Comic-Con: Supernatural Q&A Teases Season 10

As Supernatural enters into its tenth season, the show’s diverse fanbase is left torn between anticipation and uncertainty given the challenges facing the characters after season nine’s ‘eye opening’ finale. After Dean is murdered by Metatron then reawakened as a demon in “Do You Believe In Miracles,” we are left with Sam unaware of his brother’s return as a demon, Castiel losing his stolen grace and edging closer to death, and Crowley attempting to build a partnership with the newly demonic Winchester who we anticipate being different than anything we’ve ever seen before on Supernatural. Geekiary admin Angel K was honored to be invited into the press room to try and win any information on what we can expect. Showrunner Jeremy Carver teased that fans should look forward to a season that focuses on each of the main characters personally, and a ‘certain reckoning’ for the decisions they made last seasons on who to be:

I think something we’re very excited about this year is that the mythology is going to be very personal. It’s not going to be quite as quest-oriented a mythology, it’s going to be a mythology where we are very carefully laying some building blocks that are very personal to each of our main characters, starting with the boys and how they relate to each other and some of the decisions they make once Dean eventually does come back from demonism. Crowley and Castiel are both going to be confronted with some very personal issues. Last year we had people deciding who they wanted to be; if you think back last season everyone had to make that decision somewhere in the season, and this season is ‘I am who I am.’ And that may be a very good or a very bad thing.

Much of the buzz has been that a demonic Dean Winchester could be a very scary, very ‘bad’ thing and certainly a change from a Dean who has been in many ways the anchor of the show given the many versions of Sam and Castiel we have seen over the years. Jensen Ackles gave us some insight into what to expect from the new, Demon Dean, and what it will mean for his relationships on the show:

This is an interesting one because I’m not around any. . . well, I guess Crowley. . . but I’m not really around Sam that much, not around Cas that much. So those relationships and the ways those characters interact with each other, I don’t really get to do that. So this is all really sort of solo flying for Demon Dean, and it’s kind of sad. It’s like the guy at the party who doesn’t want the party to be over, and he just keeps drinking and keeps making an ass of himself, but he doesn’t care that his friends have all left, and he doesn’t care that the music has died. He’s just like “I don’t care, I’m going to keep drinking and keep being an asshole.” And that’s basically Demon Dean. So, it’s sad, but it’s also scary because of what he is and what he’s capable of. I mean, like I think I said on the panel. . . out of three days of filming last week, Demon Dean was in four fights. [Laughs] So, it’s a lot of physicality, a lot of booze, a lot of babes. That’s about it.

How does co-star Jared Padelecki feel about that shift in the dynamic, as Dean undergoes his own set of changes, much as Sam has in the past? He had this to say about the change in the brothers’ relationship, and the shift to Demon Dean:

 As an actor, I love it, because it’s always been like. . . ah, Summer’s great, you’re relaxed, you’re going to read an episode and you’re like “Soulless?!” Now I’m going to have to do some work, like … what? I have to figure out what someone soulless does, and its summer! An angel?! Now I’ve got to think like an angel character. So as an actor it’s been wonderful, but it’s been a lot of hard work. So it’s nice to see that Jensen gets to flex those muscles. It gives me more time to play with my kids! As far as the dynamic on-screen, I think it’s neat. Dean was the one from the get-go, from inception, who was committed to hunting. Sam, it’s not so much that he’s not stalwart, it’s just different commitments that he has. And we see Sam’s dedication and loyalty come back into play, and it does change a little bit because now Sam. . . Sam is older now than Dean was in Season 1. Maybe Sam’s grown up, and he’s gone to hell and back literally, and now we’re going to see what he does, what he’s going to choose.

When asked where the relationship between Dean and Castiel, the Winchesters’ guardian angel, stands given the season finale, Misha Collins had this to offer for Season 10:

When we find them at the beginning of the season, Dean is a demon. And Castiel wants to get the old Dean back, but he also is determined to get rid of Demon Dean, whatever that takes. If that means there is no choice but to kill Dean, Castiel is willing to go that far. So their relationship, I would say, is strained at the moment.

With all the teasers that Crowley will be spending the most time with Dean of the current characters, Mark Sheppard weighed in on the debate of if the whether the King of Hell is just using Dean:

I think it’s more than manipulating Dean. I think there’s genuine affection. I don’t think he would have done half the things he’s done if he didn’t care for him. You never really know! You don’t really know what Crowley’s purpose is, all you know is that Crowley’s resolution to things are all in Crowley’s favor.

