Columbus, Ohio is a city I don’t think I’ve ever been to before so I was excited that there was a Creation Supernatural convention there in June. It’s also a city where two of my friends who I do not get to see NEARLY enough live, so I was extra excited!
My friend Alice is one of those friends, the lovely person who founded the Winchester Family Business website that, along with this one, has been covering all things Supernatural and Supernatural-adjacent since the very beginning of this wild ride. She picked me up at the airport and joined me at my vendor table all weekend, which made vending even more enjoyable than it always is.
We had a lovely dinner on her back deck with her hubby and some rambunctious dogs and cats, and then joined in some of the karaoke fun. It’s so awesome to have Matt Cohen back at karaoke, and DJ Qualls was made to be the host. Don’t miss the Friday night fun if you’re at a con – or even if you just stop by for that!
Saturday I caught a bit of the R2M panel, which I also love having back – Matt, Rich and Rob are inevitably hilarious together.
Rob: I’m a fanboy when it comes to music.
Matt: Did you just say a hot dog shoved inside a pickle??
A fan asked the three about the history of that time they wore pink pants in Paris. Richard proceeded to give the entire history of pants.
Rich: Did I answer your question?
Fan: Uh, no…
They all laughed about going shopping together for salmon pants and having a blast.
What is the episode that best represents Supernatural to them?
Matt: ‘Baby’, and not just because I’m in it. It’s the boys in the car on the road.
Matt gets it.
Rob: Swan Song, with its great recap up til that point.
Another great choice.
Rob was asked about his musical influences and he said Pearl Jam.
Someone asked Rich about his role in Band of Brothers and he said he did a lot of research for Skip’s backstory.
Rich: There was no google then!
Rich on directing Supernatural: The violence is very carefully planned out and storyboarded.
Matt on directing Supernatural: You want to do a lot of planning and you also want to make sure you tell the entire story.
Before the ladies panel, we got to wish Kim Rhodes a happy birthday. Thank you for your beautiful chapter in Family Don’t End With Blood, Kim – I know it has inspired so many people who have read about your experience with the show and how fandom changed you.
Kim Rhodes, Briana Buckmaster, Samantha Smith and Lisa Berry were a fab foursome.
Someone gave Kim and Briana some Buckeye candy, which they enjoyed. As you do.
Who would win in a dance battle? The consensus was Lisa Berry in real life, Donna as a character.
Ladies panel wisdom: Don’t let people silence you. Don’t make yourself small.
Lisa: On your healing journey, allow more love and light into your life.
Sam: I’m writing that down!
There was a question about Mary’s parenting, which I really struggled with when she left Sam and Dean and they were so clearly hurt by it. Sam has gotten this question a lot, and she had a thoughtful answer.
Sam: Mary came back and hadn’t had time to mourn her husband and her two little boys. So she needed time to go away and try to fix it.
Kim talked about parenting an autistic child in the real world.
Kim: Societal norms are BS!
SO TRUE
Someone asked about the Wayward Sisters spinoff that didn’t go, and Briana said that as it was aired was not how it was pitched (as Wayward Daughters).
Briana: The network at the time was very centered on very young attractive women.
I still think if they had centered that show on Jody and Donna, it would have had a great chance. But we all know the way that network ended up going anyway…
Briana writes about the power of being wayward in her chapter in Family Don’t End With Blood. Even though the spinoff didn’t get picked up, the idea of ‘wayward’ has inspired a lot of us.
Kim: The power of inclusion is you get to hear stories that no one else can tell.
Saturday afternoon is always Misha Collins panel time, which I always enjoy. He looked out at the large crowd.
Misha: It’s like everyone in Columbus is here! What are you doing here? The show ended four years ago!
Fans: NO
Misha said that he filmed an episode of Road Food in Ohio. They decided to drive to their next location, and got chased by cars full of super fans!
Misha got serious for a little while, talking about how special the SPNFamily is. His chapter in Family Don’t End With Blood is all about that (and it benefits Random Acts).
He talked a little about the pros and cons of the internet – the social network that the fandom formed helped everyone get out of the house, so that’s a good thing. On the other hand, lots of disinformation out there! Critical thinking, he said, is so important.
SO TRUE
Who would Cas want to see when he got free of the Empty?
Misha: I think he’d want to see Dean.
