TVLINE | After everything that he’s been through recently with Michael, what kind of Dean are we looking at in this week’s episode?
You’re looking at a Dean that’s still a little shell-shocked from everything that’s happened. He’s walking not just back into himself after the last episode, but back into Sam, Cas and Jack, who’ve all kind of shifted over the past few weeks, [and] back into a bunker that’s suddenly full of a lot of hunters he doesn’t know or has very passing relationships with. You’re dealing with a Dean that’s maybe a little bit besieged on all sides, and as Dean so often does, [he] throws himself into a case.

TVLINE | The last episode ended with Michael rather unexpectedly leaving Dean, which led to a lot of speculation. Has Michael truly departed what is supposed to be his perfect vessel? And if so, why would he do that?
He has departed. The question of “why?” is one that will be explored. But he has definitely gotten out, and Dean is not secretly possessed.

TVLINE | How does Sam feel about Dean’s unexpected homecoming?
Sam’s thrilled about it. He got his brother back. It’s not that he’s not worried…. But he’s very happy to have his brother home, and very focused on helping Dean in any way that he can.
Supernatural Season 14 Photos
Launch Gallery

TVLINE | Is Sam concerned at all about Dean and his well-being now that he’s out of this trauma?
Yes, of course. Sam has been through possession before. He, more than most, knows what Dean’s going through coming out of it. He knows the psychological toll it’s taking. Even if Dean will not admit it to himself, Sam knows or has some idea of what’s going on. A lot of this week’s episode is him kind of trying to drill down on Dean and really get Dean to open up about his experiences and his emotions about it — which, with someone like Dean, is maybe not always the easiest conversation to have.

TVLINE | What is the significance of the scar Dean is sporting on his arm in the promo photos?
It’s a brand-new scar that he got while he was possessed by Michael. It seems to plant the idea that something hurt [Michael] enough to give him a scar. What can do that? What can hurt an archangel in that way? That becomes a real jumping-off point for this [week’s] episode as our guys try to find out what that object is.

TVLINE | We have to talk about that crazy, bloody ending last week with Nick. What should we take away from that scene about who Nick was before Lucifer and who he is now?
You have to understand who Nick was before Lucifer was not that guy. He would not have beaten someone to death, let’s put it that way. Who Nick is after Lucifer is [in] some ways a very different person, and in some ways, a person that’s [looking] around for anything he can hold onto, especially when it comes to the murder of his family. He’s convinced if he can find out who killed them [and] why, if he can get revenge, he will feel better about not just what happened to them, but about his own choices. I don’t know that that’s actually going to be the case, but that’s the road he’s going down.

TVLINE | There are a lot of fan theories floating around about what’s going on with Nick, whether there’s a little bit of residual Lucifer in him, whether he might be possessed by Michael. Anything you can say on that front?
I will say Nick is Nick, and the actions he’s taking are [that of] a very damaged man that’s gone through years and years of intense trauma, and [are] about how he’s dealing with that. He’s chosen to deal with it by being, let’s call it, proactive. But at the end of the day, you can’t be possessed by the devil for years and years without it affecting you, one way or the other. You still absorb some of that energy. Some of that trauma still affects you.

Question: Now that Dean is back on Supernatural, what is next for his character? Will we see how being possessed affected him, or hints that maybe Michael never left? —Adder

Ausiello: You’re assuming that Dean remembers what happened while he was possessed. As we’ll learn in this Thursday’s episode, “His memories of what Michael did are pretty spotty,” executive producer Andrew Dabb previews. “A lot of it is him discovering, ‘Oh, my God — this happened. Oh, my God, that happened.’ That really takes us through not just [this week], but a few episodes as we move forward.” Plus, the hunter, “in classic Dean fashion, feels kind of responsible for” for the army of supermonsters Michael created, even though it’s totally not his fault.

On Supernatural, I am so worried about Jack’s illness. Is it supernatural or a good ol’ human sickness? Is Jack next on Billie’s hit list ? –Jess
“I think we will see Billie at least once,” EP Eugenie Ross-Leming recently told TVLine, so take that as you will. And whatever’s going on with Jack’s health, it won’t stop him from hunting with Cas. “You’re going to see them together more and more, even going off and working some cases together as Cas takes Jack a little more under his wing — literally and metaphorically,” showrunner Andrew Dabb shares. “It’s a growth opportunity for both of them. Jack needs a parental figure,” while Cas for a couple of seasons “has been looking for a role to grow into,” Dabb says. “He’s tried out a lot of different things, from soldier to administrator to hunter. None of them have quite stuck. For him, Jack is really an opportunity to maybe grow as a father figure. It’s something that Misha [Collins] is very, very good at playing, being a father himself.”

Question: Is there any word on God or Amara returning to Supernatural this season? With Michael on the loose, it seems prime for their return. —Thomas
Ausiello: “Going back to Season 5 of the show, the whole plan for staging an apocalypse was to get God to come back,” EP Andrew Dabb notes. “And I don’t know that Michael’s necessarily abandoned that idea, although on his previous world, he staged an apocalypse, killed Lucifer… he did everything you should have done to make God take notice; and God didn’t care.”

