Back Where It All Began – Supernatural Chicon 2024!
The very first Supernatural Creation con was in Chicago – in 2007.
Seventeen years ago.
I was there, along with my bestie Kathy and my good friends Laura and Karen. We had taken shifts for weeks, stalking the Creation website waiting to punch the button to buy tickets the second they went on sale. It’s hard to describe the level of excitement back then for the first US convention for the show I’d fallen in love with – it was off the charts! And it didn’t disappoint. The hotel bar made Purple Nurples and served Supernatural themed food. Jared and Jensen were lovely, though not yet at all sure what to make of the fandom – they sat rather stiffly on stools while we crowded in for photo ops. (Of course Jared didn’t obey the rules even then, and pulled me in for a hug).
I was in fangirl Heaven. Obviously. Also? Babies!
I had an amazing time that very first con, but if someone had told me that seventeen years later, the show would have run for 15 seasons and been off the air for four, but there was STILL a Supernatural con in Chicago in 2024…. Well, I wouldn’t have believed them. And certainly would not have thought I’d be there!
I had an amazing time again, which is, frankly – amazing. I am so very very grateful.
And that is a real testament to the Supernatural actors and fandom. The #SPNFamily. No matter how much wank breaks out every single day online, the cons remain mostly positive and full of excitement and even joy. This year is extra meaningful; the con and the few days I spent after it at my friend Laurena’s house feel like a carefree time, just days before things changed a lot here in the US. I think I’ll always be nostalgic for this con, just like I am for Vegas 2020, the last mostly carefree con before the pandemic kicked in. (Yes, I mark time by Supernatural cons sometimes, what can I say?)
I had been on the west coast with my daughter – because, Halloween! – so I flew in on Friday evening, just in time to catch some karaoke. Several of my friends got onstage to sing, and they were all fabulous! Shout out to Julie, Chelle and Rock! (And emcee DJ Qualls, Lisa Berry, Samantha Smith, Matt Cohen, Tahmoh Penikett, and DJ Liz and Kristen, who were all awesome too)
I was in the vendor room so I didn’t get to see all the panels, and gave my friend Rock priority for the panels he wanted to see (the ladies panel included). But I did catch some. Saturday I walked into the ballroom to Richard Speight, Jr. asking Rob Benedict: Do you want the candy that was in my pants?
Matt Cohen: So, best question gets this bonus package of gummy bears…
Matt talked about a movie and used an unusual phrase.
Richard: Some advice. Don’t google “screwing people’s faces” because you won’t get the movie Matt is talking about…
Rich and Rob talked a bit about their Supernatural rewatch podcast, Supernatural Then And Now.
Rob: We have a podcast where we watch the show that we should’ve watched a long time ago.
Matt chimed in about how Supernatural changed his life – like it’s changed so many of ours. You can read the chapter he wrote in Family Don’t End With Blood all about that, along with a powerful chapter by Rob about having a stroke at a Supernatural convention, and how the SPNFamily saved him.
Richard loves to talk about directing. He gave some props to another frequent Supernatural director, Roberto Sanchez, who also directed The Blair Witch Project – and is just a lovely human being too.
Someone asked about what they’d like to be if they weren’t actors, and Richard said he’d actually like to be a rockstar. (If you’ve seen him at the Saturday Night Special or at one of the Dick Jr. and the Volunteers shows, you can tell that’s true!)
They talked about how difficult auditions are, Richard saying that if he drops a line in an audition, it’s all over.
Rob said that once, in an audition, he thought it would be cooler to say he was from Chicago, and they were like, oh, where?
Oops.
Sometimes you get lucky though. Like the time Matt split his pants (while not wearing any underwear) at an audition, and stapled white paper over his bare ass. And got the part!
One of the unintentionally hilarious moments of the panel happened when a fan managed to totally spoil a horror movie.
Rob:
Matt: Spoiler alert!
Rob: Oh, you haven’t seen Supernatural? Spoiler alert – I’m God!
