Supernatural: 15 best Sam Winchester moments, ranked
By Louis Skye
What are the best Sam Winchester moments on Supernatural?
Sam Winchester, little brother, researcher, hunter, sass-master, a sacrificial lamb, and an all-around great character, has made The CW’s Supernatural one of the more memorable shows on TV.
But what makes Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki) stand out from the plethora of characters gracing our screens in the 21st century? One could say it’s his selflessness, his love for his big brother Dean (Jensen Ackles), the fact that he’s ready to fight even when the chips are down.
Sam is all that and more—he’s the Winchester with the biggest heart and the most to lose because he’s lost everything multiple times. But it’s Sam’s indomitable spirit that makes him so special to fans.
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It helps that Jared Padalecki has, for 15 years, portrayed the character with the kind of depth and emotion not often associated with genre fiction.
Sam could very easily have fallen into the trap of macho jock or studious nerd—but instead, we have a character who may be flawed, but is all heart, with a healthy dose of sarcastic humor.
15 seasons of the show have given us some fantastic Sam Winchester moments—whittling them down to just 15 has been hard work. Here’s what we think are the 15 greatest moments featuring Sam in Supernatural.
15. Sam Winchester Saves the Day… and Dies
Remember in the early seasons of Supernatural when the scariest thing to happen was Sam being one of Azazel’s ‘psychic children’? Innocent times!
But the psychic children arc gave us one of Sam Winchester’s most heroic moments—and shone a light on his personality.
As fans, we have become less trusting of the people around the Winchesters, but back in Season 2’s two-part finale, ‘All Hell Breaks Loose’, Sam was still more trusting. He hoped to save himself and the rest of the psychic children from Azazel.
And he almost succeeded—with only Jake Talley (Aldis Hodge) left of the children, Sam was almost home and dry. Talley’s sudden attack on Sam could have been the end of things but Sam continued fighting—knowing that Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver), and his brother Dean, (Jensen Ackles), may not be able to come and save him.
Overpowering the super-strong Talley took everything of Sam, but he succeeded—only to be stabbed in the back, literally, and died in his brother’s arms.
This would mark the first of many times that Sam and Dean died on Supernatural, but it was a shocking moment—and led to Dean’s major sacrifice to save Sam’s life.