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“Trial and Error” Photos

Check out these new pics from the February 13 episode.

Slideshow ‘Supernatural’ Episode 8.14 Photos: ‘Trial and Error’

News posted on January 25, 2013 Comments (36)

36 Comments »

Be careful Roxi don’t faint I think that was Dean kissing what looks like a tough hot chick if I’m not mistaken. Could it be what you have been ranting about for who knows how long.

Comment by AW — January 25, 2013 @ 2:12 pm
the blue steel pic-omg. and gawd i hope dean gets this job/arc/episode. when was the last time he had a season long arc. ummmmmm 5 years maybe. hopefully he has something good to do. i read an interview with the special effects guys from spn. they talked about a scene where dean gets a chunk bit out of him. i wonder if this is the episode.?

but yea roxi-looks like dean gets some.

Comment by animal — January 25, 2013 @ 2:23 pm
Actually, Dean has never had a season-long arc that wasn’t thrown out. Remember, S4 was erased with Swan Song.

I hope Dean gets this job, too, and that it isn’t given to some random support actor. I would be more inclined to think that this is Sam’s redemption arc for not having looked for Dean. It could go either of three ways, it looks like.

I wonder if this hot chick will be set up for Dean an ongoing love story to parallel Sam’s and through it, Dean learns what Sam valued so much with Amelia. Carver has a penchant for providing love interests for all his characters.

Comment by Sheri — January 25, 2013 @ 2:34 pm
well i considered season 3 a dean arc because they hit on him going to hell in every episode. you know when the writing was actually good and you were able to follow the arcs each episode???lol.

yea i know carver likes love interests. so maybe this could be an ongoing love interest. that is what jo was supposed to be back in season 2 so maybe they are going to try again. they said alona tal wasn’t “hot” enough. this chick looks like she is -so maybe.

all i know is i want benny back. and to stay as a recurring character. as you can tell i have cooled down from my rant right after watching larp episode. still disgusted. but cooler head now.lol.

Comment by animal — January 25, 2013 @ 3:37 pm
@ animal: Oh, I forgot about Dean going to Hell. Actually, I liked every episode in S3, because the whole thing was about the brothers …Dean going to Hell and coming to terms with it and Sam slowly falling apart and, as you say, every episode was relevant. I’ve always wavered between S3 or S2 as my favorite season.

I can’t remember the early spoiler there was about Elle; whether she was the Katherine Hepburn type character with some big secret, or if that was the one. I didn’t hear any casting news about Elle either, which makes me think she’s being kept secret for a reason.

I’d say it is a toss-up between her and the cowgirl, but I’m learning towards her because of the ethnicity angle she’d bring to the show.

Comment by Sheri — January 25, 2013 @ 5:10 pm
AW, why with the attitude towards me? What did I ever say bad to you?

Comment by roxi — January 25, 2013 @ 5:14 pm
I think the Katherine Hepburn type is in the next episode.

Comment by roxi — January 25, 2013 @ 5:21 pm
Seriously Dean girls bitch more than anyone and they don’t really have as much of a reason to. I don’t get it. I guess Dean getting to do all the dressing up, connecting with the guest star of the week, always being right, the whole show being told from his perspective, being the emotional center of the show and getting to express himself, and essentially getting to be the “golden boy” of the series is just not enough. Seriously get over it so what if he doesn’t get the myth arc every fucking season, none of the other characters get half the treatment he does. I don’t want to watch the DEAN Show I want to watch Supernatural. Grab a tissue already.

What does this even have to do with the promo pics? Go waste your time ranting on the other thread repeating the same hate speeches over and over again.

Comment by Me — January 25, 2013 @ 6:06 pm
Wow, I guess the show you’re watching is completely different from the one I’ve been watching all these years. Sam has ALWAYS been the one to get all the major storylines, while Dean is relegated to reacting to him, looking out for him, running after him, and apologizing to him! Dean NEVER gets the attention Sam has always gotten. Sam is the smart one, the special one,the chosen one, the important one, the one who gets any real romances, the one who gets to save the world.
And Dean always being right? Are you serious? In this season alone, Dean has had to apologize to Sam for , what a TEXT, while all the shit Sam has done to Dean is just washed away. And the crap Sam did to Dean was far worse than that text. Sam hasn’t been told he’s wrong about,or should apologize to Dean, for anything, while SPN keeps making Dean out to be such a bad guy. Always right my ass!Dean’s constantly being told how wrong he is, if not that it’s always ‘Boo hoo Princess, suck it up!’
So yeah, as a Dean fan, I DO feel we have more to ‘bitch’ about. And it’s not hating Sam, It’s wanting equal treatment for Dean. It’s wanting his character to be just as important as Sam has always been. You as a Samgirl ,in my opinion, are the one with so much less to complain about, because your favorite has always gotten the mai9n focus and all the best acting opportunities.

Comment by roxi — January 25, 2013 @ 6:22 pm
3- Sherri, I doubt this woman will be a real love interest. I’d be very surprised if they gave Dean anything like that. He might not even sleep with her. That kiss might be all that happens.

Comment by roxi — January 25, 2013 @ 6:51 pm
@ roxi It was joke relax. Its all you ever post about anymore.

Comment by AW — January 25, 2013 @ 7:01 pm
AW- then you really haven’t been pay much attention. I’ve been posting about many other things besides that.

Comment by roxi — January 25, 2013 @ 7:05 pm
@ roxi: You could be right, but given Carver’s penchant for love interests, I am inclined to believe love interest on the way. Look what he did to poor Sam right off the bat, and even though that story has been one epic fail, he just keeps banging us over the heads with it. Even if we never see Amelia again, we’re still dealing with the fallout of the epic love story.

Comment by Sheri — January 25, 2013 @ 7:12 pm
I didn’t even mention Sam or claim to be a Sam girl, way to make assumptions. Furthermore, what about always getting perspective, always getting to express himself, and as you can see fans will see him as being right even when he’s not, storyline isn’t everything you know I’m sorry you don’t understand that. Dean is much more focal to the story than you realize and he doesn’t even need to have storyline to do that. That’s why his character is more popular, you see things through his eyes.

Take the last episode, Dean got to dress up, express himself as usual, bond with the guest star and do everything…Sam did the research. Many episodes are like this where Dean gets most of the screen time and action and Sam becomes a side character even to the guest star. I am neither “Dean girl” or “Sam girl” I’m not into the petty wars fangirls get into it’s lame, but if anyone gets to complain, the last people should be Dean girls you guys get everything else.

And the argument for equality is rather invalid considering you can say the same for any other character. Life’s not fair get over it.

I think it’s sad some fans tear the show apart because their favorite isn’t constantly featured enough or have center stage enough. Grow up. Let’s be honest, the other characters (mostly Sam) get shafted more than Dean does. Unless all you care about is storyline and fail to see the importance of perspective and emotion.

Comment by Me — January 25, 2013 @ 7:16 pm
Good lord it’s a tv show. It’s one thing to talk about a show but the way some of you rant on and on for hours on end every day, why don’t you focus your energy on something more important? And as for the fan girl “warriors” you’re not winning the peace prize for bringing light to the “grave injustice” that the writers do to a fictional character. It’s fine to talk about the show and even give criticism but really…it’s not THAT important. If only people gave this much attention to REAL issues. Get off the couch. You watch too much tv.

Comment by Wake up — January 25, 2013 @ 8:22 pm
I agree with 100% WITH @WAKE UP.

Comment by ozzie — January 25, 2013 @ 8:28 pm
Me, when you start your post with “you Dean girls”, naturally people are going to assume that you are a Samfanatic or Samgirl. You attack the posters by belittling them. It is ok to have an opinion on the characters, the direction of the show without attacking the posters. Seems like the Samfans, or people who claim they aren’t either, start attacking fans of Dean, then they are surprised when they react? You can disagree without the attacks.

Comment by twinster — January 25, 2013 @ 8:29 pm
@15 Pffft. You realize, of course, that the moment you stop long enough to type in an admonishment on people taking discussions on the internet too seriously, you give up all moral high ground? You’re dedicating your energy to criticizing people who are not behaving to your taste on a message board, so it’s not like you can claim you’re any better. Seems if you look around, you’ll find yourself in a glass house.

Comment by Wow — January 25, 2013 @ 8:36 pm
@ Me: You’re not into the ‘fan wars?’ Your post certainly says otherwise.

If you haven’t seen Sam’s “perspective and emotion” in this season, or any other season for that matter, then there’s no point in discussing it with you. Have you not seen the far away stares cueing every Amelia flashback there has been? Have you not seen the anger at Dean for having Benny as a friend for God’s sake? Have you not seen Sam’s irrationality over Benny? Have you not seen the guilt written on his face when Dean called him out for dumping Kevin? Have you not seen him call Dean out on Dean’s sniping about leaving the hunt? Did you not see in this latest episode that it was the two…yes, two, brothers slowly working their way back together; i.e., Sam’s concession to have some ‘fun’ with Dean.

If you have not, then there’s no way you will ever get Sam’s POV. If you have, then you’re not reading the text of the episode or listening to Sam’s dialogue, and I would imagine that it would then be hard for you to decipher storylines and sub-plots.

Who are the other characters that don’t get as much attention as Dean? Could that be Cas? Perhaps Kevin? Maybe Mrs. Tran? Oh, or Garth? Well, guess what? Those are all support characters; therefore, I don’t expect any of them to have the same due consideration as the two leads.

You are completely out of line telling anyone on this board to get over their opinions, since the same could be said right back at you.

You must be very dissatisfied with Sam’s love story to go on such a rant. There was nothing in the posts prior to your Post #8 that warranted such an outburst. Nothing.

Comment by Sheri — January 25, 2013 @ 8:37 pm
And yeah, Me, since you clearly begrudge Dean’s character for what he does get from show and feel that fans of the character shouldn’t complain about anything because Sam is treated worse and shafted for Dean, you are of course totally objective. Totally.

Comment by Wow — January 25, 2013 @ 8:39 pm
@Sheri

Get over it.

Comment by Me — January 25, 2013 @ 9:13 pm
Sheri, I’d say it is not worth our time to feed the trolls. If we stop feeding them, perhaps they will starve and go away.

Comment by twinster — January 26, 2013 @ 5:58 am
why is it that some people feel the need to attack other people because of thier opinion??? why is a DISCUSSION/CONVERSATION on a show, character, or theme of an episode so wrong?? i ain’t following the logic. attacking a show or its characters is not a personal attack. attacking another poster -who is an actual person-is a personal attack. which is much worse. just sayin.

Comment by animal — January 26, 2013 @ 7:56 am
I can not figure out why everyone seems so angry/defensive/whiny. I think this season has really turned around and his going to be awesome. The soapernatural is gone the myth arc revealed Sam and Dean together and enjoying it. I am enjoying the road so far.

Comment by AW — January 26, 2013 @ 8:07 am
14 I am being honest. As far as I’ve always seen, Dean plays support to Sam, the main character, while Sam gets more importance and his arcs get front burner status. But ya know what? Who cares.
The point is, you did start this by jumping all over the Dean fans so you got a reaction. What did you expect?

Comment by roxi — January 26, 2013 @ 8:58 am
AW -for me -i get tired of dean being a dormat. i get tired of sam always getting “wronged” so therefore he always gets the “sorry”. when he is just as wrong as dean if not more. i guess it is the repetition of this dynamic that is getting very old to me. yes i have liked most of the episodes this season. bitten-being the worst one. but to go in the same circles for 8 seasons is just bleh to me now. i would like the arcs to matter through the WHOLE season instead of an episode here and an episode there like in the earlier years. its a bi*ch i have.

i didn’t hype at the cons that this year sam and dean were going to be on the offensive. searching for something like raiders of the lost arc. carver did. i haven’t seen sam or dean searching for anything have you??? but i agree with you-the season is better than last year. up until this past episode i liked the dynamic between the brothers. and I liked sam and dean. now not so much. but the next episode looks very good. however it looks like canon is going to be thrown under the bus again. like the fairies were this episode. but no big deal.

Comment by animal — January 26, 2013 @ 9:06 am
It looks as if there might be several episodes coming up with emphasis on the Winchesters, even the Winchester family.That’s looking good.
I do agree Dean’s not had much of a story the past two years, but before that the 1-3 story is difficult to separate into one of the guys’ story; it was very much a joint story. 4 had Dean and Castiel and Sam and Ruby; Dean and Michael and Sam and Lucifer. Agree the Dean/ Michael story was resolved easily and Sam/Lucifer got the dramatic Swan Song finale, but I didn’t see Dean as at all neglected in season 4. And his Lisa story of 4 got the initial emphasis in 5 and his Castiel story of 4, is still with us today. I haven’t enjoyed those Lisa-Dean and Castiel-Dean stories, but they have been about Dean.

Comment by CaseyT — January 26, 2013 @ 11:58 am
@ CaseyT: I had no problem with S1-3, even though even Edlund said that Dean was Sam’s chauffeur. I enjoyed all of those episodes.

In S4, Dean did have his separate story that parallel to Sam’s. He went from Michael’s Sword, to Michael’s vessel, to the Righteous Man, and so forth. The problem with that was that Swan Song made the whole of S4 and S5 null and void, as far as Dean’s story was concerned. I can’t even watch S4 and S5 anymore, because I know that I was lied to. Each and every episode is meaningless; nothing but smoke and mirrors.

In addition to that, Dean being the only human to have gone to all five realms is also meaningless. They were used as just something cool to have Dean do.

As far as Cas, I don’t see that as a story at all. Sure, they play with the Dean/Cas friendship as a sub-text, but S5 Cas was only comic relief, S6 he was given the entire mytharc with Dean’s friendship used as an sub-plot and S7 was meaningless to both the leads. The fought and the won, the end.

The Dean/Lisa story was no more well received than the Sam/Amelia story is (except I think Sam and Amelia’s is worse even than Lisa’s). If Dean had not been in S6, nothing would have changed and we wouldn’t have missed anything. That’s how I feel about Sam’s, too. Both stories drag each and every episode they are in down to almost a complete halt (And I still think it’s because SPN is not the place for love soaps.) Lisa’s story went nowhere, and neither with Amelia’s. They are a waste of time and a waste of the lead.

They’re not stories at all. Dean’s was used by SG to keep Dean parked while she played with Sam. Amelia’s…well, it’s so bad, I don’t even know what the purpose of it is. Maybe that will be revealed in some later episode.

As far as this season goes, there’s no way to tell yet what Carver has planned for either brother, if anything. He’s been very, very slow in revealing the story…it’s something about Naomi and her manipulating Cas and more than one tablet, and somehow Crowley is also involved.

I sure hope to hell it’s more than this toxic brother bond they’ve been playing with now for almost a half a season and hasn’t gone anywhere.

Comment by Sheri — January 26, 2013 @ 4:24 pm
Sheri, I still understand Lisa’a story better than Amelia’s, and no it’s not just because I’m Dean-leaning, because if Dean and Lisa had the same kind of story Sam had with Amelia I would’ve disliked it just as much. The reason is because I felt it had a purpose connected to the overall Winchester story, that being, that it should Dean that he couldn’t change his fate as a hunter, it’s what he is like it or not, and how the fate taught him that he couldn’t have a normal relationship and a normal life not matter how much he wanted it, and it was showed the he really did want it as well as wanting to be a hunter, but in the end he had to accept that he couldn’t have it. And Lisa knew all about Dean and his life. As well as the fact that there was no adulterous stabbing husbands in the back which was really the final nail in the coffin for me. Dean and Lisa’a story was done more practically, it was not a soap opera like mess. But it had to end as well.

Comment by roxi — January 26, 2013 @ 6:02 pm
8

Comment by CaseyT — January 26, 2013 @ 6:44 pm
@ roxi: Samelia is a worse soap than Dean/Lisa and Amelia is an even worse character and actress.

The problem with the Dean/Lisa thing is that Dean really didn’t learn a damned thing that he didn’t already know — you can’t have attachments.

He didn’t learn that he was a born hunter. He concluded the season thinking he was a killer on the same level as monsters and not fit to sit at the same dinner table as normal people.

He didn’t learn any self-worth. He ended the season with even less self-worth and went on to wallow in misery and alcohol the entire next season.

Given that he again said in this last episode that he couldn’t have any attachments of any kind, I fully expect one will be showing up very soon and we’ll get another rinse and repeat story.

Remember at the end of S5, we were all hoping that Dean would learn to enjoy hunting again and realize the worth of being a hero? I remember the dramatic unveiling of the Impala, leading everyone to believe that Dean was back. Didn’t happen, and it still hasn’t happened three years later.

Others may be okay with watching supposed heroes whose quest is for a normal routine life. That doesn’t interest me. Anybody can have it — Sam did with Amelia without any problem. I look for a hero to take on an impossible, but worthy challenge and strive to overcome the obstacles in achieving the challenge. I think every one of us can take on the challenge of living day-to-day. If I wanted to watch normal life, I’d go watch some stupid realty show.

Comment by Sheri — January 26, 2013 @ 8:05 pm
Sheri, to me, he did learn he was a hunter in season 6. He just wasn’t particularly happy about it. The fact that he became depressed and started to question his life again, well, to me that is just the writers dropping the ball.
It’s not that I want either of them to become normal Joes, but that doesn’t mean that on some level they don’t want some of the things that ‘civilians’ have, such as the true love of a good woman and maybe their own children. It’s true that they can’t have it, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t long for what anybody else longs for. They’re still human. I don’t see a problem with showing that conflict from time to time. To me, it makes them more interesting as characters. If they were all happy and gung ho about being hunters 24/7 and never showed that they missed some of the human things that they can’t have, if it’s never shown that they sometimes miss and long for those parts of being human that they had to give up in order to devote themselves to this way of life, they would seem like cold hard statues to me, and I wouldn’t find them half as compelling.
I WANT to see Dean once in a while wishing he could have a steady, loving relationship instead of just one night random pickups, and wishing he could have a child/family of his own. He knows, and we know, that he can’t have it, but it would make him more interesting just to see sometimes that he recognizes and does miss what he gave up.
As for reality shows, there’s nothing real or normal about them LOL.

Comment by roxi — January 27, 2013 @ 3:35 am
There are ways of showing they know that they missed out on normal and having normal human desires without spending three years moping about it. The writers in the earlier seasons certainly managed to do it in a way that definitely gave depth to the characters.

Apparently, Sam can have this if he so choices. Not one supernatural being was interested in him while he was with Amelia. If the show wants to repeatedly carry this theme and Dean is going to be spending almost a third of the entire series moping about not having it, then the show needs to give me a good reason why he can’t.

Why do the monsters go after him and his and not Sam and his? Sure, the djinn went after him with Lisa, but was that a one off, or was it just an excuse to use JA since he’s under contract? Once Sam’s soul was back, why didn’t both brothers just quit hunting? No reason was ever given as to why they continued on at that point.

It seems to me Crowley would be very happy if Dean decided to hang it up. The Winchesters are a thorn in his side and, according to Sam, there are other hunters who can take care of the problem.

Right now, they know Cas is off, and he’s stung them before and everyone else they know is dead, except Garth, who has taken over Bobby’s role quite nicely and is directing the other hunters. If Sam wants Amelia, go get her. She’s just stringing her husband along anyway. If Dean wants normal, go get a girl. That’s not hard for him to do. Lay down the guns, boys, and have fun at Ren Fairs. Kevin is safely in the hands of Garth, who has the hunter community at his disposal, so there’s no need to worry about Kevin or the job.

I see no compelling reason as to why the Winchesters don’t go get normal, if that’s what they want.

Comment by Sheri — January 27, 2013 @ 8:02 am
@wakeup – I hope getting that out of your system made you feel better. I’ve often wondered whether venting has medical benefits, because it can make you feel so much better. Did you know ‘venting’ is from the phrase ‘venting your spleen’, from the Ancient Greek medical idea of the four humors. Venting has been with since the beginning of philosophy. As has art and criticism. You should read what Plato had to say about actors. (Spoiler alert: he throws them out of his ideal republic because they enflame the passions of the common man)
Personally I’ve been sick as a dog with the flu all week, which is why I’ve been posting so much. I absolutely can’t wait to get off the couch. Sorry all if this was a bit off topic, but wake up seems to have been lurking for a bit, if he/she has been reading ‘hours’ of our posts, so I thought I’d put out the welcome mat.
After all, sometimes a troll is just a hobbit hat’s had a very bad day.

Comment by t1gerlilly — January 31, 2013 @ 12:56 am
During a Q&A Laura Prudom asked Executive Producer Robert Singer about last night’s episode and What’s Next, Returning Characters And Season 9 Renewal

Read on for highlights from Singer’s Q&A with reporters to learn more about the fates of Castiel (Misha Collins), Benny (Ty Olsson) and Amelia (Liane Balaban), as well as a potential return for Jeffrey Dean Morgan and whether the creative team feel confident about a Season 9 renewal.

The latest episode of “Supernatural” set up some intriguing possibilities in terms of storylines, and earlier this week, executive producer Robert Singer spoke to a group of journalists about what Henry Winchester’s Men of Letters group could add to the show’s mythology from this point on.

Note: The questions below are from multiple outlets. Some answers have been edited and condensed for grammar.

Q: Should we assume that at the end of the episode [Sam and Dean] will immediately go off and put the box in the hiding place and we’re not going to pick up with that the next episode?

Singer: The reveal of that place, which I believe is in the next episode, it’s a really stunning set. It’s full of mysteries, it’ll become kind of a home base for the boys. We’re really excited about it. After eight years of never having a home base, this will be home base for quite some time. I think you guys will really dig the set. It’s really cool.

What kind of storylines does that open up?

Well, these Men of Letters, which is a brand new concept for us, really — if you took dad’s journal and you multiplied that times 100 [that's what this home base is like] … it’s got every source of information that would be interesting to the boys. Of course when they get in there, Sam is totally immersed in the place and Dean’s just happy to have his own room. He’s put posters up. He says to Sam, “If you want to do this geek stuff, that’s fine with me. But I’m just digging this.”

Can you talk about the differences between Henry and his son, John?

Well, John was a product of the fact that he didn’t have a father growing up, as the first of many a bad luck for him. So, he sort of held a grudge against his father because he thought his father deserted them. Now we know different and in retrospect, it makes you sort of wonder what Dad would have been like, which I think the boys say at the end of the episode. We wanted to do it because we had spent time with the other side of the family and just to bring things full circle. Also, I don’t know if you guys remember the Cupid episode where they said this was ordained, that these two people should get together, and now we know who the grandfather on that side was and why John became who he was in terms of his relationship with his father. It was supposed to be something different. [He] was supposed to be a Man of Letters but became a hunter through necessity.

Were there challenges in going back into the Winchester mythology that you weren’t expecting? Did it open up a lot of new doors?

Well, look, we make this stuff up as we go along … [Laughs.] But we try to use what we’ve done before and be able to spin out from there and tell interesting stories and get into backstory like this. Up until the time Adam [Glass] came up with the notion, we hadn’t really explored that side of the family, Grandpa Winchester. But we thought that the idea of it, of harkening back to what Cupid said and how this was all ordained and was top priority [for heaven], it just was a nice closing of that circle for us and also gives us this new home base that’s sort of chalk full of information and will certainly lead to other stories. So, you’ll see that open up next week and it’s cool.

How much of that idea for [hiding] the box [and walking away] might be foreshadowing for the tablets? Are we supposed to think maybe they’re better off not finding and decoding all of these tables?

You guys are always so ahead of us. [Laughs.] This all plays into the tablet business. Again, if Crowley got his hands on the angel tablet and could somehow decipher it, that would be kind of a bad thing. The information that’s contained in this Men of Letters bunker, if it fell into the wrong hands, would be quite a powerful weapon against the boys, so it has to remain a secret and guarded closely. As we go down the line into the rest of this year and hopefully next year, those sort of dramatic turns will take place because this is an important place.

Are there actually other members there?

No. They’re all gone. The Men of Letters are all gone, the last surviving one was the old guy in the home. He’s no more. A bit of a spoiler alert, when they go in there it’s pristine. It’s been hermetically sealed and everything was just as it was. I mean it’s perfectly neat. The only sign that somebody had to get out of there in a hurry was a chess game that was uncompleted and an ash tray full of cigarettes.

Henry talks a lot about their legacy and their lineage, does this get Sam and Dean thinking about their blood line? Like what happens after they die and there’s no one to carry on all of this?

That’s interesting. I don’t think the boys think that far, to having children of their own. Maybe Sam thought of that earlier in the year before he tragically had to leave Amelia. It may come into play down the line somehow. I don’t think a full-time domestic Sam or a domestic Dean is something that the audience is particularly interested in.

Will we see characters that we saw a lot the first part of the season like Benny, Kevin? Could they be popping back up?

Kevin will be back, Benny will be back. Castiel is back. Maybe Amelia, maybe not. But I think pretty much every season we like to bring the season full circle and get a lot of questions answered of that season but then pose new questions for whatever the next season is going to be. So, I think all these people we introduced will have a payoff. One of my first bosses in the business said don’t introduce a character that you don’t pay off. That’s something I kind of live by.

Do you feel fairly confident that there will be another season?

I’ve been around this long enough to know you never feel confident about anything. I remember years ago I did a show and the head of an unnamed network said there’s not a stick big enough to keep this show off the air. Then they flew to New York for the meetings and somewhere over Denver through 33 thousand they found a stick because it didn’t get on. I think we’ve done really well this year. I think creatively it’s been good. I think by and large the network is happy with our numbers. So, if I were a betting man I would bet that we would be back.

We started off last week with the brothers kind of in this shaky truce. Have we completely moved past that [fight] or is that still in the back of their minds?

I don’t think it’s shaky. I think … what happens in subsequent episodes is it’s another kind of conflict between them but it’s not necessarily the conflict of “do I want to do this?” or “what’s my plan beyond closing the gates of the Hell?” or any of that. It’s a new conflict. I won’t tell you any more than that but as always, there’s always something going on between them.

I’m going to ask about Dean’s hostility toward Henry. Of course, that’s because he left his family, or at least Dean thought he did. Is there anything in the back of his mind about just how bad things turned out with his grandfather on the other side of the family? His hesitancy to trust someone like that again?

No. I don’t think he relates those two things at all. I think this was strictly familial. Dean had probably a more complicated relationship than Sam did with John. It was pretty clear to Sam early on thought “I want to get out of this, I want to go to college.” That didn’t quite work out but I think he had a clearer mindset. Dean, I think, was more conflicted about his dad. It’s been pretty consistent throughout the show that Dean is always in defense of dad and John made the ultimate sacrifice for Dean. I think he takes this stuff just a little more personally than Sam does. That’s kind of what you’ll see in this last episode that’s reflected there.

Did you guys ever think about keeping Henry alive just even if you sent him back just so he could come back or was it always decided that he would perish in the end?

No. I think we wanted to close it and I think it was kind of a nice, bittersweet moment. They got to make a connection with a grandfather they never knew. One of the themes I think that we’ve always played is that people they get close to, it doesn’t work out so well for them, and they’re kind of traditional loners and what they have is each other. I think we wanted to keep it that way. That was always the plan with Samuel as well, that that would not be something that would go on for a long time.

Now that you opened the Winchester can of worms, are there any plans to bring in that side of the family further like you did before with the Campbells?

Not at the moment. But pretty much every year we kind of block out, in very general terms at the beginning of the season, the theme of the season and what we want it to be. Sometimes early on we don’t exactly know where it ends, we just know where we’re going but not how we finish it. That would be a discussion for next year that comes up in the room. I mean basically what’s always happened, whether Eric was there or Sera was there and now Jeremy, is basically the two of us sit in a room for about a week and just kind of throw all kinds of stuff around and then come up with a very loose structure. Then we bring all the rest of the writers in and start filling in the pieces. But we always feel that we want to, like I said, bring that season’s story to a close but open up a new doorway for next year.

