Sam Winchester

Samuel "Sam" Winchester is a hunter as well as a Man of Letters, along with his older brother Dean. He is one of the main protagonists of Supernatural. Both Sam and Dean are related to the Winchester and Campbell families - a Letters family and a Hunting family respectively. The pair also share a bloodline with Cain and Abel. Because of this, Sam was predestined to be the vessel of the fallen archangel Lucifer (whilst Dean was Michael's). Sam is friends with angel Castiel, Prophet Kevin Tran, the demon Meg and former lover turned enemy of demonRuby. He is also the reluctant ally of demon Crowley and for a time was forced to be an unknowing and unwilling vessel for the angel Gadreel (before expelling him). Sam is very mentally strong, evidenced by his ability to overpower possession by Lucifer. It has been argued that he is the smarter of the Winchester brothers, although Sam himself would disagree.

Early Life
Sam Winchester was born on May 2, 1983 to John and Mary Winchester in Lawrence, Kansas. He is the couple's second child, four years younger than his older brother Dean. When Sam was exactly six months old, on November 2, 1983, his mother, Mary, was killed in his nursery by the Yellow-Eyed demon, Azazel. Mary walked in on Sam's nursery while Azazel was feeding the infant demon blood to turn him into one of the special children. Infant Sam is saved from the ensuing fire when his father takes him out of his crib and gives him to a four year old Dean, who then carries him outside. John unsuccessfully tries to rescue Mary and becomes somewhat emotionally unstable.

Until he turned 8 years old, Sam believed his mother had died in a car accident and his father was a travelling salesman. When he found his father's journal, he demanded that Dean explain. Dean confirmed the existence of the paranormal. Sam started hunting alongside his brother and father around the age of twelve. However, he began to crave a normal life without monsters when a teacher of his, unaware of the whole story, encouraged him to seek alternatives to "the family business". At some point Sam ran away to Flagstaff, Arizona while Dean was watching him. He stayed there for 2 weeks and while he was there he took in a dog and called it Bones. Sam eventually went to Stanford University, but was unable to return to his family, as John had forbade him from returning. While there, he had a long-term relationship with Jess. A year after that, their father got closer in looking for the thing that killed their mom, and left Dean to hunt solo.

Season 1
""Dean, when this is all over, you're going to have to let me go my own way.""

- Sam At the start of the series, Sam is a senior at Stanford University who is applying for law school. Sam also has a girlfriend,Jessica Moore, whom he lives with and is secretly planning to marry. One night, Dean comes to Sam's apartment to seek his help after their father goes missing; although reluctant at first, Sam eventually accompanies his brother. After defeating the Woman in White and discovering a trail to find their father, Sam returns to Stanford. Upon his return, Sam witnesses Jessica's murder in the same style of his mother's, prompting him to embark on a journey with his brother to find their father and kill the demon responsible.

One of the first instances when Sam experiences precognition is in Home: he awakens from a vision of a woman screaming from the second story window of the Winchesters' old house. Afterwards, Sam insists they find out what's going on. When Dean refuses until Sam gives him good reason, Sam eventually confesses that he "has these nightmares" during which he can foresee terrible events. This is also when Sam tells Dean that he had nightmares about Jessica's death days before it had occurred. Dean initially dismisses his brother's abilities as coincidence and is overwhelmed with the idea of going home. In contrast, this is one of the many moments when Sam's desire to know the truth outweighs his emotions.

Sam has another premonition in Nightmare when a man's murder is staged to look like a suicide. Dean is still reluctant to believe Sam's ability though this becomes another hunt that is determined by yet another one of Sam's visions. When the brothers arrive at the scene of the man's murder in Michigan, Sam becomes more perplexed with his ability and Dean begins to place more trust in Sam's premonitions. Throughout the rest of the episode, Sam continues to successfully predict the murders of innocent people. Later, the brothers learn that the murders have been at the hands of a troubled young man by the name of Max Miller. Here, Sam has a waking vision, a first at this point, of Max confronting his stepmother with a kitchen knife that will undoubtedly end in her murder. After learning of the man's troubled past, Sam's first impulse is to try and talk Max out of murdering his stepmother, insisting that they both share similar qualities. During their conversation, Sam learns that Max's real mother was killed years ago in his nursery while he was sleeping, which becomes the first time Sam has heard of another sharing his experience. Sam begins to wonder if there is a connection between his abilities and his own mother's death for the first time. This is also the first episode when Sam's ability to move objects is revealed when Max almost kills Dean.

The brothers are reunited with their father in episode 20, Dead Man's Blood. John claims that a man named Samuel Elkins taught him everything he knows about hunting and that he needs his gun, the Colt, for some unknown purpose. After Sam and Dean prove their strength as hunters, John agrees to let the brothers help him in his fight against Azazel. With every reason to believe they have a lead on Azazel and now armed with the legendary Colt, the three Winchesters head out to Salvation, Iowa in Salvation. When he learns more about his past and Azazel's habits from John, Sam begins to feel overwhelming guilt for the murder of his mother, Jessica, and the seemingly random families that Azazel is targeting. Shortly thereafter, Sam receives a call from Meg asking to speak to John. They discover that she is the one responsible for killing John's friends and says she won't stop until she gets the Colt. From there, John leaves the brothers once again to pass off a fake Colt to Meg in hopes that she will cease the murders.

When they meet up with John, Dean realizes that John is possessed by Azazel and is ready to fire the Colt when he and Sam are thrown against the wall. When Azazel challenges Sam to make the gun float to him, Sam is unable to use his ability unlike previously seen in Nightmare. However, it is during this episode when Sam begins to learn more about Azazel's plans for him "and all the other children" like him. Once John is able to regain control of his body for a fleeting moment, the hold on the brothers is released. Sam is soon thrown into a terrible dilemma when John yells for him to shoot while Azazel is still occupying his body. In the end, Sam is unable to kill his father and shots him in the leg causing Azazel to leave John's injured body and escape once more. The season finale concludes with Sam, Dean, and John leaving Salvation, Iowa when they become the victims of a horrific crash; While a very injured Sam is driving the Winchesters to the hospital, a semi-truck crashes into them, causing massive damage to Dean's Impala with the Winchesters inside.

