Is Do You Believe in Miracles? similar to The End?

Not long after Do You Believe in Miracles? first aired, a fan compared the episode to The End. Specifically, this fan compared the plan to have Dean fight Metatron while Castiel and Gadreel found the angel table to 2014!Dean's plan in The End to trick his people into going to their deaths as a distraction for him going around the back to kill Lucifer. This was, to be clear, intended as a criticism of Sam, Cas, and Gadreel. That they were using a loved one much the same way future Dean in The End had used his loved ones. This fan at one point explicitly stated that this was a sign that Sam and Cas were becoming darker.

This comparison between the two episodes doesn't work for me, and I'm going to talk about why.

( I wouldn't sacrifice my friends )