#*pctf

Context: Meghan, s15 writer, live tweeted watching the finale and then responded to questions about Cas in heaven.

holly_saif: “I’m truly praying that you’re right!! I just wanted a glimpse of Cas on Dean’s Heaven or a “hello, Dean” and I would’ve been sooo happy” - Nov 20, 2020

megfitz89: “Covid my friend! Made that a bit too difficult” - 1:43 AM Nov 20, 2020

[source]

megfitz89: “GLAD CASS IS STILL AROUND AND OH LOOK HE IS IN DEAN'S HEAVEN #Supernatural #CarryOn” - Nov 20, 2020

waywardliliana: “Meghan I don’t know if you know but we REALLY need to know if it was the intention that Cas is in Heaven with Dean - because not seeing him there at the end was a blow” - Nov 20, 2020

megfitz89: “Covid my pal! Makes it hard to have people” - 1:44 AM Nov 20, 2020

[source]

hello_minky: “That's canon, right? Cas is in Heaven with Dean? That was the intention? (Even tho we didn't see his little face?)“ - Nov 20, 2020

megfitz89:  “Yup!” - 1:44 AM Nov 20, 2020

(...) If you've ever seen a promo or read a description for Supernatural, you know the show is about the paranormal. Heck, it's right there in the title. And yes, it is a series about two brothers who hunt monsters. It exists in a world where vampires are real, shapeshifters occasionally rob banks, and angels and demons walk the Earth. (...) (...)You could argue that the thing that set Supernatural apart from those shows is the brother dynamic, the chemistry between stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, or even the on-the-road conceit, as each episode featured the brothers driving to a new town to save someone from something they didn't know existed. And those arguments would be correct. But what most distinctly set Supernatural apart from the series that came before was that the heroes in this incredibly complex, larger-than-life story were human.

(...)But Sam and Dean Winchester? They're just two Midwestern guys who love classic rock, cheap beer, and who grew up with the regrettable first-hand knowledge that evil exists and decided to fight it, with nothing but Sam's research skills and a trunk full of weapons. (...) (...) As audiences fell in love with meta humans capable of flying, super-human speed, and laser vision, Supernatural remained a show about flannel-clad bros battling superhuman forces. (...) (...)That's been the message of Supernatural all along: No matter how impossible your fight seems, no matter how massive your opponent — remember when Dean killed Hitler? — you can win so long as you don't quit. So long as you hold each other up. (...) (...)Because watching Supernatural is not about believing that Sam and Dean will literally come to the rescue. It's about believing their message: That we, as humans, are capable of facing down evil and saving ourselves. And that we, as humans, are worth saving. (...) (...)After a five-month hiatus from their characters thanks to COVID-19, it was time for the show to do the one thing it’d never done: Say goodbye. “The feeling I had that day was more like pride, emotional pride,” says Ackles of the final day of filming. “Like, look at what we’ve done. Look how far we’ve come, and look at these people who helped us build this incredible piece of art that we'll get to hang our hats on for the rest of our lives.”

Padalecki recalls the emotional moment when he and Ackles crossed the border back into the United States from Vancouver, marking the reverse of the road trip they'd taken in season 1. "It was right during all the wildfires, so the sky was really weird," says Padalecki. "It felt like a Supernatural episode or something. We crossed the border together and it just felt like a pretty poignant meaningful full-circle [moment]."

Fans will see the series finale, which Padalecki has already deemed his favorite of all time, in a matter of days. With God's conclusion spelled out in episode 19, we know the installment will feature a more intimate look at the Winchester bros. "We wanted it to, in some ways, hearken back to where the show began, which was two guys on the road saving people, hunting things," co-showrunner Andrew Dabb says, with co-showrunner Robert Singer adding, "It's a very emotional episode. It's a personal story really about the boys." (...)

(...) ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Misha Collins describes episode 18 as "tragic" and Jensen Ackles said it was "monumental." How would you describe the episode? RICHARD SPEIGHT JR.: Well look, anytime you have a show that's 15 years deep and you're getting towards the end of a run of the entire show, the last few episodes are going to matter. I think the episode is impactful for the story and the characters and has deep roots that are embedded in the long, long journey of the series and the characters involved in the series. I think they're describing it correctly and I would echo their thoughts. Some episodes are entertainment and some episodes matter. I think this episode, in the life of Supernatural, matters.

Episode 17 had such an explosive ending. Can you preview what's at stake in "Despair"? When you are this close to this big wrap-up of a monumental series, everything's at stake all the time because all the players are on the field and every fight matters. This is the NBA finals and the seconds are running down and the ball's on the court and it all hangs in the balance. I feel like any surface stories, any fluff has been moved out of the way. And as we ramp down to the final three, it's just a no holds barred, emotional ride.

Since this is one of the final episodes, did you any extra research into previous episodes for callbacks and references?

