Supernatural Convention Report - Viva Las Vegascon Part 3: It's A Wrap!

I’m baaaack! Oh my gosh…I'm so sorry. It’s been so long since I wrote part 2, I’ve already got my tickets for Vegascon 2014! I got to keep the same epic seat. How exciting!

So I'm just going to give you a few highlights of day 3 of Vegascon and share a few of my photos!

Anyway…where were we? Oh yes, J day was over, I’d had my Js photos, J2s, J2Ms and Jensen’s meet and greet and after a very loooooong day, was ready to crash. BUT…our photos would be available to pick up around midnight, so after our Misha op, Hazel and I went and grabbed some much needed food with a few of friends and waited until the mighty Chris, had printed up the Js and J2 ops.

We wandered back to the photo room at around 11.30pm to find the photos all laid out and waiting. One of the really fun things about looking through hundreds of photos to find your own photos is looking through hundreds of photos! Some of them are adorable, some of them are hilarious, some of them you think….ooo, good pose, might have to plagiarise that one!

Anyway, we all grabbed our photos, giggled, gushed, grimaced as appropriate. I always find I pretty much dislike all my ops until maybe a week or so later, when I look at them with fresh eyes and love them! It was well after midnight when we headed back to our rooms. Hazel and I sat up oooing and ahhing over the Js for a bit, I uploaded some photos to twitter and then….THE CLOCKS WENT FORWARD! D’oh! Yes, daylight savings kicked in and all of a sudden it was 3.30 in the morning. I did mention that conventions are super exhausting right?

Sunday came around awful quick and kicked off pretty early at 10am. We didn’t want to miss the start of the last day, so we mustered ourselves and made our way down to the auditorium. Richard came out on the stage, bouncing…literally bouncing all over the place. The man’s energy is daunting. There was a little Elastic Waste Band magic, a bit of Richard and Rob re-enacting the lift from Dirty Dancing (Rob playing the chick part) and then we were on with our first guests.

I’d met Julie McNiven a couple of times, but I’d never seen Samantha Smith. Talk about pretty! Well, both are of course!

Sam and Julie seemed pretty relaxed and just chatted, as much to each other as to us, answering questions about the show and other things. We had the obligatory character questions that always make me squirm, because it’s not like they’ve been living with these characters for years or anything, but like all cast members, they answered them politely and with enthusiasm. Like Julie was asked, what she thought of Anna trying to kill Sam and she said, she did what needed to be done, she was trying to save the world! [Insert sassy attiude here.] Both the ladies were pretty sassy with their answers. It was nice to have a couple of chicks at the event, adding a bit of glamour. These things tend to be a testosterone-fuelled boy-fest on stage and an estrogen-fuelled chick-fest in the audience, so having the “Supernatural” gals there was a treat. Julie's married to a Kiwi (remember him from Plunky's?), so seems to have picked up the antipodean sensibility and humour...also language, which she blamed on being married to a Kiwi...I was sitting next to a Kiwi at the time...and being an Aussie, I got where she was coming from!

At the end of the panel...there was dancing. Dancing was a theme at Vegascon!

Next up it was Mr Jim “Pants on fire” Beaver!

Ok, so, the episode “Taxi Driver”, was the episode they were shooting immediately before the convention. Sooooo yeah. That Jim is really awful good at keeping a secret! I’d missed Jim’s panel on the Saturday, due to having a lunch date with Jensen and Jared, so I was very happy Jim got to do two panels. Now, as most of you probably know, this was the first time Jim has brought Maddie to a con. He brought her on stage for his panel, but disguised her as Bobby! Complete with hat and beard! So if anyone did get a shot of her, no one would recognise her. It was pretty cute. She's in a couple of my photos, but I've decided not to post those.

Maddie chirped up every now and then and proved to be free spirited and incredibly bright. Jim did the obligatory eye roll at her comments and odd little interjections, as he positively beamed. I mean, we all know how much he adores his kid! It was pretty special for him to share that with us all. He's damn well adorable enough, let alone when he's being an adorably besotted dad! So it was a fun panel. Jim’s panels are always great; he’s a lovely man. He has fun with the fans, gives them a bit of cheek but is always very gracious with how he answers questions. Of course, he said that he didn’t know if he’d be back on the show…errrr…yeah! We're never going to believe anything he says ever again right? Anyway, it was lovely to see him as always (on stage and then later in the episode).

And the gals came out and gave him a cuddle too and met Maddie…which was super sweet!

After Jim's panel, we had a wee break. A break? Practically unheard of! But, because we weren't getting a lot of photo ops this day, we found ourselves with a bit of time...which was unbelievably nice! We did get a photo with the ridiculously gorgeous Samantha Smith in her ridiculously fabulous and high heels! Man, she's a stunner!

