'Grey's' Isn't Going Anywhere
'Red Widow' Gets The Axe
'Supernatural' Set Visit: Jensen Ackles & Jared Padalecki Talk Sam's Wall, Dean's Trial & Going On the Run
by Laura Prudom, posted Oct 5th 2011 10:00AM
Sam and Dean have a tough year ahead. In the space of one episode, they lost one of their closest friends, Bobby's house was reduced to smoldering rubble and a powerful new evil emerged to target them. Just another day in the life of the Winchester boys!AOL TV visited the Vancouver set of 'Supernatural,' where we participated in a roundtable interview with stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki.
Join us after the the jump for some insight into the guilt Dean is carrying, how Sam is dealing with his memories of hell and what the Leviathans plan to do to draw the brothers out into the open.
Spoiler alert!
How are Sam and Dean dealing with the events of last week's episode?
Jared Padalecki: Moving forward as we can, I guess. It's certainly not the first curveball that's been thrown the boys' way. It is a large one, because we're gradually starting to realize and understand that we are losing all vestiges of hope that we've relied on, at least since season four. Gradually, I think it's dawning on Sam and Dean like, 'Hey, we're kind of losing a lot of our lifelines.' Obviously, Sam feels vulnerable because once again he's got something going on in his head and he can't figure out what's real and what's not and what he's going to do about it.
Dean's going to be on trial -- what do you think is the one issue or one person he feels the guiltiest about?
Jensen Ackles: He's got a laundry list of things he feels guilty about, which I think plays into the whole storyline and why he feels the way he does. There's the responsibility of his brother and [Dean] having to watch over him and feeling like he let him down all the time, now there's the whole Cas issue, that he didn't get to him in time and he wasn't able to help him out and to save him. It dates all the way back to his father. I think there's a mound of guilt that has built itself up on Dean's shoulders that he constantly carries around with him and it's difficult, and we're going to exploit that, basically.
JP: I think we find out, with Dean going on trial ... the reason he's going on trial is because of guilt. He's like "Why not Sam? You've done enough: Demon blood and Lilith and you opened [Lucifer's cage] ..." But with the trouble that Sam's now going through, with the Hell wall falling down, I think he understands that he's served his time; he tried to do the right thing over and over again. He's like, "I made a few mistakes, but as far as the teeter-totter goes I think I've done more good than bad, and the scales of justice are still tipped in my favor." So, it's now my job ... it's kind of another flip where Dean's always been taking care of Sam and now Sam's kind of having to say to Dean, "Listen, man -- you're doing your best, you're doing great."
The Season 7 synopsis said something like, "Dean struggles under the weight of a secret that threatens to tear them apart." Does that relate to the trial, or is it something separate?
JA: That's something separate.
Can you tease anything about it?JA: [vehemently shakes his head] You know why? Because I don't know. They tease me just as much as they tease you!
[Note: There is another secret that Ackles does know about that is touched upon in this week's episode, but expect that to be resolved fairly quickly.]
If you had to describe the season in broad strokes, knowing what we know now, what would you say?
JP: I think the basic thing is that it's a return to Sam and Dean with only Sam and Dean. Like, for whatever reason, we're having to go on the run and cut communication in such a way because now, finally, after how many hundred-something episodes, the law enforcement is really on our tracks now. So we can't always be on the phone, we can't always be on the Internet, we can't always be keeping ourselves logged into the world, or even to other friends -- obviously you see what happened to Cas. And gradually, we see more and more like, "Whoa, Sam and Dean are really going to have to go with each other but kind of cut out a lot of other things," from the car to the this and the that. The cops are on to us, the Leviathans are on to us. We need to try and pull out all the stops in order to do what's right.
JA: Yeah, it's Season 7 of 'Supernatural' stripped down -- the acoustic season. Touching on what Jared said, they've taken a lot of the tools of our trade that we've come to rely on over the past several seasons and stripped those away from us. So we're kind of having to get back to the basics of just relying on each other, our wits, our street smarts, all that kind of stuff just to make it through. It's cool, I like it. I mean, it's definitely reminiscent of the first season, which was the season that I know that we fell in love with the show and the people that still watch the show fell in love with the show.
How do the cops catch on to you guys?
JP: How do they not? I think that's the more accurate question!
JA: Well, Leviathans are trying to weed us out, essentially. So they've come up with different scenarios, different schemes to do so. One of them is getting the cops basically put on our trail and really making us America's Most Wanted, which doesn't help us. Because as soon as they know that we are locked up or that we're being detained in some facility, then we're sitting ducks.
Given the emotional scene that you guys had in the warehouse last episode, is there going to be any tension between the brothers as Dean doubts Sam's ability to keep himself grounded in reality?
JA: I don't think that there's necessarily a lack of trust, I think it's more just keeping an eye out and wanting to be there in case he does slip and fall, and trying to be the supporter that he can be without coddling him, so to speak.
JP: Also, with all the ups and downs Sam's been through, I think he's more concerned now with trying to get his footing again as opposed to calling Dean out, unless it's something that's very important ... I think Sam, first things first, has to fix himself before he can fix somebody else.
JA: In this episode that we're filming right now [Season 7, Episode 8], Dean basically is saying, "Look, you're an adult, I know that you can take care of yourself. You don't need me." He's coming to that realization, which is tough for him because he's always looked out for his little brother. But there is a shift change in the season and Dean understands that he can't babysit him all the time; Sam is his own man and he's dealing with his issues, but at the same time, he's doing a really good job of dealing with it. So Dean's got to understand that and give credit, and he does.
A lot of that is internal as opposed to you fighting monsters -- can you talk about the challenges of playing that and making sure that comes across?
JP: Well, for better or worse, I think that's what we both have relied on to make this story work. The great thing about Supernatural is that it's in the mythological world of science-fiction and demons ... but I think it's on the plate of very real human emotions and caring for family. We've become such good friends over the years that it's very easy to understand what it means to care about somebody and their well-being, especially to put yourself on the line for somebody else and make sure they're okay. So now we don't lose that. When season one started out, the boys obviously just clashed heads. Now, I think Jared and Jensen have understood with Sam and Dean like, "hey, we're going to have to take care of each other first and these monsters and demons things can come and go," as they do. But it's more important that we deal with the emotional issues.
JA: Yeah, I mean, it's always been a story about two brothers. Whatever kind of craziness comes their way I think that the story always hinges on the relationship of these two guys and what they deal with and what they go through on a human level.
'Supernatural' airs Fridays at 9PM ET on The CW.
Are you intrigued by the concept of Sam and Dean on the run? What secret do you think Dean is keeping? Share your thoughts below!
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