This is such a lovely meta. You framed the context for distance between Cas and Dean so well.
Because Dean refuses to treat life as a game. He refused to accept it from Zachariah, and he refuses to accept it from Cas as well. For Dean, it trivializes what they do, the sacrifices they've made.
This made me think of The Real Ghostbusters, too, and Dean's general reaction to the "gospel" of the Winchesters. Seeing life as a game couldn't be more opposite of how Dean approaches life.
In the car on the way to the cabin, Cas draws attention to it, asking him why he's angry, and Dean quickly reels his emotions in.
This was a beautiful point. And how he pulls back again shows how he assumes the parental role in being the adult, trying to be patient and responsible and to keep them all on track while allowing his "kids" to have their time and space to be hurting, resting, recovering, etc. He never allows himself that space, and circumstances keep perpetuating that cycle.
He so needs someone to lean on, but although the other characters are still present in his life, the support of their presence has been altered or stripped away so that they seem to be all leaning in on him rather than helping to form a solid, enduring structure with four grounded points.
(p.s. I hope you don't mind me dropping by? I started to write a very long post in response to your comment, because your question made me want to analyze myself honestly and answer why I continue to watch the show. Anyway, I hope you don't mind. That answer has gotten so long it will probably be its own post. Thank you for making me think critically and honestly about all of this. <333)
Because Dean refuses to treat life as a game. He refused to accept it from Zachariah, and he refuses to accept it from Cas as well. For Dean, it trivializes what they do, the sacrifices they've made.
This made me think of The Real Ghostbusters, too, and Dean's general reaction to the "gospel" of the Winchesters. Seeing life as a game couldn't be more opposite of how Dean approaches life.
In the car on the way to the cabin, Cas draws attention to it, asking him why he's angry, and Dean quickly reels his emotions in.
This was a beautiful point. And how he pulls back again shows how he assumes the parental role in being the adult, trying to be patient and responsible and to keep them all on track while allowing his "kids" to have their time and space to be hurting, resting, recovering, etc. He never allows himself that space, and circumstances keep perpetuating that cycle.
He so needs someone to lean on, but although the other characters are still present in his life, the support of their presence has been altered or stripped away so that they seem to be all leaning in on him rather than helping to form a solid, enduring structure with four grounded points.
(p.s. I hope you don't mind me dropping by? I started to write a very long post in response to your comment, because your question made me want to analyze myself honestly and answer why I continue to watch the show. Anyway, I hope you don't mind. That answer has gotten so long it will probably be its own post. Thank you for making me think critically and honestly about all of this. <333)
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I'd be very interested to see what your post has to say, if you choose to post it! Let me know when you do!
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