in its own reality.” They do that by never losing sight of the central story: Sam
and Dean and their very human experiences dealing in a business of nonhu-
mans. “At the end of the day, the show is really about these two guys and how
great they are together,” Singer says. “They’re the lifeblood of the show.”
That’s why it might surprise some fans that this season will see Jack hit-ting the road with the boys, which begs the question: If driver picks the
music and shotgun shuts his cakehole, what does the Nephilim in the back
seat do? “Last season was about the guys being kids, and this season is about
being parents, to a degree,” co-showrunner Andrew Dabb says. “To have
[Sam and Dean] confronted by this kid who is at once scary and charming
gives us a chance to show a different side of the guys, and that’s always a
great thing, especially 13 seasons in. If Dean had a kid, what would that look
like? If Sam had a kid, what would that look like? The joke is that it’s
My Two Dads, Hell Edition.” But considering that Jack isn’t your typical kid,
getting him acclimated to the world is about more than just teaching him
how to use Netflix (though Padalecki says that will happen). For starters,
when Jack was born, he opened a rift to another universe, one in which Sam
and Dean don’t exist and heaven and hell are locked in an eternal war. “[The
apocalypse world] gives us another canvas to play on,” Singer says. “It opens
up a whole broad spectrum of stories we can tell.” (For what to expect from
the apocalypse world, see sidebar.)
With Jack now in the real world, Padalecki says, “Sam sees a lot of himselfin this kid,” recalling the days in season 4 when his character’s beverage of
choice was demon blood. “One of my favorite story arcs for Sam was that
feeling of being different or doomed. I wrote the writers [this year] to say
how excited I was that that under-
current is back.” Another important
thing that’s back? Castiel! “[The loss
is] just constant,” Ackles says of the
multiple departures that ended last
season and seem to haunt Sam and
Dean at all times. “It’s Dad and
Bobby, and now it’s Mom and it’s
Cas. It’s this vicious cycle of loss and
grief. Dean just needs to feel like
there’s hope.” By episode 6, they will
get their wish when our favorite
trenchcoat-wearing angel makes his
return from...well...wherever he was.
The secret of where Cas went is
being kept under lock and key, but
we do know that fans will first see
him in episode 3 in a place that is not
heaven, hell, purgatory, or earth but
that has been spoken about on the
show previously. “It’s a place we’ll be
seeing for the first time through his
eyes,” Dabb teases. Collins adds, “I
really think that this is potentially
the most boring place in the
Ackles, Collins,
and Padalecki