Next panel was the incorrigible Sebastian Roche! 

Now, I've seen a few of Seb's panels. Last October, at Armageddon in Melbourne, I saw him do the rudest panel ever! Even he was shocked at himself. Mind you, a room full of Aussies are pretty much up for anything, including faking orgasms so he could get the whole auditorium making inappropriate noises in unison. The panel at Vegas...well...it was like a panel on crack! He didn't stop moving, dancing, talking, jumping, dancing, moving, singing, bouncing, generally bumping and grinding. It wasn't very dirty...not too much swearing...barely any question answering either...but funny? FUNNY! We were all in tears. I kept saying, "What's happening?" kind of like faux Bob Singer from "The French Mistake", "What's happening? What's happening?" Even Seb was wondering what was happening!

It was exhausting just watching him... I can't imagine how exhausting it must be being him! Or at least him on stage, because at Armageddon, when he crashed a conversation my friend and I were having with Mark Pellegrino at the drinks event, he was perfectly lovely and calm and discussed restaurants and food and was all charm...I think he has an on/off switch!

At one stage he recorded a message for a fan's mum, who loved his character on General Hospital, which was pretty cool! Then he had us all sing The Beatles, Help with him.

Honestly, this panel was pretty much how Vegascon was...very free flowing, lots of music, lots of singing and dancing and just plain, craziness. I don't even know what was going on in Seb's panel. It was a blur of activity and tears of laughter that left all our faces aching.

Next up...Mr Ty Olsson!

Of course, we know that this was Ty's inaugural convention appearance and he was having a gooooood time! Hey, most of us go a bit overboard at our first con right? Ty's panel was fabulous. He told some great stories, including some personal stories. He's had a bit of a life, with foster care and some personally challenging incidents, which he alluded to. He was open and honest and enjoyed having the band on stage - giving them little musical cues, dancing...everyone was dancing! And of course, he had a few drinks going on! He was so worried that Creation would never have him back! He'd tried to get a tattoo done while on stage, but he wasn't allowed to do it, but has promised, if he is at Vegascon 2014, he's going to get it organised, so he'll be tattooed during his panel! I really hope he does! He did get a tattoo later and tweeted pictures.

There was a kid in the audience that he gave cash to every time he let a swear word slip. Semi-frequently. The kid did pretty well, made quite a few bucks. He chatted to a fan's friend on the phone. He answered a fair few questions...but was having too much fun with us and the band and the booze to answer too many. Personally, I think he did a great job...even if he was a bit worried he'd be banned! And of course, there was a special guest who came to visit him...Big Daddy vampire himself, the lovely Mr Rick Worthy, who'd come to town under his own steam and joined in the fun at Ty's panel.

I swear to God, everyone practically bolted to the photo op desk to buy an op with Ty after his panel finished...you just couldn't resist the urge to throw your arms around that solid frame of his. I'm so glad I got enjoy Ty's first "Supernatural" convention with him, we all had a great time!

Our last panel of the day...of the con...was Mark Sheppard.

Mark's such a charmer, with his London accent. I was raised by a couple of Londoners, so it's an accent that is very familiar to my ears. Mark's a fan-boy, he's as much a fan of shows as we are a fan of the shows he's been in and it's lovely to hear him chat about that. He's been in some of my favourites, Leverage, Doctor Who, Firefly, X-Files...he's like a genre God! He's also a rather good drummer! I can't even remember how it happened, but somehow Mark ended up on the drumkit on stage where the band and Mark performed AC/DC's Back in Black. How damn cool is that! That's Vegascon for you!

Rob had to come out to listen... he quietly crouched on the side of the stage and watched Mark, in awe, just as the audience did.

And guess what Mark still has on his phone! Actually, this one is an out-take!

And that was the end...the end of the panels...Richard came out and closed out the show.

We still had our Ty photo op, which was as lovely as we thought it would be. He's cuddly! Then we had our "Baddies" op with Seb, Ty and Mark... I had to shuffle over and get in-between Ty and Mark and I said to Mark, "Can I just squeeze in here?" and he turned to me and said..."Why does that sound so sexy when you say that?" I said, "I don't know, does it?" and he said, "Yes it does" and I said, "Well, then my work here is done." Click...photo..."Thanks guys"...we walk away, Chris grabs us...someone blinked (Ty!), gotta do the photo again.... Me: "Looks like I gotta squeeze in here again" Mark: "Stop it you." It was pretty funny. Cheeky Englishman that he is…cheeky Aussie-gal that I am.

