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ISSN 2173-5123

Dean Winchester: An Existentialist Hero? : ¿Un héroe existencialista?

Received: July 6, 2011 Accepted: December 12, 2011

Alyssa Silva Griffith University [email protected]

Abstract The popular show , in particular the character of Dean Winchester, provides an interesting examination of freedom of choice. In fact Supernatural proves itself amenable to an existentialist reading of law, in particular the of Jean Paul Sartre. After a brief introduction to the show, the elements of Sartre’s existentialism I will be developing in this paper include freedom, choice and authenticity. These elements combine to demonstrate the existentialist law favoured by Dean, whereby Dean’s scepticism of allows for an authenticity that furthers his own . The patterning trope of two brothers is essential to Dean developing his own law and separate from the divine one that is imposed on him throughout the show, with natural law showcasing that there is more than one kind of existentialist law to choose from.

Keywords Supernatural , existentialism, Jean-Paul Sartre, natural law.

Resumen La serie Sobrenatural , especialmente el personaje de Dean Winchester, proporciona un análisis interesante del libre albedrío. De hecho Sobrenatural se presta fácilmente a una lectura existencialista de la ley, particularmente desde el existencialismo de Jean Paul Sartre. Tras una breve introducción a la serie, desarrollaré algunos elementos del existencialismo de Sartre como la libertad, la elección y la autenticidad. Estos elementos se combinan para demostrar la ley existencialista seguida por Dean, en la que su escepticismo sobre Dios le permite una autenticidad que va más allá de su propia autonomía. La figura paterna de ambos hermanos es fundamental para el desarrollo de la ley y la moralidad que hace Dean apartándose de la ley divina que le es impuesta en la serie, con la ley natural mostrando que hay más de un tipo de ley existencialista para elegir.

Palabras clave Sobrenatural , existentialismo, Jean-Paul Sartre, ley natural.

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1. Introduction The popular show Supernatural (Kripke, cr., 2005-), in particular the character Dean Winchester, provides an interesting examination of freedom of choice. In fact Supernatural proves itself amenable to an existentialist reading of law, in particular the existentialism of Jean Paul Sartre. After a brief introduction to the show, the elements of Sartre’s existentialist philosophy I will be developing in this paper include freedom, choice and authenticity. These elements combine together with the patterning trope of two brothers to demonstrate the existentialist law favoured by Dean, whereby Dean’s scepticism of God and his love for his brother contributes towards an authenticity that furthers his own autonomy. I will then attempt to reconcile the existential angst inherent within Sartre’s paradox of freedom by introducing the natural law theory of St , which provides a suitable vehicle considering the Christian worldview favoured by the mythology of the series. Natural law overcomes Sartre’s claim that the inclusion of external factors in decision-making is detrimental to absolute individual freedom. Instead Dean’s existential law accepts natural law’s recognition of extra-legal values to accommodate his love for his brother. becomes a moral to be secured in Dean’s law and highlights the crucial aspect of choice in existentialism. Dean has decided his own form of morality from the various options set out before him, with every judgment and judicial decision determined solely on his own terms.

2. The curious case of Dean Winchester Supernatural began airing in 2005 on The WB and has slowly but steadily built itself a loyal following. The show focuses on Dean and Sam Winchester, two brothers who travel across America in a 1967 Chevy Impala hunting various supernatural and entities. In the episode “” ( Supernatural , 1x01) we discover that both brothers have been hunters since the death of their mother at the hands of when Dean was four and Sam six months old. Sam and Dean have spent the last four years apart due to Sam wanting a normal life, an issue that plagues the brothers when they are reunited. They begin hunting again when their father John goes missing and Azazel kills Sam’s girlfriend Jessica. Season 3 of the series saw the introduction of a more Christian-focused mythology, with Dean and Sam scrambling to find a way to break a contract that Dean had made in the finale of Season 2. The character of , and Dean’s subsequent descent into , served as a precursor for the story arc that

