Supernatural executive producer Jeremy Carver discusses the final stretch of episodes in season 8.
Carver recently sat down with IGN to discuss returning characters, the final trial, and the Men of Letters. Spoilers ahead!
Returning characters
When asked about Bobby’s return in “Taxi Driver,” Carver says, “We wanted to bring him back, and we wanted it to make sense. We found a way as we developed both the trial and purgatory storylines over the course of the season. Because you never really want a death to feel unimportant or transitory — because a lot went into that death, you know?”
This is especially true on a show like Supernatural, in which the number of times characters die has become a punchline. “[E]ssentially you want to earn it,” Carver adds, “and I think we found a way to make it make sense. Bobby had a little bit more to say, so we were happy with it.” As for whether we’ll see Bobby again, as Bobby himself predicted, Carver says, “Well, he’s an ornery guy, so hopefully so.”
“I think what’s so exciting about [Wednesday’s episode, “Pac-Man Fever”] is that we really get a much deeper insight into her and her past and her character.
“You’re always going to have a certain amount of humor when it comes to Charlie, but we get a tremendous amount of hardened emotion in this upcoming episode that I think folks are going to enjoy, as Sam and Dean peel back the many layers of Charlie.”
He adds that “Charlie, to me, is a character who brings a breath of fresh air into the show. Male or female, I think you always want to see someone like that come back for more.”
The Final Trial
“[W]e’re at a bit of a crossroads here,” Carver says of the final trial. “The boys have two trials down, and Kevin’s fate is rather uncertain here at the end of episode 19. So the idea of finding out about this third trial is very much on the forefront of their minds and something that we’ll be dealing with well before the finale as well.”
We’ve already reported that we’ll be seeing some familiar faces in relation to the last trial, including Sarah Blake, Sam’s love interest from season 1’s “Provenance.” Carver teases, “These reappearances are related somewhat to the trials, and not in a good way.”
Personal crises
“The other thing that really united them was this shared sense of revenge. So I think what Dean and Sam are both going to have to contend with as they march towards the end here is, how far are they willing to go to get this revenge? Because things get pretty hairy.”
As for Castiel’s struggles this season, Carver says, “I think Cas is also one of those snakebit guys whose appreciation of humanity, as it develops over several years, has knocked him off stride a bit. It’s a case of the ‘best intentions can lead to the worst consequences.'”
The Men of Letters
Carver says that he loves the Men of Letters. “I think it’s a wonderful, emotional callback to this side of the family that they never knew,” he says of the Winchester line.
And the Men of Letters has been good “on an emotional level for both the boys,” since “they’ve never really had any place…that they could call home or their own.
“I think the idea in episode 14, where Dean was decorating his room, that carried real emotional weight for him. They haven’t been able to do that in a long, long time.”
Season 8 wrap up
In terms of how season 8 is going to play out and set up season 9, Carver says that fans can expect “to see some storylines absolutely resolved, and some definite ‘OMG’ cliffhangers.”
And on the perennial question of Chuck, who disappeared at the end of season 5 and fans speculate is truly God, Carver says, “Um… I can’t comment on Chuck.”
Supernatural airs Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET on The CW.