Which spn character do you think deserves a redemption arc and why? Controversial characters included 😅😊
Redemption arc means it's a villain or a gray character, and someone who had potential but was left to the weeds. I loved Gadreel but he got his redemption, I adore Mick Davies but I'd just rewrite the whole thing without the BMOL. So that leaves me with one, and hear me out:
Stay with me, ok? He should have become a hunter as part of Sam's hunter network, and here's why.
First of all, I think the actor was great, one of the few I've seen rise up to Jensen's level and challenge it, which was great to see. He had a very interesting backstory, but it really didn't go anywhere further than learning the truth about monsters, in favor of a 2010s whishy washy vaguely pro-military character profile. He was a former marine from a military family, so strongly indoctrinated, with iron clad, self imposed will. On top of that, he's had a single mind revenge set in his life since forever. That's a guy you can put through the ringer and he'll always come out the other end, no matter the means. You have a guy with indestructible discipline and beliefs, meeting a disregulated revenge plan that's self destructing him and the life-altering revelation that nothing he knew for certain is what he thought. There's so much potential
Here's what I would do with him: first of all, get rid of the white picket fence family. He's not stable enough to have a perfect relationship or a stable job. He's avoidant because he's internalized his trauma and thinks no one could possibly be close to him without recoiling. Maybe he's a baby daddy, that could work, but I like him as a lone wolf on the fringe of society. Give him CPTSD: it's only natural, after witnessing the unsolved murder of his dad and two tours in Iraq. Give him a faith in the military that is on paper thin stilts and can crumble at any moment, but he clings to it because it's the only thing in his life that has ever given him structure. So when he learns of the supernatural and that Dean didn't actually kill his dad, that house of cards of beliefs starts to shatter: he's got nowhere to put his anger and nothing to give him stability.
At that point, he spirals. When Sam and Dean find him again in 10x15 (the Khan worm episode) he's at the end of his rope, self destructing, but still showing up for his friend. The point of the episode becomes accepting that he can be saved himself, just like every other victim. Accepting Dean and his trauma and rebuilding from that. Hitting rock bottom, stripped bare, and accepting the only way is up.
So when Sam starts his hunter network, Cole is part of it. He's got the knowledge and the attitude. At first, he's unsure about leading other people: he's full of anger he tries to manage and he's been lone wolfing it for so long, but he's gonna give it a shot. Maybe there's an episode about his mentors in the military turning out to be abusive monsters (hello metaphor) and that lets him sever the last thread tethering him to his old beliefs. He helps training new hunters with fighting and weapons, but hunts with other experienced hunters because he's lacking lore knowledge and field skills. Could be cool to see him interact with Donna and the girls (his toxic masculinity shot down to ashes) and with other hunters like Jesse and Cesar (this isn't the military and they don't need "don't ask don't tell", they can just be=Cole realizing the value of living in your true skin and not by someone else's expectations).
I'd love for him to stay a tad grey and toxic: he's the hunter who is quick to kill any monster, no questions asked, volatile in relationships, weak to the allure of a powerful solution, no matter the cost. But he would combat that with finding that he likes to teach and mentor, and that he has more to give than he ever believed. And that he could be part of a community and help build it.
