My Timeline of When I Think Castiel Fell in Love with Dean Winchester and When I Think Dean Started to Feel the Same Plus Dean's Love Languages and Dean and Castiel's Numerology
*This is just my own interpretation and theory of when and how I think it happened. You can agree with my assessment, or not, but please be respectful in the comments. Also I discovered Dean's love languages that proves he loved Cas and also how they're connected through the number 9 in Numerology! Anyways, I hope y'all like this cause it took me several hours to compile all this stuff!
So @mishacollins was once asked when he thinks Cas realized he was in love with Dean. I don't know if he misunderstood the question or didn't hear it properly, but he kind of gave a roundabout answer. This is the clip of him being asked.
#shorts #spn #supernatural #jaredpadalecki #jensenackles #series #funny #marksheppard #crowley #mishacollins #castiel #deanwinchester #samw
This is my theory of when I think it happened.
4x22 is the episode I believe that Cas has completely fallen in love with Dean. 🥰💙💚
I recently read an article about why angels were forbidden from touching human skin. It causes them to catch feelings. So, it explains why after being on Earth for several eons that Cas fell in love with Dean. He was the first human he'd ever touched. Though it didn't happen overnight. Over the course of S4 you can see it developing.
Why Heaven Forbade Angels from Touching Human Skin
This is my timeline: 4x1-4x3 is his "crush" phase. You can see Cas has a bit of a fascination with Dean by the way he looks at him when he's reading him. And he literally walked through fire to be with Dean! What a way to start the most epic love story ever! 🥵🥴🫠 And the way Cas touches Dean as he though he's trying to comfort him after witnessing what happened to his parents in 4x3 even though he's an angel and doesn't understand empathy or sympathy. (Couldn't find a clip of that scene. If anyone does find it, let me know and I'll edit it to add it.)
4x7 is when Dean makes him smile for the first time…maybe even the first time he's ever smiled in his whole life. And he trusts Dean with a huge secret! Something that if the other angels got wind of it could either get him expelled or killed. He's having doubts!
4x10 This is the episode where Uriel reveals that Cas "likes" Dean. So even others know of Cas' feelings...maybe even before Cas knows of them himself. When Cas sees Anna kiss Dean he casts his eyes down. This can be interpreted as either guilt and/or jealousy. Guilt for the angels making Dean choose between Anna and Sam. Or it could be guilt for having feelings for a man cause of what the bible says about homosexuality. And jealousy cause Cas wanted to be the one to kiss Dean, not Anna.
4x16 Cas has been demoted cause the other angels feel that he's gotten too close to Dean. And he tells Dean that he'd give anything for him to not have to torture Alastair.
4x18 When Cas is giving Dean the subtle hint of how to use Chuck to end Lilith he's kind of flirty (at least that's my take on that scene).
4x20 Cas risked everything to warn Dean what the angels' true plan was. This is where I feel that Cas was really starting to fall in love with Dean. I feel like he wouldn't risk his life to tell Dean this info unless he'd started actually falling in love with him. And he was really scared and nervous in the dream scene. And shortly after the angels captured him (possibly tortured him) to try to rid him of these feelings. Cause when he returns he is so cold towards Dean where he wasn't before.
4x21 Whenever Cas had to be around Dean he looked so sad…like he was heartbroken or heartsick cause of whatever the angels did to him to try to rid him of his feelings for Dean. Normally when Dean would call him, he'd come to him immediately. This time it took two hours cause it just hurt too much to be near Dean. And I might be imagining it, but when he looks at Dean near the end it seems to me like there's a shimmer to his eyes, like he's on the verge of tears.
4x22 When Dean gave his "some things are worth dying for" speech and Cas realized he was about to lose Dean forever is when I feel Cas fell completely in love with him. (Apparently there's a 10 video limit, so the rest will be in link form.) Dean Confronts Castiel Castiel Resolves to Help Dean
Next is Dean's timeline of when I think he started to fall in love with Cas. This doesn't mean I think Dean wanted to have sex with Cas or that Dean is anything but straight, but there is a sexuality called biromantic heterosexual. Basically it's when someone straight has romantic feelings for someone of the same gender, just not the desire to have sex. They might get affectionate (flirting, hugging, kissing, cuddling, go out on dates etc.), but that's as far as they take it.
I think the "spark" that started Dean was in 4x22 when Cas told Chuck that they were "making it up as we go" in reference to Chuck telling them they're not supposed to be in the story. The look on Dean’s face seems to me of adoration cause before in 4x18 Cas told him Chuck’s stories couldn’t be changed. So he started realizing that Cas loved him so much he was willing to risk his life to help him.
And all throughout S5 and S6 there were certainly quite a few times where Dean would flirt with Cas or there’d be sexual tension between them. Like in 5x3. Which wasn't just about how close Cas was standing to him, but cause Cas' ability to read his mind (which he was clearly doing here) made Dean uncomfortable. But he also looked like he wanted to kiss him.
In 5x14 I have a theory about both Cupid's and Famine's powers working on Dean. Cupid's is why Dean is so flirty and awkward with Cas.
Famine's power is why when Cas goes into the diner to get his ring, Dean doesn't wait very long to go in after him. The thing Dean was "hungry" for is Cas and without Cas there, Dean was "starving". He was really flirty with Cas in 5x18 too.
In S6 I feel like with everything that was going on with Sam, Dean wasn't too focused on anything close to romantic feelings for Cas, except for when Dean, Sam, and Bobby trapped him to confront him. To me Dean acted like someone who'd just caught his boyfriend cheating with someone else. Dean Confronts Castiel 6x20 (If you want my interpretation on how Dean's feelings for Cas shifted during this episode, check that out here.)
