semirahrose:

Why would Sam’s motive was ignored and only his brutal action was emphasized? This show chose to accuse Sam. I wonder why they don’t put the same standard to other characters. There are also some dramaturgic difference between demon Dean and soulless Sam. When demon Dean hits someone, they put lively rock music behind and make the scene very thrilling.(10×02) When it comes to soulless Sam, it was never like that.(6×13) (2/3)

Wouldn’t this be a double standard? How come Dean could be a badass while Sam is only ruthless, despite the same violence? Would it be only me who have this inquiry? I would like to listen to your opinion. (3/3)

You are, of course, absolutely correct. The way the show handles Sam’s premeditated violence is completely different from the way it handles Dean’s, or, in some cases, even Castiel’s.

On one hand, it’s absolutely a horrible double standard, and it disgusts me. We saw something very similar in season 13 when it came to Sam and Dean’s expressions of grief. Dean started the season belittling, threatening, and overall being absolutely terrifying to Jack. His accusations and cruelty were significant factors in Jack taking a kitchen knife and attempting to kill himself.

Then again, the show has spent literally 13 whole seasons showing us how unhealthily Dean reacts to loss. He lashed out physically at Sam in season 2 after John’s death. This is not entirely unexpected, and the show doesn’t really hold Dean accountable for his actions. After all, he is grieving. Dean is hurting, too. In fact, fans often see such violence and jump straight to, “Dean must be suffering. Poor Dean!” And while they’re likely correct that Dean is dealing with some sort of emotional turmoil or loss, the way the show deals with his violence means that viewers thoughtlessly excuse it. I’m not saying that fans are not allowed to feel bad for Dean or love him despite his hurtful and unhealthy coping mechanisms. I would, however, appreciate if the show had a more nuanced handling of it. It’s entirely okay to feel sympathy for a character’s bereavement while understanding that the way they react to it is Not Good At All™.

Unfortunately, the way the show deals with violence doesn’t work well for Sam. Where, for Dean, the handling of violence or emotional outbursts has historically been permissive and sympathetic, it’s the exact opposite for Sam. The writers made sure we were worried for Sam’s humanity in the early seasons. We viewed every action with suspicion, even his kindness. Sam is a gentle, caring person, so it was very, very easy for the show to make us suspicious. From the beginning, Sam cared. He was so kind and so emotionally invested in things that he literally only had to do something a tinge less than saintly and we’d be cautious. Oh, wow! Sam did a thing that Dean does every day? Must be going evil.

Soulless!Sam is such a good example of this, and I’m so glad you brought him up. Rewatching season six with a critical eye, it’s hard not to notice that…. objectively, Soulless!Sam was still miles more principled than almost any other hunter in the early seasons. He was pragmatic and direct, but not actively malicious, yet his personality was such a huge departure from his usual self that it set all the alarm bells ringing. (By god, Sam gave his brother a hug but didn’t express enough emotion while doing so?! MUST  BE   E V I L.) 

Sam has good, cheerful, consensual sex with a sex worker who enjoyed the experience so much she forgets she’s working? BUT BY GOLLY Sam didn’t profess his undying love and put a ring on her finger?!

MUST  BE   E V I L.

If Dean did almost anything Soulless!Sam did, viewers would either excuse it or wouldn’t even think twice. But because it was so unthinkable for Sam to do those things, viewers sat up and took notice of even the slightest indication of apathy or lack of consideration.

So I mean… part of it is just Sam’s natural goodness working against him. 

He’s so kind, principled, and serious about his moral code that any departure, no matter how small, is alarming. In contrast, Dean started out as the “unprincipled rogue” who had more or less adopted John’s credo and methods without critically examining them. Sam was the show’s conscience, and viewers held him to a much higher standard because of it. 

Part of it, of course, was that the early seasons were actively vilifying Sam. Sam bleeds a nurse to get the juice to take on Lilith? Absolutely horrible, a literal point of no return. Dean is also killing human vessels without a care in the very same season and helps drain possessed humans a season later? Perfectly all right, if the way the show handled it is any indication.

It’s partly understandable (it’s clear that having that tension about the state of Sam’s soul was important to the writers, and the stronger reactions to Sam’s violence are understandable because it takes a lot more for Sam to act out in anger than it takes for Dean to do the same), but as the seasons go on, and especially as they go on without any balance or nuanced portrayal of the brothers’ violence, it just becomes lazy writing. It got so bad during the MoC arc that it was literally painful to watch the show week by week. I think anyone who lived through it can share horror stories. The Sam hate was unimaginable.

So in season 10, when Sam tortured the demon, it was a shock because he isn’t the type to do that. (Except, if we look back at any time Sam has lost Dean, desperation, suicidal action, and ruthlessness are par for the course.) Meanwhile, Demon!Dean murdered gleefully and people cheered that Dean was finally getting to let go. And in season 13, when Dean’s thoughtless cruelty over the course of several episodes made Jack question his worth and attempt to end his own life, there was little backlash. 

In contrast, when Sam, overcome with emotion, said to a grief counselor that he felt that Dean had more of a relationship with Mary, I can’t even tell you how many posts I saw belittling Sam for that single, 15-second expression of his pain.

It’s a double standard, yes, but it’s a double standard the show has nurtured since its inception, either accidentally or on purpose.