#*tof

(...) On their final day in Vancouver last September filming the series finale (Thursday, 9 ET/PT), when director Robert Singer called it a wrap and everybody else had walked off the set, the actors did something new: They basked in the moment.

“It was like, ‘We did this.’ That was pretty cool,'" Ackles recalls. “I mean, obviously we know that we didn't do it by ourselves, but it was really the first time that he and I looked at each other and (realized) we should be proud of what we've built here. Because it Is something to be proud of.”

Adds Padalecki: “It wasn't like, ‘Hey, look how awesome we are.’ It was like, ‘Hey, man, remember when we cried and we bled and we broke bones – literally? Remember all the alarm clocks when the sun wasn’t up yet?’ However this turns out, however it's received, we gave it everything.” (...) Even without Emmy Awards, "Supernatural" has become a classic show – finding new fans through Netflix binges and TNT reruns – and a survivor, a final holdover from WB (which folded in 2007) that's outlasted many, many shows that have come and gone since its Sept. 13, 2005, premiere. Only a few prime-time network dramas have lasted longer, including "Grey's Anatomy" (which premiered six months earlier), "Law & Order: SVU" (1999) and "NCIS" (2003). (...) The finale, in contrast, tells “a very personal story” centered on the Winchesters and is “really devoted to the relationship and the journey these guys have traveled,” says Singer, an executive producer on the show since its inception.

Singer adds that they eliminated certain ideas early: No “enigmatic" final shot a la “The Sopranos,” for example, or nothing out of left field like the 1988 "St. Elsewhere" finale, when the audience found out a boy with autism had imagined the entire series, visualized in a snow globe. 

“We wanted it to feel like the end of a very long novel," Singer says. "It's pretty bold what we did and quite moving.”

Padalecki, 38, finds it “really powerful. And if you're not already crying by the last five or 10 minutes, then you don't have a soul. You don't have a heart.” (...)

(...)Stars Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles have also remained with the series throughout its run, long after most leading men would’ve thrown in the towel (...)

“As long as ratings stay stable, and they want to do the show, and I’m still in the chair, I’m going to be their biggest supporter to continue,” CW president Mark Pedowitz says. “I think ‘Supernatural’ is going to be around in some form long after I move off this chair, and the best thing I can do for the guys, and for the studio, and for the showrunners is basically make sure we don’t mess them up.”

Much like its protagonists — monster-hunting brothers Sam (Padalecki) and Dean (Ackles), who have quite literally been to heaven, hell and everywhere in between over the course of the show’s run — “Supernatural” has time and again proven its resilience in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, becoming an anchor of The CW’s lineup. (...) (...) “In my wildest dreams, I was hoping we would get to a fourth season. Sure enough, it was probably right around the fourth season that I think we finally started to relax and realize that we had a certain amount of stability,” Kripke says. “And that was the introduction of Misha Collins [as the angel Castiel], and that was the time that I probably started sleeping at night. But I’ll tell you one thing, the fact that we always felt we were on the edge and one breath from extinction was really good for the show creatively in those early years. We took risks that we probably wouldn’t have taken had we felt more stable. We used to say in the writers’ room all the time, ‘Look, we’re getting canceled next year, so smoke them if you got them.’ We really encouraged everyone to take big swings because we really, sincerely believed that we were about to be canceled, and so why not spend all the story you could spend? And I think that led to a lot of exciting moments.”

(...)Through it all, the show has maintained a steady audience — now standing as the fourth highest-rated show on the network behind superhero series “The Flash,” “Arrow” and “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.” (...) Ostroff left The CW in 2011, and Pedowitz says he was already a fan of “Supernatural” when he assumed control of the network. (...) The show had been bounced around The CW’s schedule for much of its run, and had been relegated to Friday nights when Pedowitz joined the network.

“It’s generally where shows go to die, and we stayed there and not only did we not die, we actually survived and somewhat thrived,” Ackles notes. “And then I think when Mark came in and took over for Dawn, he looked at the numbers and looked at what was working and said, ‘Why is this show on Friday nights? Not only is it working there, let’s give it some prime real estate and see how much better it can be.'” (...) It was the emergence of “Arrow,” The CW’s first foray into a grittier brand of superhero series, that gave “Supernatural” a new lease on life.