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would follow in Seasons 4 and 5 of the Winchesters struggling to stop the Apocalypse, together with fellow hunter Bobby Singer and the . The brothers discover that they are pitted on opposite sides –Lucifer wants Sam as his vessel, while the archangel has picked Dean ( Supernatural , 5x01, “Sympathy for the Devil”; 5x13, “The Song Remains the Same”)–. , the creator of the series, remarked in an interview that “the core concern of the show is versus destiny. And when you’re destined to do something, can you rail against it?” (Kripke, 2009). It is this treatment of freedom by Supernatural that has made the show open to existentialism and natural law, both theories concerned with personal autonomy and the effect of external forces on said choices. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the character of Dean Winchester. The character progression that Dean undergoes from Seasons 3 to 5 showcases a fragile quality that belies his tough exterior, particularly evident when he returns from Hell in Season 4. While an in-depth character study might be beyond this paper, “Sam, Interrupted” ( Supernatural , 5x11) presented an interesting psychological analysis of his character: “For Dean, there are two obvious character flaws. The first is his compulsion to save everyone and his willingness to himself to do it. The second is the way he copes with that stress: a steady stream of booze and women” (Kubicek, 2010). The root of these flaws lies in Dean’s relationship with Sam. Dean assumed the role of parent to his younger brother while John was out hunting and the responsibility that has evolved from that is an integral part of why he sacrifices his life for Sam’s in “All Hell Breaks Loose Pt II” ( Supernatural , 2x22). It is Dean’s almost codependent relationship with his brother that is key to developing the centrality of freedom that shapes his individuality, as it is this familial obligation that becomes the central question of the show. As Kripke states, “religion and and beliefs -- for me, it all comes down to your brother” (2009). Dean begins to realize in Season 4 that destiny demands that, no matter the outcome, in the end he has to kill his brother. It is because of this fight against destiny that Dean creates his own existentialist law, a judicial activism that breaks away from the stare decisis Heaven wishes to impose on him. Or as Dean says in “Jus in Bello” ( Supernatural , 3x12): “Honestly, I think the world’s going to end bloody. But it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t fight. We do have choices. I choose to go down swingin’”.

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3. Are you there, God? It’s me Dean Winchester French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre’s philosophy of existentialism focuses on the choices that individual’s make, with the practical application of Sartre’s freedom emphasizing authenticity. For Sartre there is no formal account of what it means to be human, since existing itself designates that meaning. In contrast to other entities, whose essential properties are fixed by the kind of entities they are, what is essential to a human being –what makes him who he is– is not fixed by his type but by what he makes of himself, who he becomes. According to Barnes, for Sartre “man is a creature in whom existence always precedes essence” (Barnes, 1959: 43). Sartre himself goes on to explain:

We mean that man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world –and defines himself afterwards. If man, as the existentialist sees him, is not definable, it is because to begin with he is nothing. He will not be anything until later, and then he will be what he makes of himself. (Sartre, 2005)

Existentialist values intensify consciousness, arouse the passions, and commit the individual to a course of action which will engage his total energies (Olson, 1967: 18). Freedom depends not on situation, but on attitude (Killinger, 1961: 304). Sartre states that, “as we have seen, for human reality, to be is to choose oneself ; nothing comes to it either from the outside or from within which it can receive or accept” (Sartre, 1943: 440). This freedom is only validated if it can be considered authentic. “Existence is authentic to the extent that the existent has taken possession of himself and, shall we say, has moulded himself in his own image” (Macquarrie, 1973: 206). It is through these strategic choices and assumption of responsibility that man can affect his own character, his identity constructed based on this self-aware freedom (Meyerson, 1998: 453-455). To do otherwise would be considered bad faith, whereby choices are not carefully distinguished by the individual but instead based solely on the shaky foundations of indistinctive belief (Barnes, 1959: 54). Life is a pursuit of oneself, “the equivalent of realizing that life is a process of freely making oneself, of gradual but never completed self-realization” (Barnes, 1959: 69). It is only through this quest that man determines his existence, and becomes a creature not of his environment but of what he makes of that environment (Sartre, 1943: 477).

