GeekShizzle has been dying to see what Supernatural season 9 has in store. It has been a bumpy ride for the Winchesters and company since the epic season 5 finale (many still believe that Supernatural should have ended when Sam took a dive to hell). We are excited to see they are still “killing monsters, hunting things..” and continuing with the “family business” for another season. What have you missed in season 8? Angels fall from the heavens as Crowley reveals a side we have not seen before and Castiel has lost his angel essence. The ground breaker that will set the tone for season 9 is the Winchester brothers choosing themselves over the final mission. Season 8 drastically redefined the scope and direction providing some unexpected twists, what else can we expect from this “Super” show.
Also see: Supernatural – The Series – Top 10
Season 9 will set Sam and Dean on a course to deal with the consequences of that choice. In addition we can expect the aftermath of the fallen angels, each with their own agenda.
Supernatural Hall H panel: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins, Mark Sheppard, Robert Singer, and Jeremy Carver.
Watch the Supernatural panel at San Diego Comic Con 2013
The interview –
So where does season nine pick up? Executive producer Jeremy Carver explained:
“It’s a broken landscape this season so we don’t start out with the big, big bad is right there at the get-go like, “I’m going to kill you.” Because even our big bads – Crowley found a stroke of humanity in him at the end of last year. So suddenly we find ourselves in the position of “Wow is there something more to this guy? Is there something more to watching this guy’s journey?” And I feel like that’s what we’re trying to do with all of our main characters this year in terms of we’re always trying to find another aspect of their personality that maybe we haven’t showcased. I’m really excited about the character moves that we’re making. There may be certain moves that some of our characters make that some fans don’t like, but I think they’re going to understand them, and we’re all going to have to live in that world. Particularly the characters that make those decisions are really going to have to live in that world. We’re really going to be driving the mythology around a big thing we can’t talk about. But we created a lot of stories this year that feel really fresh and a little bit different than the past in that we are taking time to do B stories in a way that we have never done before. We’re spending a lot of time with Crowley, we’re spending a lot of time with Castiel as these two guys who come to grips with their new reality.”
Executive Producer Robert Singer praised season nine’s strong start, saying:
“I think this season’s first three episodes that are setting up our world are all pretty special. I think the fans are really going to dig what we’re doing. We start and put a lot of balls in the air that will take us through 23 episodes. Will they be surprised? I think there’s a real surprise in the first episode that nobody’s going to see coming and there’s going to be a few gasps. I’m really happy with the first three. They pretty much set the season mythology up…We’re off to a good start.” Jensen Ackles mentioned the new dynamic between Sam and Dean at the start of the season: “Well obviously, we know that they chose each other over the trials and the closing of hell. And I think that was probably not shocking to most people because it is what the show is about, this brother bond that they have. The fact that they have willfully chosen each other means that they are now going to need each other more than ever. Because now they are going to have all this other stuff to deal with. And it’s going to be…a free for all on earth now with all these fallen angels, still got the demons, and they’ve got to find a way to exist amongst all this and still fight the good fight.”
Everybody was keen to mention a secret Dean is harboring that looms over the brothers’ happiness this season. When asked what about the new season will surprise fans the most Singer replied:
“I think what happens to Jared and Jensen in the first episode. I think the fans are going to give a palpable gasps and that story plays out over a good period of time and develops. It’s something new for them, we’ve never done it before, I’ve never seen it done before…I don’t want to over sell it but I think you guys will like it.”
Ackles remained vague, but emphasized the importance of Dean’s secret:
“There’s a situation that is happening that Dean is aware of and having to keep quiet about, and it’s a very substantial secret. How that plays out I’m excited to see. That’s what I’m excited about so I guess that would make me excited for other people to see it to. It’s the secret that dean is harboring right now.”