During this panel, Matt also announced his exciting new project – an animated series called Public Domain, being voiced by many of our favorite Supernatural cast. You can get in on the ground floor by pitching in with the Indiegogo here – https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/public-domain-an-animated-tv-series#/
This was a Halloween con, so a giant spider kept making its way up the stage curtain periodically – Richard stared it down until it retreated!
And perhaps my favorite moment of the con – Eric Kripke’s actual cousin asked a question that prompted Rob to demand (referring to his scene as Splinter in ‘The Boys’) “what can be worse than my face in my own ass??”
Matt: It’s Kripke! Up the ante!
Oh no, poor Rob.
I caught a little of Tahmoh Penikett’s panel too. I love Tahmoh, who is so thoughtful about his acting and the characters he portrays. He wrote a fascinating chapter in There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done all about Ezekiel, Gadreel, and his scenes with Jared and Jensen.
Tahmoh on playing Gadreel: I made the choice that he’s a very old angel, so he’d speak with a different cadence, almost Shakespearean.
I was also pleasantly surprised to see him pop up on Fire Country recently, the show that Jared Padalecki also guests on this season. It films in Vancouver, so there are constantly SPN alums on it – Osric Chau and Steve Bacic were both on recently too.
Tahmoh: It was a cool character to play on Fire Country. He’s a hotshot, and these characters are badasses. I hope they bring me back, it’s a great group of people!
His character on the show has scars and a Prometheus tattoo, and Tahmoh said he had prosthetics all over his face for the role.
Tahmoh, like all the cast, really appreciates fans’ thoughtful questions too.
Tahmoh: There’s nothing better than when you all come up with great questions, and we can get to know each other.
We also had Misha’s panel on Saturday. He had been campaigning hard for Harris-Walz and had almost no voice and was feeling under the weather, but he persevered.
He’s also been making a lot of videos, including one where he ended up with West’s leftover fake blood in his backpack – and thus decided to make a scary video. As you do.
Misha: Why is there a safety seal on fake blood? It’s not like you’re gonna eat it!
(Look, who knows these days what people will do….)
His difficulty removing the safety seal ended up making quite a mess.
Misha: It was all over the drapes and the carpet, covering about an 8 foot arc. And there was no mistaking it. Anyone would walk in the room and say oh, somebody was killed here. It was an unequivocal crime scene, there was no other possible explanation for it. It really looked like real blood. So I was like okay, what did they do on Dexter? When you need to cover up a murder, what do you do? And I spent the next 45 minutes trying to cover up the evidence.
He also told some hilarious stories about arriving late at a Harris rally and trying to get in, with some skeptical security folks staring at him.
Misha: Um, have you ever seen Supernatural?
That story ended with both Misha chatting with senators, and with Misha getting escorted OUT of there by Secret Service lol.
He had some good advice for all of us.
Misha: Stay informed and learn to distinguish fact from fiction, and reputable though imperfect sources.
Good advice. That we clearly need badly.
He at one point jumped into the audience to do a poll about tea. He looks so mischievous here, doesn’t he?
Misha also confessed to past pranks. Like including a letter justifying a parking ticket by saying it was a beautiful day, look at these (old) photos (that he included). And it worked!
He also told the story of that time the entire crew pranked Mark Sheppard by pretending that Ruth Connell snagged a much better contract than was offered to him, complete with a bigger set chair, special food – and a Porsche!
There were, as always, some odd questions.
Fan: I’ve always wanted a pet octopus.
Misha: Have you seen The Boys??
(RIP Timothy)
Someone asked what his super power would be if it could be anything, and he joked that “I’d like to see through clothes…”
Fan: I think that would happen, if you just ask…
Misha: You win this round.
Misha seems pretty happy these days spending time with his kids and girlfriend Emily.
Misha: I repaired my relationship with my father in my late 20s. I’m really grateful to spend a lot of time with my kids now.
He made quick work of the Halloween spider that joined his panel lol.
At the end of his panel, Misha and Rob demonstrated a filming technique that I had the privilege of seeing on the Supernatural set – a way of filming to make it look like a stationary car is actually driving, called “the poor man’s process.”
Misha: The way we did night driving scenes, we’d sit in the car in the studio, inside, and to make rain coming down somebody would have a spray bottle spritzing water on the windshield. Somebody else would be on the bumper making it like there were bumps on the road. And then this little conveyor belt of lights would go by the car so it looks like movement. And we sit in the car and hold the steering wheel and (move it back and forth). Very fake looking.
They then acted it out.
Misha: Hello Dean.
Rob: Hey Cas.
Misha: Wait, Cas never drove so switch seats.
Rich: Rob, your driving looks a little risqué…
Boys.
My little video on Twitter/X if you’d like to see it. WordPress refuses to let me embed them anymore…
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1852787701801513036
Thanks for a great panel, Misha!
I also went to Misha’s one-man show, The Good Idea (at the time) tour. It was the first time I was able to go – if you’re wondering what it’s like, think of Misha and his general irreverence. And then turn it up to triple! Misha had very little voice, but he persevered through the hour and a half or so with lots of stories from his childhood to his adulthood. Some were hilarious as expected. Some made me want to close my ears and go ewwww out loud (actually I think I did that at least once!)
I’ve heard a lot of Misha’s recollections of his very unusual childhood, but he expanded on some of them and told them in an uncensored way, so that some were truly heartbreaking. The show is like a sort of group therapy session with the audience as witness and validation – or at least that’s how it struck me as a psychologist. And like the best group therapy, even though this wasn’t that because the conversation was entirely one sided, Misha did seem to take a journey over the course of the hour, ending with some insight into his childhood and not only its challenges but its unique benefits.
Saturday night was Louden Swain concert time, as usual – I never miss it. One of my all time favorite bands.
Kim Rhodes and Briana Buckmaster both were guest performers, and killed it as always.
We also got Lisa Berry with her fabulous rendition of Proud Mary, and Chris Schmelke trading his camera in for a bass guitar temporarily.
Jason Manns joined Rob and Billy for a beautiful rendition of Hallelujah, with the audience singing the chorus as expected – they still look touched every single time we do that.
As mentioned previously, Richard Speight Jr. would like to be a rockstar – he turns into one when he takes the stage to play some Dick Jr. and the Volunteers at SNS.
I’m still thrilled every time Mark Sheppard plays drums with Swain – partly because he was away from the cons for a while and partly because he nearly died from a heart attack relatively recently and I’m just really glad he’s okay.
Mark always looks impressed when Jason hits that everlasting high note!
We got some great Billy Moran music too at this con.
The band has started performing ‘She Waits’ live again, which is extra poignant now that Rob’s father has passed away.
His smile when we all hold up finger lights in support is heartwarming.
They did an encore with Kim and Lisa singing backup, “getting by with a little help from my friends” as Rob belted it out.
And then it was Sunday – J2 day!
Jared and Jensen took the stage for the morning gold panel and gave each other props, as they always do. No wonder these two have continued to stay close for all these years!
I always feel for the actors, who aren’t therapists and thus aren’t ever really sure what to do with such information, but a fan shared how Supernatural has helped her get through a lot, the boys listening intently. It’s something most of us can relate to in some way.
Jared had some good advice, for all of us.
Jared: Treat yourself like your best friend.
Someone asked if they feel pressure to prove they’re still good friends, which is a persistent rumor (that they’re not) spread by trolls on social media every other day despite all the evidence to the contrary. Jared and Jensen have clearly heard those rumors and can laugh at them.
Jensen: I’m so glad you brought this up, it’s exhausting!
He turned to Jared and joked: I’m exhausted pretending to be your friend.
Jared (joking back): That’s actually my question, like I haven’t heard from him in two weeks, are they still friends? Does he still like me, circle yes or no.
Jensen: (cracks up)
Jared: I don’t feel any pressure to prove that I’m friends with Jensen, or my brother, or anyone. We have lives, we live in different states. If I see him every day for a month, great. If I don’t see him for several months, great. If he’s good, or if he needs something or I need something. But yeah, I do find that question funny. I think it’s also from an episode, I saw something online where they’re like “oh, they’re talking” – that’s from The French Mistake!
Video clip of Jared’s answer:
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1853123061039415545
It was such an important question that they wanted to set the record straight about, they both answered it.
Jensen: We have a legit love for each other, and we always will be. Whether we see each other every day for six weeks or whether we go for six weeks without seeing each other. Or without even like checking in, which we usually text back and forth and stuff, just hey, what do you make of this, or I need to ask you a question.
Jared: We have a wordle text thread.
Jensen: We wordle text each other every day. So it would be pretty exhausting to keep that “façade” up if it was a façade, which it’s not.
You would think that would settle that rumor once and for all, but if you do think that, you don’t know either the Supernatural fandom or the internet. Alas.
Video of Jensen’s answer:
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1853122832034636172
I will never ever ever be tired of Jared and Jensen talking about how important Supernatural is – to us, and to them.
Jensen: There’s a reason people look to Supernatural for inspiration. The brothers always keep fighting, for the world and for each other.
Out of context Jared: I’m a wizard. I wiz every day.
Jensen:
Who do they have crushes on? Jared said Elizabeth Shue. Then he answered for Jensen, who didn’t really have an answer.
Jared: He has crushes on someone 34 years younger and 31 years younger (that is, his kids)
Audience: Awwww.
Jensen (with gratitude): What he said!
Video of Jared’s saving Jensen from answering answer:
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1853124627108966799
Jared said he’s looking forward to sharing Supernatural with his kids when they’re old enough. Of course then there will be that awkward question again…
Tom: Why is Uncle Jensen killing mom??
Then we got the question that made for an absolutely unforgettable moment.
Fan to Jensen: Can you pick Jared up?
Jared: The first time he picked me up, he was like ‘hey, here’s a quarter – my mom told me to call her when I met the man of my dreams.’
They giggled, and then Jared answered more seriously.
Jared: Jensen’s very strong, yeah he can pick me up.
Jensen: Yeah, I can pick him up. How do you want me to pick him up?
Jared immediately responded, hands outstretched to be picked up, like they’d done this a million times lol.
Jensen picked him up and put him down, Jared somehow looking like an actual dancer (or like this was that scene in Dirty Dancing lol).
Jensen wasn’t satisfied with just that though, so he said something to just Jared, repositioning him. You can totally picture them doing this on set, quickly figuring out how to accomplish something physical that Sam and Dean had to do. In fact, I’ve seen them do just that.
And then very smoothly Jensen picked Jared up and hoisted him over his shoulders like it was nothing!
And then spun him around like they were two accomplished dancers while fans gasped!
The level of comfort they both show also makes it clear how much they trust each other.
Jensen took as much care lowering Jared down as he did picking him up.
Both grinning, Jared clapped Jensen on the chest after he put him down – clearly both were quite proud of themselves.
They often refer to working closely together on physical scenes as like being dance partners, and that level of in sync was evident here too.
Video of Jensen lifting and spinning Jared:
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1853126275314995622
Jensen: He’s so rigid!
Jared to the fan: Does that answer your popcorn question?
They quickly figured out the question was just intended to see Jensen pick Jared up, miming fans’ happily eating popcorn while they watched. Accurate.
I love nothing more than when Jared and Jensen tell their favorite stories from the Supernatural set. This panel included the time Jared lost part of his scalp trying to leap into a car through the window that was too small for him. Ouch.
Jensen: They actually used it in the crossroads deal!
Me: Ewwww
They also told the story of when Jensen accidentally stabbed Jared in the thigh, which 100% of the time when they tell it, they also act it out. Which literally no one is complaining about. I love how quickly and seamlessly Jared and Jensen fall into being Sam and Dean, even after all this time.
The gold panel was such a fun and feel-good panel, it set the tone for a great Sunday.
I caught a little of the Rich-Rob-Ruth panel, which is a fun combination. Ruth told the story of the time she had to take Rob to the ER and then busted Rob to the doctor as drinking what is referred to as “the free pour” as in too much lol.
Rich: One more thing Ruth and I have in common – we’ve both rushed Rob to the hospital!
(You can read Rob’s powerful account of that time, when he had a stroke at a convention, in Family Don’t End With Blood. Ruth has an inspiring chapter too!)
Rob said he had a lot of fun playing Chuck on Supernatural.
