How Dean, Sam and Cas’s Heroine Journeys Are Coming Full Circle (Part 1)

A journey that began in season 6 is coming to an end in season 8: Three years of sorrow, loss, pain, misunderstanding, sacrifice and self-reflection are finally coming into fruition. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for: the culmination of Team Free Will’s journey. It’s so close I can taste it. And I am excited about what we’re seeing.

As the title says, Team Free Will’s heroine journey is coming full circle, and Dean, Sam and Cas are going to emerge stronger than ever. They’re at the stage where they’re ready to take charge of their own destinies, and going to fully become the men (and angel) they were always meant to be.

As Flutiebear has talked about before, post-S5, Supernatural became a  story about growing up, becoming adults, or a heroine’s journey. S6 and S7, as Flutie says, is “unraveling the happily ever after” that S5 tries to give us. (Which, let’s face it, that was no happily ever after.)

Yeah … no.

It even tries to justify itself, with the discussion between Dean and Cas at the very end of “Swan Song.”

CAS: I don’t know what God wants. I don’t know if he’ll even return. It just… seems like the right thing to do [to return to Heaven].

DEAN: Well, if you do see him, you tell him I’m coming for him next.

CAS: You’re angry.

DEAN: That’s an understatement.

CAS: He helped. Maybe even more than we realize.

DEAN: That’s easy for you to say. He brought you back. But what about Sam? What about me, huh? Where’s my grand prize? All I got is my brother in a hole!

CAS: You got what you asked for, Dean. No paradise. No hell. Just more of the same. I mean it, Dean. What would you rather have? Peace or freedom? 

God. God is such a douche. I said nuuu. Good day, sir. 

Supernatural’s seasons 1 through 5, at their core, are a hero’s journey, where everything is black and white, and there is one ultimate goal (kill the bad guy). But at its core, the story of season 1 through 5 is the our story, minus the devil and monsters and destiny. Our parents tell us when we’re kids: grow up, go to college, get that career, meet your true love, have a family of your own. Problem is–and the younger side of fandom might not understand this yet–is that at some point, usually after you’ve accomplished everything you’re told to do, you’re going to wake up and go, “This is my life… Wait, did I want this life?” (The answer is “probably not,” and admitting that is going to be fucking painful.)

Season 6 tackles that question from the get-go with the use of the Heroine’s Journey. According to Victoria Lynn Schmidt in her book 45 Master Characters, “The [heroine’s] journey is a journey which the hero gathers her courage to face death and endure the transformation toward being reborn as a complete being in charge of her own life. Her journey starts by questioning authority, then gaining the courage to stand up for herself and finally embodying the willingness to go it alone and face her own symbolic death.”

What’s key to this transformation is the descent/eye of the storm/death arc of the heroine’s journey, which is what S6 dives right into the moment Sam is revealed to be alive and Dean experiences his “betrayal” stage. And the moment, the descent story begins, and gets dark, ugly, messy and harsh for Team Free Will. 

As Flutie says:

Descent stories are uncomfortable, and messy, and real, and there’s no shiny summit at the end of them, no glorious picaresque view of the world around you. (x)

But a Heroine’s Journey goes full circle, ending with rebirth (transformation) and a return to the perfect world. That’s where S8 is, and though it’s taken some time, we’ve almost reached the “return to a perfect world.” It’s been three long seasons, but it’s been completely worth it for the growth and change we’ve seen in Team Free Will. They’re starting to seize their destinies and, like a certain golem would say, they’re taking charge of said destinies.

What have Team Free Will learned anyway? I’ll let Flutie break it down the basics of what a person learns in their heroine journey:

[…] in our nostalgia for the [Hero’s Journey/S1 to S5] we tend to forget that the road downhill offers something even better at its conclusion: Rest. Comfort. Peace. Unlike the Hero’s Journey up the mountain, which ends at the halfway point, at the end of a Descent journey your characters’ trials truly are over, since there’s no more mountain to climb. And yes, your characters can just find a new mountain (in fact, they usually do), but descent stories teach us that everything dies, everything changes, everything ends, and that’s okay. The end is not to be feared, but embraced. (x)

Now, let’s break up Team Free Will’s basic Heroine Journeys that started post-S5. 

Dean Winchester: Family

Dean has wanted a family and a home since he lost his own, but didn’t realize he had to fight for and build one for himself.

Sam Winchester: The Reluctant Hero

Once the reluctant hero who sacrificed himself to save the world, Sam didn’t realize the world still needed him to be its hero.

Castiel (Cas): Free Will (And Dean)

The angel with too much heart who choose free will and the man that taught it to him, but didn’t learn what free will truly was. (Cliff notes version: Free will is accepting the willingness to accept the consequences of your actions.)

How the three have take on their journeys can be broken up in the steps of the Heroine’s Journey. This is nine parts in total. Again, from 45 Master Characters:

Act 1: Containment

1. The Illusion Of A Perfect World
2. The Betrayal Or Realization
3. The Awakening–Preparing For The Journey

Act 2: Transformation

1. The Descent–Passing Through The Gates Of Judgement
2. The Eye Of The Storm
3. Death

Act 3: Emergence

1. Support
2. Rebirth–The Moment of Truth
3. Full Circle

Currently (as of 8x17), Dean and Sam are in their support stage, with their rebirth/moment of truth coming in bits and pieces as they move into the full circle. Cas is the crux of Dean’s rebirth/moment of truth stage, but Cas is currently in his death stage with Naomi. (Cas also had a mini heroine’s journey as his time as Emmanuel, but I won’t discuss that until I get to him.)

Note: I’m going to have to speculate on what Sam’s moment of truth is too, based on hints from the season (and his journey may not end until S9). Dean and Cas’s are clear as water though. This season has quite literally hit us over the head with it–and it’s going to end with Dean/Cas.

We’ll tackle Dean’s heroine journey first. Check back soon for Part 2.

All screencaps from here.

Read all my meta here.