I do that when needed. If something's referential in a script and I don't know it, I will make sure that I understand it. I did that a little bit for this episode with some visuals. At this point, directing episode 18, it was the fourth episode I directed in the final season, which is a lot of episodes in the season. I was so lucky, so freaking lucky to be able to be such a continual part of season 15. By the time I was directing episode 18, I had been a part of the storytelling the whole season and I was deeply invested in the story and the arc and the characters, and I knew what was going on so it didn't necessarily require the same amount of research that would be required if you were just showing up and you hadn't been on the show all year. I was able to just dive right in, so to speak. Before I ever left Los Angeles to go to Vancouver, I was having conversations with the writers and actors about moments and scenes and ideas.

Did you feel any additional pressure directing the show's antepenultimate episode? (...) (...) And at the same time, interestingly, my episode was the last one shot before COVID. A day after I wrapped, the show shut down. I didn't tell the last story, but I shot the last story under normal times in normal circumstances. That makes it unique in itself.

What was your final day on set like? Post-production notwithstanding, did you feel like you got some closure on Supernatural when you wrapped? I'm not sure I still have the closure because the last day of shooting was a massive day. It wasn't a simple day. What you would think would happen would be: finish your episode and then two weeks, three weeks later, going [back] up there for a wrap party. [So] I didn't say goodbye. I didn't go through and shake hands. I didn't pat all the backs I intended to pat because I was expecting to see everybody three weeks later. COVID was out there and being talked about and it was a source of concern, but it hadn't blown through Vancouver yet. It literally did 48 hours after my show finished shooting. On my last day, we were getting reports that I think one of the other [CW] shows shut down because of COVID and it was becoming serious. We didn't quite understand how serious because nobody understood how serious, but we knew it was serious enough for the producers to come down and talk to us about it.

But we made our day. We shot our show. It didn't close us down. It didn't slow us down aside from it being a topic of conversation, and then everything changed. And so, all the moments I thought I would have to reflect were gone because within 48 hours I was setting up homeschool at my house for my three sons so I could get their education going in this new, distanced learning format that we were not prepared for. I immediately had to shift my energy into real life and educating my children. I never had the moment. I still haven't had the moment and may never get it. So be it. That's what happens.

These are crazy times for everybody, but I definitely feel like my closure is probably the episode because I'll never shake a hand. I'll never pat a back. I'll never get that moment with that entire group together again, to hug my way through the countless people who've helped me carve out a career as a director and who've been great friends to me since I started as an actor up there. Those moments will never happen as a group and as a unit. Episode 18 stands as my thank you card to everybody who let me do what I've always dreamt of doing and I hope that it holds up as a testament to the show and to the characters and lives on as an example of the amount of energy and effort and care and concern I put into the work.

Is there anything else you want to add about your journey on the show? I think it's important for fans of Supernatural to know that anybody who's telling you that it was a great experience isn't yanking your chain. Anybody who says that Jared and Jensen were gracious hosts to countless guest actors and guest directors for 15 years, isn't making that up. There's a lot of BS in Hollywood, a lot of stories that are just told so that the fans get a sense of a false joy that is on a set because a lot of sets aren't joyful places, a lot of actors are B-holes and a lot of celebrities and people who worked their way up the food chain have personality shifts because now they have power and money. None of those things took place in Supernatural.

They were gracious to me in season 2 and even nicer to me in season 15 and I saw them deliver... When I say, "Them," I mean Jared. I mean Jensen. I mean Brad [Creasser], the A-camera operator. I mean every crew member. They delivered the same consideration and kindness to a guest actor coming in to do one day's work in season 15 as they did to Richard Speight when he showed up to do a guest star role in season 2, and that's why that show lasted. It had great writing. It had great stories. But more important than that, it was populated by great people and that made it a livable space. That meant that people could work together for 14 hours a day, five days a week for 15 years, and still want to hug each other goodbye and congratulate each other on the work and know the names of each other's kids and meet each other's spouses and all that stuff, and that's rare. [Supernatural] was unique. It won't happen again because TV has changed dramatically. And I think it's cool that it's being celebrated and they got to finish their season and I got to be a part of it and tell as many stories as I got to tell. (...)

"I read through the original draft [of the finale] when it first came out just as a fan, because I was like, 'How did they put it together?' I knew the end result but I didn't know how exactly they were going to get there, so I quickly read through the script," Jensen Ackles tells EW. "That was back in early March. And then I put it down. Then COVID hit and we all went on break and I was like, okay well I assume it's going to change so I'll just wait until the new draft comes out. To be honest, it didn't really change. How we got there involved a little bit of changing but we still get to the same place."

Co-showrunner Andrew Dabbs adds, "We did a rewrite once we knew what our COVID rules were going to be for episodes 19 and 20, and it changed some things, it did. Particularly in episode 20, there were things planned that just aren't feasible anymore."

