Is Supernatural’s Dean Winchester a Nerd?

For 11 Seasons on Supernatural fans have followed Winchester brothers Sam and Dean Winchester as they have hunted monsters, demons and other supernatural evil while saving the world.  They are bad ass brothers who face danger and if they go down, according to Dean “[they] go down swinging.”

There is no doubt that they are brave. And because they drive around in a 1967 Chevelot Impala while listening to classic rock, their coolness was never called into question.  But one thing fans of Supernatural may not have thought about- is Dean Winchester a Nerd?

Since the beginning of the series, Dean has often teased his younger brother calling him names like ‘geekboy’ and ‘nerd’, but I feel that Dean is a nerd too.  Although Dean would just never admit it.

Case in point, in Season 1 episode “Bugs”, it was revealed that Dean watches Oprah.  Later on in the series, in Season 7 episode “Plucky Pennywhistle’s Magical Menagarie,” Dean REALLY wanted that colored slinky, he’s wanted one since he was a kid.  Having grown up in the time when the slinky was popular, I can speak from experience that if you liked slinkies, you were considered nerdy.

Growing up, Sam and Dean watched a lot of television shows when they were left in motel rooms while John was on hunts. Gilligan’s Island, Matlock, Rockford Files were some of the shows Dean watched. Are these shows considered nerdy? Depends on who you ask.

In Season 4 episodes “Sex and Violence” and “The Monster at the End of This Book”, Dean indicated that he’s read The Odyssey and Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle. Sam was surprised Dean had read these works, they were books he would read. Yes, Vonnegut’s writings are a far cry from Dean’s usual reading fare of “Busty Asian Beauties” and dare I say it, the books are intellectual and nerdy.

I’m sure there are many more examples from the over 200 Supernatural episodes that can bear witness to nerdy qualities Dean Winchester has exhibited.

But nerd or not, Dean is a hero.  Besides being a nerd is not a bad thing, look at The Flash’s Barry Allen and Arrow’s Felicity. Nerds are the new cool.

Supernatural airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW.