Just a random thought...
I'm sitting here working on my spn_j2_bigbang, and it suddenly occurs to me...
Okay, first, the episode Faith is like S3 in miniature, in that Dean is dying, with Sam trying desperately to save him. Dean is saved when someone else is taken in his place.
In Mystery Spot, the Trickster tries to get Sam to agree to sacrifice a stranger in order to bring back Dean. Sam agrees (or seems to), then kills "Bobby" without being sure what will happen next, or even if it really is the Trickster in disguise.
Which kind of makes me wonder if the way to get Dean out of his contract is to offer up a soul in his place. The Trickster was very clear about the result of the W. family's continual self-sacrifice: blood and death and taxes suffering. In other words, there will be serious consequences to any solution they find.
It would also be a good route to take, mytharc-wise, because such a decision would make Sam choose between good and evil in a very clear-cut way. This could provide a way for Sam to go darkside--or not. It seems like a natural way to go, given the theme of the series (How far would you go for your brother/son/father?) And Sam seems scarily okay with offing virgins for the greater good, which might be another foreshadowing for the substitute soul possibility.
Thoughts?
Also, who would Sam pick to sacrifice? My money's on Ruby.
Okay, first, the episode Faith is like S3 in miniature, in that Dean is dying, with Sam trying desperately to save him. Dean is saved when someone else is taken in his place.
In Mystery Spot, the Trickster tries to get Sam to agree to sacrifice a stranger in order to bring back Dean. Sam agrees (or seems to), then kills "Bobby" without being sure what will happen next, or even if it really is the Trickster in disguise.
Which kind of makes me wonder if the way to get Dean out of his contract is to offer up a soul in his place. The Trickster was very clear about the result of the W. family's continual self-sacrifice: blood and death and taxes suffering. In other words, there will be serious consequences to any solution they find.
It would also be a good route to take, mytharc-wise, because such a decision would make Sam choose between good and evil in a very clear-cut way. This could provide a way for Sam to go darkside--or not. It seems like a natural way to go, given the theme of the series (How far would you go for your brother/son/father?) And Sam seems scarily okay with offing virgins for the greater good, which might be another foreshadowing for the substitute soul possibility.
Thoughts?
Also, who would Sam pick to sacrifice? My money's on Ruby.