#is really

The other thing is, I don't think it's sad that Dean finds fulfillment in hunting. Even with the injuries and near death experiences. We might wish peace for him because it's what we want for ourselves, but Dean as a character thrives on the whole saving people, hunting things thing. He's sort of like a firefighter. Saving people while fighting an unpredictable opponent and risking his health and safety for it. He has an incredibly rewarding and important job. He saves lives, he saved the world. He's good at it and he enjoys it. We see this in the show and he tells us, all the time. Yes, he has moments of doubt and when he's tired but that's always related to bigger oppressive apocalyptic shit. But the regular hunts, he thrives on those. The amount of time shit is hitting the fan and he wants to work, do regular stuff, get his mind off things, get a win, that's where he's happy. And Dean kind of did the retirement thing. Hunting wasn't all he knew. He spent a year with Lisa. And arguably he loved both her and Ben. He knows what it's like and given the choice, he doesn't want it. And yeah, it wasn't with Sam. One could argue I guess that if Sam wanted to retire, Dean might go along. But neither of them want it (and they could have retired easily after 15.19) so why would we want it for them? And I don't think that's sad. I know that for many people family, marriage, etc is the ultimate happiness but one show doesn't fit all. Sam and Dean were happy with each other. They were happy with their lives so while we would not have been happy with a life like that, I think within their story and within their universe, they led good, rewarding lives. And besides the apocalyptic shit, happy lives.