From what Jared Padalecki explained, it sounds like the mystery secret might have something to do with the after effects of the trials on Sam:
“It’s the cause of another secret and rift between the brothers – and it hasn’t happened yet because Sam doesn’t know about the secret. But Sam obviously didn’t get better when he stopped the trials. It wasn’t like, “Dude, stop the trials or you’re going to die” “Oh, okay.” And then they skip off…It’s going to be in every episode, but it happens in the first. It’s continuous, and Sam doesn’t know, but he is heavily involved. It’s so cool. It has made me more excited about shooting this season than any other season we’ve shot.”
So what can we expect in a world of fallen angels? According to Carver:
“It changes the world in a serious way. It’s a main story threat for the year. Jeremy was saying that this is the first time that they’ve chosen themselves over a mission and the consequences of that [decision] is really what this season is about. And the angels are a big part of that. Because they’re kind of lost down here so there are factions that’ll group together, they’re trying to get back into heaven, how do you do that? So it’s really rich stuff. That’s a big part of the season.”
Ackles added that the Angels won’t necessarily be placing the blame on the Winchesters:
“Not totally. I think the blame is being spread around a little bit and I think in the search for answers the angels are cutting quite a wake. Because they can. They have the power. They want to know why they ended up here, how they ended up here, and what they’re supposed to be doing.”
When asked if we might see Gabriel now that the angels have been expelled to earth, Carver side-stepped the question, saying:
“Well there’s various interpretations as to who’s still kicking and who isn’t. I will say that all the angels fell. So well be seeing angels that even other angels haven’t seen for reasons that will become apparent.”
The Supernatural team did drop hints on some other returning fan favorites. Ackles noted the creative team’s responsiveness to audience reactions:
“I think one of the great things about our show is that the writers and directors pay attention to feedback. They know when things stick and they know when things don’t stick. I think it’s very intelligent of them to utilize the ones that work. Look, Jared and I having characters that we can have a relationship with – it’s very difficult to establish a relationship with just one episode, so the more characters that we get to create storylines and relationship with, the richer the show becomes. Benny’s been one of my favorite characters since day one. I love how we tie it in with the character, I love how he’s written, and I love the bond that he and Dean have. I think that was really richly layered in a way that we haven’t seen in some time. I hope they bring him back.”
As Jim Beaver recently announced on Twitter, we can look forward to seeing Bobby Singer again this season. Carver confirmed, saying:
“We’re going to see Bobby and I can’t say too much about it, but we’re going to see in him a way you won’t expect, but also in a way that’s true to our show mythology and our lore. We are not suspending the laws of Supernatural to bring this person back. There’s a very understandable way in which we’re seeing this guy. Many people are making guesses, and with the landscape the way it is you can probably imagine…or not.”
Singer also mentioned Bobby’s return:
“Jim Beaver’s coming back…we’re going to see him in a way that hasn’t been seen before. Fans of the show know that nobody that they really love or really hate is gone forever.”
And what’s in store for the Winchesters’ favorite angel, Castiel, now that he’s human? Singer teased:
“It’s a really interesting character development for him. He has a real progression over the first half of the season of being really lost. He doesn’t have any money, he can’t teleport, and he doesn’t know how to drive. He says at one point to another character, “Wow, this having to urinate regularly is really a drag.” He has to feed himself. He has to live as a human. As he goes along and becomes more adept he kind of embraces the human life, but as the war between the angels becomes more heated there’s a real push-pull. ‘Do I stay here and do this and be a worthwhile human being? Or do I have to get back into the fray? And if I do how do I do it?’ ”
Misha Collins is looking forward to exploring the day to day aspects of Cas’s humanity:
“There’s this movie called Wings of Desire…it stars Peter Falk and it’s about an angel who wears a trench coat, and I think his name is Casiel…I think maybe the writers saw it before they wrote my character. He falls in love with a woman, and falls to earth because he wants to be with her, and gets to experience all the joys of smelling flowers and sipping coffee and things like that for the first time. From the beginning of my tenure on Supernatural I’ve always wanted to do that with Castiel. We dipped into human territory for a moment in season five when he started losing his powers, but we never really explored it and I was kind of disappointed. I’m really happy now because we’re getting into that full on. That’s a huge part of Cas’s story for season nine.”
