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"What Brings Me Back Is The Reality Of It" The Supernatural Round-Table At SDCC

Octavio Karbank writes,

Sitting at a round-table interview is also pretty special. Sitting at the Supernatural round-table interview session, was incredibly special. Through it all, questions were fired off at a million miles a minute (luckily I got some in too), and we got some cool answers from the cast and creators.

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In Talking to Misha Collins:

Misha Collins: How are you everyone?

Press: We're well!

MC: Hello microphones!

Press: What can you tell us about Castiel searching for Lucifer this season?

MC: Cass has Lucifer in his scopes and is bound and determined to find him. He's pissed off that he made such a sacrifice to Lucifer last season, only to have it be fruitless. He's got a bee in his bonnet for Lucifer. Castiel is being forced to make compromises once again, in terms of his allies in the hunt for Lucifer.

Press: Like with angels?

MC: I'm not telling you! You've asked enough!

Press: Does Cass have his mojo back?

MC: Yeah, he has his mojo. We haven't addressed the issue of his wings yet, so it's possible that his wings are repaired. As far as I know, he's unable to teleport.

Press: Will Castiel also be searching for Sam?

MC: Yes, he's a part of that search party.

Press: Will there be ramifications for having Lucifer in Cass?"

MC: No, there's no residual illness from Lucifer.

Press: What's going on upstairs now, after dealing with the Darkness and all that?

MC: We're going to be concentrating on earth, at least at the beginning of the season. We haven't been exploring a whole lot about the politics of heaven.

OK: Can you discuss what the Supernatural fandom itself means to you and your relationship with it?

MC: The fandom seems to be growing from my vantage point. I don't know if that's true or not, but that's how it seems to me. It's truly remarkable; it was completely unexpected to me. When I joined the show I didn't really know anything about Supernatural. Even back in season four, the fandom for Supernatural was very active, but it was nascent, it was finding it's footing, and now it is a full-blown cultural phenomenon, a force to be reckoned with. I've had a tremendous amount of satisfaction, in one way or the other, in playing with the fandom and working with the fandom. I started Random Acts, which is a non-profit, with the fans, and that has gone on to do some really great projects that I'm proud to have been a part of. We just had a group come back from Nicaragua, helping to build a high school there, and an orphanage over in Haiti. I'm also doing Gishwhes, which is the greatest international scavenger hunt the world has ever seen, and we've got tens of thousands of people participating in that in a hundred different countries, doing really amazing things and breaking Guinness records and having a blast. That's something I'm delighted to have seen born into the world because of the Supernatural fandom.

In Talking to Ruth Connell:

Press: What can you tell us about where Rowena is at this season?

Ruth Connell: I was really hopeful that the end of the season might have impacted and changed her. Sure enough, after reading the latest script, it has. It'll be interesting to see where it picks up and where it goes from there. Ultimately I would love for at some point to have her find her power and strength. It'll be interesting with the family thing, maybe Crowley and his son…I don't know.

Press: At the panel you talked about getting Rowena a boy toy…

RC: That's just because I'm single and would like them to bring on even more pretty young men.

Press: What about a partnership with someone, or forging another Mega Coven?

RC: To her the Mega Coven was everything, but I think she could use a real partnership, but that would require trust and I don't know that Rowena could trust anyone, knowing just how bad she herself is.

OK: Can you talk about your own feelings associated with becoming a part of Supernatural, and at this late a season?

RC: I'm so lucky to have joined this gravy train! It could've been the end of the show last season; it might not be the end now, it could very well be the middle. It's been the best think to happen to me in my life. I could honestly cry with gratitude.

In Talking to Samantha Smith:

Samantha Smith: I think that this season will be about family. I think there'll be exploring of the deeper dynamics and learning to be the mother to adult children and adult children learning what it's like to have a mom. I think there will be a lot of soul-searching exploration.

Press: In the trailer, the relationship between Dean and Mary looked rather strained. Can you talk about that?

