Mary Winchester Wasn't Actually Half as Bad as You Remember Her to Be
She may not have been the mother of the year, but there were villains way worse.
There are many Supernatural characters who were absolutely adored by the fandom. Whether they were on the side of the protagonists or the villains of the story, they were always appreciated and welcomed back.
However, there was one character who was so hated that she could easily have been named the number one enemy of the Supernatural fandom.
The character in question is Mary Winchester, and if you thought your hatred for her was absolutely justified, try looking at her storyline now and see if your perception of her changes.
The fans' desire to protect the Winchester brothers from any kind of heartbreak is understandable, but what viewers tend to forget while watching the show is that they are two fully functioning adults, just like Mary is when she comes back from the dead.
Seeing her children like this when your last memory of them is them being children is heartbreaking enough to empathize with her, but finding out that she failed to protect them from the dangerous life she’d led would push anyone over the edge. In addition to losing her children, she also lost John, and as difficult as their relationship was, it adds to the tragedy.
To expect a woman in such a vulnerable position to bounce right back and start being a "real mother" to these two grown men was inconsiderate. Mary may not have been a very caring mother, but she wasn't to blame for not living up to Dean's expectations of her. If anything, it was a pretty good lesson for him.
Of course, none of this really excuses her teaming up with the British Men of Letters, but it just goes to show how far Mary's idea of motherhood actually is from what the fanbase expected of her.
The pain of disappointment is always hard to deal with, but it was absolutely necessary to show the layers of trauma that all the Winchesters have endured, both from their demon-fighting lifestyle and from each other.
If you want to re-watch Supernatural and take another look at Mary Winchester's arc, you can stream the show on Netflix.