A fan said that in the reboot (Season 16), Cas should tell Dean to show more emotion for him.
Misha pondered how that might go.
Misha: I find it really helps in the relationships I have in my real life, honestly, when I say that you need to show more emotion for me, that really works…. I’ll make sure Cas does that.
Sometimes Misha’s sarcasm is lost on people, but that delivery was flawless.
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1799491181321036268
I have been encouraging Misha to get more involved in politics again for a very long time, and I’m thrilled that he’s doing just that.
Misha: It’s been rewarding to come full circle back to politics.
Me: I told you!
He shared an amusing bts story about the episode where Castiel sang to that baby he was babysitting.
Misha: Originally Cas was gonna sing Highway To Hell to the baby, but it was too expensive. WB owned the rights to Greatest American Hero already, so he sang that!
What would he change about Castiel’s story?
Misha: I’d have him be human longer.
I so agree. That story line had a lot of potential and was way too short.
What else would human Cas do?
Misha: Other than sexting? And who teaches a grown man how to wipe?
(Okay not all that is what I meant when I said potential…)
Out of context Misha: I might have an affair with Jared… (joking, joking!)
A fan asked which scene was his favorite?
Misha: My last scene was my favorite. The scene was imbued with meaning, the writer and I worked on it for a year. I was saying goodbye.
He did admit he hasn’t seen the whole series of Supernatural – though his son West has!
He also did a reenactment of Jensen sheepishly apologizing to him for them messing with him on set so much, throwing in the “show a little more emotion” joke from earlier.
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1799499327619916223
Also apropos of I know not what – Misha used to play the saxophone!
And speaking of musical talent, Saturday night is of course always the Louden Swain concert aka the Saturday Night Special!
Kim Rhodes joined the fun with a new song – and killed it!
Briana Buckmaster always knocks it out of the park.
And we got a special treat at this con because Lisa Berry also sang, with her version of Proud Mary that totally rocks.
Jason Manns joined Rob for a gorgeous rendition of Hallelujah, with the audience singing the chorus back to them, to their great delight.
And we got Mark Sheppard on drums!
We also got another special treat with a brand new Billy Moran song.
I’ve said it before but it’s still so true, I’m so grateful we have the best house band possible for the Supernatural cons. Thanks Louden Swain for always making it special!
The band and Rob are always joyful for ‘This Is How’, which has become kind of an anthem for it being okay to be exactly who you are. Rob is so sincere when he sings it, trying to get that across.
Sunday was a different kind of J2 day – Jeffrey Dean Morgan joined Jensen Ackles for the gold panel.
JDM: Handsome crowd!
Jensen: Thank you…
JDM: You’re a badass on your new show.
Jensen: I’ll try!
They told the amusing story of when Jensen was getting fitted for his Soldier Boy supersuit and JDM’s burning question was “how big is the codpiece??”
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1799821321872056609
Jensen: Jeff, Jared and I get along like brothers.
(Awwww. I miss Jared so much when he’s not there, so it warms my heart every time they include him).
Jensen described having to bulk up for Soldier Boy, and that he told his mom she might want to skip watching that particular show lol
JDM: Those are the ones I watch a lot!
Jensen talked a little about his inspiration for Soldier Boy.
Jensen: One of the things I did, I watched old interviews of Lee Marvin. That kind of mentality, that kind of speech, the way he kinda – not his roles per se but him as an actor – these old interviews he gave, there was an air about him that I used as my compass for Soldier Boy.
(Jensen gives a lot more insight into his inspiration and the character in his exclusive interview chapter in Supes Ain’t Always Heroes – I’m always fascinated by how much thought he puts into his roles). You can find more info about that book at https://smartpopbooks.com/book/supes-aint-always-heroes/
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1799827993633976492
Both Jeff and Jensen gave Eric Kripke lots of props for being a great storyteller.
Someone asked JDM about John Winchester and his parenting (A plus…)
JDM: John missed out on so much of the boys’ early life, if he’d lived he wouldn’t have been too dad-ish.
Someone told Jensen that Misha said he’s not in shape.
Jensen: I am A shape…
Jeff reminisced about his first convention.
Jensen: You came to me and Jared and were like, what have you created??
They both agreed that they’ve realized that they’re doing something meaningful (when it comes to Supernatural) even if they’re not curing cancer.