SS: I think that Mary is drinking from a fire hose at this point. Mary's been dead for three decades and if any of you were alive in 1983, it's a little different now. Technology is just the tip of it; it's everything. Her children were raised without her, her husband is gone, everything is different for her, so it's more Mary dealing with her own stuff and less her having any animosity towards her kids.

Press: Mary was a badass hunter…

SS: And she still is!

Press: Can you tease anything about that?

SS: Well, when they called me for the season finale, I thought it was the end of the series, because I thought that was the only way they were going to bring me back again. So after that, the director called me and asked me how much fight training I've had, to which I responded, "Zero." So I've been doing lots of fight training; I've been training with weapons and doing krav maga…badly. But they've been really patient and I've been working really hard, because Mary will be hunting and fighting and participating. That's not something my version of Mary has done before. It's a big, welcome change and I think it will be fun for the audience to watch Mary find her footing in the current life she's been given.

Press: How does Mary respond to the presence of angels, God, and all that?

SS: That is something we explored in the first episode and I can't talk about it, because I won't spoil it for anyone. It's amazing. Mary does meet God as an angel.

OK: How is it coming back to the show after spending so much time away?

SS: I think the last time I was on the show was five years ago and it's the same. It's 95% the same crew, it's the same actors; I've historically only worked with Jensen and Jared, with little bits with some of the other actors, but in those situations there was almost no talking. They're very inclusive and loving and generous. Jensen has been helping me with my fighting, because he's amazing with fighting and all that stuff! I'm wading in slowly!

In Talking to Mark Sheppard:

Press: Does Crowley want revenge against Lucifer?

Mark Sheppard: What do you think?

Press: Well, yes!

MS: Then why'd you ask me?

Press: Then let me phrase it differently.

MS: If you'd like.

Press: Is Crowley still being ridiculed by demons and does Crowley feel that the only way to regain his honor is to reclaim his throne and defeat Lucifer?

MS: I don't know. You tell me. That's a very complicated question you're asking. Having you spoken to Bob [Singer]?

Press: Not yet.

MS: Well when you do, that's one of the questions you should be asking him. Personally, I've always played Crowley as being one step ahead of everything, always has been, always will. Whether they write him that way or not, that's how I'm always going to play him. I don't think that's going to change. I think there's a plan and we'll see what the plan is.

Press: Are you looking forward to working with Rick Springfield?

MS: He's a really good actor and a wonderful musician. Everyone says he's a lovely guy, so I'm excited. It'll be interesting to bring him into the show; it'll be good energy.

OK: What has Supernatural come to mean to you over the years?

MS: A warm, cozy place to rest my head. I don't know, what does it mean to you?

OK: It's the first show that I really started watching on a week-by-week basis.

MS: Very cool! Without being grand, I know it has a lot of importance to a lot of people. I like the fact that it binds together so many people, with so many common issues and common issues; stuff that we're all dealing with on different levels, or have friends that are dealing with. It's humbling that people choose us as their catalyst to come together; it's a fantastic thing. It's always fascinating to me. There are a couple transgender people I know of who are going through transition, and have done so, have felt comfortable enough, to do so in my skin, dressed as me at different times. I've found it humbling and such an honor in so many ways. To me it there are so many good things that come as a result of the show; it brings a lot of people together in a lot of positive way. There are things we're dealing with, like with mental health issues, and there are things we all do, like with Misha's charity. I'm really proud to be a part of that, that there's something in this bloody awful world, most of the time, that fans, for wont of a better word, come together and help each other and have used our show to do so, which I love, I truly love. I think that's the most humbling part of this job. So you ask me what Supernatural means to me, that's what Supernatural means to me: way more than the sum of its parts. Incredible fans, incredible circumstances, great fun to go to work, great co-stars to play with and you guys are fantastic. You love it! What a way to make a living!

