Is it a sign of the apocalypse when Kripke seems to be giving straight answers? Should we worry that after the Comic Con session on Supernatural, we're really, really looking forward to Armageddon? And why did they try to give us a heart attack in the first five minutes? Damn you, Kripke -- and please, keep talking, because we love it all!
Alas, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles couldn't make it to the Comic Con panel -- they were working, of course, but "they're sending their love," Kripke promised. And then, because he's, well, Kripke, he twisted the knife: "They're shirtless, and they're sending their love." Hah! Fortunately, Kripke, producers Sera Gamble and Ben Edlund, and Jim Beaver (Bobby) and Misha Collins (Castiel) manage to hold their own in front of the devoted crowd.
But since this was a Kripke production, the first thing they had to do was make us panic. So the five-minute clip shown to fans featured (spoiler alert!) the prophet Chuck (Rob Benedict), who said that the Archangel had smote the hell out of Castiel. Cas exploded -- and Chuck was picking angelic molars out of his hair as a result. What? Castiel is DEAD? But... but... Ahh!!!
After inciting panic, Kripke made things worse, quipping, "There will be a new angel played by James van der Beek." He let that sink in, then: "No, Castiel's coming back, don't worry!" Whew! Plus, he'll still be in the Constantine-inspired trenchcoat -- although we were intrigued by Kripke's suggestion that they bring him back in a leather catsuit. Hmmm!
Other upcoming plot points:
- Expect Lucifer to be the most likable character on screen -- not that we'll see him all the time. He's in episode one, episode three... and then we'll see.
- Ellen will be back! She'll be joining the ranks of Hunters -- including Rufus and Jo -- who come out of the woodwork to deal with this pesky apocalypse thing.
- Kripke's episode three teaser: "Dean takes Castiel to a whorehouse." Poing!
- Episode four calls back to the Croatoan virus, and takes place five year into the future. Innnnnteresting.
- The "rumor, myth, legend" of the Colt will return, according to Ben Edlund.
- I already tweeted this, but accorded to the gag reel, Jared really is exceedingly gassy!
And miscellaneous bits:
- Jim and Misha were having far, far too much fun on the panel. A fan asked them what it felt like to be just as important as Jensen and Jared to the show. Misha's response: "What would that be like? It would be great." Jim's response: "Who are Jensen and Jared?" They then riffed on how yes, the audience now knows that the J's are completely superfluous, but it's nice to have them around just to make them feel good about themselves. Hah!
- Kripke revealed that Mark Pellegrino, who will play Lucifer, was up for the role of Castiel -- and came damn close to getting it. Misha pouted a bit, then muttered "I could have played Lucifer, too."
- A fan asked Jim how quickly Bobby would get back to whuppin' ass. "Well, Bobby don't let too much go by unwhuppassed." And that's one of the many reasons we love him.
- Kripke will not reveal whether it was the angels or the demons who changed Dean's voicemail message to Sam. He's got his opinion... but he won't tell us what it is.
- Jim teased that Bobby had an interesting scenario coming up -- but that he couldn't talk about it. So of course, the guys immediately started joking that it involved the unrequited love that Castiel has for Bobby. Does this mean the Castiel/Dean love affair is ending? Moderator Mo Ryan joked. "Dean's no competition," Jim growled.
- Ruby was always bad -- she was always going to betrayal the boys.
- The boys will repair their relationship this season, Kripke promised -- "Slowly, painfully, getting as much angst out of it as possible, this is the season they come back together." He, Sera and Ben also promised this would be a particularly perky apocalypse -- hey, they've reached bottom, and now there's nowhere to go but up!
- Would Kripke return for a season 6? He's not sure -- and mostly it's because "I'm like the chick with the glasses in the teen comedy and I'm like, 'Why do they want to ask me to prom?'" He just has a hard time believing that the show has lasted as long as it has, much less that people want more of it. (Kripke: We do!)
- If they do come back for season 6, that doesn't mean they'll have to draw out the Lucifer storyline. Expect that to be resolved this season.
- Yes, they miss using kick-ass classic rock several times an episode, but it's a budget thing. Yes, they'd love to release a soundtrack, but they can't get any record companies interested.
That's just the highlights -- there was plenty more. Were you there? What was your favorite panel moment? And what do all of you think of the Season 5 revelations? Talk about it in the comments!