Getting into some of those specifics, Ackles told Glamour that they had to cut a montage of familiar faces from the finale: "We were supposed to have a lot of familiar faces come back, and we were going to try to filter them into a montage. It was going to be almost a break from the story and a look at how far we've come—a little tip of the hat to the fans—and we would all be able to celebrate together," he said. "Obviously, we couldn't do that. So that part of the finale episode got nixed."

But overall, Dabb says the story remains the same. "What it did not change was the story or the emotions, or anything else. It changed some of the set dressing, it changed some of the circumstances, but it didn't change where we were going or, honestly, in a large way, how we got there. So, in that way, I feel very lucky."

(...) TVLINE | Was there anybody that you really wanted to get back for these final episodes, but it just didn’t work out for whatever reason, scheduling or because of COVID?

Look, COVID was limiting, especially when it came to the last two [episodes]. And there were certainly people we would have liked to have brought back like Samantha Smith, like Jeffrey Dean Morgan. People who have been such core parts of the show for so long. But unfortunately, because of COVID and some other things, doing a big supersized guest cast family reunion was just off the table. But in terms of our story that we’re telling, we didn’t have to make any compromises. Everyone who is coming back is coming back for a specific reason. These are people we want. They’re important to us. They’re great characters, and we just thought it was an opportunity to revisit some of our and, hopefully, the fan favorites.

(...) Existentialism aside, Ackles is clearly ready for his next act, even if the show's massive, fervent fandom—known as the SPN Family—may not be. Back in March 2019, Ackles, Padalecki, and their costar Misha Collins devastated diehards when they announced they'd be ending the series on their own terms after more than 300 episodes. A bit of good news is that fans will still have the conventions that honor the show and cast meet-ups that take place all over the world. Eventually. (...) For now Ackles is preparing for his life beyond Dean Winchester, which includes his anticipated role as the first-ever superhero in season three of Amazon Prime Video's The Boys, as well as a new production company he's starting with his wife. He filled me in on all that, how the Supernatural finale changed due to COVID-19 restrictions, and, of course, how he got his hands on the iconic 1967 Chevy Impala—which he drove to Starbucks the morning of our call. (...) Glamour: I almost don’t know how to ask you how it feels to end a life-changing, 15-year project like Supernatural.

Jensen Ackles: I understand how rare it is and that it's a bit of a unicorn to have a show that runs this long and to be as intensely part of it as I have. I mean, you've got procedural dramas—you know, Law & Order and stuff—but a lot of those casts come and go. To have the same two leads in every single episode for 15 years, I think, is a pretty rare feat. So I'm proud that we did it. That was really the overwhelming feeling when we filmed our last day and our last scene. It wasn't a mourning process; it was more of a proud moment of “Look at what we've done.”

The finale of Supernatural was already planned before COVID hit. Did anything in the last two episodes have to change because of filming restrictions?

We had to drop some ideas we had for the final episode, but it didn't change the story. We were supposed to have a lot of familiar faces come back, and we were going to try to filter them into a montage. It was going to be almost a break from the story and a look at how far we've come—a little tip of the hat to the fans—and we would all be able to celebrate together. Obviously, we couldn't do that. So that part of the finale episode got nixed. But the story and how it ends up, that stayed the same. (...) Speaking of behind-the-scenes roles...you’ve directed five episodes of Supernatural. Any plans to direct Jared Padalecki's new show, Walker?

I would absolutely love to, but with my new gig on The Boys, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to. We're trying to figure out scheduling.

They're in the midst right now of building my costume for The Boys, which is a custom-built superhero suit. That is way more intense than I anticipated, which is cool. But I have to literally be in L.A., like, every two weeks for the next three months. I think it's six fittings and they're each like three- to four-hour fittings. They're literally molding things to my body, so it's intense. (...) Before I let you go, please tell me what fans can expect from the final episodes?

I've said a few times that the second-to-last episode really feels like the season finale and that the final episode feels like a series finale. The series finale, episode 20, is this beautiful throwback to the whole show—to what it was, what it has been, and what it is today. (...)

“Supernatural” has enjoyed 15 years of masked and made-up characters roaming the set, but in the final weeks of production, a different type of mask was on the minds of cast and crew.

“It was weird not seeing the faces that you’ve been looking at for 15 years, because they’re covered with a mask,” says Jensen Ackles, who plays Dean Winchester — a nomadic hunter of demons and other supernatural beings — on the show.

“It was unique, but I feel like ‘Supernatural’ has been through a lot. Writers’ strikes and network changes and characters dying and characters coming back and families and births and deaths,” says Jared Padalecki, who plays Dean’s younger brother and fellow hunter, Sam. “‘Supernatural’ is used to change, so let’s embrace it.” (...) What were your emotions going into filming this last season, given the times we’re in?

