Samuel Campbell (The Winchesters)

For the character's history as he appeared in Supernatural, see Samuel Campbell

History

Samuel Campbell is a hunter and the father of Mary Campbell and husband of Deanna Campbell. In 1972, Samuel had discovered that the Akrida were trying to invade Earth and has been trying to track down how the Men of Letters had previously prevented this when he goes missing. At this time he and Deanna are separated, having had relationship difficulties since the death of their niece Maggie at the hands of a vampire. They had also previously had a break when Mary was younger.

Episodes

1.01 Pilot (The Winchesters)

Samuel has found that the Akrida, an ancient enemy have resurfaced. In the past they were stopped by the Men of Letters, but due to having been wiped out for 15 years are unable to prevent their return. With the help of Ada Monroe, Samuel tracked down a device -- the Monster Box -- that can stop them. On the road, Samuel phoned his daughter Mary, and gave her the address of the long deserted Men of Letters Clubhouse in Lawrence, where he told her to look for a schematic which will guide them in using the Box. Arriving in New Orleans, Samuel enters a crypt and opens a tomb using a blood sigil. However, he is interrupted by a loup-garou and tries to escape. Above ground in the cemetery, he trips as an Akrida descends on him from the dark.

Ada reveals that Samuel found evidence at a Men of Letters office in Savannah, Georgia of how the Akrida had crossed over before. If they find that point, then the Monster Box can stop them.

1.02 Teach Your Children Well

Arriving at the Men of Letters office in Savannah, the group finds it littered with zombie corpses. Mary finding spent shotgun shells on the floor with her father's signature, surmises that he had escaped. Due to Samuel always covering his tracks, Mary believes he has left a message for her with the shotgun shells and a newspaper clipping about a boy going missing in Topeka, Kansas. Believing her father to be there, Mary leads the crew to Topeka in search of her father.

1.07 Reflections

After being cornered by the Akrida, Mary and John are saved by Samuel with the Ostium, just as the Akrida break through the door.

1.08 Hang On to Your Life

An injured Samuel is tended to by Millie Winchester using a magical tea that Ada had provided. After waking up, Samuel is less than pleased to learn that Mary's husband was one of the Men of Letters, but he relents after Mary reveals that Henry had helped to save his life. Samuel reveals to the Monster Club that he had found out about the Akrida while searching for a way to get rid of monsters completely and he provides them with reconnaissance pictures that he'd taken of possible locations where the Akrida Queen could be.

However, the arrival of Loki puts the hunt for the Akrida on the backburner and Samuel repeatedly clashes with Mary over taking off, her desire for a normal life and Samuel's desire to help out against Loki despite his injuries. Samuel eventually reveals that he had kept Mary out of the fight in an attempt to keep her safe so that she could leave hunting and get a normal life as she'd always wanted. Samuel himself had been forced into hunting by his father and he'd hated the man for that and he didn't want that for Mary.

After Loki's defeat, Samuel leaves again, this time to help Ada search for magic capable of stopping the Akrida as the Ostium was broken when Samuel used it to save John and Mary's lives. Samuel agrees to let Millie keep the Ostium and try to fix it while promising his daughter that he will keep in touch with her this time. However, Samuel's pictures prove to be light-damaged and practically useless. Amongst the pictures, John one with the man who gave John his father's letter in the background. Although John and Mary don't recognize him, the man is revealed to be Dean Winchester, John and Mary's son and Samuel's grandson.

1.13 Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye

Having returned home, Samuel confronts Mary about her plans to leave town after the Akrida are defeated before revealing that he has been contacted by a hunter who has a lead on their mystery man. Alongside John and Mary, Samuel meets with Joan Hopkins, only to discover that she's actually the Akrida Queen. Joan offers the hunters a chance to join her or die before teleporting away.

Later, Samuel finds where Joan is opening her portal to let the Akrida into their world. While Mary, Lata, Millie and Ada attempt to use the Ostium to bring Dean back to their world, John, Samuel and Carlos battle Joan and several other Akrida to buy them some time. Samuel and Carlos are defeated, but Mary arrives in the Impala and kills Joan by hitting her with the car which, being from another universe, is capable of hurting the Akrida. All of the Akrida perish with Joan's death, but Mary drives through Joan's portal in the process.

Moments later, the Impala returns with Dean and Mary inside. Dean explains to everyone that he is a hunter from another universe who had taken a detour through the Multiverse after dying, looking for a world where his family had a chance at a happy ending. In the process, Dean discovered the Akrida who were created by God as a failsafe to destroy all of existence in case of God's defeat. With the Akrida dead, the group now has a chance to choose their own destinies. However, Bobby Singer arrives with Jack who is less than pleased with Dean's interference, but agrees to let it go. Dean and Bobby commiserate over how strange it is to see Samuel with a full head of hair, their own Samuel having been bald. Dean gives his parents his hunter's journal and the Colt along with a warning about Azazel to help ensure that they don't suffer the same fate as the John and Mary of his world. When asked if he found what he was looking for, Dean, with a glance at John, Mary, Samuel and Millie - his parents and grandparents - says that he thinks that he did and departs, lying that his name is James Hetfield and never revealing that he's actually John and Mary's son.

Afterwards, Samuel departs, presumably on another hunt, after saying goodbye to Mary.

Trivia

• While Tom Welling had been cast as Samuel Campbell, he did not play the role in the pilot episode.