With the 15th season of Supernatural having been announced as the final season of the series, that meant this year’s Supernatural panel at San Diego Comic-Con would presumably be its last.
The Supernatural panel has been a tradition for us to attend every Sunday ever since we first began attending SDCC in 2012, even during years when we weren’t entirely caught up! Of course, the one year we skipped the panel to do something else was the year that Kansas showed up and played Carry on Warward Son. Sigh. Still kicking ourselves for that one! With this being the final Supernatural panel, there was no way we were going to miss it.
The morning of Sunday, July 21, 2019, we packed up our things, loaded them into the car, then headed down to the Hall H line. It took awhile for the line to condense, and I started to think that we weren’t going to get in before the panel started at 10:30am. Luckily, when we got in at 10:35am, the panel was running a few minutes late and had not yet started. At that point, the room was about 3/4 full.
Upon walking into Hall H, we were given some pretty cool swag: a 1:64 model of Baby, Dean’s beloved Impala!
The panel began with a look back at “The Road So Far…” in the form of clips from every single season of Supernatural, starting from the beginning (Sam and Dean looked like babies!) and going through season 14. Of course, it was backed by an amazing soundtrack made up of Blue Oyster Cult’s (Don’t Fear) The Reaper, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Bad Moon Rising, and fan favorite Carry On Wayward Son by Kansas. Yes, the footage was THAT long, over ten minutes!
When the lights came back on, it looked like the room was now completely full. Rob Benedict (who plays Chuck/God) and Richard Speight Jr. (who plays Gabriel) came out to moderate the panel. They were wearing matching outfits, cosplaying as Castiel. Then they both took off their trenchcoats — and they were still matching, now both wearing leather jackets!
They brought out the panelists, which included Executive Producers Robert “Bobo” Berens, Brad Buckner, and Eugenie Ross-Leming, Executive Producers and Co-Showrunners Andrew Dabb and Robert Singer, and series stars Alexander Calvert (Jack), Misha Collins (Castiel), Jensen Ackles (Dean), and Jared Padalecki (Sam).
Richard and Rob started off the panel by asking Jared and Jensen how they’re feeling now that the show is coming to an end. Jared responded, “That’s so mean to start with us, I’m trying not to cry!” Jensen confessed that he was really nervous right now, even though they’ve done this a lot, and he’s never been nervous before, so he didn’t know why he was nervous now.
Jensen recalled when he and Jared first started, they thought they’d do this show and put their lives on hold for maybe three seasons at most, then go back and “press play.” However, “it never got unpaused,” and he was thankful that it didn’t, because “it’s been quite a ride.” He now has lifelong friends from what was “the experience of a lifetime.”
Misha Collins talked about his journey of beginning as a guest star to becoming an integral part of the show. He recalled that prior to starting on the show, he had written on a Goal Card that he wanted to become a regular on a creatively fulfilling show and become lifelong friends with his castmates. Misha then confirmed, “I consider these guys lifelong friends” and also commented that he never dreamed that along with that would come an incredible fandom and such an iconic legacy of a show. As for his plans for the immediate future, Misha told us that he had recently finished writing a cookbook with his wife titled The Adventurous Eaters Club, which you can buy on Amazon.
When asked where he sees Jack going this year, Alexander Calvert first inquired, “Can I confirm that Jack is back in some capacity?” He couldn’t really tell us much, but he did say that Jack’s journey and his small part on the show has been “truly incredible” for him, and that he’s excited for us to see his journey come to an end.
Robert Singer, who has been with the show since the beginning (minus the pilot) talked about his experience throughout the years and working closely with the show’s creator Eric Kripke for the first five years before he left, and then working with subsequent co-showrunners, currently Andrew Dabb. He commented, “You never imagine 15 years, but it seems to have gone by roughly quick because I pretty much enjoyed every minute.”
Rob Benedict started to ask a question about next season, bringing up how at the end of last season, we left them surrounded by zombies, but Jared pointed out, “We didn’t leave them surrounded by zombies, YOU did!” Rob Benedict replied, “Deal with it!” As for how the show moves forward from here, Brad Buckner talked about the “game changing” revelation that God was never really hands off and allowing free will as they had thought, but has instead been manipulating things all along. Brad commented, “This really messes with your entire belief system.”
Eugenie Ross-Leming chimed in, saying that “You’re living your life on quicksand,” in that you don’t know if what you’re doing is your own choice or pre-planned. She also said that as writers, they’re trying to figure out what that means, and that since this is the last season they’re able to “take chances we didn’t have before.” Eugenie said that it’s an answer that has “many tentacles,” which we’ll see played out throughout the season.
