Salvatore Vs Winchester

                                           
Several similarities come to mind between these four characters, Stefan and Damon Salvatore and Sam and Dean Winchester.  Notice how the 'S' names always come first.   Not least which they're brothers.   All are involved in the supernatural and the mysticism surrounding this.   Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) all have the same initials for their respective names, at least there's two 'D's and two 'S's.   Although two, Stefan and Damon are characters from books, and thus form figments of writer, LJ Smith's imagination.   Hang on - Sam and Dean are also figments of Eric Kripke's imagination.

They do have plenty in common too.   Stefan, like Sam, is meant to be the caring brother, looking out for others, with Stefan clearly keeping his humanity in check.   Sam throughout the early seasons was the same; he wouldn't kill anyone if they could be saved; or there was some other possible solution in sight.   Sam's the thinker, the voice of reason.   Both are younger brothers.   Sam had his 'destiny' of turning evil one day overshadowing him and embracing his 'dark' side, which he did.   Yet things decidedly changed when he had to battle Lucifer in season 5.   Sam went to hell, endured 'the cage' and was brought back somehow altered.   This sacrifice he made to save the world from the impending Apocalypse was for everyone.

No such Apocalypse for Stefan but he underwent a transformation in season 2 finale when he had to 'embrace' his "ripper" side.  Klaus (Joseph Morgan) forced him to drink human blood to save his brother Damon, otherwise he wouldn't cure him of the werewolf bite Damon suffered, leaving Damon's life hanging in the balance.   Each have gone to great lengths to sacrifice themselves for each other.   At least Stefan did whatever he had to for Damon.

With Supernatural, both Sam and Dean made the ultimate sacrifices for one another by dying and returning, first by bringing each other back and then being brought back by Castiel (Misha Collins).   Dean sold his soul for Sam in season 2; then the search was on to a way of getting back his soul back and ending the deal throughout season 3 -   though Stefan was finally given a cure for Damon in the season 2 finale, As I Lay Dying, culminating in Stefan being lost to Damon.   Especially when Klaus compelled Stefan in season 3 to "turn it off."  I.e his humanity and was well and truly under Klaus's compulsion.   Stefan did things: killed, had fun feeding off humans and culling them, something he thought he would never have to do again and he reverted to nothing but a cold blooded killer.

Sam was brought back in the season 5 finale, but he wasn't the same Sam, as he stood by and watched Dean get on with his life, move on without him from outside Lisa's window.   Sam had no soul.  So he didn't care about anyone; nor did he have the same Sam emotions and traits everyone admired about him and made him Sam Winchester.   He was nothing but a ruthless killing machine, and a hunter without a soul is as cold and as cruel as they come.   Even more so Sam, since he was always the emotional, feeling Sam.   He showed his indifference and callous streak when he let Dean be attacked and turned by the vampire in 6.5 Live Free or Twihard.   He felt nothing and did nothing.   This is where Stefan differed. He was made to forget his humanity.  Stefan still recalled it and tried to break though and gain it back.   Yet through it all his actions were still motivated to protect Damon and the girl he loved, Elena (Nina Dobrev).

Dean and Damon share similar qualities too.   Both joke around, never take important issues seriously (at least Dean never used to), engage in witty banter.   Dean was forever on the side of good and helping people; to the point of feeling guilt and irresolvable shame at having to torture in hell.   Damon has helped out but he shows his cold, vampire side on many occasions too and loses his temper a lot.   A sign of hot blooded-ness, ha.   When he gets angry he takes it out on whoever is around him, be it furniture or be they human, friend or foe as he did with Alaric (Matt Davis) in 3.4 Disturbing Behavior.   Sometimes you really don't want to get on his bad side!

Both are a bit of  ladies men and seem to shy away from commitment, even if Dean tried settling down with Lisa for a year.   But Dean didn't covet his brother's girl, he did however go as far as killing one, a monster in season 7 and was willing to kill Madison for him in season 2 episode Heart.

Sam did kill Madison (Emmanuelle Vaugier)  - the werewolf he loved.   In contrast, Stefan killed Damon's "fake" girlfriend, Andie in a bid to prevent Damon from constantly coming after him, hoping to get him back to 'normal'.   He did it for himself in part and mostly for Elena,  well kind of.   As a result, Damon gave up on Stefan in season 3 - he couldn't be bothered wasting his time on trying to bring back the old Stefan.   As he told Elena, the old Stefan is gone and he's "not coming back in your lifetime."  He was wrong.   Something Dean has never done, nor would he ever give up on Sam, even if he made him endure an unmentionable and unimaginable hell when he became a vampire.   Everything he's done and does, has been for Sam, for his family and their unfaltering brotherly love.   Though viewed as extreme by some, such as Lisa, it is the ultimate force that holds them both together as Winchesters.

Dean, after being turned into a vampire, may share this experience with Damon and Stefan, although Dean didn't feed. He came close and felt the heightened feelings and strengths of being one of the 'undead.'  Sam too hasn't been spared the bloodletting. He's partaken in drinking demon blood: same principle, different outcomes and reasons and knows of its strengths.   He was superhuman and he was bad, whooping demons left, right and centre, encouraged by evil Ruby (Genevieve Padalecki) in season 4.   Setting him apart from Dean and also in conflict with him for what he was doing, it was unnatural and not something Dean would have wanted for him or expected from Sam.

Winchesters are hunters.   Salvatore's are vampires, centuries old.   One family would inevitably hunt the other - but that works both ways.   Vampires can also be termed Hunters and can turn so when survival is on the agenda.

Brothers, can't live with them, can't live without them!  These four have lots in common and lots going for them and yet plenty to set them apart and make them unique.   Which brother is your fave: which family would you choose and who would win in a battle of wits and survival?

Jensen and Ian were both born in the same year, 1978, Jensen in March and Ian in December; both being older than their counterparts, both in the shows and in Real Life.   Jared and Paul were not only born in the same month of July but also in the same year, 1982.   Also Paul's last name is Wasilewski, his parents are Polish and Jared is of Polish ancestry from his father's side; how uncanny is that?  Both shows also airing on the CW, we've even had almost similar sounding episode titles, Supernatural 2.1 In My Time of Dying, and Vampire Diaries 2.22 As I Lay Dying...

Written 2011.

You know you write for some pesky websites who preach 'copyright' at ya so when you leave they don't give you back all your articles etc cos you wrote for them, well then they vanish and don't have the decency to tell you they'll be getting lost so you can download your work!! Well there was plenty of stuff I had I wanted and couldn't get back! Thanx for nothing !

Moral: Don't write for crap sites!!
Glad I got this one and a few more and including the Jon-Erik Hexum biography I just posted previously, cos I spent a while on that and it was sentimental!!  Didn't get the great Mentalist ones I wrote though!!