Deep down, I think AU Michael wanted Jack by his side.
Having an enemy like Jack was probably the most direction he’d felt in ages. It gave his aimless war structure... like a sense of pseudo-purpose.
It was a balm against all that nihilism, if only because Jack was something concrete to strive against.
AU Michael’s nihilism is his outward response to grief. It grew out of God abandoning him, and because killing Lucifer was a sacrifice that meant nothing in the end.
But what makes it so compelling is that Michael's secret, inward wound seems to be a deep loneliness, a hunger for companionship. And that comes out... in his interactions with Jack.
In 14x01, Michael tests the people around him with the question, "What do you want?" If their wants are predictable and manageable, they’re easier to keep at an emotional arm’s length. (Easier NOT to be disappointed by.)
(SEE: This is also a Chuck and Amara theme. ALSO SEE: Metatron and Chuck in Don't Call Me Shurley.)
Humans are too lost / too complicated / too real (SEE: Michael does VERY badly with contradictions and nuance):
Angels-"soldiers" are too armored / too homesick / too wound up waving the flags of things they don't care about to cover up all the things they care about TOO MUCH.
AU Michael doesn't want people that are attached to the idea of home, a family (i.e. people who are traditionally more like Dean or Cas)
AU Michael thinks he wants people who are fully committed to his cause—people who don’t care about redemption, who aren’t trying to fix their families or make peace with their pasts, and who don’t want to save the world….
He believes that makes them strong. But really, this is a companion who just wants to be supported. Not challenged. (Not lived with, through all of life's disappointments and complexities.)
It works for missions because:
It's (poughkeepsie) "Pure" and "Simple."
Because here's. The thing.
Despite Michael's modus operandi being revealed as NIHILISM...
And despite him wanting to be surrounded with all these loyal companions...
…what he wants REALLY wants is the complicated mess of FAMILY.
The one thing he never honestly asks himself... is what what he HIMSELF wants deep down.
(SPOILER: it's not as simple as destruction and revenge...)
In a very Sam-coded fashion, I think Michael's disdain is a mirror.
I think what he hates in humans and angels is what he hates in himself. Like humans, he doesn’t really know what he wants beyond nihilism and revenge on his father. He's lost, too.
And though he’d never admit it, like angel-soldiers, he’s homesick.
But… he can never go home, because he destroyed his home…
If what AU Michael really longs for is family—it becomes clear why he’s so fixated on Jack…
…and why he’s so cruel to Jack...
Michael is being "sarcastic" here, but he's ALSO revealing his hand.
He’s actually totally transparent about it, in the way only someone deeply in denial can be.
When Jack says, “No. I hate you,” it vexes Michael, even if he won't admit it.
Make no mistake, Michael’s following lecture about power is a secret appeal to Jack.
“You'll see it all... with me,” is the hand showing itself again... and why Michael REALLY wanted to kidnap Jack.
It's why Michael can't help but pivot next to the ones he's actually jealous of: Cas, Sam, Dean.
And Jack's faith in them... is also vexing.
14x09 (via @spnscripthunt-inactive)
"A moment of familial weakness," Michael later admits.
He's bragging about his superiority to the humans / Cas because it irritates him that Jack is more loyal to THEM than he is to Michael.
And of course, there's the elephant in the room: The most painful thing in the universe for AU Michael to face WOULD OF COURSE be a father that loves a son. A family that loves and is loyal to each other despite all the complexities, negativities, and imperfections.
And it's why he gets so vicious with Jack, too, in the next scene:
(It's why this -> "They don't love you.")
WHICH IS OF COURSE AU MICHAEL CODE FOR:
"Despite all my bluster and my nihilism, it upsets me you don't want ME as your family."
(A) I'm going to pretend that I never kidnapped you and wanted to be your family in the first place
(B) family is a JOB anyway it doesn't matter... Lucifer was an obligation that I do NOT MISS... NOPE NOTHING TO SEE HERE
(C) Actually, now that I think about it, I really want to hurt you for not picking ME, Jack
Jack was the first thing in a long time... that gave AU Michael's endless nightmare life some meaning.
