ok but like. it HAD to be sam. it always had to be sam who brought cas back in s6. like yes, from a narrative standpoint we had to see sam's forgiveness because objectively he's the one hurt the most by castiel's betrayal. he's literally sent into a coma over it 😭
but also, he's the only one capable of forgiving cas like he did and his forgiveness meaning what it did to cas. cas isn't close enough with bobby for that to have meant as much and dean can not forgive like that. it takes so much for dean to forgive and even when he does, he doesn't. not fully. he was still holding the demon blood over sam's head all the way in s8. sam is also the only one who can really empathize and understand cas's decisions because they were his decisions 2 seasons ago. it had to be sam.
cas's redemption arc in s7 required sam on such a fundamental level. When Cas said "Your pain saved me." he wasn't being hyperbolic in the slightest.
hey so we put your boyfriend in a tabletop campaign and now he has a martyr complex. yeah he got protective to the point of being self sacrificial due to his lack of self worth. we gave him a found family so he had something to live for but instead he’s just committed to being a human shield to keep them safe even if it kills him. sorry