Supernatural and Red Dead Redemption... yup, I said it.
So here I am once again with the meta no one asked for but that I cannot stop thinking about. The parallels, yâall, the parallels here make it no surprise that I love both of these sibling stories so much.Â
Letâs start with Dean Winchester and Arthur Morgan.
Both of these older brother characters are cut from the same cloth. They are the older and more responsible of the kids. When we meet Dean, he has been part of the family business his whole life, and he has never questioned it or tried to get out (not really). He follows Dadâs rules and Dadâs orders, and he highly disapproves of Samâs decisions not to. This absolutely describes Arthur Morgan too. He has been a part of Dutchâs gang the longest, and he is startled when anyone suggests getting out to him. Even when he himself has his private doubts about Dutch, he wonât let anyone else know that.Â
Want a line that is so good for either character?
âDad knew who you really were. Good soldier, nothing else. Daddyâs little blunt instrument. Your own father didnât care whether you lived or died.â
Both narratives (Supernatural and RDR2) make us decide for ourselves if that is true, if Dutch/Dad really does not care if Arthur/Dean lives or dies.
Now letâs look at Sam Winchester and John Marston.
Letâs take the cheap shots out first.Â
Took off and left the family/gang to do his own thing for a while. â
Beyond that, we really see that these two characters question the status quo intensely. John is one of the first ones to openly doubt Dutch, to point out the inconsistencies in his approach, and Sam reminds Dean of all the ways Dad let them down as kids.
We also see their desire to make their own lives clash with the âgood brotherâ who just does what he is told. Dean/Arthur is angry and bitter about being left behind. But we also see that these kiddos are the ones who are most like Dad. John Marston has more of a temper like Dutch (even if Arthur claims to be short-tempered), and Sam has that obsessive mission-minded focus like John Winchester. In fact, thatâs why we see both of these younger sons (who judge their fathers for blindly following revenge) get into the revenge business themselves (Sam vs. Yellow-Eyed Demon and John Marston vs. Micah).Â
The stern general who makes the rules, gives the orders, and expects to be followed without question: Dutch van der Linde/John Winchester
The father figure who teaches fishing, hunting, and love without intensity: Hosea Matthews/Bobby Singer
These parallels speak for themselves, but it is interesting to point out that in both circumstances, the rule-following eldest who worships at the altar of Daddy actually likes the other father figure more.Â
âI love Dutch like a father, but in many ways, I love Hosea even more. He is kind and fair and like a human being. Dutch is something else.â
But again, in both cases, the stern father figure actually favors the rebellious, rule-breaking child over the good soldier. (John Marston as the Golden Boy;Â âTake care of Sammy.â)
And finally, one of my favorite tropes, a parallel I love down to my core, is the moment where the two siblings have to realign themselves as a unit, not just part of the bigger family.Â
In RDR2, we see it in the mission âThe Bridge to Nowhere,â where Arthur and John talk about what they are going to do. Not what Dutch is going to do. Not what the gang is going to do. Them. The two of them.
After that, the two truly stand together as brothers from there on out.Â
In Supernatural, it is episode 1x20 where Dean directly defies his father to stand with Sam. They do it again at the end when they defy a direct order and then stand up for their decision together.
There are more parallels, but thatâs enough from one fangirl for one day.
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