.
I know Jensen is just as sentimental about them as I am, and I love that.
Perhaps my favorite day was the one we celebrated our favorite Dean Winchester smiles.
It put a huge smile on my face when everyone posted their favorites. The character went through literal hell for 15 seasons, but there were always times when Dean let himself feel joy. And when he did? He transformed into looking about five years old, no matter the decades of weight on his broad shoulders. It added to how inspiring the character was, that he could endure so much and still hang onto his humanity and his ability to find happiness no matter what.
I’m especially grateful that in the very last episode, the very last scene, we got to see Dean Winchester’s smile as he was reunited with his brother in Heaven. As heartbreaking as that episode was, what a gift, to know that there finally was “peace when you are done.”
I hope you’re livin’ it up today up there, Dean Winchester!
I’m so grateful for this past week and revisiting so many Dean moments.
Know what would make me even happier? Having Dean Winchester back on my TV for more Supernatural! Fingers crossed that one of these January 24 articles will include us getting even MORE Dean Winchester.
(Until then, I’ll be grateful for all the opportunities we’ll have to see Jensen onscreen coming up, including his onscreen reunion with Jared Padalecki in The Boys!)
Happy 46th birthday, Dean.
And thank you, Jensen Ackles, for bringing him to life in a way that makes him unforgettable.
-Lynn
You can read Jensen’s very personal
tribute to Dean Winchester in his chapter
in There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done,
along with the rest of the cast’s thoughts
on their characters. Info at:
