So—Dean is refusing to torture Alistair in the beginning of "On The Head Of A Pin", right? And Uriel is telling him he has to. And you’d think that when Dean asks to speak to Cas alone, it’d be in an effort to bargain or plead (something Uriel isn’t amenable to at all and never has been) or to let Cas give him a more candid and convincing argument on how this is the right thing.
But when Dean gets Cas alone, he just wants to know why Uriel is in charge of Cas now, and then he wants to tell Cas torturing Alistair is going to bring something horrifying out of Dean. Cas doesn’t do any convincing at all. He doesn’t make any further argument for why Dean has to do this—he doesn’t tell Dean it’s for the greater good. Hell—it seems like Cas got demoted because he balked at asking Dean to do this to begin with. Cas doesn’t want Dean to do this and doesn’t try to convince him to! But the scene cuts and Dean is pushing his torture-set-on-wheels into the room where Alistair is being kept! So why? How does that interaction result in Dean suddenly deciding to do something he was refusing to do moments before???
I think it’s because Cas showed Dean sympathy.
The episode opens with Dean trying to tell Sam he’s hurting. He’s grieving Pam (they’re driving from her funeral), he feels like her death is his fault, he feels like they aren’t making any progress on saving the world—they’re just fuck ups who are going to fail.
DEAN
I'm tired of burying friends, Sam.
SAM
Look, we catch a fresh trail—
DEAN
And we follow it, I know. Like I said, I'm just—I'm just getting tired.
SAM
Well, get angry!
No sympathy from Sam. Sam wants Dean to nut up—and that's what Sam said last episode too, and it's what he said the episode before that too while under the Siren's spell.
They get into the motel and Uriel and Cas are standing there waiting for them when Dean just wanted to sleep after an awful day, and Uriel says they're needed. Dean says he just got back from needed, and Uriel tells him to mind his tone. Then of course,
CASTIEL
Dean, we know this is difficult to understand.
URIEL
And we—
URIEL gives CASTIEL a significant look.
URIEL
—don't care.
So no one is showing Dean any sympathy, right? Everyone is telling him to shut up and do what needs to be done—except Cas. Cas is sympathizing with him. And when Dean gets Cas alone?
DEAN
You ask me to open that door and walk through it, you will not like what walks back out.
CASTIEL
For what it's worth, I would give anything not to have you do this.
And that's all it takes. That's literally all it takes—is just a single shred of sympathy—someone saying that they care that Dean is in pain—that they care what this will do to him and don't wish this on him. Just someone saying that they understand and that they care is enough and Dean agrees.
Don't ever let anyone tell you Dean "needs tough love".
So I just finished season 4 and just. wow. Wilson knew that House would do the DBS if he asked him. House, who was already feeling guilty, who’s a step away from borderline suicidal on a good day. The tragedy of House spelling it out, that Wilson wants him to trade his life for hers, and getting his confirmation that he's worth less than Amber. I mean, he's known all along, but it's a different kind of hurt to have that hanging in the air in front of you instead of being shoved down into a corner of your brain. And don't even get me started on the last dream scene with fake-Amber on the bus where House is convinced Wilson's going to hate him and convinced that he deserves it, and that just fucking kills him. He very nearly dies because of it.
And. AND! If THAT wasn't enough, we get the actual last scene with Cuddy asleep, curled up bare-foot in a chair holding his hand. juxtaposed against Wilson meeting his eyes then walking away. im fuckigg devastated dont @ me