Season 2
In the first episode of this season, In My Time of Dying, Sam confronts the demon-possessed man who is responsible for the collision that occurred at the end of Season 1. The demon backs down and exits the man's body before the Winchesters are airlifted to a hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In desperation, Sam unsuccessfully checks to see if John or Dean are even alive. Later, John wakes and despite his wounds, Sam is able to move about the hospital. He is in pieces when he learns that Dean's injuries are life-threatening. When Sam visits his father, John sends him off with a list of items he needs from Bobby. Although he is unsure of what John is planning to do, he soon finds out from Bobby that John is planning to summon a demon. Outraged, Sam confronts John about his seemingly lack of concern for the welfare of his family. In the end, it is John's sacrifice that saves Dean rather than Sam's ingenuity. During the conversation between John and the Yellow-Eyed Demon, it is revealed that John knows "about Sam and the other children" like him.

Sam delves deeper into the role of researcher and finds many of the brothers' leads. Sam begins to search for psychic children like him to find out Azazel's plan of which they are a part. Eventually Sam learns from Dean that before their father's death, John told Dean that Azazel is planning to turn Sam evil and that Dean must save him but if he cannot Dean must kill him. Although angered at his father and brother upon learning this revelation, Sam concludes to save as many people as possible so that he can change his destiny. After finding out this, Sam is convinced that he must save as many people as he can in order to change his destiny.

In All Hell Breaks Loose Part 1, Sam is transported to an abandoned town along with Azazel's other chosen children. There he learns Azazel's plans: he and the other children will kill one another and the last one surviving will lead a demon army. Sam also discovers the reasons behind both Jessica and his mother's deaths; Jessica was killed because her death would lead Sam back into hunting. As for Sam's mother, it is revealed Mary interrupted Azazel during the process of feeding Sam demon blood, and thus was killed. It is also revealed that Mary knew Azazel prior to the attack in Sam's nursery. It is revealed in a later episode that Azazel had killed John in the past and made a deal with her to resurrect him in return for access to her house in the future. He then wipes her memory so that she does not remember this. Although Sam tries to protect the other children, various fights ensue, and the children are killed off one by one. Eventually, only Jake Talley and Sam are left, at which point Sam is stabbed by Jake and dies in Dean's arms.

In All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2, Sam's body is now at Bobby's, a broken Dean is stood watching over him. Dean doesn't want to bury Sam despite Bobby trying to convince that it's for the best. Desperate and depressed, Dean speeds off in the Impala to the crossroads where he sells his soul to the Crossroads Demon in return for Sam's resurrection. Sam wakes up at Bobby's confused as to what has happened. In pain, Sam looks in the mirror at the marks on his back before Dean returns and bundles him into a hug. Sam is determined to track down Jake straight away, but Dean convinces him to take it slow. While they are eating, Sam and Dean discuss the events that took place. Sam states that he only remembers seeing Dean running towards him then a white hot pain in his back. With the help of fellow hunters Bobby Singer andEllen Harvelle, Sam and Dean track down Jake, but are unable to stop him from opening a gateway to Hell on Azazel's orders. However, Sam shoots Jake and kills him in cold blood. After the gateway is closed and Azazel is finally killed by Dean, with assistance from John who escaped from Hell, when Sam learns that he was dead and Dean sold his soul to bring him back, Sam promises Dean that he will save him no matter what it takes.

Season 3
As Sam continues to do whatever he can to save Dean from going to Hell, he begins to become more ruthless and is willing to kill anything demonic even if his prey is part human, human witches. Sam later reveals that he is trying to become more like Dean who is more willing to kill human enemies. This reasoning is Sam's view that if he fails to save Dean's soul he must be ready to face a world full of demons on his own.

Sam also meets a female demon called Ruby who has been trying to gain Sam's trust by helping the brothers through various methods such as fixing the The Colt, saving them numerous times, and lastly telling Sam she can save Dean from Hell even though in reality she can not. Ruby also reveals that because Sam refuses to lead the demon army, another demon, named Lilith, has fixed the power vacuum and is leading the army while carrying intentions to kill Sam; she is also revealed to hold Dean's contract to his soul. Season 3 focuses on Sam taking a much darker tone than he had had previously, while he desperately tries to find a loophole in Dean's deal.

In the Season Finale, Dean is down to 30 hours and Sam suggests they summon Ruby. Not trusting her, they take her knife and head for Indiana where they find out Lilith is located. After many attempts to try to kill Lilith, the brothers fail. Dean discovers Lilith is possessing Ruby's previous body and sends Hell Hounds after him. A crying Sam pleads Lilith to stop. After Dean is dead, Lilith shoots a "burning white light" at Sam but he is left unharmed as he is immune. After that, Lilith is scared that her powers do not work on him and leaves after Sam attempts to stab her with Ruby's knife. He picks up the body of his mauled brother and cries out to him.

Season 4
After Dean's death, Sam has cut off all contact with Bobby. Even still, he tries several methods on trying to bring Dean back including making a deal with the cross-road demon. Still looking for a way to revive his brother, he lodges in Illinois, close to where his brother is buried. After a resurrected Dean reunites with Bobby, the two go to visit Sam. They find him with a girl, enjoying his "wild side." The girl is actually Ruby, a fact Sam immediately hides from Dean. Now trying to find information on who saved Dean, their search leads them to a diner where they meet demons who claim they know who broke Dean out. Dean, obviously knowing it's a bluff, slaps a demon twice in the face, gets up and nonchalantly leaves. Sam, however, tells Dean that they are demons and they need to die or other people will. Dean protests against this. Later, Sam returns to the diner to confront the demons. As he enters, he is attacked but realizes that the demons have had their eyes burned out. He calls forth Ruby to see if she has found anything. As the two discuss, Sam shows that his powers have developed and he is able to exorcise demons using his powers. Sam hides Ruby's involvement as well as his psychic powers from Dean, going so far as to deliberately lie and deceive him to keep Dean from finding out what he's up to.

