Recently, I've been catching up on my Netflix shows, and for awhile I've fallen desperately behind in my favorite of them all -- "Supernatural." But on our last break I had the time to catch up (by that I mean, binge-watch 10 episodes a day until the end of break), and watching episode after episode, I became even more emotionally attached to the people in the show. And as I watched, I saw just how much everyone really cares about each other -- the die-for-you, force-you-to-accept-an-angel-into-you-so-you-don't-die, deep love that we all dream of having one day. They're family. So here are some things I've learned about family from the least-likely of shows:
1. Family matters most... always.
These guys have been through hell and back (literally...), and in the end the most important thing is family. The amount of times they've died for each other is insane. The amount of times they've risked their lives for each other is also insane. Dean kills his like only friend, Benny, to save Sam. Sam does the close-the-gates-of-hell trials to save Dean. This is the kind of love you want in life.
2. Family isn't just blood.
That being said, family isn't just the person you're blood-related to. The "Supernatural" family has members that come and go, but Sam, Dean, and Cas have been the main three for a long time. I'd say Cas is definitely part of the family.
3. There's nothing wrong with family tattoos.
This is a digression... but I don't care. There's something very right with these family tattoos. Yeah, they got them for practical reasons, but man... matching tattoos? These guys are just so awesome. I'm gonna go fangirl now.
4. Big brothers are always going to protect their little siblings -- get used to it.
I have a big brother. Protection is in their nature. I'm pretty sure "Supernatural" is just 11 seasons of Dean trying to keep Sam safe (and Sam rebelling... because that's what little brothers do.)
5. When you're scared, family will be there to protect you.
Even the guys who fight scary monsters -- literally, very scary monsters -- get scared sometimes. And when that happens, family steps up. Dean and Sam always have each others' backs (even when Sam loses his soul and drinks demon blood, and Dean literally turns into a demon). When Dean gets scared, though, it's hilarious. Like seriously, just look at him:
Good thing he only had to man the flashlight on that one.
6. Pep talks are normal family things.
I feel this is mainly Sam to Dean, since Dean really never seems to want to live, but from what I gather from this show... pep talks get you through life. These brothers have a lot of deep, heart-to-heart, laying-it-all-out-there moments with each other. They cut straight through all the crap. Family is honest like that.
7. Family is going to piss you off at some point...
They love each other. They also piss each other off a whole lot. All the time. I guess when you have the stress of trying to close the gates of hell, or kill a nest of vampires, you get a little worked up sometimes.
8. ... but you'll always make up.
They can stay mad for long, but they can never stay mad forever. Spoilers here, but with Bobby dead and Kevin gone and Cas sometimes on the fritz... they're it. They're all they have.
9. Because you have gone through too much together to quit.
They sell their souls, die, go to purgatory/hell, fight vampires and werewolves and demons and every other monster you can think of, and most of the time they end up bloody messes. And both of them know they got a crap deal for life, but they can't quit. They can't quit on each other, either.
10. And because you're family.
The "Supernatural" family is weird; it fluctuates as people die and come back to life and such. Sam and Dean are blood, but there are so many other people who have been accepted into the family fold: Bobby, Cas, and Kevin Tran, to name just a few. Family are the people you can count on. These guys understand family, because it's all that they've got.
12. And family always matters most.
At the end of the day (and the episode), Sam and Dean are family. And their family is weird, messed up, kind of a freak show... but they're family. That's always going to matter most, no matter what crap they go through or what kind of fights they have.
No matter what you and your family go through, please make sure that you always remember just how important and precious they are. You're lucky! Whether they're blood or not, we all have family -- never take them for granted.