Rob: It’s really fun to play the bad guy and have these two big strapping guys (Jared and Jensen) pretend I can beat them up!
Rich: The great part about having these roles is being able to play so many layers. It’s a gift.
Ruth insists she doesn’t enjoy being naughty.
Ruth:
Rob:
All three talked about how special Supernatural has been for them.
Rob said that when Eric Kripke called him and said ‘you’re God’ he was like “Oh my God – I mean, oh my Me!”
Rich on conventions: To get to interact with the people who support the work you’ve done is super cool. This is so rare.
Ruth: This has been the privilege of my life.
Rich talked about how his friendship with Rob deepened.
Rich: I was randomly paired with Rob for a con panel, and it just worked.
Rob: People saw me and Rich and wanted to keep seeing our panels.
If you haven’t listened to the podcasts that Rob and Rich have, be sure to check out SPNThenAndNow for their Supernatural rewatches, and KingsOfCon for R2 shenanigans.
Mark Sheppard also had a panel on Sunday, which is always equal parts amusing and inspiring.
Mark in response to a fan asking if the Bobby/Crowley kiss was scripted: Why would anyone kiss Jim Beaver if it wasn’t scripted?
Also Mark: Poor Jim was like, I served my country but I’ll be remembered for kissing Mark Sheppard…
Fan: Who would you bring back from the dead?
Mark: Me! Been dead, didn’t fancy it.
(Thankfully! Mark had a serious heart attack that almost killed him last year)
Favorite scene?
Mark: End of Season 8 (Sacrifice). We shot it in sequence with the crew 100% silent between takes.
And Jensen on set even though he wasn’t in the scene, to support Mark and Jared. Damn, I miss my Show.
He too had positive things to say about the Supernatural conventions.
Mark: These conventions are a safe place to be. What’s really special is that you all get behind whatever we support (which helps all of us make a difference).
That’s what Mark’s chapter in Family Don’t End With Blood is all about, in fact.
Mark: Nobody here cares who you sleep with, who you pray to, if you do pray – it’s a special place.
He had everyone who has any kind of mental health diagnosis raise their hands, then asked everyone to look around.
Mark: If you’re struggling, please say something. Because we die without it.
When Rob came out to end the panel, Rob teased Mark about not actually answering questions lol.
Rob: If I did a panel with you, I’d just be apologizing to people and answering questions for you (that Mark doesn’t answer lol)!
Jake Abel, the third Winchester brother, was also at this con. What would have happened to Adam if he hadn’t gotten involved with the Winchesters?
Jake: He would’ve been a badass hunter anyway – but not worn as much flannel.
What monster would he hunt?
Jake: The ghoul that ate me! And he’d do it with Mark Sheppard because there’s no one cozier.
He talked about the not-so-fun aspects of filming with fake blood, which is very sticky.
Jake: It’s not fun. I had to dig my finger into Jared’s hole… wound hole!
He said no, he didn’t take anything home from Supernatural.
Jake: Except memories of Molotov cocktails being thrown at my nipples…
Ah, good times…
Jake also told a story I hadn’t heard about why he didn’t end up coming back to the show until near the end.
Jake: Clif told me that the boys had wanted me back, but my agent at the time said I wasn’t interested! So they’re fired, and I called them up and in Season 15 I got the call.
What a crappy agent!
His one prank story was the classic one of being stuck in a booth with Jared and Jensen when Jared farted. It smelled terrible, and then Jared yelled “I am Fartacus!”
Keep an eye out for a new movie with Jake next year – congrats Jake!
And then it was time for the J2 main panel, the final one of the day. Jared and Jensen did their traditional leap onstage. Video of the jump:
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1853210696533565691
And immediately found a discarded cell phone on the stage. Uh oh.
It was poor Rob’s phone left behind.
Jared and Jensen immediately went into chaos gremlin mode, with much excitement.
The same photo from Rob’s phone hahahaha, plus a ‘message’ for Rob from Jared and Jensen. And his own band. And… well, everyone…
Grumpy Jensen did at least clean it for Rob, though.
Eventually intrepid stage manager Liz, who is somehow not intimated by J2, appeared and requested the phone, which they complied with. Lucky for Rob!