“We didn’t have anything compatible for ‘Arrow,’ and we thought there was still life in the show, and we thought what better way to do it than by giving it the time period after ‘Arrow’?” Pedowitz says. “And as luck would sometimes have it, a confluence of events happened. The first Netflix deal was done, so all the past seasons went up, and all of a sudden, you saw an influx of viewers that had not seen the show before.”

In fact, all of The CW’s most successful series have enjoyed scheduling stints with the show, Pedowitz points out: “‘Supernatural’ was paired with ‘Vampire Diaries’ for its first season; ‘Supernatural’ was paired with ‘Arrow’ for its first season. ‘Supernatural’ was paired with ‘The Flash’ for its first season. ‘Supernatural’ is now back on Thursday at nine, and we believe it’ll be a great boost to ‘Legends of Tomorrow.’ So ‘Supernatural,’ in a weird way, even though it’s the lead-out, has had a direct impact on some of our bigger hits.”

The show is now one of the most popular on social media, regularly selling out conventions around the world. “I would much rather have our devoted fan base than 20 million people just casually watching,” Padalecki says. “The word of mouth has been a huge part of ‘Supernatural.’ I feel like sometimes people [think], ‘hey, that show has 20 million people, we don’t need to talk about it,’ but when there’s something that you feel like, ‘hey, this has two million people, I want my friends to know about it, I’m not going to assume that they know about it.'”

After so many seasons of feeling “on the verge of unemployment all the time,” Ackles says Pedowitz and Roth have given him a true sense of security.

“It’s an incredible support group that we have, not only the network but with the studio as well. I wish I could work with Mark and Peter for the rest of my life — I’d be happy. They’re just quality, smart people and they’re champions for our show and have been for many years now, and it is a huge vote of confidence to have your bosses in your corner,” Ackles says. “Peter’s been saying we’re halfway there since episode 100 and then we get to 200 and he’s like ‘oh, still halfway there,’ so he’s obviously stoked that the show’s still going on. The fact that Mark says that we’ll keep going as long as we’re happy… I don’t even know how to qualify that. It’s awesome, especially when it has to do with a program that I’m so proud of and a story that I still enjoy telling and a character that I still love playing.”

Both Ackles and Padalecki insist they’re not putting an expiration date on the series. “Jared and I talked and we’re going to just keep going,” Ackles says. “He and I, we talk about getting to episode 300 and that’s just another milestone… and then when we get there, we’ll keep going and see what the next milestone is. One of the many reasons we’ve managed to get to where we are is, I don’t think we really set parameters or limits or any obstacles. It’s just like, ‘Let’s keep our heads down and let’s just do the best work that we can and hopefully, people will continue to watch and we can keep telling these stories.”

Says Kripke, “I’m proud that it’s the last surviving WB show, but I’m also really proud that it’s just a sign of how durable ‘Supernatural’ has turned out to be. And obviously, the show itself is the thing I’m most proud of.”

(...) 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." (...)

(...) In the past, when asked how he’d like Sam and Dean to go out, “I always said I wanted them both to die,” star Jared Padalecki shared at San Diego Comic-Con. “I always said [like] Butch and Sundance, and people would yell at me and throw stuff.”

It’s not that Padalecki wanted the characters to suffer or have an unhappy ending after years and years of struggle. “I think that was my way of saying I want them to achieve peace,” he explained. Having been looped in on what the series finale holds, “I feel like Sam and Dean find some version of peace. Whether or not that’s alive or dead, or if Amara possesses me or whatever the situation is, I feel like they find more peace than when the season starts.”

The end of Dean and Sam’s story was a little more difficult to come to terms with for Padalecki’s TV brother. “When we were in the room and the idea came down the pipe, everybody was kind of signed off on it,” Jensen Ackles recounted. “My reaction was more like, ‘OK, OK.’ I struggled with it for about a week or so, and then I realized I’m too invested, I’m too emotional. I’m too close to this character. To see anything with finality on it, it’s just hard to digest. I talked to a few people about it and got some clarity on it and have tried to look at it from a different perspective. I, now, have come around to being like, ‘This is a really good ending. This is satisfying.'”

Also giving the final hour their seal of approval: creator Eric Kripke. “He actually has been told the ending, and he kind of likes it,” executive producer Robert Singer said, noting that he and co-showrunner Andrew Dabb were set to have dinner with Kripke the following week.

