Explaining the Destiel Confession meme
The Destiel Confession meme is an exploitable meme derived from a pivotal moment between Castiel and Dean Winchester in the TV show Supernatural. 'Destiel' is a portmanteau of the two character's names, a common fixture of stan culture when it comes to pop culture couples and relationships.
Meme basics:
- Meme Creator: @surgeon-of-mugiwara-ya/ Tumblr
- Meme Type: Exploitable
- First Appearance: January 2021
- Origin Source: Tumblr
- Peak Popularity:
Origin
The Destiel moment comes from the series finale of the long-running show, titled Despair. The episode aired on Nov. 5, 2020, and features a scene between Castiel and Dean Winchester in which Castiel says an emotional goodbye to Winchester before he is taken to hell. He stops to plainly but emotionally profess his love to Castiel.
Cultural context
The moment was a major win and what fans of Destiel were waiting for. The pair were shipped as a romantic couple by die-hards for over 15 seasons. While there were strong arguments for the fact they were meant to be, the show just never went there...until it did.
People questioned whether the meaning was platonic or romantic. The emotional tone of the scene was what made the difference for viewers—including ones who weren't mixed up in the fandom's shipping. While many moments made Supernatural fans believe, this one cemented it. Making the love between them canon was an emotional revelation and a moment that's revised online many times.
Misha Collins, who plays Castiel, also confirmed the romantic intent to be true. In a live stream that took place in late 2020 and was shared on X, he explained what the Destiel Confession meant:
"Castiel tells Dean he loves him and like basically makes Destiel canon. Fans are kind of freaking out over that. And then to complicate matters, he dies right after that. So Castiel makes this homosexual declaration of love, which is amazing that that happens, and then he dies right after, which plays into a timeless Hollywood trope of kill the gays," Collins said, adding, "We give and then we take away."
Spread
The Destiel meme first appeared online as fans dissected the episode the very next day. Tumblr user @surgeon-of-mugiwara-ya who was the first to capture how some of the fandom felt.
While some variations of the Destiel Confession meme speak to the emotional intensity of the moment, others poke fun at it. For example, some versions of this meme refer to a news event or a random fact in response to the emotional confession.
Popularity
The Supernatural fandom continues to celebrate the show for all it gave in its 300+ episodes over 15 years. They love an anniversary. This meme is among those that go viral on the anniversary of the episode airing.
The Destiel Confession gets particular attention because it was trending on Twitter during its original airing along with news about Vladimir Putin and the results of the 2020 election, making for a crazy and newsy night on the platform, a favorite gathering place of the Supernatural fandom.
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