Then we had the autos...which we literally had to be guided around by a Creation volunteer, as we had Richard's Meet and Greet and the autograph cues were moving slow! I've been working on getting an Impala poster signed by all "Supernatural" cast that I meet. I'm doing pretty good so far! I'm lucky to get people like Aldis, and Sam Smith and Christopher Heyerdahl. It'll take a while to finish, but it's getting pretty full!

Then it was off to Richard's M&G!

I've only ever done Jensen and Jared's Meet and Greets, so this was new for me. Just 10 people for an hour, (as opposed to 20 people for 1/2 hour). We sat around a table, (as opposed to in chairs in front of the guest) and just yarned. Richard talked a lot about how hosting the convention came about, how he got Rob and the boys onboard (of course, Rich and Rob have an epic bromance) and talked Creation into allowing the band to be part of the show. He talked about how much they rehearsed (not much) and how much they want to do it again (please email Adam at Creation and say we all want them). He told us that the band was not supposed to be on with the Js, but he asked Jensen if he'd like to keep the band on stage...and then the conversation went something like this... Richard: "Do you want the band on stage while you're on stage?" Jensen: "Yes! Unless they have something else they need to do." Richard: "Do you want them on stage with you? Because if you want them...." "Yeah, yeah, it'd be great, but only if they're cool to do it, unless they want a break or something?" Richard: "JENSEN, DO YOU WANT THE BAND ON STAGE WITH YOU?" Jensen: "Yes, that'd be awesome!" BLESS! Thank goodness too...because with the band on stage, we got to see Jensen dance, air-guitar and sing. Yay!

Richard was EXHAUSTED. You wouldn't know it, but he said he was totally shattered...looked pretty good to me though. He has such pretty eyes...it's such a pleasure to chat to him...sorry, shallow for a moment. I really mean, it's such a pleasure to chat to him because he's a very nice, down to earth fellow. Very nice. Basically, this meet and greet falls under the new guidelines from Creation so I'm not going to go into it much, except to say that Richard said a lot ofs, "You didn't hear this from me" and "Don't repeat this, but" so you can see why they prefer us to keep these things under wraps a bit. Mostly we discussed what we thought of the new format, how the band went and how amazing they were and how great the guests all interacted with them, because that really was the case, the guests were having as much fun as we were, in fact, I think some were having even more fun!

Louden Swain was playing later that night and we had every, single, intention to go and see them. We've seen them at Burcon and I, in particular, am a big fan. But...we waited for our photos, picked them up and giggled and gushes and winced...then, we thought food would be a good idea...being as we hadn't eaten anything except the little snacks I'd packed and bought over from Aussie. So we took our drinks and food up to our room...FATAL ERROR. We never made it back down again. By the time we'd got our food and eaten it, the band was well and truly on and our shoes were well at truly off! Next time boys, next time.

And that was it, the first ever Salute to "Supernatural" Convention in Las Vegas was over. I can't even begin to tell you how much fun it was. It was my 5th Creation convention and they have each held their own charms. LACon 2011 was my first, my first Jensen sighting, the Jensen/Jason Jam session and will always hold a very special place in my heart. Vancon was amazing because it's where they shoot and we got to see locations and see them filming complete with Jensen lolling all over the Impala, plus meet some crewmembers. Chicon was small and so had this nice intimacy, it was also my first Jensen meet and greet and I'll never forget the moment he strode into the room. But Vegascon...Vegascon is a party, where all the guests are there to have as much fun as we are. You see them (not Misha or the Js obviously), wandering around the casino. They stay in the same tower as the convention goers so you pass them at Starbucks...or as with Chad as we were leaving Monday morning, pass them coming back from where ever, possibly doing the walk of shame and looking definitely worse for wear! It puts a whole different spin on the experience. Sure, it's massive and the distances you walk during the day are incredible and the bar is way too far away from the auditorium and the queues are a bit longer than any other con, but it's a PARTY and it's so much fun and I seriously can't wait until next year!

But before then...I have All Hell Breaks Loose 4 in Sydney, with guests, Sebastian, Matt, Mark S, Richard and Misha (Corin is scheduled, but I doubt he'll be here...hugs Corin), then I have Dallas! DALLAS! I'm a little over excited about visiting Texas. So there's a bit of fun to be had before Vegascon 2014...and a bit of training to do, because the next Vegascon is 4 days... 4 DAYS!!! I THINK THAT MIGHT KILL ME!

Sorry this was so dragged out...the Show, you know, kind of got in the way! If you missed the other 2 reports, you can read Part 1 with Matt and Chad and Karaoke here and Part 2 with the Js and Misha here!