In I Know What You Did Last Summer, Dean finally gets an explanation of what happened to Sam and Ruby in the four months he was gone. Shortly after Dean's death, Sam has summoned the Crossroads Demon, hoping to switch places with Dean, but was promptly rebuffed. Ruby returned shortly after and, "betraying" Lilith, saved Sam. The pair had sex at least once, and Ruby began helping Sam develop his powers, eventually going so far as convincing him to drink her blood to strengthen him. It is revealed in The Rapture that he is now addicted to demon blood, but continues to drink it in spite of this. During Lucifer Rising it was revealed that Sam had been manipulated by Ruby the entire time. Sam succeeded in destroying Lililth, but it brought him further from humanity than he had ever been before, indicated by his eyes briefly turning black. Lilith was revealed to be the final Seal and Lucifer was freed from his cage. Despite Dean and Bobby both trying to kill Lilith the entire season, untill finding out about Lilith at the last minute, and Castiel letting Sam out of the panic room while knowing the agenda, Sam was blamed, and accepted all of it for releasing Lucifer and starting the apocalypse.

Season 5
God teleported Sam and his brother onto a plane, saving them. In the direct aftermath of freeing Lucifer, Sam tries desperately to redeem himself by trying to stop the devil’s plans. However, realizing that he is a liability in battle, Sam and Dean separate temporarily after and Sam has another attempt at a normal life until he is approached by Lucifer, in the form of the deceased Jess. Lucifer tells Sam that he is his true vessel, in conjunction with Dean being the archangel Michael's true vessel. Dean and Sam reunite shortly after this and Sam does his best to rebuild his relationship with his brother although the brothers are no longer as close as they once were because of his betrayal and find it hard to reconnect.

Sam still lives with temptation of demon blood: In "My Bloody Valentine", Sam is affected by Famine's ability and he attacks and drinks from Famine’s henchmen, becoming strong enough to exorcise five demons at once and eventually defeats Famine. However, he gets the blood out of his system as soon as possible at Dean's urging, and is returned to Bobby's panic room. Sam also admits that he is angry all the time although he is unsure as to why, a trait that Lucifer tells him he will need when Sam finally agrees to be his vessel.

After discovering that Lucifer can be locked back into Hell using the rings of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Sam considers allowing the Devil to possess him in order for Sam to push him back into Hell. He discusses it with Bobby, who is at first very irritated by the sudden plan, but comes around to his way of thinking by "Two Minutes To Midnight" when there is clearly no other choice. When Dean finds out, he argues with Sam that he cannot do it, but later gives in to his plan, as it seems to be the only option left. Sam makes Dean promise not to try and bring him back from the cage, as that is too risky.

In "Swan Song", Sam finally says yes to Lucifer, prior to which he consumes gallons of demon blood to strengthen his body. Lucifer appears to take full control of Sam and starts a number of natural disasters around the globe. He also gathers all the remaining minions ofAzazel who have been keeping watch over Sam his entire life. Lucifer informs Sam that they were always meant to be this way, two parts of the same whole and that Lucifer is Sam's true family. Lucifer meets Michael in the chosen area for the final battle, during which he (in Sam's body) kills both Castiel and Bobby and severely injures Dean. However, Dean tells Sam that he's there for him and after glancing into the Impala, Sam's memories return long enough for him to briefly take control of his body again. Sam opens the gate to Lucifer's cage, and despite showing apprehension at jumping, he prepares to jump in, but is interrupted by Michael, who asks for Sam to stand back and let him fight Lucifer. Sam refuses and falls into the cage, pulling Michael in with him, effectively stopping the Apocalypse.

Season 6
Sam wakes up mysteriously out of the cage and tries to get answers from Castiel with no results and searches for weeks, even going to Bobby for help. He eventually goes back to hunting, choosing not to contact Dean. Sometime along the way, he encounters a group of hunters from his mother's side of the family, including Samuel Campbell, who was thought to have been killed in 1973 by Azazel. Soon, Sam goes hunting for djinns and discovers that they're going after Dean next. Sam gets involved when the djinns nearly kill Dean. This allows him to reunite him with his brother, and he's forced to tell Dean that he's been back nearly the entire time since he jumped in the cage and that he chose not to tell Dean because Dean would leave his "normal" life behind if he did.

Things get stranger between Sam and Dean, as Dean starts to notice that Sam has been acting differently ever since he came back into his life. Sam uses a baby shapeshifter as bait to draw in the Alpha, stands aside when Castiel tortures a kid for intel on the angel buying souls (Balthazar), he even lets Dean get turned by a vampire to get more information on the Alpha Vampire. When Dean confronts Sam about it, Sam, however, lies and says he "just froze". When the brothers are held captive by the Goddess of Truth, Veritas, in You Can't Handle the Truth, the goddess reveals that there is something wrong with Sam. Sam tells Dean that he's still Sam, but he knows something's wrong with him, and he admits at Dean's urging that he might need help. Dean responds by beating Sam unconscious and calling Castiel for assistance.

Upon inspection, Castiel determines Sam is physically healthy but his soul is missing. Dean plans to keep Sam tied up, but Sam sets himself free and convinces Dean to work with him. Later, Sam and Dean meet up with Samuel, who informs them that he's got a lead on the Alpha vampire. But when Dean sees Sam walking the vampire into a van, he confronts Sam, and Sam states that Samuel needs to interrogate the Alpha. Sam helps Dean find out where Samuel is taking the creatures for interrogation and question the Alpha vampire about Purgatory. But when the Alpha breaks free and attacks Sam, Christian reveals himself as a demon and teleports the vampire away. Crowley then appears on the scene, and claims to be the one who raised Sam from Lucifer's cage, and the one in possession of his soul. He tells them that if Sam ever wants it returned, he and Dean need to help Samuel capture creatures for him.