With Sam, Dean and Castiel separated at the start of the season, where can we expect to see them start? Just before the media Q&A, the Supernatural panel teased that we could expect singing and rump shaking, but Jensen explained a bit more of what that scene shows about this new version of Dean:

The songs he picks to karaoke are the songs he knows will piss the crowd off. Because he doesn’t care and if they don’t like it, even more reason to sing it. And that’s kind of the theme of Demon Dean, he just does not care about what people think, or what people want. At one point the bouncer comes up he says ‘hey, buddy, enough with the bad tunes’ and he beats the crap out of him and picks the mic back up.

Misha had already indicated in the panel that saving Dean was of greater priority to Castiel than saving himself, and when asked why he explained Castiel’s priorities:

I think Cas has developed a somewhat fatalistic perspective on life. I think he feels like he’s doomed, because the only solution that he knows is to either get Metatron’s cooperation, which he’s too prideful to do, or slit an angel’s throat and steal its grace, and he doesn’t want to kill any more angels. So he is somewhat resigned to his own expiration. He’s concerned about it, but he feels like he doesn’t have any options.

When asked about Sam’s apparent change of heart at the end of last season, when he answered ‘I lied’ to explain his stated lack of concern for his brother and unwillingness to go as far as Dean to save him, Jared discussed his character motivation:

He didn’t change, he was lying to Dean because he was hurt. What is it, ‘you always hurt the ones you’re closest to?’ So, Sam certainly wasn’t saying “I don’t care about you.” The Purgatory thing [not looking for his brother] was strange, but as far as last season goes, Sam was saying “Buddy, you hurt me, then you lied to me and let me get possessed by an angel.” It was more that he was hurt. So, we do see how far Sam is willing to go, and Sam is willing to go outrageously far. We see the darker sides of Sam and what he’s willing to do, how to test the edges of morality. So it’s going to be a lot of fun. I know it’s fun for me.

Mark seems pleased with the current plot for his character, but deferred questions of what to expect from Crowley to Jeremy Carver:

I like the way it’s going. I mean, I really do. I genuinely like this element in the last two years. But I think it’s more investigation of who and what we are. I’m not sure! There’s a lot of untapped areas for Crowley. Crowley’s very serious in that way. What’s there to give away? We don’t know about a thousandth of the boss. Grill the guy with glasses! He’s the guy that knows.

At the start of the season, at very least, it sounds as if these characters are all on separate paths. We asked Misha whether we could expect to see Castiel with the Winchesters, or if he would be on his own again:

I think the stories will be woven together, but there is also sort of a lot of independence this season for all of the characters. I think Crowley really has his own storyline, Cas does his own storyline, the brothers each have their own storylines. I think that we’re going to see them drift apart, and then come back together again. But I should say that is wild speculation on my part, because I really don’t know. I mean, we have a vantage point of perspective on the first half-dozen episodes that we have seen outlines of, or have heard description of what’s going to happen in an episode. But, beyond that I have no idea. Jeremy [Carver] has an idea, he’s the one that knows. Ask him!

Mark gave the same final answer but more succinctly, about whether Crowley would have an individual plot:

I don’t know that I do. I think that’s something you’ll need to ask Jeremy about.

So we asked the man with the answers, and Jeremy gave us this regarding whether the storylines and characters would be as separate as they were last season:

I think the plots always tie in. One of the things we’ve discovered in the last couple years, and I know there are varied opinions on this, but Castiel and Crowley are so much a part of the family that they can really hold their own stories. But ultimately, the universe revolves around these two brothers, so no matter what little. . . well, no, not little. . . but a separate storyline will always tie in, but there has to be room for Crowley and Castiel to go out and have their own experiences, as it were, because it’s only going to influence and make it stronger when they come back together.

Should we be expecting a darker side of Dean this year? Jensen doesn’t think so. When asked about what to expect of the tone of the character, he explained how much different we can expect to see the often guilt-ridden elder Winchester brother:

I mean, it’s funny but it’s not even the darker side, I even say it’s more of a lighter side. Not a comedic side, but because Dean last year was so guilt ridden, and the weight of the world was on his shoulders, and the weight of the fact that he tricked his brother into being possessed by Gadreel, and that whole thing, and now his brother doesn’t want a brother relationship with him anymore, he just wants to stay strictly business. . . all of that guilt, and all of that weight, and all of that responsibility that was just bogging him down for the entire season, all of that’s gone. And now he doesn’t care. This is a demon that is just so care free that it’s a little creepy and a little scary. So that’s where we pick up.