It wasn’t till S7 that I feel like when Dean had really lost him for the first time when the Leviathans killed him is when I think he realized just how much he loved Cas. He carried Cas’ coat everywhere he went (either he was hoping to see Cas’ spirit or essence since angels don’t have souls, or that someday Cas would be resurrected like the first two times he’d died and he could return it to him). And Dean was so depressed over losing Cas that he didn’t really care if he lived or not. He also starts drinking more than usual trying to numb the pain...which of course doesn't work. And when Cas finally did resurface, Dean was so overjoyed…only to have his heart broken again when he realized Cas had lost all the memories they’d shared.
The look on Dean's face in this first gif to me looks like he's heartbroken. And the second is of someone who's in love. And I think the reason Dean didn’t tell Cas that he loved him at the end is that he had such a low opinion of himself that he didn’t think anyone could love him like that so he was in shock when Cas gave his goodbye speech. And there was so much Dean wanted to say, but couldn’t cause there just wasn’t time. So in the next episode when he got that call from “Cas” and he thought he’d come back to him it‘s why he bounded up those stairs cause he thought he was finally gonna get his chance to say all he’d wanted to, but couldn’t. Only Lucifer was there instead and broke Dean's heart all over again! 😭💔 I do believe that Dean and Cas did eventually reunite in Heaven once he'd finished visiting with his friends and family. And he got to say what he wanted to. Lucifer Returns to Trick Dean The lore of Lucifer on the show by the way is that he uses people's dead lovers to trick them into letting him in. He used Nick's dead wife to trick him into becoming a vessel and he tried to do the same when he disguised himself as Sam's dead girlfriend Jess. Therefore him pretending to be Cas in order to trick Dean into opening the door to the bunker so he could come inside proves that Cas and Dean are lovers. Lovers don't have to be sexual partners, just two people who have a deep "profound bond" as they have.
Next is Dean's Love Languages: Dean had several love languages to express his love for Cas without actually saying the words "I love you". 🥰🩵💚
Physical Touch [hugging…there were only seven of them (which you can see here https://youtu.be/k1bijKMbVgE), but each one meant something special to Dean.] (Their first and last hugs were in Purgatory by the way.)
Acts of Service [being protective of Cas (all the times he went looking for Cas when he knew (or sensed) he was in trouble and both times refusing to leave Purgatory without him even if it meant he'd be stuck there too), giving him gifts (his amulet and the Zeppelin Mixtape), making him food...even if he never ate it (or eating Cas' favorite PB&J when he was missing him after he'd died yet again), being emotionally vulnerable with him and also listening when Cas was upset about something...like when he expressed that he might kill himself if he saw what he did to Heaven.]
Castiel to Dean "I'll Watch Over You" 8x8
What's beautiful about that scene is Cas clearly needs to talk about what's going on with him, but isn't ready, so he goes rifling through Dean's things to take his mind off it. And instead of Dean getting angry, he's patient with him. Until Cas snaps at him. Then Dean stops what he's doing to go give Cas his full attention so that Cas can talk about what's bothering him. Quality Time [having movie nights in a secret room just for the two of them, dressing Cas up (like he did in Tombstone) or fixing his shirt and tie (like he did in 5x3).]
Words of Affirmation [all the times he told Cas he needed him or when he prayed to or for him.]
I Need You, Cas 8x17 Every Time Dean Prayed To/For Castiel
Finally we come to the Numerology part. The number 9 in Numerology means Universal Love and also beginning/ending. One day I was watching this compilation of Dean's Prayer and Cas' Confession and it dawned on me that both episodes are associated with the number 9 (15x9 and 15x18)! Also the combination of those two things adds up to 9m15s! I thought that was cool! Then I remembered that Castiel showed up on 9/18/08! And also that Dean was born in 79, so Cas showed up in Dean's life 29 years after he was born! 🤯
Every bit of Dean's apology prayer was full of unspoken "I love you"s. And has just as much energy to it as Cas' confession does.
Bonus: 101 Reasons to Love Dean and Castiel
Thinking about what Jensen said about how he didn't play Dean as being romantically in love with Castiel, I think he might be at least partially correct. I think Dean wanted more, but believed he didn't deserve more. Like Castiel said to him at the end Dean believed himself to be broken and destructive, so that probably made him feel like he was unworthy loving someone and of being loved in return. But when Castiel told him that everything; the good and the bad he did out of love, I believe something shifted in him that made him feel like he did deserve more and wanted more from Castiel...especially after Castiel told him "I love you", but by then it was too late to express how he truly felt. And when for a split second he'd thought his beloved Castiel had returned to him, I feel like he was gonna say everything he'd always wanted to tell Castiel, but felt like he couldn't which is why he bounded up those stairs. And I believe once they'd reunited in Heaven that Dean finally did get his chance to do just that.
What their relationship is called is a platonic romance.
"Platonic Romance: Deep, affectionate relationships that lack sexual or conventional romantic attraction, but are highly intimate and emotionally passionate."
They're platonic lovers too.
"Platonic lovers (often referred to as platonic soulmates) are two people who share a profoundly deep, committed, and highly intimate emotional bond that is completely free of sexual or traditional romantic involvement."
Core Characteristics:
Platonic love shares the same emotional weight and dedication as romantic love, but operates with different boundaries. Key traits include:
Unbreakable Mental Intimacy: Deep emotional understanding where you feel safe being completely vulnerable and your truest self.
No Sexual Desire: The bond is rooted purely in spiritual, emotional, and intellectual connection without overt physical intimacy.
Life Partner Status: Platonic friends often serve as each other's primary support system, acting as "life partners" who navigate life's milestones together.
Acceptance Without Expectation: Relationships free of the transactional pressures or heavy emotional entanglements that can sometimes accompany romance.
