The archangel?
this gifset always hurts me. It’s the first time in the series that we see our trickster powerless, and that really forces him to be who he really is. Gig’s up and secrets are out, and without that trickster image to hide behind, we see an important part of what he’s really like. It’s not all murders and games, it’s… this. It’s an archangel past he’s been trying to escape, and it’s a lot of emotion. Dean was right- he’s personally involved, and he cares because of it. Gabriel might say the hiding and the false names are to protect him from his family, but I’m convinced it’s at least partially otherwise. It’s to protect him from caring about his family. And that’s all over when he tells them his real name.