Given the transformation of Dean, questions turned back to the many versions of Sam we have seen over the years, through possessions and transformations, and Jared was asked who his favorite version of Sam to play has been:

I actually loved Soulless Sam. I did, I thought it was so fun to play because he was just so much of a sociopath. Which was really fun, and there were some funny scenes with Dean where he’s like “You didn’t even look for me?” “Oh, yeah, I looked for you but then I met this girl!” So it was sort of a funny, pure reason to play. Like, in school I was a mathlete, and I’m a big math guy. So I just try to make it about reasoning, like if you’re soulless. Like, when Cas was reaching into the boy’s stomach to see what was wrong with him, and Dean was going to stop Cas, and Soulless Sam stopped Dean, it was sort of like “What in the world, who are you?” But Sam’s reasoning was that if it causes the kid pain, it doesn’t matter because it might save someone else down the line. Or, like, to kill one person to save two. Real-Life Sam would be like “I don’t want to kill anybody!” but Soulless Sam would be like “Well, alright.” It was an interesting way to play a character, to make it about math and logic, and I was able to go back to my school roots.

Mark was concerned about avoiding spoilers, when asked about if we could expect to see more of Crowley’s humanity come in to play, or if he would revert to an evil character:

He never perceived himself as an evil character. You kind of have to wait and see!

What other characters can we expect to see in Season 10? Jeremy let us know about two we can definitely expect to see, and gave an intriguing tease regarding another guest:

Just, in terms of characters that you’re going to see coming back, you’re definitely going to see a good handful of returning characters. Some I can’t talk about right now, but . . . one episode will have a teaming of Sheriff Mills and Sheriff Donna Hanscum, I don’t know if you remember, she was in “The Purge,” and she’s just absolutely wonderful. And we’re going to do basically our version of “The Heat” this year, which I think is going to be a lot of fun. Crowley and Castiel, they’re regulars this year, so they’re going to be all over the place. You’re going to see characters that have been spoken of, but have never been seen over the ten years, there will be at least one of those.

Can we expect to see the stars of Supernatural in other roles, any time soon? Jared doubts it:

I don’t think it’ll happen between seasons. Because it has to work out so perfectly, because features are filming year-round. So, the last time I did a movie I literally. . . I mean, I flew from the set of Supernatural, I took an overnight to Houston to Austin, and shot that day in Austin and then I think I finished like six or seven days before coming back to Vancouver. And it just shot me, I was bobbing my head for the first part of the season. But, beyond that the timing has to work out perfectly. To do a movie like a fun Avengers or something, those take six months to shoot, and we really only get two months off. The stars kind of have to align for something to happen. It has to be like a small, cool role in a great feature or it has to be a really quick-shooting independent feature. Which is not bad, but I think it probably . . . I don’t think Supernatural is going to go another ten years. If it goes another two or three, it’d be great, we’ll just ride it out. It’s just been so fun to play Sam that I don’t mind just committing to it. And then summers, the kids, and I think my wife a kids. . . I hope they miss me! So, when summer comes around I love just going back to Austin and hanging out with them.

Misha was asked about rumors purporting that Castiel will head to the spin-off:

I think the writers are kicking around a lot of different ideas about what a possible spin-off could be, but no one has talked to me about a spin-off.

According to Jeremy, those rumors are a bit hasty as the spin-off, to replace the ‘Bloodlines’ option that was not picked up by the CW, is still very much in brain-storming stage.

We’re looking at the white board and asking ourselves, is there something here that we can do? Last year we went. . . I think it’s fair to say that we went the not-obvious version of the spin-off, and there were some real reasons that we did that. . . I mean, we didn’t do that for no reasons! We thought about it a little bit you know what I mean? [Laughs] But yeah, we continue to kick it around and see if there’s something there.

How will separate storylines for all of the characters, demon Dean, Sam’s darkness and Castiel’s failing grace translate onto the screen? We can only wait and see. Supernatural’s tenth season will premier on Tuesday, October 7.

Author: Exorcising Emily

Emily is one of the first contributors to the Geekiary and helped set the standard for convention Twitter coverage for conventions. She’s been involved with fandom all of her life, especially active in the Firefly, Veronica Mars, and Supernatural fandoms. She’s known for her excitement over tea and the planet Pluto, as well as her activism towards fan led charity events and anti-bullying initiatives.

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