Hey, as someone who is a fan of the show but new to Destiel, are there any episodes you could recommend? I’ve seen you mention season 12 as a stand out season?
Hey! Ooooh exciting! Okay so for a fully rounded Destiel experience you have to watch the following:
4x01 - Obviously. Castiel’s introduction is key.
4x07 - The conversation on the park bench is another key moment
4x10 - The first time the Gay piqued my interest because Castiel’s glare at Anna when Dean kisses her is legendary
4x16 - Honestly its just hands down one of the best episodes in the entire show.
4x20 - If nothing more than for the obvious LACK of sexual tension between Dean and Jimmy Novak
4x22 - Because Cas chooses Dean.
5x04 - Just pay attention to everything Endverse!Cas does.
5x18 - “Last time someone looked at me like that, I got laid” *wink*
6x03 - “Dean and I do share a more profound bond.”
6x20 - Probably the most epic of all the Destiel episodes
7x17 - Castiel’s amnesic return is straight out of a love story.
8x02 - What happens in Purgatory stays in Purgatory
8x07 - WHAT HAPPENS IN PURGATORY STAYS IN PURGATORY
8x08 - Cas is gonna be a hunter!
8x17 - “Cas, we’re family, we need you, I need you…”
8x22 - “You don’t understand, I NEED PIE!”
8x23 - “So this is it? E.T. goes home?” (and a cupid strikes two burley macho men in love)
9x03 - Push past the gross stuff. Dean’s despair at Cas’s death is worth it.
9x06 - EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS ROMANTIC ANGSTFEST
9x09 - Human!Cas gets drunk and flirts with Dean.
9x10 - Angel’d up Cas goes on a road trip with his lover and love rival. Dean is so loved up he thinks that atrocious new coat looks good.
9x18 - Okay so Metatron carries the Destiel torch here but EVERYTHING HE SAYS IS WORTH IT
9x22 - “He’s in love… with humanity
9x23 - “You draped yourself in the flag of heaven, but it was all about saving one man.”
10x01 - “I miss him” (whilst lying naked on a plaid covered bed)
10x03 - “You look terrible” “Well you, you look good” (Seriously that end scene in Dean’s room was so intimate I DIED)
10x05 - Just - give it a chance. The Destiel is played SO differently to the W*ncest. It is clearly treated more seriously and Dean’s reaction to Sam’s joking is BRILLIANT.
10x14 - Its just a REALLY good episode okay
10x16 - Okay so don’t watch the whole episode, just go on youtube and look up Dean’s confession. It is SO revealing and watching it for the first time had me in shock. I am still pissed off that this wasn’t picked up by the mainstream as a bigger deal. He basically admitted he was bisexual and wanted to try new things with certain people.
10x20 - Dean and Cas co-parenting Claire was a delight.
10x22 - The reverse Crypt Scene with all its romantic coding and Cas pledging himself to Dean for all of eternity.
11x03 - Just for Dean wrapping Cas in a blanket and being so concerned about his boo.
(Note: Season 11 isn’t really full of actual Destiel moments, as there was a change in this season where Dean and Castiel’s story became fully ingrained in the narrative structure of the Season. Because of this they were separated the way star crossed lovers are and an active driving force was getting Castiel back. It’s worth watching the full season to pick up on this story.)
11x11 - Is a brilliant episode and well worth watching for the interactions between Dean and Casifer.
11x18 - “Cas! CAS! CAAAAS!” “CaAAaass” You MUST watch this one.
11x19 - Not for Destiel, but for the various subtextual implications of the episode. Jesse and Cesar are basically mirrors for Dean and Cas in a idealistic endgame setting. This is what we mean when we talk about potential endgame foundations being built in Dabb era.
11x22 - Purely for the fact that Amara literally locates Dean by using Cas’s heart.
12x01 - Introducing the boyfriend to the mother is always awkward :P
12x09 - For Castiel’s heartfelt speech about the Winchesters
12x10 - Just this whole episode is about Angels and Love and Dean is Castiels “human weakness”. Its just a masterpiece.
12x12 - Castiels confession. “I love you. I love all of you.” It was brilliant.