But perhaps the most important reaction will be that of the #SPNFamily that has kept the CW drama on the air for fifteen seasons. At the end of the series, Dabb hopes that the fans feel like the hundreds of hours they put into watching the show were worth it. “You don’t want to leave people feeling hollow. You don’t want to leave people feeling cynical,” Dabb said. “That doesn’t mean the ending is always happy and everybody high-fiving, but it means that the journey was worth something and came to a place that makes everyone feel it was, again, worth kind of taking that trip.”

Entertainment Weekly Special Edition: The Ultimate Guide to Supernatural 2017

SAM AND DEAN WINCHESTER KNOW "WEIRD." Their entire life has been weird, ever since the moment a demon claimed their mother's life. In case anyone has forgotten over the course of the show's past 12 seasons, Supernatural tells the story of the Winchester brothers, portrayed by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, who fell into the family business of hunting creatures after their mother's murder. What began as their father's journey for revenge has evolved into endless monster slayings, near-death experiences and more than a few actual deaths.

By this point the Winchesters have been to Hell and back, killed Death himself, come face-to-face with God and prevented the Apocalypse. But perhaps more impressively, the series has survived three network presidents, five showrunners, a writers' strike and five different time slots. Turns out the only thing harder to kill than the Winchesters is the series itself. "It's one of those shows that has moved a lot, and yet each time it has found that core audience and built on it," Warner Bros. Television president Peter Roth says. "It's been an unsung hero."

If anyone knows about being an unsung hero, it's Sam (Padalecki) and Dean (Ackles), who've dedicated their lives to saving others and asked for nothing in return. Seriously, how many nights have they spent sleeping in their car?And yet that on-the-road lifestyle has paved the way for a number of the show's riskier episodes, which play a crucial role in keeping the audience engaged. In 2015 "Baby" was told entirely from the perspective of their beloved 1967 Impala, and that's not even close to the craziest thing the show's tried.

Aside from the rules the show creates within its canon—yes, they have a historian in the writers' room to keep them honest—not even the sky is the limit when it comes to story ideas. “[Show creator] Eric [Kripke] used to say, 'Smoke 'em if you've got 'em,' which meant: Anything crazy, don't be afraid to run it by us," executive producer Robert Singer says.

That motto led most famously to season 6's "The French Mistake," in which Sam and Dean found themselves in an alternate universe where everyone mistook them for Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, the stars of a show called Supernatural. "Our show's not bound by reality," Ackles, 39, says. "We're rooted in reality, but we're not bound by it. That gives us a fifth wall almost."

But Supernatural's season 12 finale managed to raise the stakes by somehow introducing the boys to something they'd never seen before: a world in which they don't exist and Heaven and Hell are locked in an eternal war. By episode's end, their allies Castiel (Misha Collins) and Crowley (Mark Sheppard) were dead, and their mother, Mary (Samantha Smith), who was resurrected-by God's sister!-in the season 11 finale, found herself trapped in this new reality with the Archangel Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino). If that doesn't seem bad enough, the birth of Lucifer's son is the very thing that opened the rift to this apocalyptic realm. "The world in which Sam and Dean were never born is not a good world," showrunner Andrew Dabb says. "It speaks to the importance of our guys. The world Sam and Dean live in is certainly not perfect, but it's a whole hell of a lot better than the alternative."

Dabb describes the new run of episodes as more melancholy than last year's, with new threats including some long-dead characters. And somehow Scooby-Doo has a role to play. (More on that later.)

"Last season was, in some ways, a very upbeat season for us," says Dabb, who goes on to explain that season 13 will be "darker." In their grief the boys will butt heads when it comes to both Lucifer's son Jack—Dean wants nothing to do with him; Sam thinks he's worth trying to save— and Mary, whom Sam refuses to give up on despite Dean's having lost hope that she's still alive. "The Apocalypse world hangs over our guys a little bit like a sword of Damocles," Dabb says of the season's beginning. "We're definitely going to spend a little time there."

And of course Sam and Dean have this new responsibility thrust upon them before they've had the chance to properly grieve their many losses, including Castiel, who Dabb says will appear, though maybe not the way fans are expecting. "We're not looking to hit the reset button," Dabb says. "We want to give both our guys an opportunity to react to that and ask the question: How would that affect them if their closest friend sacrifices himself for them? There is a certain amount, especially when you look at Dean, of survivor's guilt."

