Supernatural - Season 10 Theorycrafting

I have watched and rewatched Supernatural seasons 1-8 multiple times, and starting into season 9 again just for the sake of continuity (transation: I'm really just a masochist, and just about every other show I'm into is on hiatus). I was thinking today about the potential storyline for season 10, which is very obviously going to be centered on Dean's predicament. There are many directions they could go with the story at this point, and they very easily could "jump the shark" at any given moment. Let's look at the storyline from the beginning:

• Season 1 - Sam and Dean try to find their father and Azazel who is responsible for killing their mother and Sam's girlfriend. 
• Season 2 - After a major car wreck (thank you Demon Truck Driving Company), John Winchester makes a deal to save Dean's life. The boys refuse to discuss their father's death, and begin searching for others who were chosen by Azazel. Sam is killed and Dean makes a deal with a crossroads demon to revive him. He gets one year to live. Azazel is ultimately killed. 
• Season 3 - The boys hunt down the spirits that escape Hell at the end of Season 2. They try to find a way to save Dean, and find out Lilith holds the contract for his soul. Dean's contract expires and his soul is taken to hell.
• Season 4 - Castiel pulls Dean out of hell. Sam starts drinking blood so he can kill Lilith, who is trying to open the 66 seals. Dean learns the angels WANT the apocalypse to happen, and that Lilith is the final seal. He can't stop Sam from killing her, but he does kill Ruby, and Lucifer breaks free.
• Season 5 - The boys learn that they are the vessels of Michael and Lucifer (Dean/Michael, Sam/Lucifer). They also learn they have a half-brother, Adam. They attempt to kill Lucifer with the Colt they retrieve from Crowley, but it doesn't work. They gather up the rings of the Four Horsemen. Sam allows Lucifer to possess him, but regains control over himself after beating the hell out of Dean, and grabs Adam (who has become Michael's vessel) and throws them both into hell. Dean attempts to have a normal life. 
• Season 6 - A year later, Sam returns, Dean finds out he has been back for awhile, hunting with their thought-to-be-dead grandfather Samuel. Castiel and Crowley work together to find the entrance to Purgatory, so Castiel can use the souls there to win the civil war in Heaven. Dean gets help from Death to restore Sam's soul, and Death blocks Sam's memories. Cas breaks down that wall in order to get Dean to leave him to his plan. He absorbs the souls and proclaims himself God.
• Season 7 - The souls Cas absorbed turn out to be Leviathans. Sam is plagued with hallucinations of Lucifer, but keeps it mostly to himself. It appears the Leviathans have killed Castiel, and the boys begin hunting them down. Bobby is killed by their leader, but is able to continue helping thanks to Dean keeping his flask. Eventually he becomes a vengeful spirit and the boys are forced to burn the flask. Dean and Cas kill Dick, and are dragged into Purgatory. Sam is left to deal with Crowley on his own.
• Season 8 - Dean returns, with the help of Benny, and without Castiel, and the boys begin hunting down the Demon Tablet. They also learn that their paternal grandfather belonged to the Men of Letters. Castiel is returned with the help of Naomi, and he takes the Angel Tablet. Sam begins the trials named in the Demon Tablet, so they can banish all demons from earth forever, but Dean stops it when he learns the trials will kill Sam. Crowley becomes addicted to human blood. Castiel's grace is stripped from him by Metatron. Metatron closes Heaven and the angels fall to earth.
• Season 9 - Dean makes a deal with an angel to heal Sam, but the angel has to be IN Sam for it to work. Sam wouldn't know the angel was there, but Castiel would, so the angel requires Dean to keep Castiel away. It is later learned that the angel is actually Gadreel, who let evil into the Garden of Eden. When faced with this, the angel kills Kevin Tran and escapes. They track him down and with the help of Crowley, Gadreel is expelled from Sam. A rift forms between the brothers, and Dean begins searching for the First Blade, and takes on the Mark of Cain in order to wield it. He kills Abaddon, and proceeds to hunt down Metatron. He forms an uneasy alliance with Crowley in the midst of all of this. The season finale results in the deaths of Gadreel, who sacrifices himself to free Castiel to get the Angel Tablet back from Metatron, and the death of Dean. The end of the episode, Sam is summoning Crowley, who is in the room with Dean when he tells "Dean" the story of the First Blade, and places the blade in his hand, telling him to awaken. Dean's eyes snap open and he appears to be a demon. 

Probably not the most detailed, accurate summarization of the entire series, but the recurring things are there. The boys are constantly fighting their so-called destiny, things that were laid out before they were ever born. They didn't want this life, nor did they ask for it. They have tried to move away from it and they always get sucked back in for one reason or another. They risk their lives for each other, back and forth, ping-pong style and damn the consequences. There is never an easy choice to make, there is never an easy solution to anything. The final episode has Dean becoming the one thing he never wanted to be, a monster. He knew it, he felt it, he even told Sam as he was dying. Sam, after being pissed off at Dean for almost an entire season for sticking an angel in his body to SAVE HIM, the first thing he does when Dean dies is has a drink and then starts to summon Crowley. Why not summon an angel? No, go right ahead, summon the King of Hell, a former crossroads demon. That is something Dean would never have wanted either.

Back in season 5, Dean has a conversation in "alternate universe 2014", where Sam has accepted Lucifer and agreed to be his vessel. Lucifer tells him, "whatever you do you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up here. I win." and "See you in five years". It would appear that that is exactly where this is heading. It will be five years, as of the next season, and I fully expect a return of the Lucifer story-arc (and not because of my deep love of all things Mark Pelligrino). I would hope that at some points, hints of the man we know as Dean Winchester will make an appearance, but I'm not holding my breath. That man may very well be completely gone. The source of the Mark was Lucifer to start with, so I do expect him to play some part in all of this, or at least Cain. I believe that Sam will stop at nothing to restore Dean to his former self. Crowley, for all intents and purposes may use Dean to get whatever his black little heart desires, but I'm really hoping that he too can be redeemed, and that he will try to help. Castiel on the other hand, I expect the news of Dean's predicament to hit him the hardest, and I don't doubt for one second that he would burn down everything, heaven, hell, earth itself, to bring Dean back. Guess we'll just have to wait and see!