12x19 - One of the all time best Destiel episodes. The MIXTAPE, the intimate bedroom conversation, the “He took it from under my pillow” and all the implications behind THAT. The pushing against the wall, the heartbreak as Cas is brainwashed and walks away… URGH. Just its so good.
12x23 - For that “NO!” at the end and Dean falling to his knees. Yes it is SO PAINFUL but OMG it was EVERYTHING.
13x01 - One of MY all time favourite episodes. I always cry. The angst, the EMOTION. Dean’s grief is just GUTTING. He wraps Cas’s body like a widow in mourning. the way he calls Cas his everything… This episode KILLED ME a thousand times over and continues to do so every time I watch it.
13x03 - Dean snapping and screaming at Sam that he can’t get over Cas’s death is so intense that it causes Jack to reach through the veil of death and wake Cas up - thus saving the day :P
13x04 - “I have tiptoed through all your little tulips. I know what you hate, I know who you love, what you fear.”
13x05 - “It’s never too late to start all over again” the romantic turn around reveal! ARGH the romance was more intense than any other romantic film I have ever seen. If it was heterosexual I would have gagged so hard I’d have thrown up my dinner.
13x06 - CAN WE SAY BROKEBACKNATURAL? “he’s an angry sleeper. Like a bear” “I’m your Huckleberry” “It’s good to have you back Cas.”
13x14 - The whole married couple scene with Gog and Magog. Plus Castiel’s brutality towards Donatello when he tried to hurt Dean.
14x01 - “Joined at the Everything” and Cas’s determination to do anything to find Dean.
14x03 - the reunion, the sweeping romantic music specifically placed for Dean and Cas. Pfft.
14x08 - Again whilst not a Destiel episode exactly, the key component of Cas’s deal with the Empty Entity is that his happiness is tied to his doom. This is an inherently romantic story line.
14x10 - Dean’s dream world with heavily coded romantic desire especially in the song, and in Pamela. Cas appealing to Dean’s emotions compared to Sam appealing with well known code words.
14x12 - Doctor Cas! “So this is goodbye?” before Moosus Interruptus gets in the way. :P
14x14 - Dean and Cas as a united front. Always side by side like hunter husbands. the foreshadowing of the Death kiss and both of them dropping to the floor, plus the whole “maybe you’re not his type” and grumpy husband flirting.
14x15 - Just watch because the whole episode is perfect and Cas is heavily coded as queer and it just WORKS and the opening conversation is just soft husbands and co-parents Destiel PLUS the mirror fight scene to 10x22 which displays the clear difference between the two scenes. Again. Perfect episode.
The season 12/13 escalation is a must if you are looking for practically textual Destiel. The episodes listed above in those seasons (from 12x09 to 13x06) are a lesson in building Destiel for the general audience. Since then they have not quite hit the breaks, but they have come off the throttle a lot. Instead we are getting little clues and morsels of information in practically every episode which confirms that at this point:
Castiel is living in the bunker with the boys
Castiel and Dean have movie nights together
Castiel and Dean call and text each other regularly between cases (privately away from Sam and Jack and anyone else)
Castiel invites himself into Dean’s room early in the mornings (probably before Dean is even awake) to update him on his whereabouts.
Castiel knows what Dean is like first thing in the morning - having woken him up before (he’s like a bear).
These kinds of things would have been practically unheard of pre Dabb era. Dean and Cas are already basically a married couple, currently co-parenting a Nephlim (with Sam).
So a lot of people tend to moan that we aren’t seeing Dean and Cas interact as much as we used to, that the sexual tension isn’t there anymore, and all that. But I don’t see that. What I see is a progression of their relationship towards the domestic. It’s actually really lovely. When you compare fanfiction written now to fanfiction written in Season 4/5, its always practically pretty much already established married Destiel, or its very little effort to push them into romance when canon has already brought them so close.
So I’m sorry that this isn’t just a short list, but its very difficult to condense Destiel into a few episodes when it is something that has been built into the foundations of this show since season 4. Destiel has always been a part of the show.
You can’t create the greatest love story ever told in a few short episodes. This is an epic dramatic love story spanning 10 years. It’s astounding when you really step back and look at it. If you are pressed for time, at least watch the episodes in bold, but really, for a true Destiel experience, you just need to watch the show.