That being said, there will be at least one (animated!) moment of levity, though it's in the season's back half. Episode 16 will be a much-anticipated Scooby-Doo crossover, for which Ackles, Padalecki and Collins have already recorded the audio. "They've often talked about Supernatural crossing over into something." Ackles says. "I love that it's Scooby-Doo."

But even with exciting new ideas on the agenda, there's always the lingering question of how much longer the show can continue. According to CW president Mark Pedowitz, the answer is as long as the guys are happy and the ratings are relatively stable. As for Ackles and Padalecki, they are focusing on the next milestone: hitting 300 episodes (something that would take them 13 episodes into season 14). However, if Sam and Dean have taught the actors anything, it's that Death can be lurking around every corner (and he's usually eating pizza). "If we don't make it to 300, I think Ackles and I will both be truly bummed," Padalecki, 35, says.

Ackles adds, "They're paying us to bring that little bit of magic to what they wrote, and I still feel that magic. The day that I don't feel that magic will be a very sad day, and I hope that day never comes. I'd like to get to 300 before that day comes."

One thing everyone can agree on is that they want to know when the end is nigh. "I think it would be bad for this show to just ride off into the sunset without a finale," Singer says. "I think we've earned that." Ultimately the only thing that's certain about Supernatural's eventual end is the fate of Sam and Dean's Impala, Baby. "He gets Baby," Padalecki says of Ackles. "I get Baby Two." Ackles makes one correction: "No, you'll get Three. Two is a stunt car. It's beat to s---.”

But nobody gets Baby just yet. For now they'll need all the Impalas they can get as they try to solve the problems of not one world but two.

[pg 10-12]

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE

Stars Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins have rolled with rapid changes and some surprising detours during the series' remarkable run. BY SAMANTHA HIGHFILL

JARED PADALECKI CAN STILL REMEMBER THE exact pitch for Supernatural's first season: “Route 66 meets X-Files, brothers on the back roads of America hunting things that go bump in the night.” That was how he and costar Jensen Ackles were told to promote the show, which, in its first year, was just that-Sam and Dean Winchester chasing urban legends from state to state.

But over time that original pitch added a few sentences. Much like with any good road trip, there have been quite a few turns—and the occasional crossroads along the way. Although the show remains about two brothers on the back roads of America hunting things, those "things'' now include everything from vengeful spirits to imaginary friends and even Lucifer himself. After all, a show doesn't last 13 seasons without adjusting its game plan. For Supernatural that has meant an ever expanding mythology, some shocking deaths, resurrected characters, breaking the fourth wall and so much more.

Yet all the while, one thing has remained true: Sam and Dean Winchester will do whatever it takes to save the world and, even more so, to save each other. And they'll do it while navigating those seemingly endless back roads in their 1967 Impala.

Finding John Winchester (portrayed by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) was the boys' goal in season 1, though that ended up being about as difficult as getting John to stick around once he was finally discovered. The Winchester family reunion was short-lived: Season 1 closed with a car crash and the fates of all three men up in the air. And then there was that demonic deal John made with the same monster they had been hunting.

JENSEN ACKLES Everything up until that point was about finding Dad. We found Dad, we continued to fight as a unit, and then we lost Dad, and now we were two orphans.

JARED PADALECKI And I think that was the first time we ever brought back somebody from the dead, and it was you [to Ackles].

ACKLES I died in the car crash, and he traded his life with Azazel.

PADALECKI I think that was the first time we ever saw a major character die and come back. And that was a total leap of faith. So we told the story of Reapers and the veil and what happens to your soul.

ACKLES That's when we got into afterlife.

PADALECKI That was a big title shift in what Supernatural could do...

ACKLES With the introduction of Hell and making deals with demons—which is funny, because you think about that now, and [creator] Eric [Kripke] must've always known because Mom made the deal with the yellow-eyed demon.

The next shift would come later in season 2, laying the groundwork for the introduction of angels far before Castiel spread his wings in that abandoned barn in season 4.

PADALECKI "Houses of the Holy” was the first time we ever talked about angels on Supernatural. [Jensen] and I both were like, “Whatever your religious beliefs, whatever ours, we're not here to proselytize. We're here to make a serialized television show, but we want it to be universal.” So we actually had a conference call with Eric Kripke, and we were like, "Hey, man, we don't know how we feel about this.”

