To me, both were.. meeh... But then, I feel like this almost the whole season.
I hate the wiped minds, because, as you say, it's not something that will protect them. More, it will endanger them, as now they are unaware of the risks. To me it was a way for the writers get rid of that storyline. Completely. Reset button and let's forget that it happen.
And I love Castiel as character, but he was badly abused this season. I can see how he could have get a great storyline with exactly the one he was gave. Except, it was more like an hiccup, jumping here and there, but with no real consistency.
*sigh*
As a matter of fact, none of them had great stories to tell this year. So... no, I didn't hate it. But I didn't like it, either.