Supernatural: 10 Scenes That Foreshadowed Sam Jumping Into The Pit
Supernatural has many underlying themes, sacrifice being a recurring one in many ways. Sam hasn't always been all about duty. Jumping into the pit while possessed by Lucifer was the epitome of duty, sacrifice, and accepting his destiny all rolled into one. Season 1 had Sam hitting the road with Dean to find their father. In Season 2, Sam embraces his life as a hunter and finds out more about his past. In Season 3, Sam did everything in his power to get his brother out of Hell. In his eyes, Dean's fate was his fault and he had to fix that.
Even when he tried to do the right thing, he was pulled into another plot (in Season 4) to ultimately bring about the end of the world. When it came to jumping into the pit (at the end of Season 5), it was Sam's last chance to make things right once and for all.
10 Sam's Nightmare Deja Vu
After Dean drags Sam along on a hunt, Sam comes home to find his fiancé Jessica has been murdered in the same way his mother was killed. He finds her on the ceiling with her abdomen sliced and a fire engulfing his home. Jessica dies and Sam hits the road with Dean again.
It's the first step he takes to eventually jumping into the pit to fulfill his destiny. That ending scene, where it seems the fire has come full circle, is the first sign that Sam was going to end up in the pit with Lucifer.
9 Sam Questions His Morality
The episode "Simon Says" in Season 2 had one of Sam's premonitions chasing down Andy Gallagher, a man who can control people's minds with his words. As they're leaving, Sam talks to Dean during a scene near the end about Andy killing his evil twin. Sam is convinced that anyone can commit murder under the right circumstances at any time. This scene is where he begins to question his own morality. After all, he has powers too.
8 Sam Is Immune To The Demonic Croatoan Virus
When Sam and Dean encounter a strange virus, no matter what they try, killing the infected is the only way to keep them down and the virus is spreading fast. Their cell signal goes dead and when they try to leave, the brothers are met with a roadblock of people trying to keep infected people in the town.
Sam and Dean take refuge in a medical facility and Sam is infected by a nurse who purposely cuts him and puts her infected blood in him. He offers to kill himself but Dean won't let him, a sign he is willing to sacrifice himself to save others. At the end of the episode, it is revealed that Sam's infection was a test. It is reported to another demon that Sam is immune, as they thought, an indication that he is Lucifer's perfect vessel.
7 Ava Tries To Save Sam, But He Isn't Interested
In episode 10 of Season 2, "Hunted," Sam meets Ava, who tells him that his life is in danger. She, just like him, has premonitions. Another hunter, Gordon, was hunting Sam because he found out about Sam's powers. Ava urges Sam to leave town, realizing that her premonition was about Gordon killing Sam but he won't go.
Sam and Dean thwart Gordon's plan to set off explosions that would kill them all, ending in a one on one battle between Gordon and Sam. With Gordon's own sniper rifle pointed at his head, he says to Sam, "Do it. Do it, Sammy. Show your brother the killer you really are." Sam doesn't do it, showing that he is still capable of some self-control, a quality that has him jumping into the pit later on.
6 Sam's Cold-Hearted Kill At The Devil's Gate
The Season 2 finale, "All Hell Breaks Loose: Part 2," is the first time in the series that Sam dies. He is killed in a winner-takes-all competition between several of Azazel's "Special Children" who also have powers. He is stabbed by Jake, a soldier with super strength. Dean makes a deal to save him: one year of life for Sam to come back. If they try to break the deal, Sam dies again.
Right after Jake puts the antique Colt gun into the lock that will open the Devil's Gate, Sam shoots him several times with a cold look on his face. Azazel taunts Dean after the gate is open, saying that "maybe that deal wasn't as good as he thought." The idea is planted in Dean's head that maybe all of Sam didn't come back.
5 The Mystery Spot Tests Sam's Resolve
At "The Mystery Spot" in episode 11 of Season 3, Sam witnesses Dean's death over and over until the day he dies for good, all orchestrated by "The Trickster." Sam spends months learning to live without Dean. He is forced to accept things the way that they are but he can't do that.
The montage where he hunts The Trickster with a single-minded intensity shows his absolute determination. When he puts his mind to something, he will do it.
4 Lilith Changes The Rules
Ruby pops up all over Season 3, secretly giving Sam intel about his hellish "rival" Lilith who escaped from the Devil's Gate. In episode 12, she shows up at a police station where Sam and Dean are being held to tell them that Lilith was on her way with a small army of demons and they had to make their move, even if it meant sacrificing a virgin.
Sam and Dean refuse to kill a human for their own gain and mount a daring escape that has the convenient side effect of faking their death. When they get back to their hotel, Ruby shows up again to turn on the TV news and tell them that they didn't save anyone. Lilith showed up after they left and tortured and killed everyone. She tells them that these are the "jus in bello," the "laws of war." They must abide by them or they will lose.
3 The Demons Wanted Dean In Hell
During Season 4, a flashback shows Sam summoning a crossroads demon to get Dean out of Hell but they don't want to make a deal. The crossroads demon tells Sam, "Don't you understand, Sam? It's not about your soul. Dean's in hell right where we want him."
This is the first real sign that Sam is special to the demon's plan for Lucifer. Sam was ready to trade places with Dean to save his brother from Hell.
2 Sam Tries To Use His Powers For Good
Also in episode 9 during a different flashback scene, Sam is shown using his powers to exorcise demons. He is willing to use the power given to him by ingesting demon blood if it means saving peoples' lives. This runs parallel to his decision to jump into the pit in order to save the whole world.
1 Sam And Dean Struggle With Fate
In the 13th episode of Season 5, "The Song Remains The Same," Anna (a powerful angel) goes back in time to kill Sam and Dean's parents in a last-ditch effort to stop the apocalypse. In her eyes, if Sam and Dean don't exist, they can't be vessels for Lucifer and Michael and they won't go through with the battle that ends the world.
Throughout the episode, things keep happening that make it clear that even going back in time won't stop fate from trapping Sam and Dean. With Castiel's help, they follow Anna to 1983 to protect their parents. Sam admits to feeling the pressures of faith and to a weakness that might have him succumb to those pressures. This is where his spirit breaks and he knows he will do whatever it takes to stop Lucifer from fighting his archangel brother.