Wednesday, November 3, 2021

What If...Sam Winchester killed John Winchester? (Part 1)


On another world, in another time...three men were trapped in a cabin at the mercy of a demon. One of those three, possessed by the demon, was shot in the leg by a gun that could kill anything. The two other men, brothers, attempted to recover from the ordeal only to find the third man - their father - alive and struggling against the monster within.

"Sammy! It’s still alive. It’s inside me, I can feel it. You shoot me. You shoot me! You shoot me in the heart, son! Do it!"

"Sam, don't you do it. Don't you do it!"

"You’ve gotta hurry! I can’t hold onto it much longer! You shoot me, son! Shoot me! Son, I’m begging you! We can end this here and now! Sammy!"

"Sam, no..."

"You can do this! Sammy! Sam..."

In that world, in that time, Sam Winchester did not pull the trigger and shoot John Winchester in the heart. The demon, Azazel, would go on to open the gates of Hell itself. While he would eventually die at the hand of Dean Winchester, the damage was done. The opening of those gates was one of the first steps on the road to the Apocalypse.

But this is not that world, this is not that time...

In this world, we get the answer to the question: What If...Sam Winchester had killed John Winchester?

Let's peer into the looking glass...

A twitch of the finger and a bullet flies from the Colt, slamming right into John's chest as he fights like Hell to resist the Demon. His body begins to spark and twitch as though electricity is coursing through it. In that instance, John Winchester and the demon Azazel are both dead.

Dean, heavily wounded from the powers of Yellow Eyes, nonetheless lays into Sam almost immediately. Sam gets Dean out and to the Impala and quickly attempts to clean up the cabin, including putting John's body in a tarp to prepare it for being salt and burned at the first opportunity. Dean falls into unconsciousness and, with John dead, Sam isn't distracted and is able to avoid the demon-driven 18-wheeler. This leads to a chase, but Sam manages to evade it, luring the demon to a particularly sharp turn that causes the truck to go off the road and escaping while the truck crashes.


Sam gets Dean to a hospital who was in pretty bad shape but, unlike in the actual In My Time of Dying is conscious and stable, firmly not on Death's door. When he wakes up, he once more gives Sam Hell for what he did. "I was doing what Dad said," is what Sam gives as a reply, which leads into a loud argument. While he's conscious, Dean is unable to leave his bed to kick Sam's ass. He flings a glass of water at Sam and angrily yells at him to get out.

Sam later meets with Bobby, who attempts to assist and expresses condolences about John's passing. Sam has a bit of a breakdown, asking Bobby what he would have done in his shoes. Bobby, given his own backstory, is stoically silent but sympathetic. Bobby sends Sam to get some things needed for a ritual for protection against demons, the group already knowing that Yellow Eyes had subordinates and probably had more.

When Bobby meets Dean, Dean is an absolute wreck, nearly catatonic at the realization that John is actually really gone. Though Bobby attempts to reach him, he gets rebuffed. Maybe a nice, painful "you're not my Dad" thrown in there somewhere.

The boys have to work together when the demon from the 18-wheeler comes to the hospital looking for him. With a well-placed Devil's Trap and an exorcism book, they send the demon in question back to Hell. In the end, however, the brothers have a painful parting of the ways. Dean can't see past the death of John, even if it meant avenging Mary. He leaves in the Impala and Sam heads off with Bobby.

Weeks later, Dean is off hunting on his own while Sam has hacked one of John's old phones to learn about Ellen and heads to the Roadhouse, joining up with her, Jo, and Ash. In place of Dean, although more slowly in this case, Jo takes a shine to the more studious and (seemingly) more stable Sam. Sam, of course, isn't in the right headspace for this and doesn't seem to even notice.


The weeks go by, Sam and Dean taking on jobs as they come.  Sam deals with a killer clown at a carnival while Dean ends up tracking a nest of vampires and crosses paths with Gordon Walker. As in the prime timeline, Dean saves his life and the two hit it off. Without Sam to act as Dean's conscience, he finds himself taken in by Gordon's words and how he has embraced the lifestyle. The pair completely decimate Lenore's nest, killing all the vampires and part ways on good terms.

After a couple of cases involving a zombie, the ghost of H.H. Holmes, and a crossroads demon, Sam and Jo end up in Rivergrove, Oregon and discover the Croatoan virus. Sam proves to be immune to it, as in the broadcasted episode, and he and Jo leave after the infected disappear. Duane Tanner uses the Goblet of Blood to contact someone.

"Yes...yes, he was immune as expected...Yes...yes, the plan can still continue...yes...yes, I understand...it will be done..."

What will happen next? With Dean and Sam being separated, are the pair of them going to go down very different roads? What will become of the demon plot? Find out next time we return to What If...Sam Winchester killed John Winchester?.

Thank you for joining me into this glance into another reality. Next week, we shall do another, another part of the answer to our question What if the Doctor remained Time Lord Victorious?

Be there!

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