I've been on a lot of shows, like Firefly and Doctor Who, really positive shows, but I don't see the direct response being exactly the same. This show has much more of a direct response to what we do. Maybe it's the times we're in, and the fact that we're digital now, but there's been so many changes in television in the past twenty years and the way that we're consuming it has also changed so much. I think the audience has a far bigger voice than they've had before, and I think it's showing. That's why I think the connection to our fans is fantastic, sort of a symbiotic arrangement. I think it's very powerful. I think the fans have an effect on what we do. There's really a voice there that's understood.

In Talking to Jensen Ackles:

Jensen Ackles: How are you guys?

Press: Good. How are you?

JA: I'm good! What's happening?

Press: What can you tell us about Dean and his reaction to his mother coming back?

JA: Well if you saw the trailer there, the reaction is facedown in the dirt, because she flips him down. It's interesting, because, yes, she's his mother, but she's also a stranger. He was a toddler when she died, so he doesn't know this person, and she doesn't know him. I think that adjustment will be very tricky. Mary is also coming back and finding out her sons are grown up in a world she's totally unfamiliar with, not just in terms of technology, but they are also living in the hunter world, that she tried so desperately to get out of. So now she finds out that both of her sons are both hunters and I think that will be difficult for her to process. For Dean specifically, the vulnerability of having his mother around now is going to be tricky to navigate. Essentially it's another way to force Dean or Sam to do something. Usually, he only had to worry about his brother, but now he has to worry about his brother and his mother, and that's another liability to him.

Press: Can you talk about what's going on with Dean and Sam in this season?

JA: Well Sam doesn't really know what's going on, since he thinks that Dean is dead. The last we saw of Dean, he was going to go bomb the Darkness. Sam gets shot at the end of the season, and we see in the trailer that he's been captured, so he was no reason to believe that Dean will be coming for him. Dean needs to quickly figure out what's happened and where Sam is, and it kind of turns into Taken.

Press: Are you excited about Rick Springfield joining the cast?

JA: I'm very excited! I haven't met him yet, but I think it's cool. I'm going to try not to geek out.

In Talking to Jared Padalecki:

Jared Padalecki: Hey, you guys!

OK: It's an honor! Been watching since day one!

JP: No shit! I've been on it since then!

Press: Are there differences in the interactions between Dean and Mary and Sam and Mary?

JP: Absolutely. Having to explain that is going to be difficult, but I think what's most exciting for me, playing Sam with Mary back in the picture, is that we never really saw Sam be a son. We saw him with his dad, but as soon as Sam could get out of the house he was gone, and didn't want to be a part of the hunting life. So now we see Sam with his mom and while he doesn't have any ill will towards her, he never really knew her. Dean knew her, albeit for 4 years, but he still has pictures and memories of her. Sam doesn't have any of that. He knows her and knows that she's his mom, but he doesn't know her. I think Sam feel towards Mary the way Dean feels towards Sam. Sam wants to keep Mary safe, but Mary's a hunter and if Sam and Dean are going on a hunt, she's not going to stay at home and make sandwiches, she's going to want to hunt.

Press: Mary's partly responsible for the hunting life being thrust on them, what with the deal with the Yellow-Eyed Demon and all that. Are those things going to come up?

JP: I think so, yeah. Sam blames Dad, for all the hunting stuff, but you can argue it was his mom's fault. She was the hunter, right? It was the Campbell family, not the Winchester family; it wasn't her fault, but it was her lineage that lead us to where we are now. That having been said, I think the boys know this is their life, this is what they're good at, and this is how they can best help the world. It's a double-edged sword, but they're grateful that they're in this life, because they can do it better than anybody else. I think we're going to see Sam not want his Mom to go hunt and I'm sure it's the same way with Dean.

Press: Are there any other deceased characters that you'd like to see get brought back?

JP: Yeah, that list goes on ad nauseam. Tons, man!

Press: Can you tease what's going on with the Men of Letters?

