Here's Why TheySilencedYou Was Trending on Twitter

Major Supernatural spoilers below

Recently the 15th season of The CW’s Supernatural has ended with a devastating ending for all Destiel shippers. What is Destiel? Destiel refers to the popular ship among Supernatural fans, between Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles), and his angel best friend; Castiel (Misha Collins).

You may have seen it trending on Twitter for the past weeks as it has become canon and not canon multiple times throughout the seasons (Canon meaning true and represented in the actual show). #TheySilencedYou (or them) has been trending on the social media app Twitter for weeks due to this. It is referred to as such because The CW “silenced” them from expressing love towards one another and denied Queer teens of representation of their sexual orientation on TV.

So, Is Destiel Really Canon?

As a writer, I would say yes; many fans input what they see into the fandom through many social media sites and software.

Many of these fans saw themselves in Dean Winchester and could relate to him highly. A man forced to abide by society’s standards of ’what a man should be.’ This goes deeper into toxic masculinity. The further you watch the series after Dean’s father’s death, the more you see his character development.

For example, in the episode Bedtime Stories (03x5), Sam has all the fairytales memorized, and Dean responds with, “could you be any more gay?” This goes in much contrast to later on, when you see him quoting Elsa, and admitting his love for Dory. The more Dean was separated from his father following his death, the more he started embracing himself. Being around Charlie (a canon lesbian character) has changed him into accepting what may be seen as “not normal,” and embracing his attraction to both genders.

Young fans have seen Dean embrace who he is, and break the barrier that was created by his sexuality not becoming canon. Why did the CW take that away from them?

Dean had believed his entire life he was a killer, and he has expressed his desire to kill Chuck (season 15 villain). What stopped him from killing Chuck? Castiel’s speech in episode 15x18.

Castiel’s impact on Dean’s character can not go unnoticed. Many characters like Metatron (another angel) notice how deeply in love those two are. He says: “you did this all to save one human...he is in love,” to Castiel.

Meg (a demon) refers to Castiel as Dean’s boyfriend many times throughout season seven. One could argue this is fan service, and that is likely true. The CW was willing to gaslight their fans for years, and not making them canon at the end is yet another reason #TheySilencedYou is trending.

One could not deny their trope is the fallen angel falling for a human: right?

A representation of Ace Character

Asexuality is defined as the following in the dictionary, “Asexuality describes a lack of sexual attraction. Asexual people may experience romantic attraction, but they do not feel the urge to act on these feelings sexually. Asexuality is a sexual orientation, like being gay or straight.

It is different from celibacy or abstinence.” Many fans saw Castiel as an Asexual character, and I agree. Has Castiel had sex before? Asexuals can have sex, but do not feel sexual attraction.

That’s it: that’s the definition. Throughout the seasons, Castiel had not shown sexual attraction towards anyone. Asexuality has rarely been represented in media, and the CW decided to waste a chance to represent a bisexual and ace character in love.

“Bury Your Gays.”

After a long love confession, Castiel is taken to the empty - which is basically mega [censored]. Many fans viewed that as all LGBTQ+ are condemned to die or go to [censored]. They followed the “bury your gays” trope.

The writer deems LGBTQ+ characters are to be buried, and not express their love. Two episodes later, Dean Winchester dies: why? He was beginning to question his sexuality.

In response, many viewers took to Twitter and Tiktok to show their disappointment. They unfollowed The CW, and many more blocked them. (I personally blocked them).

Here is my analysis of Castiels speech in 15x18: “Something I want, I know, I can’t have… I love you, Dean.” Why could Castiel not simply tell Dean he fell in love with him? He spent years observing humans, and their behaviors, and learned humanity from the Winchester brothers. He knows homosexuality is not accepted.

Castiel is an angel, so he does not have a gender. He chooses to present himself in a male vessel. If Castiel had possessed a female vessel, Destiel would have gone canon in season four.

Castiel proceeds to tell Dean he loves him, and that he learned to care because of Dean. This could be taken as a platonic confession; I will link below a series of videos made by fans to prove this point.

Castiel is brought back to life by Jack, as it is mentioned in 15x20, but he never appears on the screen. The CW proceeded to say it’s due to COVID-19 restrictions. Why was there a scene of the whole cast with no masks and social distancing then? This is not a matter of social distancing, but a matter of leaving Castiel out.

Spanish Dub

The Spanish community has to wait for the episode to be translated to watch it. A mistake occurred. Dean says, "Y yo a ti (And I you)” in response to Castiel’s confession of love.

Many thought it was a mistake on part of the miscommunication. The voice actor went on a live stream a few days ago and stated, “it only made sense for Dean to say it back. It fits into their love story.”

Canon or not, it is too late now to argue over that. The show is done, case closed. What matters here is how The CW decided to address this, they haven’t posted an apology to this day.

This company decided to kill off every Queer character in SPN, and deny fans representation. Continue boycotting The CW. Support fanfiction writers and artists as they express their love for this couple.

You do not have to agree with my message in this article, but you have to accept that representation of minorities is vital on our tv screens. Destiel may have been a mistake on the behalf of writers, but many saw themselves in these characters. Only a monster can deny them of their representation.

Do not support The CW is the bottom line. Below I will link a fundraiser project for Castiel, please donate!