The CW’s Supernatural is placed in an interesting position at present. The two main characters have become so selfish in their motives that fans have been questioning if they’re supposed to be the heroes or the villains.
One thing in particular has been the treatment of Castiel, with Dean Winchester being especially vicious toward everyone’s favorite angel. This has put things in clear context over how Dean has always perceived Castiel, and it’s also clear that Castiel’s friendship is something Dean doesn’t deserve. In order to illustrate our point, here are 10 times that Dean proved us right.
Treating Castiel As A Villain Even Though He Saved Him From Hell
Right off the bat after being rescued from Hell, Dean had no trust for Castiel and the angels even though he was well aware that Castiel had been the one to save him. Following this, Dean made it a habit to challenge anything Castiel said to him, treating him as if he were one of the bad guys.
Castiel made it clear he was just following his orders and was vocal about his displeasure at some of the things he was doing, but Dean lumped him up in with the rest of the angels as vicious beings who didn’t have a conscience.
Beating Castiel To An Inch Of His Life
When the Mark of Cain consumed Dean almost completely, he went off the edge and had no problems beating up his friends and family. This was shown in full when Dean attacked Castiel after the former had just killed a hapless boy.
Despite having the powers of an angel, Castiel refused to fight Dean, who was happy to rain down his blows to the point that Castiel was left a bloody mess. Had it not been for Castiel making one last plea, Dean would’ve driven an angel blade into Castiel to kill him.
Putting All The Blame For The Leviathans On Castiel
Crowley and Raphael would’ve gone through with their plans to take control of souls or start a new apocalypse had Castiel not done something. Unfortunately, his actions inadvertently caused the Leviathans to be brought to Earth from Purgatory.
However, there’s no doubt Castiel did stave off an apocalypse, yet Dean blamed everything that had to do with the Leviathans on him. Even though he knew Raphael and Crowley’s threat had loomed at that point, Dean solely put the blame on Castiel for making things bad and refused to accept his apology — though Castiel had no reason to say sorry to Dean.
Every Time He Treated Castiel Like A Servant
At least Sam shows some appreciation, while Dean acts as if Castiel is supposed to be at his beck and call, since their relationship pretty much came to Dean bossing Castiel around all the time. He didn’t have any respect for Castiel either, seeing as he once likened Castiel to being their pet dog in the Scoobynatural episode.
In Season 15, Dean ordered Castiel to enter Hell despite knowing that the latter would be a prime target for demons down there; Castiel wasn’t given an option in this case either. Whenever the Winchesters have needed something done, they opt to send Castiel to do their work as if he were Superman.
Telling Castiel "You're Dead To Me"
When Mary went missing near the end of Season 14, Dean found out that Castiel knew how unstable Jack was and proceeded to vent all his anger out on him. The fact of the matter was that Castiel himself knew nothing about what had happened, yet he was treated as if he’d hidden Mary’s death from Dean.
Dean didn’t give Castiel more than a few seconds to ponder this, telling him off by claiming Castiel would be dead to him should any harm had come to Mary. In reality, Castiel had done far more for Dean and had known him longer, while Mary had never been a motherly figure and had abandoned Dean at numerous points.
Abandoning Castiel For Using Purgatory
Before he let the Leviathans out, Castiel was wracked with worry over what he was about to do; he wouldn’t have gone through with it either had Dean been a friend as opposed to an aggressor. Rather than figuring out a way to stop Raphael another way, Dean branded Castiel as a traitor for working with Crowley.
It got worse when he and Sam accused Castiel of purposefully leaving Sam’s soul in Hell, even though it was the most dangerous move in the universe when Castiel somehow managed to bring Sam out of the cage. There was no appreciation for this news, and Dean instead cut off ties with Castiel, which led to the latter to go through with opening up Purgatory.
Telling A Human Castiel To Leave Without Explanation
Once all the angels had fallen from Heaven on Earth in Season 9, Castiel had a torrid time trying to locate his friends since he was now a human himself. After struggling to finally reach them, the vulnerable Castiel was glad he didn’t have to fight for his life anymore — though not where Dean was concerned.
Gadreel, pretending to be Ezekiel, had control of Sam’s body and lied to Dean that having Castiel around was a problem. Rather than care about what would happen to his friend who now needed food, sustenance, and a roof above him, Dean ordered Castiel to leave without explanation.
Trying To Make Death Kill Castiel
Remember when Soulless Sam was running around killing everybody and Dean still didn’t try to put him down? Well, the same treatment didn’t extend toward Castiel, whom Dean actively tried to have killed.
When Castiel, who had originally been trying to help people, became overwhelmed with the power the souls of Purgatory gave him, Dean bound Death and had the latter almost kill Castiel. He didn’t try to talk, reason, or appeal to Castiel in any way, and instead sicced Death on him to end the trouble, forgetting all the good Castiel had done previously.
Blaming Castiel For Mary's Death And Trying To Kill Jack
After he found out that Jack did indeed kill Mary, Dean turned his attention to trying to kill the boy even though he knew Jack didn’t have a soul and wasn’t consciously doing anything bad. Dean also knew that Castiel saw Jack as his son, but outright told Castiel that he didn’t care and would still kill Jack.
God himself revealed that everything had been a manipulation conducted by him, and yet Dean overlooked this in favor of continuing to blame Castiel for Mary’s death, despite Castiel never directly harming her at all. It’s clear Dean simply saw Castiel as a scapegoat to pin the blame on and was using him as his emotional punching bag.
Stop Caring About Castiel Entirely
Everything from wanting to kill Jack to sending Castiel on a suicidal mission to Hell to blaming Castiel for Mary’s death was because Dean simply stopped caring about Castiel. He said so as much when Castiel voiced that he’d tried to tell Dean that his powers were failing him, but Dean didn’t want to hear it.
Dean had one more chance to stop Castiel from leaving him and Sam, but did nothing. Instead, he silently agreed with Castiel’s notion that he had no more care for him and didn’t mind that Castiel left. After everything the angel did over the last eleven years, it seems all of it was for naught since Dean only ever used him.