Someone asked about why in the episode Lebanon, Sam and Dean were doing the dishes.
JDM: You know when you’re in an uncomfortable position, you busy yourself? I thought that was a nice little catch by the writers.
Jensen: You give them something busy to do, it distracts from what they’re having to face, to deal with.
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1799825528142356827
Good answers, guys!
On Sunday afternoon we got a Ruth Connell panel. She talked about her new show, Dead Boy Detectives, saying that if everyone in the room watched the show all the way through that night, it might show up on the algorithm. Hopefully it will get another season!
Ruth: I play the Night Nurse. It’s a show about found family and again it’s two tall boys I’m chasing after!
Poor Ruth.
Ruth: Steve Yockey (who also wrote her as Rowena on Supernatural) gave me this role in Dead Boy Detectives and said ‘do what you do’ and I thought, what if it’s not what they want?
(It was).
Ruth, by the way, also wrote a beautiful chapter in Family Don’t End With Blood, all about finding her path in life and how Supernatural helped that.
She talked about the pressure she felt playing Michael on Supernatural, a completely different character that Jensen had played too.
Ruth: When I had to play Michael, Jensen was like, I can’t wait to see what you do with it, and I was like, ooof.
(She pulled it off wonderfully though!)
Ruth is a new mum and I’m so happy for her and for daddy Rob. She talked about wanting to give her baby as secure a childhood as she possibly can, so she can thrive.
Ruth on Rob: He’s a handful…
This panel had so many Rowena questions too, which I always enjoy. Ruth said she loved it when Rowena had violet eyes on Supernatural.
It sometimes seems like Supernatural was meant to be for Ruth.
Ruth: I bought a house facing Rowena Avenue, and the only reason I could afford a house is because I played Rowena!
She loved her wardrobe on the show too.
Ruth: I think if I’d been in the finale as planned, I might have brought some things home from Supernatural – I wanted my whole wardrobe! I also thought it would be awesome to have Rowena’s throne for photo ops, but I asked Jerry Wanek about making another one and it would cost like $30,000!
Playing Rowena, she said, had changed her too.
Ruth: Playing Rowena lets me be a little more cheeky as myself!
Ruth: I like that Rowena ended up queen of hell – as she should be. She was proud of Fergus turned Crowley and that he was king too.
Speaking of Crowley, we also got a Mark Sheppard panel on Sunday – I am still so thrilled that Mark is back and that he survived the frightening heart attacks that he had recently. He was back in fine Mark form.
Mark to a fan asking a hypothetical question: Write your own fanfiction!
On Jared and Jensen:
Mark: Jared and Jensen are just so big, they can get away with anything!
Mark also has a powerful chapter in Family Don’t End With Blood, all about what makes fandom and especially the SPNFamily so special. He also talked about a major theme of that book – that all of us, actors and fans alike, have struggles with our mental health sometimes, and talking (or writing) about it goes a long way toward reducing the stigma around that.
Mark: My costars and I have been open about our mental health issues and helping people, and I’m proud of all of them.
In fact, he made me tear up listening to him, ngl. He expressed his gratitude for the joy of making a show with 150 of your friends – and the joy of doing conventions with the SPNFamily too!
Mark: Out in the world, I see people being awful to each other. Here I see kindness.
As always, Mark hopped off the stage to walk around the ballroom and say hi to fans in the middle and the back too, chatting and eating chips happily.
Fan: Your character was royally fucked by Sam.
Mark: Royally? Wow, on the throne??
Lol
He said that he lost it when filming an episode and he saw that they’d put Dean’s name as “Not Moose” on Crowley’s phone – priceless moment, kudos to whoever did that!
He also reminisced about the CW back when it was so supportive of Supernatural.
Mark: When Mark Pedowicz came to the network, he watched every episode of Supernatural. He helped keep the show on the air. You need an innovator who cares.
(Do we all ever miss him!)
He talked about what made the show so special too.
Mark: We watch the show because we relate to the Winchesters. They are lightning in a bottle and you can’t manufacture that.
So true!
Sunday was a jam packed day, because we ALSO got a Jeffrey Dean Morgan panel!
Fan: I love all your characters. So, fuck marry kill?
JDM: You’re gonna make me fuck myself??