Padalecki: A lot of the unknown. I felt like, we have been going in to shoot a TV show for 15 years in “normal times,” and now it’s like “Hey, we have some regulations.” There are lanyards that have different colors and only certain people can be around certain people so we can contact trace if, God forbid, somebody contracts COVID[-19]. There’s a taped-off entrance and a taped-off exit so we can keep it one-way. All of the food is individually wrapped and there’s no browsing at craft services.

Between action and cut, it was business as usual. You’re with your director and your cameramen and women and your cinematographer and with your fellow actors and actresses. And you’re like “Got it. This is comfortable. This is like a warm blanket.”

Ackles: The good news for our industry is that you’re capable to be still working and utilizing these protocols to stay inside and stay healthy. I know that Jared and I, we take our cues from the reactions that we get from our crew members, which is essentially our audience. Our audience is the two-dozen people that are onstage with us. The guy holding the mike, the guy behind the camera, the one pulling the focus. We know that if we can make them laugh or make them cry or get some kind of emotion out of them, we’re doing something. And that got taken away. So that was interesting. We just have to rely on our instincts and on each other to tell each other, “You hit it, you nailed it, you got it.”

I miss shaking hands. I know that sounds weird. I just miss giving someone a bro hug. I know that sounds trivial, but that contact is an important part of what we do on a daily basis in terms of the tone that we set on our set. (...) You guys beat out Harry Potter as the top fandom in pop culture back in 2016. How has your understanding of fandom changed by being on a show as popular as “Supernatural?”

Padalecki: No way! I had absolutely no idea. To be mentioned in the same sentence is really a testament to just how talented our writers and crew are, and just how wonderfully and passionately supportive our fandom is. Behind the scenes, we refer to “our fandom” as “The #SPNFamily,” as they have become a family of their own. They’ve spent countless hours spreading the word about the show and showering us with the love and support that we certainly needed and felt during rough times. Being on the opposite side of that, I’ve realized just how much good people can accomplish together. A lot of them have made best friends, visited various cities, and raised an incredible amount of money and goodwill for assorted charities. It’s been an honor to be a part of it.

Ackles: We beat out Harry Potter? That’s crazy! I think that the Harry Potter fans were probably just looking for a more mature show and that was us. I will say that the fandom that this show found, or that found this show, really have become an integral part of the success of this show. They are part of the fabric of what has kept this show alive and running as hard and as fast for 15 years that it has. They are also well-connected, which is really rare for a show that started 15 years ago. It’s probably more customary now for fans to get online and have chat rooms. “Supernatural” started before the iPhone was around. We were still shooting on 35mm film.

It seemed that, during many previous seasons, the show could’ve ended. Now that it has, was your walk into the sunset what you imagined?

Padalecki: Let’s just say, our last scene — we don’t know if they’re alive or dead, but the last scene that I filmed as Sam Winchester, both as Sam and as Jared, I could not be more happy.

For the first several seasons, and that’s the nature of TV, it’s written to where it could end or it could stay around because you don’t really know for a couple of months whether you’re going back to work or not. I would say that probably when Mark Pedowitz came into the network and said he believed in the show, that’s when I was like, “OK. Let’s make the show that we only can do with the support of the head of our network.”

Ackles: I feel like this was the version that needed to happen — that needed to exist. There could’ve been other ways of maybe getting to there, but I think the finality of this is right. I also think that this could’ve been done a long time ago. To be fair, Eric Kripke, who started the show and created the world, said he had five years and he stuck to it. That could’ve very easily been the whole run of the show. The fact that he left that door open and we were able to go through it and find another 10 years of story was just a testament to what a great world he built and what great characters he created.

What kept you around for 15 years?

Ackles: There’s an old adage in Hollywood, ‘You want to see an actor complain, give him a job.’ Well, that wasn’t going to happen with me. The last thing I wanted to do was sabotage a good gig just to go back and find another one. I was super stoked right off of the bat with the story and this character. It’s the kind of character I always loved seeing in movies. The character was modeled after Han Solo and another one of Harrison’s [Ford] characters, Indiana Jones. He had some of that flavor in there. Kind of a John McClane. ...

When it comes down to it, why did I stick around all these years? Because I truly loved it.

andrewdabb: “(Due to the shutdown, this will be our last episode for awhile.  Stay well, stay safe, and we'll see you on the other side.)“ - Mar 23, 2020

andrewdabb: “(Clarification: We have filmed through episode 18, however our visual effects and sound departments have closed because of the outbreak.  So, right now, the episodes can't be finished.  However, have some special treats coming along the way-- to help us all get through this.)“ - Mar 23, 2020

andrewdabb: “(And yes, we, the CW, and Warner Bros fully intend to return and finish the series.  It's not a matter of "if", it's a matter of "when.")“ - 2:15 PM Mar 23, 2020