Sam's behaviour, however, shows that he is definitely conflicted over whether or not he actually wants his soul back. He tries to convince Dean that he is still the same Sam. He works Crowley's cases without question and claims that his brain works better than ever. But his actions contradict this, as when dealing with a skinwalker case in All Dogs Go To Heaven, Sam orders Dean to take a shot at the pack leader, even when there is an innocent in the way. Sam later comes clean to Dean about himself. He admits that he's not the old Sam and that he doesn't even care that much about Dean, besides the fact that he needs his help. He also says he's done a lot worse than Dean's aware of, including killing innocent people when they get in his way. After some thought, Sam reluctantly tells Dean he should probably go back to being the old Sam and get his soul back. Dean acknowledges this.

In Appointment In Samarra, Dean informs Sam and Bobby that he has made a deal with Death that could result in Sam getting his soul back. Death will put up a "wall" in Sam's head to protect him from the memories of Hell. Bobby is given the job of watching Sam while Dean does Death's job for a day. But Sam slips Bobby's watch to summon Balthazar. He asks Balthazar for a way to keep his soul out of his body and Balthazar tells Sam that he has to make his body uninhabitable for his soul by committing patricide, so Sam resolves to kill Bobby. Bobby realizes what Sam is up to, however, and manages to drop Sam into the basement. Sam again finds a way to escape, and when Bobby goes outside to look for him, Sam knocks him out from behind. He ties Bobby to a chair and prepares to kill him, but Dean shows up in the nick of time and knocks Sam out. Sam wakes up chained to the bed in the panic room and Death shows up to restore Sam's soul to his body, with the latter screaming in pain. Sam (his soul) spent approximately 180 years in Hell.

Sam wakes up about a week later in Like A Virgin, with no apparent memory of Hell or even his year without a soul. He is emotional, sensitive, and full of life, much unlike "RoboSam." He questions Dean on a number of occasions, as to how he got back, and if he even tried to live a normal life. But after a while, Sam starts to have feelings of deja vu. And when Dean and Bobby both remain tight-lipped, Sam tricks Castiel into filling in the blanks of his year being soulless. After getting rid of a couple of dragons, Sam apologizes to Dean about all he's done, feeling guilty and expressing a will to set things right. He is apparently not angry, but grateful about Dean trying to protect him. However, he wants to know what he did while he was soulless. Dean does not divulge any details, knowing the risk of Death's wall crumbling.

In Frontierland, Sam remembers the Campbell Compound had a hidden library, where they might be able to find something about killing Eve. Dean finds Samuel Colt's journal, where he reads that Colt killed a phoenix. He suggests a plan to head back in time and bring back the ashes. Castiel sends them to 1861 and Sam finds Samuel Colt, who is retired, but gives him the Colt, which Dean uses to kill the phoenix. They return before they can grab the ashes, but a delivery was made to Sam from Colt himself, containing his broken cell phone and the ashes.

In Mommy Dearest, Sam, Dean, Bobby, and Castiel head to Eve with the ashes. They find out that Eve is currently populating the small town with new monsters. However, once the boys confront Eve (who has taken their mother's form), she proposes an offer: to bring her Crowley, who is apparently alive, and she will let the group live. Dean protests that they don't work for monsters and persuades Eve to bite him, and Eve is killed after discovering phoenix ashes in Dean's bloodstream. Sam and Bobby suspect that Crowley faked his death, and that Castiel purposely meant to burn the wrong bones. Dean tries to remain loyal in The Man Who Would Be King, and argues in favor of Castiel, but Sam and Bobby remain suspicious. Castiel gives himself away, however, and the three trap Castiel in holy fire to interrogate him. Not only does he confirm his alliance with Crowley, but he reveals to Sam that he was the one who freed Sam from Lucifer's Cage, not Crowley.

n the season finale, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Sam is stuck in his own head after Castiel brings down Death's wall. He runs into the soulless version of himself and kills him, which gives him the memories of his soulless year. Sam then arrives at a grim facade of Bobby's house, where he finds the version of himself from Hell. The Hell Sam pleads for him to remain unconscious and ignorant, but Sam insists on putting himself back together because he can't leave his brother out there alone. He stabs and integrates with his other self, now remembering Hell. Sam wakes up and continues on to Crowley's headquarters, where he sees an overpowered Castiel return to destroy Raphael. Sam picks up an angelic blade and stabs him in the back. But Castiel simply pulls the weapon out and says the blade won't work because he is not an angel anymore. He proclaims himself their new God, and gives them the choice to either venerate him or be killed...

Season 7
Soon after Castiel leaves, Sam begins to suffer from his memories of Hell, and passes out. He later awakens in Bobby's house and helps Dean fix the Impala.Although Sam is still plagued by the memories of Hell, he does not share this with Dean, intentionally withholding the information from him. They come up with a plan to bind Death to stop Castiel, but it fails when Castiel stymies them and unbinds Death. While helping Castiel get the souls back to Purgatory Sam begins having hallucinations of Lucifer telling him that Sam had never left the cage and his excursion into the real world was merely a form of torture created by Lucifer. Dean snaps Sam out of his hallucinations long enough for them to find the Leviathans which had guided Castiels' vessel to water allowing theLeviathans to escape and contaminate the water supply.

Soon after Sam tells Dean and Bobby about his flashbacks and hallucinations. Knowing he has a problem Sam decides to stay behind on hunts. He is soon tricked by Lucifer, and brought to a warehouse by him where he is manipulated into almost shooting Dean. Dean manages to snap Sam out it using the pain from his scar, and they return to Bobby's. There they find it in ruins and Edgar waiting for them. Sam is knocked out, but Bobby manages to save him at the hospital.

In How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters, Sam notices that the burgers are changing people and turning Dean into an "idiot". He, Dean, and Bobby find out that its a Leviathan plot, but Bobby is murdered by Dick Roman before they can stop it. In Death's Door, Sam is holding memories of hell at bay using the scar. Sam is worried for Bobby, but readies himself for the worst. As they say goodbye, Bobby wakes up and writes numbers on Sam's hand before dying. He and Dean mourn the loss of Bobby in their own way.

