The conversation on "fridging" in Movies is making me think how or if SPN would be different if it were John who was killed, and Mary who raised the boys on the road.

Oooooh! I would love to read that as an AU. As Mary was raised in a hunter family, she might have had a better handle on the special work-life balance needs.

But would you do it that way? Or simply switch out Mary and John, i.e. make Mary the outsider who knew nothing, as John was?

But if there was balance in the work-life, you don't get Dean broken the way he is. And I need Dean broken that way.

Jess? Fridged. Mary? Not fridged. Ellen & Jo? Died fighting the good fight. Human!Meg, casualty of war. Nick's wife? Fridged.

Though I do wonder if I'd paused to think about it early on--I guess I would have thought Mary was fridged. But knowing she brought it on herself, no. Knowing she was a hunter, no.

But would you do it that way?

I think I would. It would add a layer of family tradition vs. pure vengeance hunter to the mom vs. dad changes. Would Mary's raising of them be different because the mom-sons dynamic tends to be different? Or would her own history as the child of a hunter, knowing you can have a home and family life (albeit an unusual one) while chasing down monsters, make their lives completely different? Would her initial impulse, to leave the hunting life and have a family, be changed by John's death so that she jumped back into the life to get vengeance? Or would it strengthen her resolve and make her look for ways to put walls between herself and hunting?

All kindsa fun questions to play with.

And I need Dean broken that way.

I'm saying.

I think you could make an argument for Mary being fridged until we get to In the Beginning, which isn't until S4. So, possibly an afterthought or author wank on Kripke's part.

I believe Dean would be completely different if Mary had raised them. I feel like Sammy's personality is in-born.

So, possibly an afterthought or author wank on Kripke's part.

My one question for Kripke (my biggie, anyway) is "What did you mean at the time when you had Mary apologise in 'Home'?" I so want to know.

I believe Dean would be completely different if Mary had raised them. I feel like Sammy's personality is in-born.

Well, we did see that Dean had the protective fixit tendencies displayed while his mother was still alive. Now, his father exacerbated all that with exactly how he raised them, but I think he would have veered on that side anyway.

At the time I thought she was simply apologizing for not being there, for dying and not being a mom to him. And I would be willing bet Kripke intended something like that, since it's not as if we find out she might have been apologizing for the demon deal and her history, etc., anytime real soon after that.

But if she just got killed by some random demon she knew nothing about one night, apologising is kinda weird, no? Especially just to Sam.

I know someone has asked him that question at a con. Why haven't I stumbled upon the answer? I've read so many things I didn't want to read, dammit.

I don't think so. As a mom, there's not a lot worse than knowing you left this helpless infant without you. I think it's entirely natural to want to say "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you" because you are, even if it's not your fault you weren't.

And Dean she got a few years with, at any rate.