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4. Dean and Sartre: A New Law Dean’s application of this Sartrean freedom and authenticity are demonstrated through his battle to construct his own law, whereby his judgments create judicial decisions highly individualized and influenced by his relationship with his brother. The emphasis placed on choice by Sartre allows for a legal existentialist reading of what eventually amounts to a construction of a new law by Dean. The judicial system is often posited as a neutral arbiter between good and , able to distinguish between the two and decide the best course of to be effected (Raymond, 2009). Existentialists argue that the particularity of the legal system –the rules, standards of proof and most importantly precedents– work against the universal application it seeks to imply. The law instead originates in the singular concrete individual case (Hermann, 1970: 338). Applying this logic to Sartre, a person’s potential is meaningless unless it is realized in some endeavour, such as a judicial decision (Bassis, 1972-1973: 439). Dean realizes his potential when he becomes the judicial system in Seasons 4 and 5, an arbitrator between the and Lucifer’s vessel, his brother. Each endeavour he undertakes is similar to a new case being presented to him to pass judgment (Bassis, 1972-1973: 273). Unlike the strict constructionist who divorces himself from personal experiences such as his love for his brother Sam, Dean does not accept the law dictated by Heaven as prima facie reasonable. Instead, he weighs the relative circumstances unique to each case without depending on the weight of precedent or what is expected of him from God or prophecy (Bassis, 1972-1973: 278). At the start of “Lazarus Rising” ( Supernatural , 4x01) Dean is merely a pawn on a cosmic chessboard having been raised from Hell on God’s orders. In “On the Head of a Pin” Dean discovers that he was the one to break the first seal and is told by Castiel that “the righteous man who begins it is the only one who can finish it” ( Supernatural , 4x16). By “Sympathy for the Devil” ( Supernatural , 5x01) he has become the only one capable of stopping the Apocalypse. Throughout, Dean’s identity as Sam’s brother suffuses the text and it is through this struggle –that between two brothers and the rest of the world– that he resists the path destiny has thrown his way ( Supernatural , 5x04, “The End”). Dean’s freedom is realized as he divests himself of the stare decisis of Heaven and destiny, instead utilizing the existentialist emphasis on particularity to rewrite the law to reflect his own judgments sourced from the myriad of decisions he makes

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throughout the show (Bennett, 1999: 146). This judicial activism especially manifests itself when we examine Dean’s choices regarding his brother and his continued reluctance to submit to Heaven’s demands to sacrifice Lucifer’s vessel to prevent the Apocalypse.

5. It’s A Question of Faith Perhaps the best demonstration of Dean’s existentialist law is via his dealings with Heaven, underlined by his lack of faith in God and his love for Sam. Dean’s authenticity is exhibited by his battle to construct his own law through his resistance of Heaven’s strictures. Dean’s lack of faith in God is overtly referred to throughout the series and this presents an interesting juxtaposition considering he has been chosen as the archangel Michael’s vessel. It is first touched upon in “Faith” ( Supernatural , 1x12) and then later in “Houses of the Holy”, when Dean tells Sam that, “there’s no higher power, there’s no God. There’s just chaos and violence, random unpredictable evil, that comes outta nowhere, rips you to shreds” ( Supernatural , 2x13). It is this anger towards God that makes him sceptical as to why he was raised from Hell, even after Castiel reveals in “Lazarus Rising” ( Supernatural , 4x01) that he was pulled out because God has work for him to do. In fact his discontent with God is shown in later episodes such as “Are You There, God? It’s Me…Dean Winchester” ( Supernatural , 4x02) and “Dark Side of the Moon” ( Supernatural , 5x16). Dean rebels against the disconnect with humanity that Castiel and the other angels seem to portray in “Lucifer Rising” (Supernatural , 4x22), instead grasping firmly onto his free will to rebuff the notion of a predetermined fate by focusing on his familial obligations. This is portrayed clearly when he tells Castiel:

Destiny? Don’t give me that «holy» crap. Destiny, God’s plan... It’s all a bunch of lies, you poor, stupid son of a bitch! It’s just a way for your bosses to keep me and keep you in line! You know what’s real? People, families – that’s real. ( Supernatural , 4x22, “Lucifer Rising”)