Robert “Bobo” Berens talked about how the big reveal opened up the theme of free will, and we’ll see Sam and Dean respond differently to this news. The boys will have to struggle with wondering whether their victories throughout the years were really them or if they were just part of the plan.
Andrew Dabb spoke about how the show has been a part of his life for 12 years, and that it’s exciting and scary to have risen through the ranks and now shares the responsibility of ending the show. He joked that about 30% of people would be happy with the ending, saying “If you thought Game of Thrones was angry…”
There was time for a few audience questions as well.
One question was about how the cast became involved with the Hillywood parody. Misha joked that it was because of blackmail. However, in all seriousness, Richard answered that the Hillywood girls were very talented and did such a great job, that it was an easy ask to have them come back and do a second one.
As for whether there was something they haven’t done on the show that they would like to do, Jared said there wasn’t anything, and that he was honored to have done so much already. Jensen said he would like to take the Impala to the track.
Another attendee asked Jared and Jensen what they were most proud of when they look back. The boys looked like they were starting to tear up, so Misha passed them some tissues, to which Jared asked, “You have tissue in your pocket??” and Jensen responded, “Like you don’t!” Jared went on to talk about how he realized that this was their last Comic-Con, and about the relationships that he has built throughout his time being on the show. He told us that he and Jensen had actually talked about this for a few hours the night before, just how lucky they were. Jared went on to say, “I’m really lucky because my friendships won’t go away, and Sam Winchester, for me, won’t go away. He’ll be a part of me forever.”
Jensen added that he was proud of the work that the team has done for so long, pointing out that it’s not easy, and that a lot of work goes into making the 42-minute episodes that we see — they actually film for 8 days, plus there’s pre-production and post-production. He was proud of the effort that he and everyone else put into the show.
When asked if he had any plans to steal anything from set, Misha joked that he had already rented a semi-trailer, in which he has built a cage, in which he would put Jensen and Jared! Misha also said that in the future, he hoped that this fandom would continue to function as a family after the show is over, and be a force for good.
We then watched a video about restoring the Impala, which you can watch below:
At the end of the video, it was announced that “With this old Baby looking and driving as good as new, one of you will get a chance to carry on.” When the lights came back on, it was confirmed that yes, we heard right, an audience member would get to take the car home! Jensen clarified that there are actually a few “Baby”s that they have on the show, and that this is an exact replica.
It turned out that each of the attendees who asked a question during the Audience Q&A had been given a key with a number on it. They were then going to draw a number to see who won. Jared didn’t want the responsibility and handed it over to Jensen, pointing out the number of people who would be pissed off at him. Jensen replied, “I’m already pissed off! I don’t share well,” which Jared confirmed. Jensen pulled number 3. The winner was Laura Dittrick of Grants Pass, Oregon. The car was actually currently in Kansas, so they’d figure out a way to get it to her.
As the panel began to run out of time, the panelists shared their final thoughts. Robert Singer said that the show will end, but the friendships and memories that they had together will live on. He thanked everyone for “making 15 years a dream come true.” Andrew Dabb remarked what an incredible privilege it had been to work on the show and become part of this family, which is something that most of them won’t ever experience again, and thanked the fans for making it all possible.
Misha revealed that they had all been backstage, promising each other that they weren’t going to cry, but “We all knew that we were lying to each other.” He then told the fans and everyone on stage that he loved them.
Jensen thanked the fans for showing up, saying that it was amazing “to see this many faces who appreciate what we do.” At this point, fans yelled “Thank you!” from the audience, which caused Jared to tear up even more than he already had, and Jensen had to pause for a few moments to try to keep it together himself, as he began to tear up as well. After a reassuring pat on the back from Jared, Jensen regained his composure and said, “We love you guys very much. Thank you.”
As for Jared’s final thoughts, he said, “I’m the luckiest man on the planet. My cup floweth over. Thank you guys very much, I’m going to miss you.”
And that was it. That was the end of the final Supernatural panel in Hall H. Even though there was no repeat performance from Kansas, I’m glad we were there for the fun and laughter, and to witness this emotional send-off. It was the end of an era. I guess maybe we can look forward to a 10 year anniversary panel, at least?
Season 15 of Supernatural will premiere on Thursday, October 10 on the CW Network.
You can view more of our photos from the Supernatural panel at SDCC 2019 in the photo gallery below.
