Oh, I'd forgotten those statements to Anna and Sam, thanks! But yeah, Dean's desire not to feel was pretty explicit last season, and his hunger for death/peace/release implicit since the beginning of S2. I'm glad the explanation worked for you *clings to fanwank*

Because, absolutely, the characterization has been so inconsistent this season it's hard to know what else to do (I'd like to think that JA has given it more consistency than it would otherwise have had, but you know I have a bottomless well of goodwill towards him :))