#2012:august8

(...) IGN: Was it exciting for you, daunting, or a little of both that you weren’t going to be a part of setting up these storylines as much as seeing, “This is the last crisis we’ve left them with,” and kind of figuring out where those puzzle pieces will fit?

Carver: I don’t know if you’re a fan of Top Chef?

IGN: Yes, I am, actually!

Carver: The Top Chef challenge where one chef starts, and then the other chef is blindfolded and has to come in and start? It’s a little bit like that. The show always has the base to fall back on, which is the brothers. You can go a lot of different directions as long as these guys are at the center of it. So yeah, it was very exciting, but coming off a couple years where I was starting something -- that’s still something I’m still working through. You’re being held to such an enormous canon. It’s very easy to be in the room and throw something out there, and someone’s like, “You can’t do that. We did that. We can’t do that.” That said, it’s worth it. I think the staff is feeling very invigorated and fun, and they’re introducing new characters and lots of new structural things to the show. It feels like we’re doing our best to keep things fresh and exciting.

IGN: Piggybacking off of what you just said about not wanting to repeat things, we’ve seen storylines about both Sam and Dean returning from Hell and the very different way that that shaped them and they dealt with it. How will Dean’s time in Purgatory shape him, and how do you make it different from what happened before?

Carver: I’ll say this: each brother had starkly different transformative experiences over this past time that they were apart from each other. I think, first and foremost, they’re still dealing within themselves about how it’s affected them, both emotionally and in the relationships that have sprung up in their time alone. It’s the process of starting to be able to relate with each other anew that forms a lot of the basis for that -- at least in the earlier episodes. I think one of the things that’s nice is that there’s always secrets and everything, but what happens when it completely changes your outlook on life or who you are or what you want to be in 15 years? I often say it’s like when you talk to your best friend when you’re 20 and then you talk to them differently when you’re 30, because life is catching up to you. (...) IGN: When I spoke to Jared at Comic-Con, he talked about the fact that Sam is trying something Dean tried and failed at, which is to make a life away from this all and to find someone to settle down with. We know, from the beginning the series, that Sam is different guy than Dean. Might he be successful where Dean failed in that regard?

Carver: I think one thing we’re playing with this year is that success is very much in the eye of the beholder. There’s a lot of perception issues this year. What one brother might perceive as success may not seem that way to the other. That’s part of it - what’s going on with each one. To answer your question, we’re very much exploring just that. I don’t know that Supernatural will ever field the typical notion of success. The show has constantly played with that throughout the years, and I think we’re doing that again this year. (...) IGN: Based on what you’ve revealed so far, I’ve seen some fans express concerns like, “Did Sam give up looking for Dean? How much did he try or not try to find him?” What can you about that, as far as what Sam was doing while Dean was gone?

Carver: I would say that I don’t think anything is done without good reason. One of the things in the show is that, particularly this season, people might think one way about one of the brothers in the beginning. Again, it goes along with perception. I would just ask people to hold on to your hats and understand that we’re going to be exploring each brother, the very complex and difficult things that they’re going through. No one’s hands were completely clean at the end of last season. What you think might be a bad thing -- I don’t think you’ll think that as the season goes on. We’re playing with expectations.

IGN: Are you structuring this season with an overall enemy? Is it going to be like we’ve seen on other seasons as far as a threat that might pop up periodically and then build towards the end of the season?

Carver: Yeah, I think you’re going to see… The notion of the year is “quest.” They’re united in the search of something. One of the guys will start to present themselves as something of an obstacle this year, which will be the character of Crowley. He had somewhat of an uneasy yet fairly businesslike relationship with them. I think this year you’re going to see that they’re very much on opposite sides of the fence in terms of this quest, as it were. Things are going to get a little dirtier with Crowley. Then we can certainly say that other baddies will emerge. Again, it’s very much perceptions this year, so I don’t think it’s going to be as obvious from the get-go who is good and who is bad.

IGN: Castiel had a reduced role last year, appearing at the beginning and end of the season. We don’t know why he left or where he went when he and Dean reached purgatory, but how much of a presence do you expect him to have this year?