Lol
Jeff is doing more conventions recently, which is awesome. But still getting the whole packing for a con thing down.
JDM: So…I didn’t pack too well. Five pairs of pants and no shirts…
Fan: Did you know about Adam?
JDM: No! I found out at my first con!
(That one was hilarious – I was there to watch Jeff’s mind be blown by all the things that John Winchester had been up to while he was off filming a different show)
JDM: I feel like calling the Supernatural writers after every con and saying, I have to answer for this!
Of course Jeff is also on this season of The Boys, which was airing at the time of the con.
JDM: We’d been trying to find a way for me to do that show for a couple of years, because as soon as I saw it I was like, this is cool, it was pushing the boundaries of what you can do on TV and I loved it.
Amusingly, Kripke had tweeted to a fan that he would love to put JDM in the show but he was too busy to schedule it, and Jeff saw it and was like call me, we’ll work it out!
JDM: And he did – and we did! And he’s a genius.
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1799902668531609602
He reminisced about some fun times on the Supernatural set too.
JDM: Oh Lebanon… I got hit in the nuts!
And more seriously: That first scene I shot on Lebanon, where John hears Mary’s voice, we were all just really emotional to be back together.
He said he does totally enjoy it when his characters are evil.
He did have some sad feelings about not having an Impala though.
JDM: I feel like I should have the car. It was my car. I’m a car guy, Jensen’s not… no, I love him more than you do!
And then we had the final panel of the day, which was Jensen and Misha Collins.
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1799908270372454420
They had a great time (as did all the guests) doing the Ohio tradition of yelling “O…H…” and the crowd yelling back “I…O…”
A fan told them how Supernatural had gotten her through chemo.
Jensen and Misha: We’re glad you’re here.
They also vowed to get in great shape and then do some kind of poster together.
Misha: Actually it’s just for me but I think it will be nice.
Jensen: To replace the one that you already have.
Misha: Yes, it’s a little worn out.
Jensen to the fan who asked the question: Thank you… I think…
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1799911234894184591
They reminisced a bit about Supernatural.
Jensen: When I got into Baby, the stereo never worked because Jared and I would blare it. They had to childproof the car (from us)
Misha: lol
And now?
Jensen: Whenever I get in the car, it’s Metallica “Wherever We May Roam”.
Where is home?
Misha: When we were traveling a lot, I made a little flag for the kids that says Home.
Jensen: It’s wherever Danneel and the kids are.
Awwww
Jensen answered the question (for the thousandth time) about how his conversation with Eric Kripke helped him get totally on board with the series finale.
Jensen: It was Dean who needed to go because basically he wouldn’t be able to survive without Sam. It would’ve been destructive. Dean probably would’ve gone into a dark dark place and drowned his sorrows with all the wrong things. And I think he’s right, Dean needed that connection, he needed those brothers in arms. And he had lost Cas, he relied on that camaraderie as something to fight for. Fighting for himself was not something that Dean needed to do, he always fought for somebody else. So in order for the story to go the way it did, it had to be Dean that needed to go.
Jensen also talked about getting emotional during Misha’s last scene, flashing back to their time on set and all the Castiel scenes his friend had done, and how that was Misha’s goodbye.
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1799914731022504054
Misha told the story I’ve heard before about having to throw a punch into the camera lens, which didn’t quite go so well… to Jensen’s amusement.
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1799917092096921996
They were both as emotional as ever about the show and the SPNFamily.
Jensen: There’s an unbreakable bond between this cast and its family and the fandom.
Jensen did get one question on his new show, Countdown.
Jensen: It’s this unique off the books black ops kinda thing, action packed like heist movies that I love, but with underlying character things going on too.
Sounds intriguing!
Misha is working on something new too – a politically oriented feature film!
Then it was time for the last question (and a unique version of the last question song too)
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1799921787469447318
Jensen and Misha thanked the fans.
And then it was the traditional “It’s the end of the con as we know it – so go home” rendition by Billy, Rich and Rob.
I had a fabulous dinner downtown with my friend Cris, where we talked for approximately four hours about anything and everything, fandom and not fandom, long after the restaurant had closed (we were on their outdoor patio so they let us just hang out).
Perfect way to end a con!
Next up? We journey to Seattle, where cons have been interesting in the past… stay tuned!
— Lynn
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