Oh, thank you for sharing that - it was a fascinating read!

TV seems extremely skittish about showing fathers as evil unless they go very far over the line. It's been interesting to look at this again in detail.

I think the comparison that has been sticking in my head is the way Mad Max Fury Road depicts the impact of rape and captivity on the escaping women by showing the injuries inflicted on them and their reactions to that suffering - but the audience doesn't have to see the act of rape or them in chains.

The impact of John Winchester's actions are everywhere in Dean and Sam's behavior. But the show hasn't really committed to John being the villain of their story, so the show gives JDM a lot more softness in his appearances than the damage he had done to his actual children would suggest. So the show ends up forgiving John for things that attentive fans will consider unforgiveable. Which inadvertently makes for one of the more nuanced portrayals of an abusive parent that I have seen on screen???

This show would not be so good if it were not so damn bad.