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Think I can finally put my finger on why that scene felt off even though Cas being in unrequited love with Dean is always something that made sense to me. It was the enormity that was put on that & how much it devalued everything else about Cas. That's why it was empty pandering.
I can buy that he had romantic feelings for Dean. But for it to be such a huge part of his desires that just saying it even knowing it was unrequited & had no future was the greatest thing that could possibly happen to him?All his sacrifices & choices were just for romantic love?
I thought moment would be that he does something heroic to actively contribute to stopping Chuck & truly feeling kinship with Sam, Dean, Jack, humanity. & that knowing that would be peace enough to make him brave enough to do it even though he would immediately be taken to Empty.
But instead he got to...help get rid of the little bad they only pissed off because of a contrived situation they didn't have to be in. & his joy was not in what they all accomplished but in having defined and reworked himself for the love of someone who cannot return it.
That's really rough. I confess, this is a character I once loved but who lost my last shred of affection circa S11. So I don't care a whole lot about how much less that immediately made him. But if I was someone who cared about Castiel beyond a ship, I'd be heartbroken today.
He didn't get a hero's death. He was a plot device that got Dean out of yet another scrape, not an especially bad (she was already dying by D).He got to be thrown into worse than hell specifically for queerness. & had every other tie for 11yrs severed because it was all for love.
Give me Dean being Cas's bridge to caring for humanity & that manifesting in a romantic love as well.But to have that be the ultimate thing he wanted so bad just saying it yeeted him. I don't think it gels with his choices which were often what he thought best regardless of Dean.
I care more about how bad an end to friendship this was for Sam & Dean because they are my window to caring. I'm especially sad for Dean because it hurts like shit not to return someone you care about's love & they never got to move past, it'll forever be thing that killed Cas.
But I am saddened for fascinating character he once was &for those who were invested in him. It's been a hard season watching Sam throw so much of himself away for an unconvincing romantic love & I hope I don't have to experience him disappear into a ship like Cas did last night.
