After a bloody-long hiatus, Supernatural is back tonight with the first of their final episodes for season six. Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean ( Alpha Male Madness 2011 winner Jensen Ackles) have lots of action ahead of them, including strapping on cowboy hats to hang with Samuel Colt and dealing with a world where the Titanic didn't sink. You know, the usual stuff.
Before we dive into the final episodes of season six, we had to have a little chat with executive producer Bob Singer. We took him your fan questions, and luckily, he had answers, including some tantalizing info about a season seven:
MORE: Smallville First Look: Need a Hero? Call Booster!
Q&A with Supernatural Executive Producer Robert Singer
Finally back after a hiatus! So what's going on in tonight's episode?Bob Singer: It's a lot of fun, and it has a lot of humor, and it has a lot to do with Castiel's (Misha Collins) relationship and how much the guys mean to him, but it really sort of plays with the question: If you could change history, what would the world look like today? If you could go back in time and change one little event, what would the snowball effect of that be?
There's a big Western episode coming up with "Frontierland." What can fans expect other than hot boys in cowboy hats?BS: [Laughs.] Jensen and Jared loved wearing those cowboy hats. That episode really helps us start kicking off the last part of the season and working towards the conclusion of what the door to purgatory is all about and maybe a way to stop the opening of the door of purgatory. It sort of sets up all of that. It's a last act and sets it all in motion in a rollercoaster sort of way.
So, what is Sam and Dean's journey like for the final rollercoaster act?BS: Well, once Sam got his soul back and once they unravel the mystery of this mother of all monsters and doors opening to purgatory and what that might mean, it just sort of tells the end of our season long story. We wanted to tell a three act story in the mystery sort of way, and the first act being what's wrong with Sam, Sam lost his soul and then Sam getting his soul back. The second act being this idea of the mother of all monsters and purgatory and what it means to have all these souls on the loose and how horrific it would be if that door actually opens, because that's where all monsters come from. And the last act is really about solving the season-long mystery of what this all means and Castiel is very much a part of that, and we hope that it satisfies after a 22-hour-long mystery.
Are there any particular scenes coming up that you're really excited for viewers to see?BS: Hmmm...one scene. There are quite a few coming up actually. I think in the Western we really paid--with a little twinkle in our eye--homage to what those Westerns were like and the whole High Noon thing. That was really fun. The changing of the course of history, all those episodes, I think there are scenes that are really memorable and then the last three episodes, there is some really cool stuff that I hope people will just tune in and react as well as we have.
What are your thoughts on renewal chances for season seven?BS: Everyone is confident, but I have been around long enough to not be surprised by anything.
Should season seven get the greenlight, do you have any plans or general ideas about what you want for your characters?BS: We haven't talked about it too much. The only notion we have, and this is not necessarily storytelling, but in term of feel, we talked about doing something. If this season was a season that was a film noir, we are talking about this next season being a classic Western story where civilization is really closing in on the cowboys and Sam and Dean are basically the last two cowboys in a world that is now passing them by a little bit, in terms of not just your individual monster of the week, but how they cope in a new modern world. And they are sort of like old-fashioned cowboys.
We know you can't say much, but can you give us a tease for the season finale?BS: Everyone is not what they appear.
Is there a cliffhanger?BS: It does have a little bit of a cliffhanger to it, yes.
How do you think or hope the fans will feel after the season finale?BS: I don't know how they will feel, but we hope they will be satisfied with the year and happy with what we did after the apocalypse. There were a lot of discussions early on about how we match that and we came up with this season long mystery. I think we are happy with it and we hope they are happy with it. There is some good stuff at the end, and they seem to have stuck with us through the year wanting to know and I don't think we will disappoint when they find out.
Looking forward to gun-slinging Sam and Dean as much as we are? Ready to face the final episodes of the season? Neither are we, but watch the preview for tonight's episode ("My Heart Will Go On") and then head down to the comments so we can start the #SPNSeasonSeven campaign properly.