In Repo Man, Sam allows Lucifer's hallucination to help him find Jeffrey who had taken Dean hostage. After helping him however, Lucifer reappears. Sam tries to make him go away by causing pain to himself through his scar but to no avail. Lucifer tells him that by allowing Lucifer to help him, he had in turn given Lucifer a firmer grip on his mind. In The Born-Again Identity, Sam is admitted into a psychiatric ward after he had a full blown psychotic episode with Lucifer. Sam is unable to sleep and is on the verge of death before Dean brings Castiel who is reincarnated and using the name Emmanuel. Castiel is unable to cure Sam but is able to transfer his hallucinations to his own mind. Sam gets back his sanity at the cost of Castiel's.

In the final moments of Survival of the Fittest, after Dean kills Dick and disappears, Crowley explains to Sam that he is "well and truly on his own". Crowley then leaves with Kevin Tran and Sam is left alone in the building looking lost and confused and completely in the dark about where Dean is...

Season 8
In season 8, Dean returns from Purgatory with the help of a vampire named Benny. Dean calls Sam to meet him and two of them share a hug. When Sam asks about Castiel, Dean implies that he died in the attempt to escape Purgatory. When Dean asks Sam what has happened in the year since they last spoke, Sam tells him truthfully that he has not hunted for a year and was in a relationship with a woman named Amelia . He admits to Dean that he didn't look for him during the past year because he thought he was dead. And this puts a strain in their relationship, as Dean feels betrayed.

Sam finds out that Dean faked the text in Torn and Frayed, after he discovers that Amelia is perfectly unharmed. But she admits to Sam that she still loves him, and will be with him if he wants to stay with her. Sam takes a few days to consider her offer, and helps Dean and Castiel rescue an angel named Samandriel from Crowley in the meantime. Dean tells Sam that he will give him his full blessing if he decides to stay with Amelia, but Sam realizes that he'd rather be with his brother. He chooses to stay with Dean instead of meeting up with Amelia at their rendezvous point.

Kevin finally manages to decipher the demon tablet in Trial and Error, and using Kevin's translation of the Word of God, Dean convinces Sam that he should be the one to attempt the trials to shut Hell's gates. But while trying to save Dean's life, Sam ends up killing a hellhound, thus fulfilling one of the requirements of the tablet. At the end of Man's Best Friend With Benefits, the effect resulting from the trial is revealed, as Sam begins to cough up blood, hiding it from his brother even though he seems visibly shaken. In Remember The Titans, we see Sam coughing up more blood and still hiding it from a suspicious Dean. Sam finally opens up to his brother when confronted, saying that he feels the trials are changing him.

In Taxi Driver, Kevin translates the second trial as needing to "rescue an innocent soul from Hell". After meeting up with a rogue reaper named Ajay, Sam and Dean discover that Crowley had secretly sent Bobby's soul to Hell, and Sam goes with Ajay to try and rescue him. Both brothers quickly realize that Ajay's way to Hell is through Purgatory, and Sam experiences firsthand what his brother went through the last year while Dean desperately asks Benny to help him save Sam from Purgatory. Benny agrees and Dean kills him, planning to have Sam bring Benny back to Earth when he does the same with Bobby. Sam finds and rescues Bobby from Hell, and they both run into Benny, who saves their lives from a monster attack. Benny leads them out of Purgatory, but chooses to stay behind, claiming that he didn't fit in with the humans on Earth. Sam and Dean send Bobby's soul to Heaven, and Sam reveals how Benny chose to stay dead. Sam admits to Dean that he was wrong about Benny, and that he was a good person after all. Dean chooses not to burn Benny's bones, in the hope that he might bring him back someday, and Sam agrees with the decision.

Sam continues to get sicker and sicker from the trials, and becomes convinced that he won't get better until he finishes them. Crowley captures Kevin in The Great Escapist, and leads Sam and Dean to believe that he is dead. They go off looking for a way to translate the third trial by themselves, and run into an angel named Metatron. Metatron reveals that he was the scribe of God and the original author of the tablets before he went into hiding on Earth. Sam and Dean convince him to rescue Kevin from Crowley, and he tells them that the third trial requires them to "cure a demon".

In the season finale, Sacrifice, Crowley threatens to murder Jody Mills, and Sam and Dean agree to give up the trials in order to save her life. They arrive to make a deal with Crowley, but capture him with some of the bunker's demon-proof handcuffs, revealing that they are planning on using him for the third trial since Abaddon has escaped. They lock Crowley down in a church and Sam begins the process of curing him, injecting him with Sam's human blood once every few hours. He notices that Crowley becomes more and more human as the night goes on, and Crowley finally admits to Sam that he just wants to be loved. They are interrupted by Abaddon, who is planning on killing Crowley and taking over Hell, but Sam manages to set her meatsuit on fire, seemingly killing her.

Meanwhile, Dean finds out that the third trial will result in Sam's death and orders Castiel to return him to the church. He arrives just in time to stop Sam from completing the trial, explaining the consequences. But Sam replies that he doesn't care and he thinks closing the gates of Hell is worth him dying. He explains that he feels like all he does is let his brother down, and admits how hard it's been for him to see Dean turn to Benny and Castiel this past year instead of him. Dean tells Sam that he'd never put anything or anyone in front of him and that Sam is the person he cares about more than anyone else in the world. He asks Sam to stop the final trial, claiming that they can do more good as a team. Sam agrees and they embrace, but the effect of the trials doesn't subside and Sam cries out in pain. Dean helps Sam outside and they witness all the angels falling from Heaven, as Metatron has tricked Cas into unknowingly helping him complete a spell. They watch the angels fall as Sam succumbs to the effects of the trials.

