Supernatural: Spanish Translation Adds a New Twist to Dean and Castiel's Final Scene

Supernatural might have aired its series finale this past week, but the discourse surrounding the [...]

By Jenna Anderson

Supernatural might have aired its series finale this past week, but the discourse surrounding the hit The CW series is far from slowing down. Fans are still dissecting - or voicing their disdain with - some key moments in the series' final stretch of episodes, especially the final scene between Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) and Castiel (Misha Collins). The moment, which occurred in the third-to-last episode of the series titled "Despair", has been at the center of some controversy and discourse since it aired at the beginning of the month -- and it looks like the official Spanish translation of the scene is only adding fuel to the fire. The Spanish dub of "Despair", which aired on the Warner Channel weeks after debuting in the U.S., completely changes the context of the scene, particularly when it comes to Castiel finally confessing his love for Dean. In the English scene, Dean responds to the "I love you" with "Don't do this, Cas", but his response in the Spanish iteration is "Y yo a ti", which translates to "And I you."

This translation adds a whole new wrinkle to the scene, as Dean didn't overtly reciprocate Castiel's romantic declaration in the English version of the scene -- something that fans had issues with when the episode originally aired. While the English scene was the closest fans have ever gotten to "Destiel" - the fan-favorite romantic pairing of Dean and Castiel - becoming canon on the series, the way it unfolded was met with some backlash. Not only was Dean's initial response met with dozens of different interpretations (as opposed to overtly confirming or denying how he feels about Castiel), but Castiel was killed and thrown into Hell just moments after confessing his romantic feelings for Dean. The moment was seen by some fans as a borderline-comical showcase of the "bury your gays" trope, in which a queer character is punished or killed off shortly after confirming their sexuality.

While the Spanish translation of the scene definitely doesn't fix the problems Supernatural fans have with it, it does open up a whole other can of worms. Not only does it highlight the narrative shortcomings of Dean's response to Castiel being (literally) open for interpretation, but the Spanish translation could make Dean's fate a few episodes later even more problematic.

What do you think of the controversy surrounding the Spanish translation of Supernatural's last Destiel scene? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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