So, where were we? Oh yes. Despite the hotel room from hell and my disappointment about the M&G ban, by Sunday I’d managed to get into my happy fangirl space – it was J2 day, after all! Sunday is the day when nobody takes time to eat a big breakfast, instead opting for picking out what to wear and trying to calm the inevitable nerves. (I’m less nervous than most since I don’t actually have any photo ops to get in, but I swear it’s contagious anyway!)
Jared and Jensen were in a great mood for the morning panel, and the questions were for the most part pretty good. Though I’ll always prefer Show questions over personal questions any day – I adore the actors, but it’s Dean and Sam and Cas who fascinate me.
Many of you probably watched it on periscope, which is the latest in a long evolution of ‘no, you can’t keep this stuff private in 2016.’ Ahem.
After the morning panel, there were photo ops and meet and greets that we can’t speak of, and then we had Jake Abel, aka Adam, the third Winchester brother, still trapped in Hell after all this time. It was nice to have Jake back at a con, as it had been a while. It sounds like he’d love to come back to the Show – and he’d like poor Adam to be out of hell too.
Then it was time for more J2!
Once again, those favorite themes made themselves obvious, so here are some of those in picture form. There were also some amusing moments that just tickled me. For example, when they came onstage, Jensen had the red mic and Jared had the blue – they immediately switched them, since on set their mark colors are the opposite. After eleven years, it’s ingrained!
There was also an amusing sequence in which Jared kept trying to clap with the mic in his hand and inevitably ended up breaking it, and Jensen responded with his usual blend of eye-rolling exasperation and fondness.
It never gets old. You get the feeling that this happens so often on set that it is as ingrained as the mark colors.
There were, as always, some very sweet moments too. At one point Jensen told Jared to cover his ears while Jensen confided to us that Jared is actually pretty good at playing the guitar – often Jensen finds him playing in his trailer on set and it apparently sounds really good. Hopefully Jared will join in on a Saturday Night Special soon!
Gen also tweeted a photo of Jared playing guitar a few days ago, so it’s starting to seem like a conspiracy to build up his confidence. Fingers crossed!
Oh, and we also had Jensen in glasses for a minute – looking like he definitely should have been the one playing Superman. Or at least Clark Kent. And why is Jensen in glasses so damn hot??? (Yes, this is mostly a rhetorical question).
Now for those themed moments for Vegascon.
Number 1, J2 listening to each other and being supportive. They never tune each other out; they’re always listening, ready to jump in if the other needs reassurance or support or sometimes correction. It’s pretty inspiring to watch.
Number 2, J2 cracking each other up.
After all these years, they are clearly still very amused by each other. I guess that’s why this partnership has worked so well for so long!
Number 3, what I like to call Quintessential J2.
This often involves some facepalming on the part of Mr. Ackles. And some adorable grins on the part of Mr. Padalecki.
Number 3, J2 in sync.
I love it as much with Jared and Jensen as I do with Sam and Dean.
Number 4, the Last Question.
Jensen and Jared were impressed with this particular Last Question Fan’s tee shirt, which was awesome.
And finally, Jared and Jensen thanking the fans.
They always take time, at the end of a panel or a meet and greet, to say thank you. Often with hand over heart and emotion on their faces. I remember the very first time that Jared referred to the fans as ‘family’, and I remember the first time that Jensen did too. How they said the word, how genuine the feeling behind it was. After eleven years of making this show and interacting with this fandom, there’s more emotion there than ever.
I had several conversations with both Jared and Jensen during the day that expanded on things said in panels. I had asked Jensen earlier about the ad lib of “Damn right” that he and Jared added to the last episode that had aired. He told me later that now that he’s been Dean for so many years, he sometimes can just be Dean. It’s almost not acting, it’s just him falling into the character, and then he just knows what Dean would say or do, and he does it. At the end of that episode, Sam sounded so determined that they were going to do this [kill the Darkness], and Dean responded to that determination in his brother.
It’s a rare thing, and one that Jensen and Jared appreciate, that the show allows them that freedom. Encourages it even. Sometimes that means that he gets unexpectedly emotional in a scene – Jensen has talked about that before in panels, with Ty Olsson in Dean’s goodbye scene with Benny. It happened so organically that they were both like, where did that come from? Or a moment of physical comedy like Dean rolling out of the ring in the last episode. Not scripted. But totally what Dean would do. I think those unscripted moments are probably some of the most genuine in the show, because it’s essentially not acting – it’s embodying the character, being Sam or Dean.
The moment when Dean punches Sam at the end of BUABS was one of those too. That was the scene that made me sit up and take notice of Supernatural – it was just so real, and there was so much emotion in it, between the two characters. Now I know why. I told Jensen I’m going to make it a game now, to try and figure out when that sort of thing happens, because it happens a lot now on the show. I feel overwhelmingly lucky that the lead actors on this Show, after eleven seasons, care enough about their characters to really think about what they would say and do and feel in a given situation. It’s what makes Dean and Sam and Cas seem so real after all this time. I also feel lucky – as do they – that the producers and writers of the Show work collaboratively with the actors, and trust them to have what’s best for their characters always in mind. It’s a rare thing, as Jensen said. And I think it makes all the difference.
Ruth Connell was a delight as always as the last panelist of the con – she is the most amazing dresser too. It’s like she’s channeling all the best parts of the 70s. Those pants were given to her by Star Trek TNG’s Marina Sirtis, who is a bud. How cool is that?
Later in the day, I was chatting with Jensen when Ruth came by to say goodbye to him, which meant I was treated to them bantering back and forth with his accent matching hers. Jensen with a Scottish brogue? Somebody hold me up! He and I also agreed that Ruth’s hair looked fabulous (it was straight) – but then again, Ruth’s hair always looks fabulous, doesn’t it?
Louden Swain and Richard Speight closed out the con with their timeless rendition of “It’s The End Of The Con As We Know It” – Rob turned back to express his gratitude and love to the fans as they all left the stage, giving us one more heartwarming moment to take home.
I had a little time to chat with Jared about the chapter he’s working on, and a little more with Jensen, which was lovely, and then it was time to get packed and try to finally get a little bit of sleep before heading back to work. I left smiling, and capped off the con with a decadent buffet with Amy (sweetondean) and Hazel (hazelbird) during which we expressed our shared appreciation for the SPN cast and ate far too many desserts. Not a bad way to end a con weekend!
I’m still upset about the meet and greet thing, I won’t deny that. Many people have told us that those reports are what made them determined to come to a con, which I wish that Creation knew. We’ll continue to share what we can here, and of course in our books!
Thanks to @arkine13 for the edits and watermarks.
Stay tuned for Seacon reports and more exclusive interviews!
–Lynn
For uncensored behind the scenes with Jared,
Jensen, Misha and more, check out our books
on Supernatural, at the links on this page!