The boys were in high spirits after that though. Jensen requested one of his favorite Jared jokes, the interrupting sloth. Of course Jared complied, much to Jensen’s delight.
There were countless times they cracked each other (and themselves) up and just gave into laughing. I inevitably end up laughing too, which is one of the things that makes a J2 panel so much fun.
Jensen: Jared has great comedic timing. And I try my best!
(He also has great comedic timing, obviously)
Someone asked, who could play Sam today?
Jensen: Timothy Chalamee, he’s got the great hair!
One of the most hilarious moments of this panel came when Jared managed to tell a joke silly enough to get a rim shot, after a fan said her favorite reptile was a western toad.
Jared: We had an American toad. We tried to breed him, but turned out he had a reptile dysfunction.
Jensen to Norton: rim shot!!
Jared was so pleased with himself.
Jensen: Didn’t see that one coming. I usually see them coming! Oh, my side hurts…
Lol
Jared to Jensen: Do you have a reptile dysfunction?
Jensen: (takes Jared’s mic away)
I know some people like it, but I always wish Jensen would let his equally beautiful hair free when he wears a cap. Every time he took it off, cameras flashed.
This is neither here nor there, but Jensen was originally going to be named Justin.
Jensen told us about the photo of Jared that he has on his phone, laughing the entire time – it’s backstage in Vancouver where the Canucks play. And it’s Jared peeing into a hockey net.
Yes, it needed to be enacted.
Jensen: For legal sake, he wasn’t really peeing, just pretending to.
Ahem.
Video of that re-enactment:
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1853231122395611428
I have no idea why, but here’s Jensen provocatively rubbing his tummy.
And whatever this is, (it looks like model Jensen and impressed Jared).
The boys did a lot of reminiscing, per usual – which I will never ever get tired of!
Jensen: We watched a lot of episodes (of Supernatural) together.
Jared: On set.
Jensen: We’d run back to our trailer, we’d pause and go shoot and come back and watch it. For he and I, we were watching more for quality control (laughing). Like when there were mountains in Richardson, Texas. But it was also a way for us to learn about how you guys are getting served the stuff that we do on set. And that helps what we do moving forward. I don’t think we watched it with an audience’s eye, more with a critical eye.
Jared: I’m ready to watch it again. I’m removed enough from it. When he and I watched, I could remember where the camera was, where the boom operator was.
Jensen: We were in it.
Jared: I could remember what I had for breakfast that morning or oh I was tired from flying in the night before.
Jensen: You remember what you had for breakfast?
Jared Still do!
Video of them reminiscing:
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1853218194514690054
I miss those days, when occasionally they’d watch live right along with us and tweet some photos. It felt like we were all “in this together” and it was such a good feeling.
I don’t recall what the question was, but they talked about their one big fight and what happened right after.
Jensen: In the record store. You and I blew up at each other.
Jared: what season?
Jensen: Early. One maybe. We got into a disagreement about how the scene should be facilitated, movement or blocking or whatever it was. And you stood your ground and I stood my ground and we got at each other. In front of the crew. Then we walked away from each other. It’s the only time in 15 years that’s ever happened, which is why I remember it so vividly. You went back to your trailer and I went back to my trailer, and…
Jared (who hasn’t remembered until this second, exclaims): We met in the gym trailer!
He slaps Jensen on the shoulder, suddenly remembering.
Jensen: We did. We had a gym trailer because we worked so much and we’d been like, if you want us to stay fit, you have to help us out.
Video of Jensen and Jared recalling their only fight:
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1853220010337984579
Jensen went on to describe how they ended the fight.
Jensen: So we met in the gym trailer. And we literally, like the definition of bro-ing out, and basically said, that can’t ever happen again. And it never did.
Jared: I remember the gym trailer, that’s really funny.
Jensen: So from then on, (gestures between the two of them), we were thick as thieves. There was never, it was always – I saw something coming with him, he saw something coming with me, we could curb it off at the pass. And we could do that because we knew each other well enough to say something. But I’ll tell you this, somebody came on our set and tried to mess around, big mistake. And I don’t just mean actors – crew, directors.