Season 9
At the start of season 9, Sam is in a coma as a result of the trials. In his mind, he is starting to give up and considers letting himself die. His desire to live and his desire to die manifest themselves as images of Dean and Bobby, respectively, and they fight among each other in his head. Sam finally agrees with Bobby and apologizes to the vision of Dean in his head, saying goodbye. He comes face to face with Death, who tells Sam that he has come to collect him personally, and Sam asks him to make sure that his death is permanent this time. Meanwhile, in the real world Dean has asked an angel named "Ezekiel" to help him cure Sam. Ezekiel tells Dean that the only way he can save Sam's life is if Sam allows him to possess his body. Dean realizes that Sam would never agree to such a thing, and in a moment of desperation agrees to help Ezekiel trick Sam into saying yes. Ezekiel shows up in Sam's head, disguised as Dean, and begs Sam to live so they can stay together. Sam agrees, and Ezekiel possesses his body. He promises Dean that Sam will never know he's hiding inside him, and that as soon as he's healed Sam he'll leave.

In Rock and A Hard Place, after encountering the goddess Vesta, she tells Sam that his organs are completely burned and that he's nothing but "duct tape and safety pins inside." Sam is worried by her statements and tells Dean that he feels like something has been wrong with him lately. He says he feels like he can't recharge his batteries and that he's always tired. Dean tries to pass the symptoms of Ezekiel's presence off as a lingering effect of the trials, but Sam admits that he thinks something is just wrong with him and that he'll never be normal. Dean can't stand Sam thinking about himself that way, so he decides to tell him the truth. But Ezekiel takes over before he can say anything and warns Dean to not even try.

In Holy Terror, Sam and Dean go on a case to investigate multiple angel slaughters. They meet Castiel, who is attempting to help his angel brethren, even as a human. After this encounter, Ezekiel takes over and reminds Dean that he can't be near Castiel, so Dean sends Castiel away again. Ezekiel walks outside and runs into Metatron, who reveals that he knows that "Ezekiel" is actually Gadreel, the angel who let Lucifer into the Garden of Eden, and was locked up for thousands of years. Metatron offers him a role in the rebuilding of Heaven and Gadreel is so desperate to clear his name that he accepts, so Metatron gives him a piece of paper with an assassination target for him to take care of. Meanwhile, Dean starts to worry that "Ezekiel" hasn't been telling him the truth. He and Kevin plan a spell that can knock the angel out of control so he can talk to Sam, but Gadreel overhears the conversation and changes the symbol, tricking Dean into believing he's Sam and knocking him out. Gadreel kills Kevin (the assassination target) and steals Sam's body, leaving Dean crying over Kevin's corpse.

In Road Trip, it's revealed that Gadreel has trapped Sam in a fantasy world inside his own head, where he believes he is working on cases with Dean. Dean, Castiel and Crowley capture Gadreel and attempt to separate his mind from Sam's so that Sam can expel the rogue angel, but fail, so Crowley possesses Sam and explains the situation. Sam fights Gadreel and manages to overpower him, expelling the angel from his body. Castiel heals some of the effects from the trials that Gadreel wasn't able to and promises to stay and keep healing Sam until he's better. Sam is furious at Dean's deception over the last few months, and when Dean decides to leave, Sam lets him.

In Sharp Teeth, Sam and Dean reunite on a case while looking for Garth. And although the brothers work the job together, Sam tells Dean that he's still angry and that they obviously aren't on the same page anymore. He says that they can't be brothers anymore, only hunting partners. And in The Purge, after Dean refuses to apologize, Sam tells him that he wouldn't have done the same thing if their situations were reversed.

In Blade Runners, Sam, Dean and Crowley team up to locate The First Blade, the only weapon that can kill Abaddon. Working together, they locate former Man of Letters Cuthbert Sinclair who has the Blade. Revealing themselves to be Henry Winchester's grandsons, Sam and Dean are able to get into Cuthbert, aka Magnus's lair. However, when Magnus learns that Dean possesses the Mark of Cain, he teleports Sam outside as he plans to add Dean to his collection. With Crowley's help, Sam gets back inside, but is captured by Magnus who plans to torture Sam to make Dean willing to do what he wants. Crowley frees Dean who decapitates Magnus with the First Blade and Sam has to talk him out of the uncontrollable rage he experiences as a result. In the aftermath, Sam suggests killing Crowley now that they have what they want, but Crowley steals the Blade from them, only intending to give it back once they've found Abaddon.

The Winchesters help Castiel with an interrogation in King of the Damned and learn that Metatron has a secret door to Heaven. Crowley calls them with Abaddon's whereabouts, so they travel to his location in order to kill her. Dean tells Sam that Crowley warned him about some demons in the basement of the hotel, so Sam goes down to check. But when the room is empty, Sam realizes that Dean lied to him in order to get him out of the way. He arrives just in time to see Dean kill Abaddon with the First Blade, but he won't stop brutalizing the corpse and Sam struggles to get Dean to finally drop the blade. They spare Crowley's life and tell him to return his son (that Abaddon plucked out of the time stream as a bargaining chip) to his proper time, but Crowley refuses and disappears. On the drive home, Sam tells Dean that he's concerned about his worrisome attachment to the blade and asks that they get rid of it now that they don't need it anymore. Dean refuses.

In Stairway To Heaven, Sam continues to worry about Dean's growing dependence on the First Blade. He asks Dean to leave it at the bunker while they go to help Castiel, and his brother agrees. They find that some of Castiel's angel followers are attacking others in suicide bombings. Dean stays behind to interrogate the group while Sam and Castiel search for Metatron's doorway to Heaven. They find a warehouse full of traps, but once they get past them, the whole thing turns out to be a fake. Sam and Castiel return to find that Dean lied about keeping the blade, and that he's killedTessa the reaper with it. Castiel's army ask him to kill Dean for his crimes, but Castiel refuses and the rest of his angels leave. Sam tries to bring up the blade again, but Dean tells him that he's the only one who can kill Metatron and that Sam doesn't have a say in anything they do until that's done. Gadreel shows up at the bunker, telling the three of them that he's defecting from Metatron's side after finding out that he secretly orchestrated all of the angel bombings. He asks for their forgiveness, but Dean attacks him with the First Blade.