ACKLES We didn't want to be a mouthpiece for writers' religious views, because it wasn't the show that we had signed up for. Our argument was: “We trust you. You've done good by us so far. However, this is our one concern, and we're just bringing it to the table so that we can discuss it.”

PADALECKI And they heard us out, and I think that's why they waited another year and a half before introducing our second and most famous angel. I think it's the one time we've ever called them together with a complaint. Because I'm not a writer. I don't want to be a writer. I enjoy my job as an actor. But that was legitimately like, “Listen, if you're going here about religion, I don't want to be a part of it.”

MISHA COLLINS And now amazingly, 11 years later, so much of the show has been hung on biblical lore and mythology that is actually drawn from the Bible. One interesting thing for us is that we end up talking along the way to priests and pastors and ministers, or even nuns, who love the show.

(...)

ACKLES It was amazing, but my point being that we're in one of the most religious places on earth, and they're catering to people from a show that deals with religiously inspired story lines.

PADALECKI But not telling the story that the Bible tells.

ACKLES That's the out. That's where we get a pass is that we're not trying to tell the story of the Bible. The writers take inspiration from biblical elements and then elaborate on them. So when we got into that original discussion, Eric came back with: “We're not here to tell the story of Jesus Christ. We're here to take that element and use it as inspiration for the story.” I think that alleviated any concerns that he and I had. And at the same time we really trusted Eric and still do to this day.

Another leap of faith came with season 2's "Hollywood Babylon,” which can be considered the show's first meta episode. It opened the door for everything from season 6's “The French Mistake” to the upcoming season 13 Scooby-Doo crossover.

ACKLES “Babylon” was the first time we took the piss out of ourselves and were poking fun at the industry.

COLLINS That has been a huge [help to know] that you can go to these absurd lengths and break conventions. Reading the script where we are doing a Scooby-Doo episode makes me feel proud. Where else can you do that?

Padalecki What other show does that and has the fandom at large excited that they’re going to do that? Can you imagine if JAG or NCIS did a Scooby-Doo episode? People would be like, “What?” Not only do we break the fourth wall, do we go meta, but those end up being some of our best episodes.

The season 5 finale holds the No. 1 spot on EW's episode ranking, but that hour was important for many reasons, one of which being that it was creator Kripke’s farewell.

COLLINS “Swan Song" was another milestone because that marked the culmination of Eric's original vision for the show. He had a five-season arc in mind that tied up perfectly with a bow, and then he moved on and handed the reins over to Sera [Gamble]. That became, “Okay, guys, now let's figure out how to start a new chapter or a new volume in a series of chapters.”

PADALECKI It's the story that we were all born from, those of us who were introduced in the first five years. So to have the creator step away? I would argue that it was the largest shift.

Gamble served as showrunner for seasons 6 and 7, the latter containing another major show moment: the death of Bobby (Jim Beaver), Sam and Dean's father figure.

PADALECKI Bobby was such a big part. Jeffrey Dean [Morgan] was never as much a part of the show. He was obviously a huge part of the story, but he did [just a few] episodes, and Jim Beaver did 60 or something. And there was something about his death that we knew it was final...or final for Supernatural.

ACKLES Because his character said, “I'm done.” So it wasn't like he got killed accidentally and we found a way to bring Bobby back. He was like, “I'm hanging it up, guys." It was heavy.

PADALECKI That probably was the first big death of someone who'd been there for years...

ACKLES [Interrupting] A fan favorite...

PADALECKI Yeah, and I remember [CW president] Mark Pedowitz saying something to the effect of “As a fan, I hated when Bobby died, but it was great television.” That's how I feel. 

ACKLES Like when Sam Winchester dies for good, it's going to be good television. But when Dean Winchester lives on, it's going to be great television. [Everyone laughs]

The season 12 finale saw the introduction of an apocalyptic alternate world in which Sam and Dean Winchester were never born and Heaven and Hell are locked in an eternal war. And with that world comes the possibility for a number of character returns. But does it feel like a turning point? 

COLLINS Well, I think the rift and the fact that you can go into the apocalypse world and you can all of a sudden revisit every character in a different iteration—there could be a different version of every character—it opens up this incredible panoply.

(...)

