John Winchester (Supernatural)

Plot

John Winchester is the father of Sam and Dean Winchester, the main characters of the series. He is introduced in the pilot episode, which takes place in 1983 when he is 29, though his backstory is filled in through flashbacks and time travel in later episodes. John believed his father abandoned him as a child, but in truth his father died while serving a secret organization called the Men of Letters, and John grew up hating him. He quit high school to enlist in the Marine Corps, became a corporal, and earned several medals for his service in Vietnam. After his military career, he worked as a mechanic and fell in love with Mary Campbell.

In the episode "In the Beginning," the angel Castiel sends Dean back in time, where Dean meets his parents and talks John into buying the 1967 Chevy Impala that Dean later inherits. Dean then watches the demon Azazel kill John, but Azazel brings John back to life in exchange for Mary allowing the demon to enter her house ten years later. In "The Song Remains the Same," the angel Anna Milton travels back in time to stop Sam and Dean from being born, and John agrees to temporarily host the archangel Michael to stop her. Michael kills Anna and wipes John and Mary's memories of the event.

Azazel later uses his deal with Mary to enter their home in the pilot episode, and he kills her. The episode "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part One" reveals that Mary had seen the demon feeding its blood to Sam. John looked into what happened, discovered the supernatural world, and became a hunter with the goal of finding and killing Azazel. He brought his sons along on his travels but often left them alone in motels for long stretches, telling Dean to "shoot first and ask questions later" while watching over Sam.

As shown in "Jump the Shark," John had a son named Adam with a woman he met during a hunt. He visited Adam occasionally over the years for father-son time but kept the truth from him and never told Adam about Sam and Dean, or vice versa. John trained Sam and Dean as hunters, but Sam eventually left that life to go to college, which caused a serious rift between father and son.

Development

In writing the pilot, Eric Kripke made several dramatic revisions to John's storyline. The first draft had Sam and Dean raised by an aunt and uncle, but Kripke changed this when he realized the backstory became less complicated with John raising them on the road. Another revision had John dying at the end of the pilot instead of Sam's girlfriend Jessica. Kripke felt John kept Sam and Dean away from the front lines, and his death was required for the brothers to confront the yellow-eyed demon directly.

The writers initially intended John to die in the car accident in 'Devil's Trap' but postponed his death to prevent the finale from becoming too dark. After John's escape from Hell, executive producer Ben Edlund stated even the writers are unsure where his soul ended up. Bruce Campbell was Kripke's first choice for the role but was unavailable; Jeffrey Dean Morgan was cast. Morgan expected to be replaced by an older actor for later episodes, being only 12 years older than Jensen Ackles, but was surprised when asked to reprise the role.

Morgan became frustrated at times with his character's avoidance of his sons, but reasoned John's motivation came from knowledge nobody else had.

Reception

Critics praised Morgan's performance but had mixed reactions to the character. Don Williams of BuddyTV called John a rather divisive character, with some fans not understanding his motivation for keeping his sons in the dark, though Williams found him completely fascinating. He chose 'In My Time of Dying' as the second best episode, mainly because of John's contributions, noting that John's final speech to Dean, where he says he is proud of him, is a tear-jerker and that both Morgan and Jensen Ackles knocked the scene out of the park.

Williams also praised Matt Cohen's performance as a younger John in 'In the Beginning,' believing he did an excellent job portraying a more innocent John. Diana Steenbergen of IGN criticized John for his lack of explanation, finding it difficult to watch him treat Dean and Sam dismissively after they nearly killed themselves to find him. She praised Morgan's acting, saying he is always effective as John and brought emotional weight to the character, allowing the audience to feel John's weariness and resignation.

Brian Tallerico of UGO enjoyed Morgan's performance but was happy the character was killed off because John's presence made Sam and Dean into followers merely existing in his wake; with their father gone, the brothers could head up the battle with the other side.