I'm just hoping that the whole bit with Gabriel's grace with Jack might mean that Jack has enough of a connection with Gabriel now so that he can be awakened in the Empty. If a human with traces of archangel and nephilim grace can pray and awaken an archangel in the Empty, then perhaps the same can be done with Jack and Gabriel. (Also, I swear, if Castiel's big sacrifice next week is losing his grace, AGAIN, permanently, I'm gonna be cranky. Stop de-fanging my angel and archangel, damn it!)
I like the way you think. This is a creative and plausible way to bring Gabriel back. And I’m with you on Cas losing his grace. Writers PLEASE stop rehashing old storylines. And I swear to god if the end of this season is Michael vs Lucifer again I’m going to start writing my own seasons after this.