The information that they have in the room is obviously going to be pretty valuable. Are they going to share it with other hunters like Garth?

I think that’s probably on a need-to-know basis. I don’t think they’re going to have a hunter convention in there and welcome everybody in and have at it. That’s really not their style. I would be surprised if Garth didn’t show up and probably break an expensive globe.

What can you tease about Castiel’s return?

He’s really crucial to the tablet stories. He’s going through sort of a trial of his own that’s personal. Naomi is very unhappy with him, Crowley is very unhappy with him. He’s a confused angel right now.

The show just confirmed the angel tablet [two weeks ago]. Can we expect more tablets to be brought up?

Not this year. I mean we have the demon tablet, the angel tablet and then the leviathan tablet. That’s about all the tablets we could handle.

Do the guys have any serious questions about actually keeping a home base? I imagine it’s really great to have one solid set but considering [what they're facing] on a weekly basis, is there any concern like “we’re hiding from something super, super dangerous and we’re stating exactly where that is”?

Well, they’re not saying it. They’ll go to great pains to keep that hidden. You know, also it’s kind of impenetrable. We’ve had places before — we had Rufus’ cabin — they need a place not just for us to be able to have a set to shoot on, but I think the boys actually need a place where they can decompress, have their bromance moments. The other sets we’ve had, they’re not the biggest. When you see this set, you realize they have lots of room to move around and there’s lots of really cool things in there. So Adam [Glass] came up with this idea and we really latched onto it immediately. It’s a very expensive set, so we’re going to be using it.

Speaking of permanency, the women on the show don’t last. Do you feel like you’re getting closer to finding the type of girl that could maybe last?

Felicia [Day] is going to be coming back in an episode. We love Felicia. I don’t think there’s ever going to be a third wheel. I don’t think we’re going to have Catwoman. It’s been sort of the feedback that we get that that’s not something that the fanbase particularly likes. We keep trying. I personally really thought the Amelia character was great. I thought it opened up a side of Sam that was really interesting. I thought Liane did a terrific job. I don’t think it’s ever going to be a three-hander. Listen, part of the appeal is they’re the last men standing. That’s who they are.

Is there anything you can say about Felicia’s episode?

The one that will be coming out? We know she’s going to be in it, we’re just breaking the story now. I know that she basically brings them a case, but beyond that I can’t tell you a whole lot.

You said we’re going to see Benny again. Can you tell us anything about the issues that he was having the last time we saw him?

Well, he was really fighting the good fight of trying to not give in to his blood-lust. I think Dean having to basically cut the tie was a hard thing for him. So, we will explore that idea of what he’s been going through in a while. But we didn’t feel that and never felt that that story was totally ended. You know, it’s probably not great drama to end the whole arc on a phone call. [Laughs.]

But are we completely done with the flashbacks for both Dean and Sam?
Yeah.

Do you guys consider the Amelia arc pretty wrapped up now? You said she might come back down the line but in terms of that storyline being finished?

We think she’s a really valuable character. We liked her a lot and certainly it creates a good complication in Sam’s life. Again, we’re just kind of doing the end of the season now in the room. I know that we’ve talked about bringing her back. We don’t have anything specific.

Are you planning on ending the season on a cliffhanger?

I’m sure we will. It’s worked for seven years. [Laughs.] I always think about what you guys want to know. There’s an old show business saying, leave them wanting more. I think for pretty much eight plus seasons now we’ve done that. So, I suspect there’ll be some hanging chad, yeah.

Can you just tell us a little bit about what you think about Dean’s feelings about time travel?

Time travel sucks, man … He loves it when he’s a cowboy or he gets to work with Eliot Ness. I think he was talking specifically about “do I really need this guy popping out of my closet and bringing up the whole dad thing and now I’ve got to have a mixed emotion about this guy?” The guy was not the nicest guy to them. It was almost like he was tolerating them. Then when he wants to go back, which could basically, possibly cancel their existence, Dean thought that time travel was not so much fun.

This new set, where are Sam and Dean going to hide the car?

That’s a good question because we don’t have a Batcave but I’ll bring that up. That’s a good question.

Sam has kind of been wavering all season long about whether this was something he wanted to do. But he kind of said at the end of the episode that now he understands he sees why it’s all necessary and mythically destined. Would you say that this episode solidifies why he feels that what they’re doing is necessary?