PADALECKI And if an alternate universe exists, then how many alternate universes exist? It's hard to say, because I feel like it's impossible to identify a turning point during the turn. In hindsight it will reveal how this story will affect the show, the canon at large and the way we move forward. But I certainly feel like we're opening up doors with the rift and with the son of Lucifer.

(...)

[pg 20-26]

THE CORONER'S VAN JUST PULLED INTO THE driveway. It's the middle of August in 2016, and Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles are filming a scene for Supernatural's 12th season at a farmhouse in the Vancouver countryside, which is standing in for Iowa. Sam and Dean Winchester have ditched their flannels and jeans for sweaters and slacks in order to pose as social workers. They're doing what the two brothers do best: lying about their jobs in order to solve mysteries and kill monsters—in other words, saving people, hunting things.

When Supernatural premiered, Sam and Dean Winchester were born into the family business of hunting creatures, and it's a lifestyle that, over the years, has left them with very few people they love. Turns out, when you spend your days battling shape-shifters, witches and the occasional angel—they're not all nice, you know—nothing is guaranteed, especially not tomorrow.

But no matter how crazy the Winchesters' world gets—or how many worlds they have to face—one thing remains unchanged: At the center of it all are Ackles and Padalecki, whose Dean and Sam are the beating heart of the show (whether theirs are beating or not).

(...)

(...) even pulling up their favorite scenes on their phones to watch at the table. Padalecki can easily name the scripts that made him cry—“Heart,” “Sacrifice" and "Baby" all land on the list. The common thread is a heartfelt moment between the brothers where they get to talk about their crazy life as if, say, having visions of Lucifer is normal. “I feel like those situations where we treat the abstract and the fantastical as just part of life is where the show thrives,” Padalecki says. Ackles adds, “I think the show is truly at its best when it doesn't take itself too seriously, then it does take itself seriously, and it gets scary as s---,”.

But whether Supernatural is making fun of itself, scaring the living daylights out of its fans, or just letting the brothers have a moment on the hood of the Impala, it all works because of our central heroes. “It's about the Winchesters," says Crowley actor Mark Sheppard. “We really do care, and it's a testament to the boys that we still care."

(...)

As the sun sets on the Vancouver countryside, Sam and Dean ditch their slacks for jeans and send the coroner's van on its way. It won't be needed—this show, and the brotherly bond that holds it all together, has a lot of life left in it. Not that death has ever stopped it before.

[pg 32-34]

(...)

DEAN WINCHESTER Jensen Ackles

He was always the good son. Dean embraced the hunter's lifestyle, and he idolized his father despite John's many faults. But with the senior Winchester devoted to tracking down demons, it fell to Dean to help parent Sam, and he went to great lengths to protect his younger sibling-at one point even making a deal with a Crossroads demon (at the cost of his own life) to resurrect Sam from the dead. The two have had their differences, but throughout, Dean's brother was his first priority. "Watching out for you, it's kinda been my job, you know? But more than that, it's kinda who I am." Cynical and initially skeptical of the existence of God, Dean has nonetheless managed to become best buds with the angel Castiel (and on first name terms with both God and God's sister Amara). His self-sacrificing nature means he would do literally anything for those he considers family-and that's a short list: Sam, Mary and Castiel.

[pg 38]

Sympathy for the Devil

EVERY HERO NEEDS A HELL, BUT SUPERNATURAL HAS JUST TWO PROTAGONISTS AND HUNDREDS OF VILLAINS. HERE’S HOW THE SHOWRUNNERS APPROACHED SAM AND DEAN’S MANY FOES, FROM WELL-KNOWN URBAN LEGENDS TO SATAN HIMSELF. By Samantha Highfill

[pg 51]

Stairway to Heaven

SAM AND DEAN MET CASTIEL. AN ANGEL OF THE LORD, IN SEASON 4, AND IT CHANGED THE COURSE OF THE SHOW. BECAUSE ANGELS WEREN’T ALWAYS THE PLAN— AND CASTIEL WAS ONLY THE FIRST. By Samantha Highfill

(on page 57 there’s a small box of print on the corner that says: In what executive producer Robert Singer calls one of the series’ most “iconic images,” Castiel (Misha Collins) is introduced as the show’s first real angel.)

