This is my blog, and I’m going to just say a little thing about Destiel because I want to, and I can. Especially because this is the least amount of queerbaiting we’ve ever seen in this show thus far. Why? Because there’s a lot of nuance for those of us who grew up in the Mix Tape Generation, and to us, there’s absolutely no way to misinterpret this scene.
Here’s why I liked it, and found it so wonderful.
There was no reason for this scene. None. It did not play to the overall narrative of the episode, or even, the show in general, which is how a lot of the queerbaiting on the show is done. And you can go ahead and say that it’s just showing that Dean thinks Castiel is a part of the family now and that’s how he’s showing it, but Dean doesn’t make mix tapes for Sam. Or anyone that we know of. It was a small scene. Castiel means to return the tape and Dean gives it back. He says, “it’s a gift. You keep those.”
Now, this is a significant scene for being so brief.
Dean Winchester was born January 24, 1979. Which makes him about my age. And here’s what I remember about people giving other people mix tapes:
You gave your crush a mix tape to say your feelings and hopefully end up macking in the janitor’s closet after fourth period in middle/high school.
If you weren’t making that mix tape for yourself, you were making it for your crush.
Also, the most meaningful band in existence to Dean Winchester, born January 24, 1979 is Led Zeppelin.
So. He didn’t just make a mix tape to give to Castiel. He made a mix tape of HIS favorite music to give to Castiel. That’s Level 2 flirting through mix tape sociology. And we already know how much Dean treasures his music. How meaningful it is to him. One of the most popular lines from the show, to this day, is: “driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole.”
This small, insignificant scene is probably lost on the younger viewers who didn’t grow up in a mix tape generation, but let me say this: for any of us who were born circa January 24, 1979, knows that this small, insignificant scene is anything but.
Mix tapes had power.
Mix tapes had significance.
Mix tapes were confessions.
I’m going to be screaming about this for at least five years.
But wait, I have more to say.
Giving a mix tape back means one of two things.
1) I don’t like you. 2) Basically the equivalent of giving back a promise ring.
We all know that Cas likes Dean. Loves him, according to his own words a few episodes back. So that nixes number 1 on the list. So that leaves 2. Why would he be giving back a promise ring? Because he thinks he’s pissed Dean off too much for him to want to stay together.
Then Dean insists he keep it. If Dean wanted to break up, he would have accepted it back. But nope. Don’t give back the promise ring, Cas. This argument is not the end of us. I still care about you. Keep it. It’s a gift.
I posit that Castiel didn’t even know the real significance of it, being an angel. He thought Dean was giving him something to be entertained by. Dean didn’t tell him it was a gift until Castiel tried to return it! Which is so very Dean being allergic to his feelings until he can’t be anymore. He’s not going to openly flirt with Cas or give him a line like he does the women he sleeps with because Cas means something to him. And he realizes that Castiel won’t understand the significance of a “confession” like a mix tape. Dean could play it off with fear of rejection if it was that. But it means something to DEAN. And Castiel starts to understand that the second he took it back!
Yeah I don’t think Cas understood what he was doing. But those of us in the Mix Tape Generation totally understood what the symbolism was. And Dean clarified to Castiel that gifts are meant to be kept.
How else am I, a child of the Mix Tape Generation, supposed to interpret that other than Dean saying I GAVE YOU MY HEART, CAS, YOU CAN’T JUST GIVE IT BACK DAMMIT.
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