'Supernatural' Cast Says Goodbye In Bittersweet Farewell Panel [Comic-Con 2019]

"Can we all just start crying so I don't feel so weird?" Jared Padelecki said at the beginning of this year's Supernatural panel at San Diego Comic-Con. It was an emotional time not only for him and the others on stage, but also for the fans in the Hall H audience. After a staggering 15 seasons and numerous Comic-Con appearances, Supernatural is coming to an end. Padelecki, who plays Sam Winchester on the show, was joined by fellow actors Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester), Misha Collins (Castiel), and Alexander Calvert (Jack), along with executive producers Robert Singer, Andrew Dabb, Eugenie Ross-Leming, Brad Buckner, and Bob Berens on stage. Richard Speight Jr. and Rob Benedict, who play Gabriel and God/Chuck, respectively, were there as well, taking on the role of co-moderators again. And while everyone still cracked jokes with one another, there was a bittersweet mood in the air.

"It's a long time..." Ackles said, trying to put into words what the show meant to him over the years. "We hooked it up to Vancouver, thinking we'd just put our lives on hold and just press pause for maybe a season, maybe two...and it never got un-paused, and I'm very thankful it didn't, because it's been quite a ride. It's hard to express what we're going to take away from that. We're lifelong friends and had experiences of a lifetime."Other panelists echoed Ackles' comments. "I consider these guys lifelong friends, and I know none of you like me," Collins joked before turning more serious. "But I could never have dreamed that along with that would come this incredible fandom, and this iconic legacy of a show. It feels like a great honor to be a part of it." The panel also talked about what they thought would be in store for the final season. The end of the previous season ended on a cliffhanger in which Chuck (AKA God) took a turn to the dark side and Sam and Dean were being swarmed by the living dead. The stakes are high, as usual, but now that we know the 15th season will be the show's last, the writers have the additional task of giving the show the final send-off it deserves. "We're playing with each other as writers trying to figure out what it really means," Ross-Leming said. "It's the last year, so we can take chances we didn't have before. We're building to something that we all have to have a consensus on."  

One thing that was also clear during the panel was that the show and the fans wouldn't just disappear after the Season 15 finale. "I'm really lucky because my friendships won't go away," Padelecki said. "And Sam Winchester, for me, won't go away. He'll be a part of me forever." One lucky Hall H Supernatural fan also got the chance to take a real piece of the show home with them — an exact replica of Baby, Dean's beloved Chevy Impala that has become a much-loved character in its own right. How the winner will get the car home remains to be seen, but it goes to show that asking a question in a Hall H panel can come with some major additional perks. Unfortunately, the panel, like the show, eventually came to an end. "We love you guys very much," Ackles said in closing as he and the rest of the panelists failed to hold back tears. And the fans love them back — the cast and crew got a standing ovation as they left the stage, and there weren't many dry eyes in the Hall.The 15th and final season of Supernatural will air on The CW starting October 14, 2019.Header image via a video from Twitter user Cam aka soberdenatural, who was also in attendance.