finally..fanpop works again! now i can write my opinion on this

I don't think "righteous" has anything to do with being a hunter. Look at Gordon, for instance.
No, it has to be someone who's sacrificed their life for another. Such as John, or that guy from Crossroad Blues who's wife had cancer. And how many people are going to make deals trading their life/soul for someone else? Not too many.

It's also possible that the prophecy was referring specifically to Dean. Maybe that's just how he's referred to within the prophecy- 'the Righteous Man'. If it's all fate and the angels knew what was going to happen, seems like they'd know it was Dean and not his father.

there are two ways to get into hell, being evil and dying or selling your soul...the ones who get just by evil are not righteous and therefore are out...those who sell there souls are, by definition, a small number..most of them who make such deals do it for selfish reasons (money, power, etc...)..i think it's already established that both John and Dean did it to save/get back someone they love thus the deal is made out of love...while, it's possible they weren't the only ones in history to make such deals, such deals are exceedingly rare and since everything was done by a specific time table that's also a factor..so if someone did make such deal 100 years ago then they wouldn't be useful..John and Dean are likely the only ones who made such selfless deals in the right time frame..
as i was saying, selling your soul for someone else's life makes you righteous, but i have my doubts..remember that guy in Crossroads, he sold his soul for his sick wife, and if he could've been the righteous man they needed, he would've been perfect for the role..not a bad ass hunter, easy to break and a lot less useful for the angels then Dean (or John)..they could've let John down from the rack and take that guy instead and would probably succeed in days...but Dean got him out of the deal with a few tricks...but there's a tiny hint in the eppy that could mean two things, Dean is offered to swap places with John...did they know by then that they wouldn't break John and wanted someone else? i think it was never John at all? being a hunter? i doubt that this makes you righteous..maybe a few hunters have made deals for beloved ones before..but then maybe the time had to be right and that was now..

haha fanfly! we posted at the same time!

^^LOL I didn't even notice!
But the more I think about it the more I'm sure that the angels knew it was Dean all along. Think about the S1 epi Faith, where Rev LeGrange says that he chose Dean because he saw he had an important job to do.
Does this mean that they just saw how events would unfold? Or that there's something about Dean in particular that makes it so he's the Righteous Man?
I still have a theory that John broke in Hell and wasn't the Righteous Man.

And that's a good point about Evan- he certainly wouldn't be suited to taking down Lucifer would he? Which makes me think even more that there's something more to being the Righteous Man than just trading your life for someone else's. When you think about levels of righteousness- let's compare John and Dean. John became a hunter seeking revenge. Dean became a hunter to protect his family. That was his main goal in life. So in essence, he's sacrificed everything for his family his entire life. What did John sacrifice? Mary was taken from him and he didn't give up his boys; he dragged them along and trained them to be soldiers in his personal war. Sure it was probably the safest thing for them but he didn't start finding out about Sam's YED connection until the kids were older. He could have tried to find a place for them where they would have been safe but he couldn't let them go. (There's an essay in 'In the Hunt: Unauthorized Essays on Supernatural' that touches on this)

And I think you spoke too soon about Fanpop being up again, Lucy. It's giving me lot's of trouble!

I never bought that righteous man stuff, I think it has to do with Dean and Sam being brothers.

I agree with u lucy and fanfly :)

but I do think that it was specific to dean though.....like fanfly pointed out even in the episode faith they mentioned that he had an important job 2 do.

If you think hard and long about the boys lives they have been directed 2 be apart of the apocolypse one way or another.

we found out in lucifer rising that YED was told 2 find a special child, one that would raise the devil. Thus started the pychic try outs. Giveing Sam the demon blood and powers. (YED did always say that Sam was his favorite).

But there was a problem 2 this....Dean. Dean has been the one through the seasons that has kept Sam from going Darkside. So haveing him around could possible cause problems.

Because of Sam's fear of becameing a murderer, it wasn't a big leap 2 guess that he wouldn't kill Jake. So when Jake murdered Sam it was pretty much in the bag. Remember what YED said 2 Dean afterwards. I can't quote it directly but he said something like, i knew i could count of your need 2 sacrifice yourself for your family.

They gave Dean a year 2 live just enough time for Ruby 2 gain Sam's trust(Lilith being the holder of Dean's deal brought)what better way of doing that than have her "try" and save Dean.

But Dean died anyway, and Sam was left alone and pretty much broken. We saw that Sam tried 2 make a deal but the CD said that they had Dean right where they wanted him. Ruby came back and played on Sam's need for revenge on Lilith and conviced him that he was going the right thing by drinking the demon's blood and useing his powers.

I don't think that Dean was the only rightous man ever 2 be in hell, because like lucy said, either u where evil or u sold ur soul now there has got 2 be more than 4 people that we know of that sold their souls 2 save someone else. But for Sam 2 be the one that rase Lucifer then they would have 2 get dean out of the picture. But they did one better they made dean apart of the big picture by haveing him break the first seal....leaving sam 2 break the last one(Lilith). Which is probably why she was the holder of Dean's deal, they counted on Sam's need for revenge.

i hope what i said made sense..... i have a generally just babble and hope it comes out coherent. :)

^ I agree with what was said.

Lucy, the guy from Crossroads was a righteous person indeed, but he wasn't THE righteous person.

The Apocalipse is such a big/powerful thing, you can't just start it with a random person. You need to have the best.
So that's why the Crossroads wasn't the righteous person they needed, because he did one good thing.
Dean has a whole life of righteous actions, i can't think of anymore better to start the damn thing.
So that's why he was choosen, because of his actions. I don't think it was because he's a Winchester or because he's a hunter.
It's a coincidence that all the Winchesters are awesome. LOL =D <3

Anyways, that's just my opinion. =P

[and i'm pissed because i had already wrote this, but fanpop didn't show my comment, so i had to do it again!! :@ :@]

fanfly, i posted link about Roy a while ago..and i'm thinking now that line has definitely something to do with Dean being THE righteous man..

man, i love this show!

ARGH NO! :( FANPOP ATE MY COMMENT! GOD DAMN IT!

I don't think Dean was the only person who could have broken th first seal. I think he fit into the demons [all of them ;P] plans but if he hadn't broke and broken the first seal, someone else would have.

I also doubt that other righteous souls were given the same oppurtinity to get off the rack that Dean was - he was a hunter, they knew he was capable of tearing people apart brutally, they knew if he ever got out of hell it would break him into itty bitty pieces. they knew he'd feel guilty forever. etc, etc.

my OTHER comment was better but FANPOP ATE IT. sooo that's all for now. :P ♥

Ally, i think fanpop acting like this is one of the omens :D the SPN apocalypse is getting closer :D

Yeah, I remember that pick, Lucy! I'm sure LeGrange saved Dean because the angels wanted it to happen.

Like fifthbitten said, everything is so interlocking that it's hard to separate it and say this was fate but this was chance. Sam dying led to Dean going to Hell which led to Sam going after Lilith. I think Dean had to die in order for Sam to reach the point of using his powers. And by dying and going to Hell he broke the first seal. It's a row of dominoes and the angels and demons really just had to watch them fall into place.

Dean-girl makes a good point that the righteous people who were in Hell probably weren't given the option of stepping down off the rack. But I'm still not sure there that just anyone could have broken the seal.

fanfly u said it so much better and more simple than i did ;D

I think that "righteous man" actually meant a potential vessel for Michael. That's why Cas said in season 4 that the righteous man who started it would also be the one to end it - though at the time he didn't know the exact details of what ending the Apocalypse would involve.