#And I'm thinking of Dean straightening up tall and holding himself completely differently when John comes in the room

[future-dregs]

Yeah John was put in a horrible position and the world they live in is unfortunately as dangerous and violent as he raised his boys to believe it was, and if he was going to become a hunter (a questionable choice at BEST with a four year old and a baby but that's neither here nor there at this particular moment), then yes, the kids need to know what to do and how to stay safe.

But he shouldn't have turned Dean into a mother, he NEVER should have left them alone like he did (my gosh John there are evils in this world that are purely, horrifyingly human), and chipping away at their self esteem and sense of worth, never missing a cruel jab? (Dean knew his "father" wasn't his father when he was KIND AND UNDERSTANDING TO HIM).

John didn't HAVE to be cruel.

But he was.

And he loved his boys and he loved his family, but that didn't change the fact that he was a horrible father and a hard man.

Even with losing Mary and all the unknown unseen forces at work around them, he could've been a good man. He could've been someone who taught and was firm and instructed his boys, but who didn't leave them wondering for their whole lives if their dad even loved or wanted them.

But he was that person and he did those things and he fucked his kids up so well and wholly that we got fifteen seasons of emotional distress out it.

And that's the tragedy of it all.

It didn't have to be as bad as it was.

But it was.