So why on Earth would Dean say yes to Michael?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
=> This is all my meta on this boiled down to a gif.
Thank you to my anon for summarising a whole season’s worth of Dean is John in season 13 and Season father figures especially John 13 and Dean has to show Cas he loves him meta to this exact moment that I had totally forgotten from 8 years ago but which fits in so perfectly with all the rest of my meta on this season that I’m honestly a bit awed that A. I had forgotten about it and B. that it just shows how the meta is clearly thematically on point because well it fits perfectly and is the epitome of the meta / speculation parallel I could ask for.
Why indeed would Dean - who’s been mirroring John all season while simultaneously been emotionally open with everyone else to a new level but holding back specifically from Cas, after a decade of Dean/Cas built as romantic, an I love you from Cas to Dean last season that he felt rejected by and the long established mirror of Dean/Cas v John/Mary - say yes to Michael?
I salute you nonny.
*resurfaces* @tinkdw Yes! There was some meta/spec/chatting about that a few weeks ago, I don’t know if you saw:
(That’s one branch of the convo but there’s more good stuff in the notes.)
The John thing from 5x13 is definitely what made the light bulb go on in my head. That, and Mary’s deal with Azazel. Dean making a quote unquote “deal” with Michael to save the person he loves would tie all those threads together.
After seeing Dean’s mindset in the latest episodes, I have a greater sense that he’d be driven to save everybody, but --circling back to the start of the season -- I think Cas’ safety would be the straw that broke the camel’s back.