SDCC 2019: 'Supernatural' bids emotional farewell, teases God as show's 'biggest bad' in final season
The cast and crew of ‘Supernatural’ bid an emotional adieu at their Hall H panel at the San Diego Comic-Con 2019. The show is set to air its 15th and final season soon, ending the long journey of the Winchester brothers. Cast members Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins, and Alexander Calvert were on the panel alongside five of the show's executive producers.
Like most episodes of the show, the panel began with a video titled 'The Road So Far' showing a recap of all 14 seasons and ending with a “Thank You” to the fans. The panel hinted that season 15 will reveal how the show’s “biggest bad” is none other than God himself.
At the end of the 14th season, Calvert’s Jack Kline, who is the extremely powerful son of Lucifer, was murdered by God just before the supreme being, who is also known as “Chuck”, threw open the gates of Hell and unleashed every person, monster, or entity sent there by the Winchesters on the world of the living.
"Is perhaps the biggest bad, God?" asked Richard Speight Jr., who plays Gabriel on the show and was also one of the moderators. Executive producer Eugenie Ross-Leming agreed, saying: “There was this idea that God was hands-off, letting Team Free Will do what they were going to do, but this changed everything.” He added, “Suddenly we have a God who never really left, and had a hand in all of the decisions."
Clearly, the creators intend to go big before they go home. 'Supernatural' has always been a very meta show but going up against the Almighty himself is fitting considering how the Winchesters have gone up against ever more powerful enemies in every season. It can be hard to believe sometimes that the brothers struggled to kill one normal demon back in season 1, now that they have gone up against ancient monsters, the King of Hell, the Devil and even God's own sister and come out on top.
The Winchesters have struggled to find happiness since they were children and all their grief can be traced back to God's decision to abandon his responsibilities, making him truly the ultimate villain of the series and the Winchester's worst enemy.
“I’m trying not to cry,” Padalecki (Sam Winchester) said at the very beginning of the panel. That’s a feeling all the fans who have followed the show for over a decade will undoubtedly share. Padalecki took the stage with Ackles, who plays Sam’s gruff brother, Dean Winchester. Ackles said the show had given him “lifelong friends and the experience of a lifetime.”
“The legacy I am proud of is knowing I put in the effort, we all did, and I'm proud that you guys can appreciate that,” Ackles said. “The year before [Supernatural], I made a goal to be on a show that is creatively fulfilling and I become lifelong friends with my castmates. I consider these guys lifelong friends, and you guys (the fans), lifelong friends,” said Collins, who plays the angel Castiel on the show.
“I know none of you like me,” he joked. “But I could never have dreamed that I got to be a part of it, and I look forward to writing a new goal card.” The panel had one last treat to offer fans before they left - a chance to win a replica of the Chevrolet Impala used on the show as the Winchesters’ car, affectionately nicknamed ‘Baby’.
By the time the panel came to an end, the tears were flowing freely as both the panelists and the audience began to come to terms with the fact that this will be the last time the show comes to the SDCC. Executive producer Robert Singer said, “I'm kind of a latecomer to Comic-Con. I have been coming the last three or four years and I didn't know how much I was missing. The show will end but the friendships and memories will live on.”
He then joined the cast and his fellow executive producers as they departed Hall H together for the last time.
'Supernatural' Season 15 will begin airing on The CW Thursday, October 10.