The end of The CW’s Supernatural has done nothing to diminish its popularity, as new fans regularly enter its fandom. Sam and Dean Winchester remained the lead protagonists through the show’s fifteen-year run, although it’s easy to overlook many important points about the heroes due to the enormity of content in the series.
Sam started out as the de facto protagonist, having been the center of the main storyline against Azazel for the first two seasons. He remained vital in the entire series time span, during which many elements of Sam's character developed or were revealed. But what details about Sam Winchester might fans of the show have missed the first time around?
How Long Did He Live?
An interesting fact about Sam is that Supernatural viewers saw his entire life play out on screen, as a baby to an older man until his death. The first episode of the series began on November 2, 1983, where Sam was said to be 6-months-old.
This makes his birthdate as May 2, 1983, meaning Sam was 22-years-old when the main timeline of the story began in 2005. When the Winchesters defeated Chuck, Sam was 37-years-old, and piecing together the montage in the finale of his remaining life puts his age at death to be around 65-70.
Who Are His Closest Friends?
Most of the recurring characters the brothers met had the tendency to be more attached to Dean than Sam. Still, there were a few of them who preferred Sam to Dean, although there was never one person whom Sam could call his best friend, apart from maybe Castiel.
As it was, Sam’s friendships extended to quirkier people, with the witch Rowena eventually becoming a close friend after starting out as an enemy, along with Sheriff Jody, who was a motherly figure. Finally, Garth Fitzgerald IV could be considered as the person who definitely liked him the best, as he went so far as to name his child after Sam.
Who Was His Soulmate?
Before Heaven was changed by Jack into accommodating every person rather than being separated in their individual Heavens, only soulmates could reside in one place together. To this end, it was confirmed that Sam’s soulmate was his brother Dean, as they shared their Heaven.
This is reconfirmed in the Supernatural finale when Sam’s soul ascended into Heaven and materialized next to Dean’s soul, making him the first person he interacted with in the afterlife. The brothers are unique in that they are the only soulmates who are family rather than spouses.
Who Were His Love Interests?
Sam had great chemistry with a number of characters over the years, with some fans even hoping he would form a couple with Castiel. However, unlike Dean, Sam’s romances were limited due to his desire to settle down rather than casually date.
All in all, Sam’s most significant love interests were Jessica, his fiancee who was killed by Azazel, Eileen Leahy, a fellow hunter whom he resurrected and it is implied he married in the end, and Amelia Richardson, a woman he settled down with for a time until Dean returned. In addition, Sam had one-time but significant connections with hunt victim Sarah Blake and werewolf Madison.
How Many Times Did He Die?
The Winchesters are notorious for dying and coming back to life, with Death wanting to end them permanently for repeatedly defying fate. Overall, Sam died 8 times over the course of the series, with his final demise occurring in the final episode because of old age. Before that, Sam was resurrected each time he died.
He was first killed by Jake when stabbed through the spine, followed by being struck by lightning, getting stabbed by the angel Anna, being shot by hunters, dying when he jumped in Lucifer’s cage, being killed by Billie to escape confinement, and getting torn apart by vampires.
What Recurring Gags & Traits Is He Associated With?
There are some recurring aspects to Supernatural that happen every season, with often Sam being the subject of them. His recurring themes come in the form of the Winchesters’ plans going awry, where Sam has to face the brunt of the consequences.
Usually, this happened when the villains sneaked up on Sam from behind and knocked him out, and it happened in a variety of hilarious ways. Another unfortunate occurrence for Sam is for his love interests to die, and there are a whole lot of doomed relationships with Sam, to the point where Sam and Dean even openly refer to this happening.
What Are His Nicknames?
Being the younger sibling, Sam was usually referred to with his pet names by his family. His most famous one was “Sammy,” as he was called by Dean and John. In addition, Sam’s tall height has led to him receiving nicknames alluding to it.
Crowley was noted for coining the term “Moose” for Sam, to go with Dean’s nickname of “Squirrel.” Sam was also mocked with the name “Sasquatch” and “Big Bird,” and Dean sometimes jokingly called him “B***h” when Sam called him a jerk.
Who Are His Archenemies?
Although the Winchesters battled the villains as a team, the antagonists tended to have personal acrimony with either Sam or Dean. In Sam’s case, his biggest enemy is easily the devil Lucifer, who manipulated events of Sam’s entire life in hopes of possessing him.
Interestingly, Lucifer remained Sam’s main villain up until the penultimate episode when Michael killed him off. The other character who comes close to this dynamic is the demon Lilith, whom Sam made his mission to kill and didn’t realize he was bringing on the apocalypse by offing.
Which Realms Has He Visited?
Earth is far from the only place Sam resided in, as he’s been in almost every major realm there is. In terms of alternate universes, Sam visited the Apocalypse World, the French Mistake Universe, and The Bad Place, along with standing at the entrance to the fairies’ world of Avalon.
Along with those, Sam has been in spiritual realms such as Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, and briefly being part of The Veil, where ghosts who can’t move on reside. He spent more than a century in Hell with Lucifer and ended up spending eternity in Heaven after the finale.
What Powers Has He Possessed?
When the series began, Sam was one of the “Special Children” whom Azazel had empowered with his blood. At this time, he had precognitive abilities and was immune to most demon powers. After he started drinking demon blood, Sam developed the ability to exorcise and kill demons, along with super-strength, invulnerability, and telekinesis.
Sam’s powers ceased after he returned from Hell, but his relationship with Rowena led to Sam having the abilities of a witch. Rowena was impressed with Sam’s proficiency in this regard, as he could devise spells that were almost on the level of experienced witches.