A lot of familiar faces will show up in the next few episodes, including DJ Quaills as werewolf/hunter Garth, and sunny sheriff Donna Hanscum, played by Briana Buckmaster, who will show up in episode eleven. In that episode, she’ll share scenes with Mary Winchester (Samantha Smith), something Smith is particularly excited for: “I couldn’t love Briana more. There’s not a lot, but I think that any strong woman would be very respected by Mary. And anyone who looks after her boys, she’s immediately in.”

Smith also commented on the developing romance between her character and the alternate world Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver): “Bobby and Mary lived through such adversity together in the AU; their relationship was forged with camaraderie and trust and friendship and teamwork. I don’t know where it’s going to go, but the relationship makes sense in the capacity to me.”

Smith added, “And obviously you don’t get better than Jim Beaver.”

And speaking of ships, an internet favorite is the profound bond between Dean and Castiel, which we haven’t seen a lot of this season. Well, we have some good news for you on that end of things, according to Ross-Lemming: “There is one big scene coming up in twelve, that we wrote, that’s a big scene between Cas and Dean, and it’s an important turning point scene.”

Misha Collins also teased about Dean and Cas, “We have some stuff that’s coming up that will scratch that itch,” before talking more about how the Destiel phenomenon wasn’t ever something he anticipated when he joined the show. “I didn’t even know any of those terms when I got on the show. I’d never heard of fan fiction or slash fiction. The very idea of that was alien to me,” Collins said, but now “I actually kind of relish taking it in stride and being like, ‘Great. Awesome.’”

What can you tease about Supernatural‘s Nick? –Patrick
When Dean, Sam and Cas finally find out Nick’s murderous actions, the fallout is “not going to be pretty,” Mark Pellegrino teases. “It’s going to be very violent.”

During Thursday’s Supernatural, the hunter started to experience odd, slightly fuzzy vision while talking to his friends and family. Of course, he didn’t say anything to his loved ones about the unsettling development, and no concrete answers were offered about what’s happening. But given that Dean spent the very beginning of this season possessed by an archangel, it stands to reason that perhaps Michael hasn’t fully departed his perfect vessel.

“It’s Michael-ish related,” executive producer Brad Buckner confirms of the twist. “That’s a big question mark leading into the midseason finale: ‘What is that? What’s going on with him?'”

Buckner also notes that Michael is “out there with an agenda somewhere, and the question mark is, ‘Does he need permission to take Dean over again?'”

Star Jensen Ackles, too, describes what’s happening to his character as a remnant of his possession. “There’s some leftover stuff going on with Dean that is from his time as Michael,” the actor shares. And as much as Dean would probably like to pretend that nothing is wrong, the problem “won’t fade away. It’s actually going to start to fester, and it’ll rear its pretty nasty head.”

So on top of Jack’s ailing condition, Dean now has the dastardly archangel to worry about again, as well — and for good reason. “If Michael re-enters him, he could well be the instrument for the end of the world,” Buckner reminds us.

When Jack (Alexander Calvert) first started coughing up blood on Supernatural, we knew it was not headed anywhere good, but now we're wondering if maybe we underestimated how bad this health scare is going to get! Supernatural wouldn't spend more than a year making us fall in love with this kid only to rip him away from us, would it? (Answer: Of course it would, what show have you been watching?)

After realizing Jack's illness wasn't just a tickle in his throat, Dean (Jensen Ackles), Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Cas (Misha Collins) devoted all their time and energy to saving their surrogate son's life, even calling in Rowena (Ruth Connell) to attempt a magical fix-it. Unfortunately, even a powerful spell mixed with archangel grace couldn't restore Jack's life force, and now the boys are out of options. Jack is dying, and there's literally nothing they can do to stop it. Right?

"It's dire at this point," says Alexander Calvert. "I think we should keep our fingers crossed for him. Jack has definitely been on a rough road."

Time will tell if the boys find a way to avoid Jack's grim fate, but with one plan out the window, they've got to come up with a new one fast. According to Misha Collins, each of them will have to deal with the fallout of Jack's life hanging in the balance in their own way. "It's hard for all three of us because, in a weird way, each of us has taken on the role of father, which I think is possibly kind of competitive. We're all vying for the position of father. Like, 'Who's your favorite dad?'" Collins tells TV Guide.

"But it's been an interesting thing, I think, for each of us to explore with the characters," he continues. "For Castiel, I am uniquely positioned to guide him through the process to be an angel, to lose your powers, to become human, to feel flaccid and ineffective and like a burden. In the process of guiding him through that, Castiel has been telling Jack, 'It doesn't matter if you don't have your powers. It doesn't matter if you're just a human. You still belong to this family unit.' And by virtue of the fact that he's telling Jack that, I think Cas has to, by the transitive property, start to feel like he belongs in some way. Like if Jack belongs, then Cas has to belong, and after being involved with these guys for 11 years, I think this is the first time that Cas is starting to feel like, 'Maybe I have a place here.'"