It is this lack of belief in a higher power that perhaps goes to the very core of Dean’s refusal to accept the archangel Michael’s demand. While and the angels whisper in his ear about God’s plans, Dean resists them by substituting his lack of faith in religion with faith in family. He relates the battle between Lucifer and Michael as being that of between two brothers with an absent father –a copy of his own

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familial relations with the Winchester clan–. This reimagining is alluded to throughout the course of Seasons 4 and 5 –(Supernatural , 4x10, “Heaven and Hell”; 5x03, “Free to be You and Me”; 5x10 “Abandon All Hope”)–, particularly by the angel Gabriel in “Changing Channels” ( Supernatural , 5x08). By recasting his resistance to Heaven’s will, Dean has transformed his familial obligation to his brother into his own brand of judicial activism. It is through this reimagining that Dean breaks away from Heaven’s plan and creates his own existentialist law. The Apocalypse becomes a prism through which Dean allows himself to have control over his own fate, consequently allowing him to determine his existence by his own terms. “When Dean discovers that the archangel Michael cannot forcibly possess him, he realizes that his body is a political site and withholds , defying the angels in a display of negative force” (Chan, 2010: §2.5). The continued resistance by Dean to granting Michael his consent throughout the course of Season 5 solidifies that he has not allowed his identity to be created by destiny. Instead his identity has come from within himself, grounded firmly in his own belief that he is the only one capable of stopping the Apocalypse ( Supernatural , 5x11 “Sam Interrupted”). His authenticity is secured by the underlying determination he displays to sacrifice himself to save not only his brother and Bobby Singer, but also the rest of the world. His time spent in Hell didn’t leave any physical wounds, but it becomes increasingly apparent that the emotional scars left behind have shifted his priorities (Supernatural , 4x17, “It’s a Terrible Life”). In “Family Remains” ( Supernatural , 4x11), Dean lays his anguish out to Sam about his enjoyment in torturing on the rack for the last ten years he was in Hell –this is revisited in “On the Head of a Pin” (Supernatural , 4x16)–. However this crippling depression soon gives way to a new sense of purpose. According to Dean, “you don’t stop being a soldier because you got wounded in battle” ( Supernatural , 5x07, “The Curious Case of Dean Winchester”). Instead he strives towards stopping the Apocalypse on his terms, in a way that isn’t predetermined by prophecy. In the process his choices allow him to achieve some form of redemption for what he did down in the pit. By recognizing the past for what it is Dean assumes responsibility for his actions and seeks to transcend it by charting himself a new future, whereby his choices will ensure not only the protection of his brother but also the rest of the world (Olson, 1967: 145; Dimitriadis, 2009: 8). Dean’s empathy for his brother provides him with the necessary tools to generate his own meaning, his own

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existence that isn’t predetermined by God or fate, but instead by his own actions and choices.

6. The Winchester smackdown In “”, the prophet Chuck wrote that, “up against good, evil, angels, devils, destiny, and God himself – They made their own choice. They chose family” (Supernatural , 5x22). This reiterates the strong familial undertones of Dean’s existential law and choices while at the same time exposing Sartre’s paradox of freedom, as Dean is led to question whether his freedom is tainted by the precedent of brotherly obligation. “The individual must make his decisions alone, with no certainty of being right, with no possibility of knowing the total effects of his acts or of passing an absolute judgment upon them” (Barnes, 1959: 83). No matter which avenue he decides, the weight of his decision rests on him and him alone. It is this assumption of total responsibility that predicates the authenticity of Dean’s actions and ground his beliefs. As Barnes claims, “to lose ourselves is at once our greatest fear and most seductive temptation” (1959: 285). Dean’s choices begin to become affected by external factors and the Sartrean freedom he had previously enjoyed is now tainted as the viewer begins to question whether he considers each case anew due to his relationship with his family. Combined with his increasing existential angst throughout Season 5 Dean’s question becomes not how he can atone, but what he must do now that atonement is no longer a viable option (Supernatural , 5x04 “The End”). This existentialist angst manifests when Dean begins to realize that the world and other people’s ideas about it are fundamentally beyond his control –an Other to his own existence– and this causes him to doubt his values and beliefs, questioning their inherent and absolute truth, and potentially leading to bad faith (Ashman, 2008: 296-298; Barnes, 1959: 148-154). The implication that his internal choice are coloured by external circumstances, and also his personal experiences, make each judgment contrary to the individualism that Sartrean existentialism espouses. The existentialist law Dean has worked so hard to produce could be construed to be a hybrid that neither defines him or helps him determine his course of action. His actions are now determined by situation, not attitude, and the existentialist judge he was has now become one who doesn’t engage in flexible rulings, but has instead become one relying solely on «good» and «bad»

