Who knew that out of the two hottest monster-hunting brothers on TV, Sam would be the one keeping us up at night? Despite Jensen Ackles’ Dean being the most loved actor from the show, Supernatural fans are now taking sides—and shockingly, it’s his onscreen brother, Jared Padalecki, who won the evil crown.
Yup, despite Jensen Ackles’ face value, it’s Jared Padalecki’s Sam Winchester, whose cold, calculated stare in Season 6 has fans voting him as way more terrifying than Demon Dean. So let’s check out why viewers can’t stop talking about soulless Sam being the creepiest Winchester of them all.
Supernatural offered the evil version of both Sam and Dean Winchester
Let’s face it—Supernatural didn’t hold back when it came to throwing its beloved heroes into wild and wicked transformations. Over the years, we’ve seen Sam and Dean die (a lot), get possessed, go dark side, and yes, become evil versions of themselves. And now that fans have gotten to witness both brothers completely flip the script, they have their favorites.
So, let’s begin by addressing both Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki’s evil versions, one by one. In Season 6, we see Padalecki’s Sam Winchester return from Lucifer’s Cage after Castiel saves him. But surprisingly, he’s missing one tiny little thing: his soul. And that’s what makes all the difference. Because you see, this wasn’t your usual moody Sam with emotional trauma.
This was essentially a body with Sam’s memories but no soul or emotions, leading to a more detached and ruthless personality. Without his soul, Sam loses his empathy, compassion, and moral compass, becoming a colder and calculating character. He was still wearing plaid, but soulless Sam had zero chill and absolutely no regard for human life if it got in his way.
Thankfully, he was later saved from being more of a menacing villain when Dean later enlisted the help of Death to retrieve Sam’s soul. Death put a wall in Sam’s mind to block out memories of his time in Hell, and that helps retrieve his soul, leading to Sam’s original personality and memories being restored.
Now, after we saw Jared Padalecki’s Sam going all evil, Season 10 of Supernatural delivered the demonic version of Jensen Ackles’ Dean Winchester. This occurs after Dean gets killed by Metatron while possessing the Mark of Cain, who corrupts him, turning him into a demon and a Knight of Hell. Thereafter, Dean becomes loyal only to himself and finds a sense of freedom in being a demon.
Demon Dean had all of Dean’s signature sarcasm but none of his usual restraint. Thankfully, Sam later finds him and successfully cures him with the help of purified blood, returning him to human form. However, the Mark of Cain still affects him, leaving him with a need to kill, though easier to control initially.
Jared Padalecki’s Sam won the evil crown over Jensen Ackles’ Dean
While both versions of Sam and Dean were epic in their own way, their brand of “evil” was different. Soulless Sam was methodical and eerie, like the kind of guy who’d calmly step over your body to go grab coffee. Meanwhile, Demon Dean was more chaotic and savage, like a rebellious teenager with demon powers. But only one of them gave the Supernatural fans actual nightmares.
Turns out, fans found Jared Padalecki’s Soulless Sam scarier than Jensen Ackles’ Demon Dean. And honestly, they’re not wrong. While Demon Dean brought swagger and sass, Soulless Sam brought the icy kind of fear that makes you check if your door’s locked at night. Reddit has been buzzing, and the comments are basically saying “Soulless Sam was more pathological”.
While repeatedly comparing Jared Padalecki’s evil version to a full-blown sociopath, fans said that Demon Dean just felt like “Dean but meaner”. So, while fans found Jensen Ackles’ evil version kind of lovable, just with worse manners, it’s Padalecki’s soulless Sam who got crowned for giving viewers the villain creeps.
One Redditor dropped the mic by stating, “Soulless Sam was ready to kill Bobby just to stay soulless.” That’s not a small thing—Bobby was just a father figure to Sam and Dean, he was basically the fandom’s collective dad. If you’re heartless enough to take out Bobby, you’re not just evil, you’re ice cold.
So, in the end, while Jensen Ackles’ Demon Dean was the fun kind of evil, it was Jared Padalecki’s Soulless Sam who felt unsettling, emotionless, and deadly in a quiet way. No red eyes, no demon growls—just pure, human-shaped terror.
Supernatural is currently available on Netflix and Apple TV (rent) in the US.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