In the season finale, Do You Believe in Miracles?, Sam and Castiel try to restrain Dean from killing Gadreel and manage to lock him up in the bunker's dungeon. They find Gadreel and (after some reluctance on Sam's part) all decide that Dean is their best bet at defeating Metatron. They return to the bunker to find that Dean has escaped, and while Castiel and Gadreel try to sneak into Heaven, Sam goes after his brother. He finds Dean working with Crowley and tells him that they have to do this together, Dean agrees and they go after Metatron. Dean starts to apologize about letting Gadreel possess Sam and Sam forgives him, then Dean knocks Sam out, telling him that it isn't his fight. Sam wakes up and goes after Dean, but arrives too late to stop Metatron from stabbing him through the heart. Metatron teleports back to Heaven and Sam tells Dean that he lied about being okay with killing Metatron no matter the consequences. Dean dies in his arms and he cries over his brother's body. He takes Dean's corpse back to the bunker and tries to summon Crowley for a demon deal in order to save Dean. Not knowing that Crowley shows up on his own to place the First Blade in Dean's hands. Crowley places the First Blade into the apparently dead Dean's hands, and Dean' eyes open. They are all black, revealing him to have become a demon.

Appearence
Sam has shaggy brown hair that grows longer and smoother in later seasons; he had a fringe as a child as well as in the first two seasons. Over the course of the show, he grew the fringe out. His eye color seems to change; sometimes they appear light green, sometimes they appear brown, etc. He is noted by other characters to be handsome. Sam is very tall, 6'4" having a muscular build with broad shoulders and a muscular chest. This is especially ironic considering that he used to be teased for being short and wiry as a teenager. Like Dean, Sam often wears multiple layers of clothing (namely plaid shirts) as well as jeans and boots. Recently in Season 8 of the series, Sam, who is known for always having a clean shaved face, has been sporting some facial stubble similar to Dean.

Personality
Sam is usually kind, empathetic, intelligent and independent. He is often the exasperated voice of reason in his relationship with Dean, who in turn sees him as a geek or prude, and teasingly calls him "bitch". In spite of their bickering, Sam has looked up to Dean since they were children and knows him better than anyone else. He tries to get Dean to open up about his emotions and problems, and encourages him to take care of himself; on several occasions, he has even been frustrated by his brother's fixation on placing Sam's well-being above his own. However, Sam shows similar protective tendencies towards Dean, particularly after Dean makes his deal and returns from Hell as a shadow of who he used to be, to the point that Sam's memories of Dean allowed him to regain control of his body while possessed by Lucifer.

Sam is repeatedly telling Dean that killing humans is wrong, and does not enjoy the job as much as Dean. He does not seem to drink alcohol as much as Dean does and has a much healthier diet than his brother (Dean scoffs at Sam's diet and calls it "rabbit food"). Sam can become a very different person when Dean is dead, as evidenced by his change in Mystery Spot and what is shown in I Know What You Did Last Summer, becoming almost psychotically angry.

Sam has phenomenal mental power. This is most evident in Swan Song, where he is able to mentally overpower possession by Satan himself to stop the apocalypse. Other incidences include My Bloody Valentine, in which Sam is able to resist Famine's temptation and not drink more demon blood, exorcising the demons and killing Famine instead. Because of his intelligence, Sam is usually assigned the role of researching information for hunts; he is the "brain", whilst Dean is the "muscle". He normally remembers details that Dean overlooks and is prone to make connections quicker than his brother. He also knows a great deal of information that causes Dean to label him a "walking encyclopedia of weirdness".

Equipment
In Season 1, Sam owns a laptop, which he uses to gather information for hunts. In Season 2, he finds it in the wrecked Impala, busted. Sam soon replaces it but in Season 7 this other laptop is smashed by Frank Deveraux on the basis that it is not safe and the Leviathans may be tracking it, forcing Sam to once more replace it. In terms of laptops in Season 1, he owns what appears to be a Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop, which he uses to gather information for hunts. The first time Sam uses the laptop is in the second episode "Wendigo", where he plays a video message. In terms of cellphones in Season 1, Sam uses a Palm Treo cellphone. By season 2, Sam appears to own a Verizon-branded Motorola Q which has on at least one occasion (in "Hollywood Babylon") been used to visually track unseen ghosts. This phone however was destroyed in the third season episode "Fresh Blood." In the fourth season, namely "Sex and Violence", Sam is seen using the BlackBerry 8800. Sam has since changed models and is currently using the Blackberry Bold 9000, as first seen in the season 4 finale, "Lucifer Rising".

As for weaponry, Sam uses a Taurus Model 99 with mother-of-pearl grips and silver rounds. It is a standard 9mm with a 10-round magazine. When he was soulless, Sam utilized a Heckler & Koch Mark 23 Model 0. The boys do own a blue steel Beretta 92, but it is predominantly used by Dean in the series. Sam also uses a pistol grip 4-shelled 12 gauge shotgun loaded with rock salt. Sam often uses close range weapons while Dean seems to prefer the longer range weapons. Sam also uses Ruby's demon-killing knife, after taking it from her. During the latter seasons, both he and Dean start to employangel blades, taken from dead angels when they turn against the Host of Heaven.