Video of Jensen on how they settled their one fight:
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1853219811431694778
I love hearing their stories about their time on Supernatural. They also said how much they appreciate hearing that the show has affected multiple generations.
(Even if it makes us all feel old!)
Someone asked them who has been there for them and made a difference in their lives.
Jared: I’ll say I’ve been very fortunate in my life to have a lot of deep relationships and friends. It reminds me of a song I love called ‘Just Breathe’ about who you can count on your hands of being part of your life. This guy no doubt (points at Jensen). To spend ages 22 to 38 seeing one face more than any other face on the planet, you go through a lot, those are formative years.
Jensen: You were so lucky.
Jared: So lucky. I was lucky I had bad vision, so I couldn’t focus.
Video of Jared’s answer about who are his support people and Jensen’s joking:
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1853223230255013998
I love how Jared and Jensen reassure each other when they’re teasing like this, with a little pat on the knee or shoulder.
Jensen then answered too, on the short list of people he can count on.
Jensen: There is a very very short list of people that I’ve found, like you say, your person. I’ve been fortunate to find amazing people, that do just exactly what Jared said. That encourage you and are there for you and you can talk to. If tragedy hits, those are phone calls you make immediately. Obviously, this one (points to Jared) is on that short list. I’ve been blessed to have at least a couple of those people in my life and I think we all should be blessed, to have those people you can call in times of tragedy or joy and celebration. Yeah, so I do and I know he does as well.
Video of Jensen on his shot list of people who are “your person”:
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1853223934876852680
Jared and Jensen ended the panel with some heartfelt words about Supernatural and the SPNFamily.
Jared: Supernatural helped me learn to carry on, even when shit happens, and learn to make do. To say ‘here I am, doing the best I can.’
Jensen: Jared and I learned a lot on Supernatural. It grew us into who we are today and will forever influence us.
I think most of us can say the same. I know I can.
We had the traditional last question, from a fan who looks pretty happy to have been chosen. Not that I can blame her!
And a little happy birthday singing to totally embarrass Creation’s Jen, who looked not exactly thrilled to be serenaded onstage by Jensen, Jared and Rob.
Smile!
And then Jared and Jensen thanked the fans – and each other.
It’s one of my favorite moments of their panels, because they always seem emotional about it, and appreciative. I know it’s their job of course, but I do think it also is meaningful to them.
Jensen pulled Jared into a side hug and Jared hugged him back so adamantly that he nearly knocked the cap right off Jensen’s head lol.
Video of the goodbye and hug:
https://x.com/FangasmSPN/status/1853228826228081006
I don’t often do photo ops, but Laurena and I have done some over the years to remember the cons we’ve been lucky enough to do together. We were able to do an updated one at this con. It seemed appropriate, even though we totally disagreed on what we should do. She wanted a squish hug. I once made the mistake of allowing her to tell Jared and Jensen that we wanted a squish hug, and in the photo op I look exactly how I felt – like a squashed bug who’s screaming for escape. Those boys are too strong for their own good!
This time, Laurena told them both sternly “not to squish Lynn” so instead Jensen spent the time a) laughing at me and then b) reassuring me that he’d be good.
He was good.
A little different than my first one with these boys!
After the con, I spent a few really lovely days at Laurena’s house, with long conversations both Supernatural-focused and otherwise, which was a good way to deal with the approaching US election and its stress that we were both feeling. I’d voted by mail early, but I was glad for some distraction as November 5th came closer.
Looking back now, I’m extra grateful for that time with a good friend and for a convention experience that was so uplifting.
Literally.
Stay tuned for more Supernatural convention reports, plus coverage of Jared and Jensen’s new projects right here – that now includes Tracker, Countdown, The Boys, Vought Rising and Fire Country!
Gifs JarpadandJensens, Abordelimpala
–Lynn
You can read the Supernatural cast’s chapters
in Family Don’t End With Blood and There’ll Be
Peace When You Are Done – including chapters
from Jared, Jensen, Misha, Mark, Ruth, Rob,
Kim, Briana, Matt and many more – available on
Amazon or at your favorite bookstore. Info at:
