THE WAR CONTINUES – Amara (guest star Emily Swallows) shows Dean (Jensen Ackles) how she’s torturing Lucifer (Misha Collins). Worried for Castiel, Dean and Sam (Jared Padalecki) come up with a plan to rescue him from Amara’s clutches. Thomas J. Wright directed the episode written by Eugenie Ross-Leming & Brad Buckner (#1121). Original airdate 5/11/2016.

"For those of you who don't know - I'm sure you probably thought it would eventually - the amulet worn by Dean has surfaced again. Apparently Sam had kept it the whole time," Ackles informed fans at Asylum 16 last on Saturday. "It was no surprise to me, I'm sure it wasn't a surprise to you. But is was a surprise to Dean."

"I think Dean was probably touched and confused as to A) how and why he kept it this whole time and why he didn't say anything, and B) why is it now glowing," the actor explained.

"I liked it in the fact that it kind of helped me create Dean. I didn't like it because it was a thick cast metal and every time I would run or dive or jump or do a stunt, I'd catch it in the teeth," Ackles told the Rouge Events audience. "I'm surprised I still have front teeth."

For now, it appears Dean will keep the symbol of his brotherly bond, but it won't be hanging in plain sight. Like Sam, the elder hunter will stick it in his pocket.

"I don't want to put it around my neck; can I just keep it in my pocket?" Ackles had asked Bob Singer, executive producer and episode 20 director. "So it's now in Dean's pocket. Whether it comes back out again, I don't know."

Speaking of the 'Samulet,' were you as excited as fans were to see Dean's amulet again? They left it a little ambiguous at the end about where it had been. Chuck had that line — "you'll never know where it's been this whole time." And he had it in his hand, but then it popped up in Sam's pocket. Was it in his pocket, or somewhere else?

I think Robbie wants it to be a little ambiguous. I think he still wants there to be some mystery around certain things. Metatron kind of interrupts me, and I never finish that thought. But we were aware of how big that moment was. Definitely even as I was playing it, I was thinking, 'This is huge. We haven't seen it in a while.' And the fact that we answered the question about why it didn't glow in front of my the first time and stuff like that.

In terms of this week, preview for me where we find Chuck in Wednesday's episode.

I think it's clear now there's a job to be done. I've got to confront the darkness at some point, but the first thing that needs to be accomplished is that I got to set things straight with Sam and Dean and convince them I am who I say I am, and not just Chuck. So I think that's the first thing that needs to be addressed. I need their confidence, and need them to understand and know that's who I am. We've got a job to do.

How does he go about that? It sounds like it would make for a really personal episode.

It's both. There's some fun stuff in terms of convincing them that it's not just Chuck being weird.

Which is also a possibility.

Exactly! But Chuck's still Chuck, and he's still a quirky character and that's not gone. So it's still that balance between Chuck and God. He's God when he needs to be God. But absolutely, there are a couple of scenes that are really personal scenes, and I've definitely got a lot of explaining to do to the two boys. So that's sort of what gets addressed.

TVLINE | Unlike the fans, Dean and Sam have been in the dark about Chuck’s identity. So how do they react to finding out he is God?
We have to have a little sit-down, because I’ve got a lot of explaining to do. My whole thing is going to be, first of all, convincing them that I am God and not just Chuck being weird. The other part of it is just getting them on board with me and what our job is going to be, what the obstacle ahead of us is.

TVLINE | Over the past couple seasons, Sam has actually prayed to God. He’s had a lot of faith in him. Once he comes face to face with Chuck, do they have to hash out their issues?
Definitely, that’s where Sam is coming from, and Dean is coming from a different place. Obviously, you don’t have enough time to get into all of it, but there are scenes where we try to set things straight, and I try to explain where I’ve been and why.

TVLINE | Now that Chuck has made himself known to Dean and Sam, what role will he play in their fight against Amara and their quest to get Castiel back?
We all have the same goal — we want to try to stop her. We have different reasons for why, but ultimately, what we have to do is be on the same team and trust each other. First on my plate as God is to get them to trust me, because I need them to be my boots on the ground, and we need to work together again. But I feel like there’s always been a lot of love there between Chuck and the boys, and that’s definitely highlighted in this next episode.

TVLINE | Has Chuck’s take on Amara and what she’s doing changed since last week’s episode?
Yeah, it continues to evolve. The audience finds out a little bit more [about] where he’s coming from. There’s definitely a brother/sister relationship at play, and the fact that they’re, basically, two sides of the same coin… That’s the human side of what’s going on, this whole idea of every time he created a world, she destroyed it.

TVLINE | She broke all his toys.
Yeah, she broke all his toys. She kicked over his sandcastle. [Laughs] So that becomes a little clearer, what that dynamic is really about.

TVLINE | God also abandoned the angels. Should he and Castiel be reunited, what kind of interaction can we expect between them?
That’s going to be a complicated one, because right now, Lucifer is possessing Castiel. God has a lot of people doubting him because he’s been gone, and he’s let a lot of people down. There’s definitely some conversations that need to be had, and we’re going to see some of that come into play very soon.

How does he approach Sam and Dean after all this time, after ignoring them for so long – how does he justify himself to them?

That’s the thing, being this absentee father, he has a lot of explaining to do and I think in this week’s episode, first on the docket is A: convincing them that he is who he says he is, and secondly, if that’s true, then “what the F? Where have you been and why?” So he needs to get Sam and Dean’s trust because they’ve got a common bad guy – or bad girl – so he’s got to get their trust and get them on the same team again. And their relationship is very father and two sons, there really is something about it and that’s how it’s going to play out.

I love that he acknowledged that he’d put Castiel back together more times than he could count in last week’s episode – anything you can preview on the Lustiel front?

I can’t say too much other than that there’s some really interesting stuff. The fact that it’s Castiel, who he loves, being possessed by Lucifer, his troubled son, down the line is going to create quite a bit of drama.

Last week’s episode finally brought back Dean’s amulet – do you know where it’s been this whole time?

I can only give a Rob Benedict theory, which I’m sure is not as good as a fan theory, but I will say that Robbie did deliberately put it in there, and in the script it’s called the “Samulet” – we call it the “Samulet” in the script, and he deliberately said, “God starts to say where it’s been this whole time and then Metatron cuts him off, so he never gets to say.” Suffice it to say it’s back, and it’s glowing.

I watched Jensen as he stood behind the bench at the start of the scene, joking around and chatting and then falling into character, his expression and stance and even his mannerisms changing as he became Dean. The cautiousness with which he approaches Chuck, the hesitation with which he comes around the bench and finally sits down, spoke so much of what Dean was feeling.

Both actors spoke their lines softly as we watched, but their voices carried so much power. Dean trying to talk Chuck into stepping up, Chuck insisting that humans will step up if they need to. When Chuck drops the bombshell that Dean and Sam were chosen, long ago – that’s why he saved them – that they are the ones who will need to step up and (once again) save the world, the impact that has on Dean is staggering. He doesn’t want to believe it; he doesn’t want to be the ‘firewall’ between good and evil. He doesn’t believe he’s enough, not to do that.

The director, Tom Wright, came in and out of the shot to give direction from time to time; the actors clearly value his expertise and they all worked together seamlessly, like this cast and crew always seem to. A few behind the scenes tidbits – the sandbox you see in the scene was built by the Show (too bad they couldn’t leave it there, because it was pretty sweet!).



And the tree you see behind the sandbox is Kim Manners’ tree. Jensen came over between takes to tell us that and I got unexpectedly emotional.

Another little tidbit – they were shooting in the woods, and there were tons of mosquitos everywhere! I was trying not to move or make a sound while the cameras were rolling, which is difficult when you’re standing on a carpet of fallen twigs and branches, so I didn’t want to keep swatting at mosquitos, but it was hard not to! Jensen, by the way, is capable of smashing a mosquito in the air with his hands between takes and then snapping right back into character. Or was that Dean??

They also shot the scene of Dean and Amara meeting up in the woods that day, so we saw a bit of that too. Even Dean Winchester had trouble not tripping on all the fallen branches on the ground, by the way! Emily Swallow was lovely to chat with, and I got a kick out of her walking around in her fuzzy boots and then slipping on the Amara shoes at the last second.