(2/2) that this influence could extend to making him more comfortable with his own possible non-heterosexuality. The out-and-proud gay mentor of sorts is a tried and tested trope, after all! He loves Charlie, and seeing this aspect of himself reflected in her might very well make him more comfortable with it. Just a thought!
So I just accidentally deleted the first half of your ask, gah. I'm sorry. You had said that I'd made a mistake when I said in my meta that Dean quoted Charlie's "I love you"/"I know" exchange without ever hearing her say it, and you were right! It was my mistake. He'd overheard her using it in the fight scene in 8x11. And you said that that might actually reinforce my argument, since it could show Dean letting Charlie and her habits positively influence him. Is that about right?
So, to actually answer you... Yes! I really like your idea--it's clear that knowing Charlie helps Dean feel more comfortable with his nerdy side, at least... and I think the show has presented her as a kind of role model for him wrt their family situations too, showing her letting go of the idea that she has to be her mother's savior/protector, and how well that worked out for her in terms of her happiness level when we see her next. Not that Dean followed in her footsteps there, obviously. (Yet?) So yeah, her friendship helping him deal with his sexuality as well--it makes a lot of sense. It would fit with other things we've seen. Good point.