WHILE OTHER CHILDREN WERE LEARNING multiplication tables, Sam and Dean Winchester were hunting monsters. “When I told Dad I was scared of the thing in my closet, he gave me a .45!” says Sam to Dean in the Supernatural pilot, recalling an episode when he was 9 years old. Clearly creature encounters were par for the course in the Winchester way of life. And when you grow up battling all the evil in the world, it's hard to believe in the good. But in the show's season 4 premiere, Dean would come face-to-face with the one supernatural entity he didn't think existed: angels.

“[Show creator] Eric [Kripke] wasn't in love with the idea of doing angels,” executive producer Robert Singer says of the early days. “But as things went on and we were getting into demons, I would say to him, 'I don't know how we do demons without doing angels.’”

The show tested the waters in season 2's “Houses of the Holy,” when Sam and Dean worked a case that appeared to involve angels then went in a different direction. It wasn't until late in the next season that the seraphim were finally embraced. When Dean was dragged to Hell, they needed to get him out. And if there's a Hell, it stands to reason there has to be a Heaven. "[The season 3 finale] was the gateway into this whole other world of angels and demons," executive producer Andrew Dabb says.

When it came time to spring Dean from Hell, it was Castiel, the show's first angel, who gripped him tight and raised him from perdition. But Castiel quickly established that he wasn't a typical cherubic angel. Many of the show's angels were, as Sam and Dean would put it, real dicks. “We have our own brand of angels and the idea that they were these warriors of God,” Singer says. “We introduced Castiel, and we just went from there. Heaven opened up different levels of angels.”

The moment Castiel spread his wings, the show expanded its universe. Castiel came bearing news of something much bigger: the Apocalypse, the ultimate showdown between good and evil-or more specifically between Archangels Michael and Lucifer. “We started with archangels and the idea that Lucifer was an archangel and was cast out of Heaven,” Singer says. “We certainly took some license, but it was all biblically grounded. We just took those things and went a step further to make them work for our story.”

From there the show explored all kinds of angels, from Zachariah and Naomi to Gabriel and Metatron, and, of course, it eventually arrived at God-or Chuck, if you prefer. “We didn't really know that Chuck was God when we first started with him," Singer says of introducing the character in season 4. (He wouldn't be revealed as God until season 11.) “That evolved. We wanted a relatable God, a God with foibles.”

Nine seasons later, what started as one angel in a trench coat has evolved into Lucifer, God, Leviathan and even a sister for God. “We play a little fast and loose with religion, but no one has really complained about it,” Singer says with a laugh. “So we'll just keep going.”

[pg 56-58]

CASTIEL Misha Collins

What can you say about the only member of Team Free Will who wears an overcoat? Cas has become a true member of the Winchester family.

(...) Lynn: In the scene where Dean is trying to convince Sam not to go with Death, and says that memorable line, “There ain’t no me if there ain’t no you,” alot of us weren’t sure if that was actually Dean — if Ezekiel sent Dean in to convince Sam and then switched places with him to possess Sam — or if that was Ezekiel looking like Dean. When you were doing that scene, how were you playing it?

Jensen: I was playing it as Ezekiel.

Lynn: (gasping rather dramatically) Noooooo, that’s not the answer I want!

Jensen: (probably rolling his eyes a little at Lynn. Which is totally understandable) Sorry!

He went on to explain that Ezekiel was, however, expressing Dean’s genuine feelings about Sam, but putting it in words that Dean himself probably would never say out loud.

Lynn: *looks less traumatized*

In other words, the line was the truth, but we all know that Dean’s not very good at putting his feelings out there, which even Lynn had to admit was true. Jensen said similar things have happened in other scenes between Dean and Cas and between Dean and Sam. [ETA again, omg this is exhausting – another person who was there posted a clarification of what was said – thanks!]. Jensen said something about the scene with Cas beating Dean up, there was consideration of Dean saying ‘I love you,’ but it didn’t seem like something Dean would actually come out and say, so it was changed to ‘We’re family’ (My interpretation is that in both cases, he was talking about familial love, hence the change to ‘we’re family’. I also thought that might explain how certain priceless S8 gag reel scenes happened…) There have been times when they’ve considered the same for Sam and Dean, but the brothers just aren’t guys who are able to express their feelings openly. Jensen did leave Lynn with a bit of hope though.

Jensen: They should save that for the finale, then the brothers can finally say how they feel. (...)