Might we see some romance for Cas now that he has to deal with human desires? Collins seems to think so:
“Yes, we might. Love is a strong word, but sex we will see.”
And it sounds like we might see a departure from Castiel’s signature look. Collins said:
“That wardrobe has been the bane of my existence. When I first started I thought it was only going to be three episodes so I went in for the fitting and I was like, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever, this is fine.” And then I had to wear it for going on six years now and it was quite ill-fitted, pleated – I don’t like pleats. So I did a very subtle reboot of my wardrobe at the beginning of last year. I got a better fitting suit without pleats and a shirt that wasn’t actually two sizes too big for me. Cas begins the season in his trademark trench coat, I will tell you that…It’s always possible that Cas could change his clothes. I would love that. And if you think about it now that he’s human, at least change his underwear.”
Singer added:
“The trench coat will always be around somewhere.”
And what about the King of Hell? It seems we’ll pick up with Crowley right where we left him, beaten down and locked up. Mark Sheppard explained:
“I’m still kind of contained where I don’t want to be. I think the biggest problem for Crowley where we left off is Sam trying to cure Crowley, for want of a better phrase, having not happened. They backed away from that. They made the choice to pick each other rather than follow through with the quest, which is the usual way that we’ve done the show over the years. It leaves a lot of unanswered questions about what happened to Crowley as a result. He hasn’t been cured, yet I think the experience has had a profound effect on Crowley. It’s certainly not something he would enjoy experiencing. So we may see the effects of that as we go through.”
Sheppard also talked about the intensity of shooting his finale scene:
“That was so much fun to shoot, the end of last season. Jensen, Jared and I were locked away in that church on that set. Brilliant set, the exterior of it was built there and the interior of it was built on the stage. It was an extraordinary place to be. It was one of the best set designs and set creations I’ve ever seen. It looked indigenous to the area and it really wasn’t. It was an amazing place to be. It was dirty and wet on stage. Three days we were there. Truthfully Jensen was off camera for most of that whole end section. Because we shot my breakdown, or revelation, or journey first, and then we turned around to film Jared’s portion of that, which is just as equally heavy, and just as equally complex to do. And then we went to Jensen finally. So Jensen was off camera for hours and hours and hours and he was delivering exactly the same performance and the same intensity as the rest of us. It was the quietest time we’ve ever had. No joking. It was very intense. And I think it shows. It plays. It was fabulous. It was a really good ending.”
Padalecki also pegged that scene as one of his favorite moments from season eight, saying:
“The end scene with Sheppard…that whole build up. It was such an experience. It took me a week to come off of shooting that. It was super intense. It was intense day and night, day after day. It was really, truly a painful experience…I think it worked really well and I think it’s awesome that the writers are giving us stuff 172 episodes in that we still can push ourselves.”
Carver teased some of the fun episodes in the coming season:
“We’re going to see a loveable character, Charlie. We’re going to see her early on in a really fun episode that doubles back to the earliest days of Men of Letters. Literally the first to Men of Letters turning a key into a bunker that’s never been used before in 1935. And the first case they’re going into involves a case that goes into theWizard of Oz in a way that we’ve never seen that story approached before. We’re going to see a character who I think some people may have thought perished at the end of last season, We’re going to see Sherriff Jody Mills. We’ll see her I think in episode 8. Of course we’re going to see Kevin. We’ll see him right from the get-go.”
Singer also mentioned a fun episode he’s looking forward to:
“I think the craziest one that’s in the works for us is this Dr. Doolittle episode where dean can talk to the animals. Something went a little awry. That’s our first crazy one, but I’m sure they’ll be some other ones down the line.”
Join the Winchesters as they continue the fight on October 15th.
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