User blog comment:Giggles9686/another question/@comment-5619706-20131224215900

Jim is alive. Although we know most of the established lore has been chucked out the window, angels needing consent remains true until season 9. 1) A dead person could not give consent, 2) Hael described Castiel to still be inhibiting a vessel.

The mystery is how Jim interacts/survives vis-a-vis Castiel. They haven't resolved this with cured demons as well, so I have no idea honestly. They should have at least explained this in Clip Show.