(...) “It was a success story — it was Dean’s success story,” Padalecki reflects on the “Supernatural” series finale. “This guy gave his life for years and years and years and ultimately gave his life to have his No. 1 on the planet live as normal a life as possible.”

Shot amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the “Supernatural” season finale was not a parade of beloved guest stars getting one last good-bye, but instead focused on the Winchester brothers who started it all (with one very special appearance by Jim Beaver). Padalecki confirms for Variety that there was no version he had read that revealed who Sam’s wife was in those flashes through his later years. In the episode, she is seen out of focus, from a long distance.

“I think it was very, very purposely ambiguous and strangely I agreed with that,” he says. “I feel like a lot of what Sam did after Dean died was almost in honor of what Dean would have wanted, and Dean would not have wanted his little brother to marry Eileen, Ruby, someone in the life.”

Padalecki and Ackles shot Dean’s death scene and Sam’s goodbye to him on Sept. 4, 2020. “That day sucked,” Padalecki says. “It was all day, just watching Dean die. Going through that was really awful.” Less than a week later duo was shot reuniting in heaven, on what was their final day — and the final shot — for the series overall. Five weeks after that, Padalecki truly set Sam aside to step into his new role as Cordell Walker, the titular Texas Ranger who is mourning the death of his wife (played by his real-life wife Genevieve Padalecki) on the reimagining of “Walker, Texas Ranger” that is simply titled “Walker.” (...) Because Walker is in such deep grief when the audience meets him, Padalecki says that his challenge in the first season is to just keep it all together and try to balance being a good law enforcement official with being a good father.

“If he was on a boat that went down, he’s still trying to figure out how to stay above water; he’s not even looking for the horizon yet. It’s, ‘How do I fucking stay alive? My wife is gone, she did everything. I’m passionate about my job and making the world safer, but I can’t do that and be a dad. I may get in trouble with my job if I fail but I may fail my kids.’ He’s just trying to tread water,” Padalecki says.

Therefore, “it’s not about romantically moving on, but it’s also not really about trying to figure out how to move on” at all, he continues.

Regardless of how long a run “Walker” ends up getting to have, Padalecki says the central component of the show will always be Walker “not as a Texas Ranger who happens to have a family man, but a family man who happens to be a Texas Ranger.”

But, to be clear, even after jumping from one 15-year run on a broadcast drama straight into another broadcast drama, Padalecki says he hopes “‘Walker’ goes longer than ‘Supernatural.'”

“I get to wake up in my house with my wife and kids everyday and go to bed in the same house; I have a vote on where the story heads, so that makes me feel a little bit safer; the crew’s amazing; I love this city [Austin, Texas] and I have for years; I love the story we’re telling,” he explains.

During those 15 years on “Supernatural,” its fandom, he says, helped him realize “we can make a connection with other human beings in the real world by telling a story on television about random strange things as long as the underlying heart is there.” And that is what he hopes to continue for as long as he can. (...)

(...) Jared said in a meet and greet that this was Sam’s happiest moment in a way because it was what started him on the path that became so fulfilling for him, as he got back on the road with his brother. Having heard Dean’s confession of how terrified he was that Sam would turn him away, Sam showed up in clothes that evoked that moment, at the time when Dean would never have to worry about being without his brother again. Damn it, more tissues… (...) (...)When the finale script was read by the actors, Jensen Ackles wasn’t sure he could get his head around Sam and Dean dying, so he spoke to the person who he knew he could trust to give him a read on whether it really was a good ending – the man who created the characters and the show, Eric Kripke. After talking with Eric, he got it – and came to wholeheartedly support the ending.  (In fact, both Jared and Jensen have said that they count the finale as a favorite episode, perhaps the favorite). Shortly after Jensen’s chat with him, I had a chance to chat with Eric and I asked him what he’d said to make Jensen feel so much better. He didn’t spoil the ending, but he did remind me that Sam and Dean deserved “peace when they are done”. And the only way they could find peace is if it was no longer their mantra that “we got work to do”. As long as there were things to fight, the Winchesters would have work to do. Their peace, in other words, had to be on another plane of existence, one where there are no monsters. That’s what Sam and Dean found at the very end of Supernatural, in Heaven. And that’s beautifully full circle. (...) In their chapters in There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done, both Jared and Jensen talked about how important Sam and Dean are to them, and how even the end of the show won’t change that. Pretty sure alot of us can say the same. (...)