JP: They didn't start off on the right foot. The British Men of Letters were more regimented and structured than our Men of Letters. They know certain parts about the Winchesters that are true, but just look wrong on paper. Like, we've started the Apocalypse or we let Lucifer out of his cage; it looks bad on paper. Hopefully we can come to some sort of understanding.

OK: What do you think it is about Supernatural that keeps people coming back after all these years?

JP: You know, what brings me back is the reality of it. And that's a weird thing to say, because I've been an angel, the devil, I've been tortured by the devil, and we've died and come back. I think it's core issues like family, friendship, trust, and even sacrifice that really mean a lot to people. I think another big reason is that Supernatural has a really unique position in that we were never a show like America's Got Talent with five trillion viewers or whatever. So most people who watch the show, watch it because they either happened upon it and stayed with it, or someone they know and love told them to watch it and they became hooked; so those fans exist because of Supernatural, but Supernatural exists because of those fans and because they spread the word. It's a nice partnership.

In Talking to Andrew Dabb:

Press: You've gone back to the show's core in bringing back Mary. Does that change Supernatural's dynamic?

Andrew Dabb: I don't think it changes the show's dynamic as a whole, because the show's always been about family and it's always been about Sam and Dean. I think with Sam and Dean it'll come as a shock in that they have their mother back, but once it wears off, they'll get to know her as a person. The world she's come back into is also very different, especially with discovering that her husband is dead and was not the man she knew him as. The John Winchester she knew was very different from the John Winchester who raised Sam and Dean. I think everyone understands where everyone is coming from, but that doesn't always make things easier.

Press: How long are we getting Mary for?

AD: Mary is certainly a presence for a while. She's not here for just one episode, but it'll be something we explore over the course of the season.

Press: Are we going to learn more about her past?

AD: The more interesting thing is definitely what she was doing that we haven't seen. The story's always been once Mary married John and settled down, she stopped hunting, but we're going to find out that's not the whole story. Her death is haunting her going forward, not only because of her burning to death on a ceiling, but the aftermath and the ripple effects because of her death. There will be flashbacks.

Press: Can you see Supernatural going on forever?

AD: So long as it's interesting. Supernatural can be crazy, it can be serious, or emotional. You can tell a lot of different stories, we just have to keep challenging ourselves and the actors and the producers. I don't see an end in sight for that reason. If an ending happens organically then that's one thing, but I don't think it will for a while. There are still a lot of things to explore. We don't plan every season like it's the first one. We try to build up natural climaxes and in the event that it is the end for the show, we'd find a way to make it work.

In Talking to Bob Singer:

Press: Jensen mentioned a Taken-like situation happening. What can you say about the two of the reuniting?

Bob Singer: They're happy to see each other. That is what kind of takes up the first couple of episodes; Sam kind of goes through hell with the British Men of Letters. What's interesting is that as far as Sam knows, Dean is dead, so he's really excited to see Dean again when Dean shows up. All our characters are involved with their own piece to that story.

Press: What you can say about Rick Springfield being Lucifer.

BS: We needed someone to fill the role of an aging rock star, so we needed someone who can not only act, but someone who can play too, so that narrows the field of people. We're really excited about it. We're very fortunate.

Lucifer needs a vessel to say "yes". So one of the challenges about the Rick Springfield character is that he starts off pretty sympathetic; he's lost his wife and he's tortured. Once he accepts Lucifer, he's evil incarnate. As an acting exercise, it's pretty intense.

Press: Will he have a chance to play the guitar?

BS: We'll see a little bit of that, yes.

Press: Can you tease any monsters, new or old?

BS: I don't think there's going to be anything really new; we're bringing the Nazi necromancers back. We do our best when you take monsters that the audience already knows about and then you give them personalities or put a different spin on them. Eric Kripke used to say, "Every villain is the hero of his own story," and that's something we try to do, giving him or her their own story as well.

Octavio Karbank is a writer and bona fide Whovian. Living in Massachusetts, you can find him on Twitter @TymeHunter and his blog www.cozmicventures.com


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