Brothers come in all different shapes and forms. Some are estranged who develop their relationship stronger than what it was before. Others have always had a close bond, but separated from each other because of life. And finally, there are brothers who aren’t related through blood or marriage or anything in-between but rather because they grew up together and can practically read each other’s minds. The brotherly bond is not something that is explored a lot in film or television, but when it is it is always done with compassion and heart, something male characters have a hard time being.
The Vampire Diaries
In The CW series based on a series of books by LJ Smith and Aubrey Clark, it follows two brothers who were raised in Mystic Falls, VA during the Civil War era and their reunion in 2009 after decades of being a part. They’ve ‘lived’ for so long because they were turned into vampires by the woman they both loved dearly when they were two innocent boys. Those boys are the Salvatore brothers: Damon (the oldest) and Stefan. At the beginning of the series, Damon is a thorn in Stefan and his girlfriend, Elena Gilbert’s, side. During season 1 any time Damon interacts with Stefan it is basically to bring chaos to Stefan’s life, usually in a deadly fashion.
However, as the series progressed the two brothers found a way to make their bond even better than it was before. They fought for each other, they killed for each other, they sacrificed for each other, and they even died for each other. A lot of the credit goes to the writers, both of the books and the television show. More specifically on how they turned Damon from an unsympathetic, arrogant jerk to a big brother that would do anything for the people he loves or even those he just generally doesn’t care about.
The reason I love this show so much is because every show or movie now seems to have the big bad’s main goal as destroying the world or taking over the world. However, unlike this current (exhausting) trend, the villains on this show are never looking for that; they just want to take over/destroy the town of Mystic Falls. So that just means that our heroes (more specifically the Salvatore brothers) are in Mystic Falls to protect Mystic Falls and its clueless human residents who represent the innocence and humanity that the brothers lost that century and some decades ago (sorry, didn’t feel like doing the math). They don’t need to save the world, they just need to save their home.
Supernatural
Another series that aired on the CW, Supernatural followed two brothers. The Winchesters; Sam (the baby brother) and Dean (the oldest). Sam and Dean have always had a rather close bond because Dean was mainly responsible for raising Sam into the man that we meet in the pilot. The two are supernatural hunters who were trained to be just that by their father, John, who while they were growing up was always away fighting some evil creature looking to kill, eat, or do whatever the hell it wanted to do to whatever the hell it wanted to do it to.
Much like The Vampire Diaries, the brothers continuously sacrifice themselves for one another. If one dies in season eight the other will die in season nine, this is not a spoiler this is just the way the series has worked throughout its long run. However, I’m willing to ignore this trend in the series. Not because it’s not exhausting (because it is), but because it shows their love for each other. The show has them written as two stoic manly men, which I hate because that is constantly mistaken in film and television as a personality. Stoicism is not a personality! But when Sam and Dean make those sacrifices for each other, when they have those little moments of saying ‘I love you’ or something where they show deep love and kindness for one another it makes me realize that this is one of the best examples of brotherly relationships on television.
Teen Wolf
Another supernatural genre show (sorry if you hate this genre), Teen Wolf was aired on MTV. It starred Tyler Posey and Dylan O’Brien as two best friends who were more like brothers. Posey was the titular ‘teen wolf’ as he was bitten by a werewolf in the pilot and began to make the transition to werewolf himself. However, this isn’t about the amazing show, this is about the relationship between the two main characters.
Scott (Tyler Posey) and Stiles (Dylan O’Brien) grew up together. Scott’s mom divorced from his dad and Stiles’ dad a widow after his mom passed away from early on-set dementia (if that’s not a thing, I’m sorry I learned almost everything from television). So their ‘replacement’ parents (for lack of a better word) were each other’s parents. When either of the boys were in pain, emotionally or physically, they both felt it. Their friendship was really the only reason I continued to watch the series because their bond was stronger than just boys who played the same sport. It was being there throughout all the hardships of life. Like a married couple who takes their vows; they were there for each other through thick and thin, for better and for worse.
Comments