hunenka:

The thing I probably like the most about season 12 so far is that Dean is acting a bit more unapologetic, and that he doesn’t let other people make him feel bad for something he’s
doing, saying, feeling or thinking as easily as he used to. He’s been quite pro-Dean, so to speak.

So far, we’ve seen Dean:

• answer with a very loud silence after Mary declared
  John was a “great father”, instead of agreeing to make her feel better
• openly express his pain when Mary decided to leave,
  instead of pretending he’s perfectly fine for Mary’s sake
• keep openly expressing his pain and disappointment
  over Mary leaving in the following episodes, including the next time he meets
  her
• resist Sam’s Dr. Phil attempts to make Dean deal with
  things the way Sam wants, and instead deal in his own way
• walk away from Mary to “get some fresh
  air” when he feels like he needs space, even though Mary is trying stop him
• remain pretty much unfazed by Sam’s “I’ve been doing important
  stuff and you’re playing a stupid game” lecture

It kind of makes me wonder if maybe Amara’s real gift to Dean was a little boost to his self-esteem and to his ability to set some boundaries for himself…