Special Child Abilities
As a result of being fed demon blood as a baby by Azazel and thus being branded as one of the Special Children, Sam has exhibited over the course of the series various supernatural powers and an immunity to demon powers and diseases. Initially his powers were weak and fluctuating due his inexperience and later hesitation of using said powers but by consuming ever greater amounts of demon blood (which became an addiction to him), his powers continued to grow to the point where he could exorcise and destroy white-eyed demons such as Alastair and ultimately Lilith. Sam's powers include:
 * Precognition - Sam possessed the power to see into the future and even have visions of people in danger.
 * Clairsentience - Initially, Sam's powers manifested solely as a form of heightened senses allowing him to sense the presence of supernatural. Sam is able to sense supernatural presences in the old Winchester family home and was able to sense Dean's spirit during a time of great stress.
 * Telekinesis - When under extreme situations, Sam displayed minor feats of telekinesis. His power grew considerably the more demon blood he consumed to the point where he could throw around and restrain top-level demons such as Alastair and Lilith by using his mind with the wave of a hand.
 * Super strength - The demon blood also increased Sam's physical strength, allowing him to overpower low-level demons and humans, including his brother Dean.
 * Immunity - Sam was completely immune to a variety of demonic powers and of those of other Special Children. Even before he started to consume demon blood, he was unaffected by Andrew Gallagher and Ansem Weems'Mind Control powers, the Croatoan Virus, and Lilith and Samhain's White Light. Although Lilith was initially able to use telekinesis to incapacitate Sam, he became immune to her powers (including her telekinesis) after she tried to kill him with White Light. As he continued to drink demon blood, he even became immune to other demons' powers, such as Alastair's telekinesis. However, after he stopped drinking demon blood, he lost his immunity to other demons' powers.
 * Exorcism - Under Ruby's tutelage, Sam learned how to use his powers to exorcise demons with his mind. Initially he had extreme difficulty with controlling and maintaining this power due to his initial hesitation of drinking demon blood. Though he was able to exorcise Samhain with a minimal consumption of demon blood, he was unable to do more than make Alastair choke and later on had no effect whatsoever on Lilith. However once he committed himself to drink the blood and destroy Lilith, his powers grew to the point where he could exorcise virtually any demon. After drinking two demons dry he could exorcise five demons at once. As he continued, his powers evolved to the point of being able to permanently kill demons.
 * Demon Detection - Under severe craving for demon blood due to Famine's power, Sam could detect demons within a short proximity[2].
 * Demon Torture - Sam also was able to cause demons extreme levels of pain which he used to torture them for information. He was so skilled at this ability that Alastair (who had a very strong will and withstood hours of torture from Dean and the angels) broke within seconds and another demon begged for death.
 * Demon Destruction - After drinking more blood than usual from Ruby and having been honing his powers for months, Sam was able to kill a demon as powerful as Alastair. By drinking an even larger amount of blood from both Ruby and another demon, drinking that demon dry, Sam managed to kill the firstborn demon, Lilith, though it still required extreme concentration and difficulty and left him drained of his abilities. When preparing to say yes to Lucifer, Sam drank several gallons of demon blood, which allowed him to kill Lucifer's demon bodyguards with minimal mental effort and without moving.

Human Abilities
Due to his training as a hunter by his father, Sam is skilled with firearms and melee weapons. Like Dean, he is skilled in criminal acts, such as lock picking, computer hacking, and car jacking. Both Winchester brothers are excellent shots, and are very skilled at both armed and unarmed combat. It is revealed that John started training the boys when they were quite young, as Sam, at 14 years old, manages to beat a boy twice his size to the ground without much effort. In the first two seasons he is often hesitant about using these skills because of his desire to be a 'normal' citizen, however this lessens over time. On two separate occasions, Dean has warned the powerful vampire Benny not to underestimate Sam, as he could and would kill him given the chance. He is proficient in hand-to-hand combat and possesses remarkable physical strength for a human, being able to hold his own and even overpower certain supernatural creatures such as certain types of monsters and lower-level demons. He is also well-versed in weapons use, from blades to firearms and can kill any creature that is affected by this type of weaponry.

Sam has vast knowledge of the supernatural and is considered an "encyclopedia of weirdness" by Dean. Both of them have some knowledge of pop culture, as they frequently make references - such as Dean calling Sam "Dumbledork". He is skilled in reading, speaking and memorizes text and spells in foreign languages (usually Latin) and is often stuck with doing the research for their latest hunt. Sam is also quick to think on his feet; succeeding in preventing a demon from escaping his vessel by reciting an exorcism chant backwards. Sam is perceptive to body language and can easily pick up on unconscious gestures to read their "poker face" - he is very good at poker. He is an expert tactician, able to fight or diplomatically steer his way out of many complicated situations, and generally prefers to use words instead of brute strength. He also has a great sense of direction and time, at one point being able to find a vampire's nest while blindfolded by keeping track of the time, the number of turns the car took and the sounds he heard during the journey.

One of his greatest traits is his physical and mental endurance. After his revival and having his soul restored, Sam managed to cope with the mental hallucinations caused by being tortured by Lucifer for several months - at one point staying awake for about four days straight - while remaining a functional hunter, before ultimately starting to cave in. The next year, when undertaking the trials to close the gates of Hell, despite the extreme physical damage and resulting weakness it caused him, Sam still managed to perform some respectable feats, such as knocking Dean unconscious with two punches.

Deaths
Sam has died more times than Dean in the series, some of which only lasted very briefly:
 * The very first time Sam died was in All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 1, where he was stabbed in the back by Jake Talley. He was resurrected by the Crossroads Demon in All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2, but Dean paid the ultimate price with his soul.


 * Sam was struck by lightning and briefly died in "Wishful Thinking" when Hope wished him dead. However, this was quickly reversed.


 * Zachariah takes Sam's lungs in "Sympathy for the Devil" long enough for Sam to die briefly. Castiel orders him to return the boys back.


 * During the episode "The Song Remains the Same", Sam was killed by Anna to prevent him saying yes to Lucifer. Michael brought him back, however.
 * Both Sam and Dean were killed in the episode, "Dark Side of the Moon" by two angry hunters for starting the apocalypse, but were resurrected by Joshua.


 * During the Season 5 finale, "Swan Song", Sam sacrificed himself by leaping into Lucifer's Cage, dragging Michael, Adam, and Lucifer down with him. He went briefly to Hell but appeared at the end of the episode, staring at Dean's new family having dinner. It's later revealed that Castiel resurrected him but without a soul. When Death finally brought back his soul, he placed a wall in Sam's mind.