Thanks so much for reading and if you have any questions at all, please feel free to pop them in the comments or hit me up on our convention page! I hope to meet some of you soon!

-sweetondean

sweetondean is Chief Editor and writer for The Winchester Family Business.

For all the latest Supernatural info and article links, follow The Winchester Family Business on Twitter at @WinFamBusiness

Review: Supernatural 8.19 "Taxi Driver"

I liked “Taxi Driver”, a lot. Let me tell you why. I’m not much of a stickler for the nitty gritty. I don’t watch an episode and go, wait, that doesn’t gel with what was represented by canon in episode 5.ticketyboo. I don’t really care if the show takes some libities, it’s cool if you do, it’s just I don’t. It’s not how I watch TV and as much as I can pontificate about mythology and canon as effectively as the next rampant “Supernatural” fan, I just don’t watch “Supernatural” that way.

“Supernatural” to me is an emotional experience. I’m heavily involved with 2 men, who happen to be brothers, which would be weird and awkward if they weren’t fictional characters. I get lost in the moment and if the emotion is gelling, nothing will tear me out of it. That’s how I watch this show. That’s how watched this episode. I was swept up in the emotion. Yeah, there were some weaknesses in the script, these guys are not the best writers on the team, we know that, we don't expect much from them, let’s not flog that dead horse, but I didn’t notice the weaknesses at the time. Because at the time, I was worrying for Kevin, I was hating on Naomi, I was wanting to kick Crowley, I was thrilled to see Bobby, I was sad for Benny, I was freaking out for Sam and I was wringing my hands with and for Dean. I was living in the now and was swept up in the story of these characters that I love and adore and gosh darn it, I guess I was too involved to notice there were any glaring issues. When an episode resonates with me emotionally, I can overlook the odd plot hole.

I’m a fan; I’m not a professional reviewer. There are plenty of bloggers out there who fit that bill. I’m just a “Supernatural” fan who loves to enjoy this show she loves, who loves to write about this show and who loves to talk about this show. I respect everyone has their own opinions, but lately I’ve felt like the show I hold so dear and my enjoyment of it is being systematically stripped away from me and held hostage by anger and negativity and I’m tired of being bummed out by it. So I made a decision, I’m reclaiming my show for me. I'm reclaiming my squee. This show makes me, and so many people I know happy and I’m not going to let anything take that from me. Because “Supernatural” means too much to me. It’s got me through rough times, it’s brought wonderful friends into my life, it’s reinvigorated my love of writing and it’s enriched me in ways I can’t even get my head around. The amount of happiness this show has afforded me outweighs anything else. Plus, it's still far and away one of the best shows on television.

So from now on, I’m watching my show and then afterwards, I'm sticking my fingers in my ears and going lalalalala, whilst I sit back and enjoy the afterglow of the Winchester ride (which sounds awesome and dirty). I'm not letting other opinions dimish my enjoyment. I will happily overthink the show in my own way, with excitement, curiosity and faith. It’s onwards and upwards to season infinity and beyond with my glass forever half full.

Poor old Kevin! You know, Osric Chau, man. How different is this Kevin from the Kevin we first met. He’s such a nice young performer. His deterioration is a physical experience not just for Kevin but also for the audience. And yet, some how the kid still seems to crack out the funny lines and infuse his edgy, tattered performance with humour. I’ve grown to like Kevin. At first I found him a little irritating, but I think by using him carefully and allowing the character to be almost the human representation of the audience, has helped. We’re so used to great big heroes in this show, taking the knocks and remaining standing, but Kevin is suffering, probably like we would!

The cracks were starting to show when we last saw him and Sam advised him to slow down…something he, and Dean wouldn’t hear of. Now with trial number 2 decoded, Kevin is hearing Crowley in his head…or is he? Was it actually Crowley? Was it Kevin’s imagination? Or was it Naomi, the mind manipulator pretending to be Crowley? Though, I’m not sure why she’d do that, as Kev knows nothing of the angel tablet or Castiel and Fizzle’s Folly is not warded against angels, so she could (and does) come and go as she pleased. Which Crowley, technically speaking, shouldn’t be able to do…which, I guess is why the windows blew out, destroying the demon wards and allowing him to get inside. Crowley seems to be more powerful now than ever before, which is another reason my questions about Crowley are getting louder. But was it actually Crowley? I was saying no. I thought that all of this was inside Kevin’s head. That insomnia, overwork, whatever physical toll deciphering God’s Word is having on him, is making him buckets of crazy and imagining the King of Hell is inside his brain. I mean, when the boys arrived back at the boat, the windows were fixed, which made me wonder if Kevin just had a psychotic break and bolted - or Naomi took him, because she could certainly clean up the joint with a wave of her hand. But then I listened to a podcast with director, Guy Bee who said outright, that it was Crowley. Of course, he could be yanking our collective chains…Lord knows it wouldn’t be the first time, Mr Beaver needs a pair of flame retardant pants these days and I trust Guy about as much as I trust Jim! But, if Guy’s on the level, then Crowley has split with the kid and could now have the entire demon tablet, not just the part with the acknowledgements and about the author, and will get the heads up on what the 3rd trial is and the brothers won’t (well they will, of course, but you know what I’m saying.) It’s all very nerve wracking and exciting…except for Kevin and possibly Mrs Tran! I don’t think we’ve ever seen Crowley that angry and desperate. I loved his line “What you people never seem to understand is you are nothing, fleeting blips of light…I am forever.” Eeeep!

