Sorry if you get this twice; it looks to me like I managed to start a new comment thread rather than replying to yours.
I like your reading of the Wizard of Oz parallel. It works for Marty, and also Martin in the future, a little bit, as well as John.
I go back and forth on the John v. Sam question. I had an argument with bop_radar about whether John Winchester was a better or worse parent than Sarah Connor, and we both agreed that Sarah is less emotionally messed up than John. They're both very mission-driven and have raised their sons that way, but Sarah seems a lot closer to John than JW was to Sam, and so that's in the plus column for John. On the other hand, Cameron is no Dean (and I suspect Derek is going to die at some point before John reaches adulthood), so that's in the plus column for Sam. Also Sam got to have about 3 years of normal before it all went to hell; John never had that and probably never will.
But John also has a fairly good shot at averting his destiny, whereas I suspect SPN is not going to end happily. I don't actually think Dean will end up killing Sam, but I doubt they're going to ride off into the sunset together either.
The question about whether Sarah would ever kill John is a good one. I don't think she could, honestly. (I'm not entirely sure Dean could kill Sam, but thinking about it, I'm positive Sarah couldn't kill John.)
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I like your reading of the Wizard of Oz parallel. It works for Marty, and also Martin in the future, a little bit, as well as John.
I go back and forth on the John v. Sam question. I had an argument with bop_radar about whether John Winchester was a better or worse parent than Sarah Connor, and we both agreed that Sarah is less emotionally messed up than John. They're both very mission-driven and have raised their sons that way, but Sarah seems a lot closer to John than JW was to Sam, and so that's in the plus column for John. On the other hand, Cameron is no Dean (and I suspect Derek is going to die at some point before John reaches adulthood), so that's in the plus column for Sam. Also Sam got to have about 3 years of normal before it all went to hell; John never had that and probably never will.
But John also has a fairly good shot at averting his destiny, whereas I suspect SPN is not going to end happily. I don't actually think Dean will end up killing Sam, but I doubt they're going to ride off into the sunset together either.
The question about whether Sarah would ever kill John is a good one. I don't think she could, honestly. (I'm not entirely sure Dean could kill Sam, but thinking about it, I'm positive Sarah couldn't kill John.)