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precedent rather than the individual circumstances unique to each case. In fact, one could even go so far as to say that Dean is trapped in a problem that interests all existentialists: “between slavery that looks like freedom and freedom that looks like slavery” (Killinger, 1961: 304; Sherman, 2006: 198-212). Dean becomes a servant to his blind devotion to his brother, his law heavily influenced by the necessity of preserving the one living family member he has left (see Supernatural , 5x04, “The End”; 5x17, “99 Problems”; 5x18, “Point of No Return”). Is he not then deviating from the individuality stressed by existentialists by allowing his emotions to influence his free will? His freedom to choose becomes moot as he accepts the predetermined decisions written for him by the need to keep Sam alive, and his subservience to precedent traps him in a law where he is barely a judge. The precedent set down by his familial obligation becomes his law and he retools his actions to conform to the black and white morality distinguished by this point of view. What he desires doesn’t matter. Obligation to family supersedes his autonomy and individuality to produce a law that is far from existentialist and introduces the viewer to question whether the endeavour he is on is even his own (Craib, 1976: 9). He has failed to engage the total commitment needed by the existentialist and Sartre would even say that the potential that Dean has long sought to discover has been rendered meaningless by his acquiescence to Sam’s will (Craib, 1976: 4).

7. It’s Your Brother, Stupid: Natural Law’s Salvation Yet the natural law of St Thomas Aquinas, as well as a situation deeply rooted in Dean’s love for Sam, provides a way to reconcile this existentialist angst. The emphasis on freedom by existentialism could be applied to Dean’s chosen form of law, showcasing that his decision to support his judicial activism on his familial ties is simply another form of individualized choice operating in relation to a divine power (Crowe, 2005: 70-71). I have chosen the Thomistic theory of natural law due to the focus on God and religion in Supernatural , especially the decidedly Catholic worldview that seems to inform the mythology of the series (Bix, 2002: 66-68; Engstrom and Valenzano III, 67-83; Karnick, 2009). According to Magee for Aquinas:

Formally defined, the Natural Law is humans’ participation in the Eternal Law, through reason and will. Humans actively participate in the eternal law of God (the governance of the world) by using reason in conformity with the Natural Law to discern what is . (Magee, 2009)

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Law is then the product of God “choosing to bring into existence beings who can act freely and in accordance with principles of reason” (Murphy, 2011). It is this intellectualist theory of practical rationality where we can find parallels between Aquinas and Sartre regarding the idea of free will. “Every act of free choice is preceded by a judgement of the reason, and Aquinas speaks of choice as being «formally» an act of reason” (Copleston, 1955: 194). These choices are based on the assumption that there is a presupposed universe upon which man can base his deliberations on. In this way man “builds himself (realizing or disappointing his potentialities) by his deliberate choices” (Schmidt, 1950: 14). While law is often regarded as autonomous in that it “allegedly has its own internal rationality” which negates the need for judges to resort to their “religious convictions” (Modak-Truran, 2004: 711), this internal rationality parallels the main difficulty with existentialism: a narrow definition of the free act and its ability to relate individual freedom to freedom in general (Grene, 1952: 270-271). Dean has sought to overcome this obstacle by substituting the eternal law of Aquinas with a new normative framework based on his brother, largely due to his lack of faith in a divine power as referred to above. Rather than God being the final evaluator, Dean has laid down his own authoritative rules from which his morality and choices are judged against (Leff, 1979: 1233; Rhonheimer, 2006: 365). According to Copleston, Aquinas states that “every free act is done for an end, in accordance with a judgement of the reason” (Copleston, 1955: 198). Dean’s end is the protection of his brother, a willingness to sacrifice himself in order to achieve that end. In order to achieve this Dean has utilized the natural law acknowledgement of society on the choices that man makes in his existentialist law. The universality of the common good that natural law is often criticized for doesn’t object to the inclusion of man communicating with society (Friedmann, 1965: 94). In fact natural law accepts that “emotional motives also are necessary as a condition for possibilities to emerge as options for deliberation and choice” (Grisez, 2001: 6). In this way Dean’s practical rationality “always presupposes particular persons to be benefited and for that very reason focuses on the human to be protected or promoted” (Grisez, 2001: 6). Dean’s law becomes an institution designed to complement and reinforce the acknowledgement of social institutions such as the family (Bodenheimer, 1964: 44). Dean thus recognizes this existentialist law that he has enacted and binds himself to its observance throughout the series (Gilby, 1967: 291).

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Dean’s existentialist law is reinforced, not torn apart, by the acceptance of his familial obligation. He has accepted that law is a creation of the social and a reflection of interhuman relations (Friedmann, 1965: 94). The limits that Dean and Sam go to for each other are made palpable throughout the series and this is reflected back into Dean’s judgments (see Supernatural 1x12, “Faith”; 1x22, “Devil’s Trap”; 2x01, “In My Time of Dying”; 2x21, “All Hell Breaks Loose Pt I”; 2x22, “All Hell Breaks Loose Pt II”; 3x11, “Mystery Spot”; 3x16, “No Rest for the Wicked”). Dean’s choices are grounded in the knowledge that whatever he chooses, his choice will ensure that both brothers will not have to kill each other. His end to save his brother coincides with purpose of stopping the Apocalypse, which is arguably something which can universally be agreed upon as a common good. Jurist Jean Dabin argues that the subject matter of natural law includes not only to oneself, but also duties deduced from the idea of family (Carney, 1967: 34). Dean’s existentialist judicial activism is arguably bettered by the inclusion of his relationship with Sam, with his moral ties to his family providing a framework for the law he is trying to create. A law not tethered to morality will likely be impossible to enforce:

A legal system might exist at any moment in time that is totally divorced from moral standards, but it will probably not last long; similarly, it is hard to imagine how it came to exist in the first place since rules of law tend to evolve from moral considerations. (D’Amato, 1982: 85)

By tying his judgements to the bonds of family, Dean has developed a situation ethics that allows for the presence of existentialist responsibility (Carr, 1959: 68). At the heart of the situation moralist’s assessment of ethics is some «good» that must be triggered or conserved, a good of “real and personal ” (Carr, 1959: 70). This good reveals itself in Dean’s law in the love that he feels for Sam. Still maintaining a law that considers cases due to their individual circumstance, Dean’s to his family forms a framework within which “this good is […] considered the decisive ruling any concrete moral judgment” (Carr, 1959: 70). Rather than colouring the internal choices that might deter from existentialism, Dean’s obligation to Sam –to keep him alive despite the path that destiny has provided for them both– reinforces his decision of maintaining his free will. Dean’s moral reasoning is simply practical rationality fully stretched (Finnis, 1990: 3). While the context of Seasons 4 and 5 of the show –with the divine power of God that is characterized by the prophecy and the war between the

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and angels– is certainly religious, Dean has rescued his existentialism as his law allows him “complete custody of the processes of evaluation and moral judgment” (Salbu, 1992: 115). Dean has utilized law as the means through which to achieve his chosen end –his preservation of his family, and as a consequence saving the world–. Various means and ends are interrelated beyond conscious choice, and this factor might perhaps be a valid criticism of the inclusion of society in existentialist choice. However these myriads of choices are simply part and parcel of the deliberation that Dean will have to encounter when making his decision, law becoming an instrumental means of attaining his desired purpose (Funk, 1972: 262). Dean is able to respect the existentialist law he has created in part because his situation ethics endorsed for by natural law allows for the realization of basic human goods –family especially– due to the acknowledgment of more-than-instrumental reasons not found in his existentialist judgments (George, 2001: 255). Dean’s existential law becomes a way for him to secure the instrumental good –his brother– and thus his choices become a way of evaluating the best way to secure this interest (Pound, 1923: 194). The situation-dependent nature of his morality informs his existentialism whereby he applies ethical maxims derived from his good to find the most fitting choice according to his judgment (Pratt, 1993: 221-222). This highlights the reliance of extra-legal values in Dean’s existentialist judicial decision-making, and also the relationship between existentialism and natural law. Dean justifies the inclusion of his love for his family by referencing how crucial it his to his authenticity. As Dean tells Sam, “you know, watching out for you... It’s kinda been my job, you know? But more than that, it’s... It’s kinda who I am” ( Supernatural , 5x22, “Swan Song”). Since in his law every individual fact-situation is unique, Dean allows himself to shake off the binding norms set down by Heaven and God and choose his own eternal law in the shape of relating precedent back to his relationship with his brother (Jackson, 1983: 331). Therefore Dean further develops his own existentialist law by satisfying the judicial function of discovering a presupposed universal principle and applying his own set of rules to make it his own (Pound, 1923: 809). This consequently entails the assumption of personal responsibility for the judgments handed down as Dean, like Sartre, accepts that all the extra-legal values he has recourse to are solely of his own creation and justification (Blackshield, 1965: 135). The gaps left behind by the removal of God is filled instead by the principles of familial obligation, a

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“mass of legal rules, some no doubt with an open texture” (Jackson, 1983: 332-333) which Dean has the duty to apply. Dean conflates his law and familial obligation to the point where they become one and the same, an existentialist law with the ability to assimilate natural law morality without surrendering his autonomy and free will. In essence Blackshield concisely summarizes what Dean’s existentialist law has become:

That each «law» be confined in its force to the particular situation in which it arises; that each individual create his own «laws» from his perceptions of his obligations; and that in any case their formulation as «laws» be accepted only as a metaphor for some much less structured (or at least quite otherwise structured) «obligation». (Blackshield, 1965: 124)

8. Conclusion The implications of Sartrean existentialism throughout Supernatural manifest themselves in the choices of Dean Winchester. Dean asserts his existentialist judgment via his relationship with Heaven, in particular his lack of faith in God. Dean does not accept the law set down via the prophecy as reasonable. He utilizes a form of existential law to determine each case on its merits, without reference to the destiny (read precedent) fated for both Winchesters being on opposing sides of the Apocalypse. Rather than submit to the archangel Michael’s requests to be his vessel, Dean forcefully rejects this path despite the angels insisting that this would mean the end of the world. Instead he reformulates his defiance of Heaven into a religion that he can identify with –that of faith in family, in particular faith in his younger brother–. This reimagining showcases the judicial activism that Dean has continually exercised, an example that highlights the existentialist law Dean has crafted to fit his circumstances and also the authenticity that he has secured via this law. However it is also through this existentialist law that Dean realizes the paradox inherent within Sartre’s philosophy of freedom, in particular the criticism that his familial obligation towards Sam might erode the autonomy of his choices. A Thomistic natural law provides a means of reconciling this tension by providing a framework that preserves Dean’s freedom of choice, while at the same time allowing for the acceptance of external values into his existentialist judgements. Dean’s duty to his brother, rather than undermining his law, instead reinforces it by structuring the law to accommodate an intertwining of morality and law. Dean develops a situation ethics that upholds the existentialist concern for the individual case but also secures the «good» of protecting

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his brother. The moral undertones of Dean’s existentialist law ensure that he adheres to the judgements he has handed down, providing a sanction that enforces not only his autonomy but also his emotional values pertaining to family. He renders the familial obligations to fill in any gaps that might be found in his existentialism, doing so in a way that blurs the line between family and law until they become something distinctly unique in so far that Dean is the sole author of the choices that flow from his rulings. Supernatural has always foregrounded the ability to choose, the necessity of taking your fate into your own hands. As the Season 6 premiere proved, this doesn’t seem likely to change, and shows that Dean’s path towards absolute freedom is still continuing.

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Filmography KRIPKE, Eric (cr.) (2005-): Supernatural . United States: Kripke Enterprises / Warner Bros. Television / Wonderland Sound and Vision / Supernatural Films.

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