While no one would ever argue that Cas has been firmly lodged in the Winchester family for years now, it's worrying to think about whether that sense of belonging will be taken from him if they can't find a way to save Jack's life. But you know, they do say that parents who lose a child are more likely to break up...

Oh yeah, and there's that little problem of Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino) possibly being resurrected from the Empty. So that's got to be great news for everyone involved. Can't that guy just stay dead?!

Unfortunately, Lucifer isn't the only thing coming back from the Empty this season. According to Collins, we'll be seeing more of that horrifying creature that lives there too. We first met the Empty when Jack resurrected Castiel, leaving him to wander around in the darkness, hovering between life and death. Collins played this mysterious antagonist with a kind of whimsically violent personality that made him both instantly appealing and off-putting for audiences. Now Collins confirms to TV Guide that the Empty will be returning as as character this season, but we shouldn't expect it to be wearing Castiel's face again.

"We will see more of the Empty — played by somebody else. I was recast, so apparently the producers didn't like my iteration of the Empty," he jokes.

After John Winchester sacrificed himself to save Dean —and became the show’s first big death — in Supernatural‘s season 2 premiere, fans assumed they’d seen the last of him. They were wrong, of course, because John came back briefly in the season 2 finale to help him boys kill Yellow Eyes and therefore complete his lifelong mission. Since then, John has popped up occasionally with Matt Cohen playing a younger version of the character, but as for Jeffrey Dean Morgan returning to the role, well, that’s something the show saved for episode 300 (which sees him return when Sam and Dean are granted a wish).

But will the 300th — which focuses heavily on “closure” for Sam and Dean — be the last we see of John? Morgan certainly hopes not. “Hopefully they’ll leave it in a place where John could come back again,” Morgan tells EW. “My dream would be to come back and do something in the last year, the last episode, the last couple episodes, whatever, and do a proper little arc.”

Seeing as how Morgan was only on set filming for two days for his part in the 300th episode, he says he’d love the chance to spend a bit more time with the character. “It’d be fun to have some time and really dig in,” he says, adding, “Maybe [episode 300] won’t be the end of John. Like I always say to everybody: ‘It’s Supernatural, anything can happen.'”

Michael is still hanging out in Dean's head, and the metaphorical barrier that's keeping him tucked away won't hold for much longer. With very few options and time running out, the Winchesters have one hell of a problem on their hands. And according to Supernatural boss Andrew Dabb, things are about to go from bad to worse — much sooner than you think. As they chase down a lead that might be able to help with this Michael issue, the brothers will make a startling discovery that changes everything.

"What they very quickly realize is Michael has not been idle in Dean's head," Dabb told TV Guide. "The Michael thing is gonna happen a lot sooner than people think and have some pretty massive consequences for all of our characters."

We all knew Michael wasn't going out without a fight, but this sounds downright apocalyptic. The brothers will need a miracle — how about Jack's (Alexander Calvert) grace being restored — if they intend to stop Michael without taking down Dean along with him.

The fact that Nick (Mark Pellegrino) has become Lucifer's most devoted minion is equally distressing. Instead of using this second shot at life to start fresh, he'll spend his time searching for the Devil, and that quest will lead him down a very dark path.

"You're dealing with someone who has probably the most advanced form of Stockholm Syndrome you'll ever find," Dabb explained. "His life was not great. He had a normal marriage, but he's also a guy that spent most nights out drinking. He felt powerless, and he felt ignored and forgotten. With Lucifer, he felt important and powerful and it became intoxicating to him. I don't think it's something he can let go. When he came back, he had the gift of a second chance at life, which he'll probably squander because at the end of the day, he needs that drug."

Consumed by his obsession with Lucifer, Nick is setting himself up for a pretty bleak future. "He needs Lucifer and he will do anything to get it. The rest of the season is gonna show that he will go through extreme lengths to achieve that," Dabb said.

"Bad things are coming, as they always are, for the Winchesters."
By Jess Lee 11/02/2019

If seeing John Winchester again wasn't enough for Supernatural fans, there's going to be a new twist in store for brothers Sam and Dean.

Showrunner Andrew Dabb discussed with IGN what to expect from the rest of the 14th season, and he shared that, although "bad things are coming" (as you would expect), our heroes will continue to grow as characters.

It's just as well that we're definitely getting a season 15!

"I will say, true to Supernatural form, season 14 does not end on an 'everybody is super happy and hugging' note, necessarily," Dabb said. "Bad things are coming, as they always are, for the Winchesters.

"But I do think that, moving into 15... I think that people will be surprised and will be happy in terms of where we're going, not only in terms of the plotline, but also in terms of our guys and their ongoing growth as people."

Related: Supernatural creator reveals his original concept for the show as it celebrates 300 episodes

Dabb also teased that another familiar face will be returning later in season 14.

"In terms of going forward, in episode 20, I will say that we get visited by an old favourite," he said.

Last month, Supernatural was confirmed to be renewed by The CW alongside the likes of Supergirl, Arrow, Riverdale, and The Flash.