Well, when we get into this whole idea of closing the gates of hell, that becomes a real raison d’etre for Sam. I think … it’s really revenge motivated. It’s about everything that … it’s what killed their mom, killed all their friends, all that. I think Sam would say that there’s a certain amount of closure if they could actually pull this off. I think still, he in the back of his mind thinks there’s a normal life out there for him. In a way, Dean’s onboard with that. He’d like to see [Sam] happy but they have this one thing to do. Now, television being television, they’ll have something else “one thing to do” down the line.

I think it’s a good separation of character for the two of them that one has one set of dreams and actually allows himself to dream while the other one is much more fatalistic and sort of accepts that. I would hope whenever we bring the curtain down that Dean would find some peace, and probably if I have anything to say about it he will.

But Dean’s still very committed to hunting?
Yeah. He would like to finish this particular job and then he would go off and do what he does, [find something else to hunt].

Mythology-wise this episode really changed what we knew about the Winchesters. I think it’s safe to say your fans are very protective of the mythology. Was there anything you wanted to avoid?

No, not really. I mean we really go where the story takes us. We’re not afraid to try new things. We honor the mythology, we don’t make arbitrary left turns just for the sake of “that would be a good story beat,” but it’s ever evolving. We always feel that and are really trying to keep the stories fresh. So new things happen and we embrace them. That’s why I think we end up doing “LARP and the Real Girl” and living in cartoons and all that. We’re not afraid to really bend any sort of reality. If it works in our reality then it works. We’ve done some crazy stuff. In this episode, I’m always the jaundiced eye in the room when these things come up. I’m like the official “Supernatural” bullshit meter. But Jeremy and Guy say, “Oh no, this’ll be good.” I go, “Really?” Then I see “LARP and the Real Girl” and I go, “Wow. That’s really a good episode.” I’m the oldest whore on the block but I’m learning day by day as well.

[It seems like] you wanted Henry to be a good guy. I mean you could have gone back and told a story of how he went out for milk and ran off with another woman …

Yeah. That felt really right to us. Again, this idea of them meeting their grandfather and understanding all this knowledge that they’ve carried all their lives [about John], that his dad left him and sort of became then this guy that he was, was all untrue. Then the idea if you could actually speak to John and say “this is what happened … All that anger you carried: not real.” I mean that has a certain amount of pathos to it.

In addition to everything else we do, I think one of the reasons we’ve lasted as long as we have is because we tell these personal stories. Really, whatever the plot of the week is, ultimately it comes down to “how are the brothers feeling about it, how does it affect their relationship, what’s underneath the surface of the story?” The subtext and the character developments are always … I mean, after we get the basic “let’s tell a story about …” we go “what’s the emotional story here?” We thought this was a good emotional story.

A minute ago, you were talking about Sam kind of adding to the geeky aspects of his legacy and obviously he’s getting involved in the trials and everything. Where does that leave Dean?

Well, if you boil it down simply you’d say Sam is more the brains and Dean is more the brawn. I can’t remember which episode … where Sam makes a speech and he says, “You’re the greatest hunter I’ve ever seen. You’re better than Dad.” That’s Dean. He’s probably much more internal than Sam in a way. I think that when they get into these emotional areas the catalyst is more Sam. So, those are the characters we developed. Dean loves the information if he can act on it. “Oh great, what do we need?” “You need the cimetar from the 13th century to chop the guy’s head off.” “Great. Let’s go find it and do it.” That’s Dean.

The guys have said some crappy things to each other and they’ve had this friction that’s been boiling over all season. From your perspective in the writers’ room, has that all been resolved now? Are they going to have a big emotional talk again?

I think you can count on a big emotional talk, yeah. [Laughs.] Yeah, without giving it away, for kind of a different reason, for something that they didn’t see coming … Starting next week, that thing will carry through to the end of the year.

Can we assume Grandma was just a normal person or does she have some kind of secret story too?

Wow. I don’t know. Maybe in year 10 we’ll meet Grandma.

The more you tap into the Winchester history, are there ever still temptations to find a way to bring back Jeffrey Dean Morgan? I know he’s obviously busy with “Magic City.”

You know, we’ve talked about that on occasion but since he’s really sort of not available and God knows he had a great sendoff. It doesn’t get a whole lot talk in the room, no.

What do you think of Robert Singer’s teases for Season 8? Are you looking forward to seeing Benny and Castiel again?

Laura Prudom Become a fan
laura.prudom@huffingtonpost.com
Posted: 01/30/2013 9:59 pm EST | Updated: 01/30/2013 10:18 pm EST

Comment by pam53 — January 31, 2013 @ 10:12 am
I can’t wait to see Benny again. I hope he stayed clean on his own. All the teasers sounded great. Finally Sam and Dean get a place to call home. Awesome.

Comment by AW — January 31, 2013 @ 12:12 pm