He was pretty pissed at Naomi too! Whatever went on in Mesopotamia…there’s certainly no love lost now. I think my prediction of them working together is, errr, not going to happen! I like it when Crowley is all angry and mean – “Really” – flick – boys halfway up a tree! Awesome. I wonder if they’ll ever kill him. Maybe at the very end? I can’t see it happening any time soon, but then…with this show, who the hell knows huh?

Naomi…yeah, you can try and sweet talk your way into Dean Winchester’s good graces sweetheart, but he ain’t never gonna trust you. There’s only one angel he trusts and even then, it’s up and down. But he’s loyal to Cass and nothing you say will change that, lady!

Pretty much every angel Dean has had any kind of serious contact with has ended up being a pain in his and his brother's ass. Zach (I love you Zach), Uriel, Glenn Close…err Anna, Balty, Raphael, why would Dean think Naomi is any different. Cass is an angel anomaly, an angel with a affinity for humanity, not a robotic, warrior, bureaucrat… Ooooo don’t call her a bureaucrat! Geesh, that one hit a nerve! But somehow, I have a feeling Dean and Sam may end up working with Naomi in some regard, even if they don’t trust her. Because, if she can help get them to their end goal, then it may be worth the risk. Though taking a chance on something all-powerful always has its downside. She was playing her role well, but I don't think the elder Mr Winchester fell for it one little bit.

Freeing Bobby’s spirit was a fortuitous opportunity for Naomi, because that’s something the brothers will remember, even if they see right through it. Maybe Naomi and Crowley faked the trapping of Bobby’s soul…working together to get the Winchesters on the angel’s side…see I’m not giving up on my Naomi/Crowley in cahoots theory!

Ok, let’s get to the really important stuff. How pretty is this screencap!

I like that Sam got a chance to go to Purgatory, see it for himself (and not just because the colour grade on the Purgatory scenes seems to make everyone doubly hot!) Both boys have been to Hell, Heaven and now Purgatory. It seems right to me that they’ve had these shared experiences. Their experiences were different in all places, but the fact that these two share so much can only give them greater understanding of what each has and is going through…which coming from where we’ve been to where we are now, is soooo good. These two finally being on the same page, caring for each other and supporting each other is all I ultimately want from this story…I don’t know if that’s weird or not, but I watch for the Winchesters and their relationship means the world to me. I’ll travel the bumps in the road with them, but in the end, it’s their love that I want to see on the screen.

And the way they’re interacting these days is so grow’d up. Carver promised a more mature Sam and Dean and I feel like he’s delivered on that promise. Dean’s worried about Sam and he’s letting him know. That’s ok by the way. I tell my brother when I’m worried about him and I tell him off if he does something that I think is dumbassed. Doesn’t mean I think less of him, just means I care. Dean cares for Sam, he loves his brother, he’s worried for his health and safety and you know what, so he should be. But the fact that when Sam says, I’ve got it, Dean sucks it up and just makes sure he knows the full story of what Sam’s about to do, speaks volumes to me about his growth as a character and the belief and trust he has in Sam. These two feel much more like equals than they used to. Dean is always going to be Sam’s big brother, Sam is always going to be Dean’s little brother, Dean’s always going to worry about him, that’s biology, that’s history, that’s family but their relationship has grown in leaps and bounds and I like it a hell of a lot.

Sam was in Purgatory for about 7 hours before he got to the gateway to Hell, according to what Ajay told Crowley, so I’m sure he saw plenty of action, even if we didn’t. I kinda loved that he got to grab one of those rockin’ Purgatory weapons too. It suited him and he looked awesome swinging it (as did his hair!) As time moves differently in Hell, I made the assumption that it took a lot longer for Sam to find Bobby than we saw, I mean, we can't see every second. The watch at the doorway out was such a nice touch - marking the spot, but also being a reference to time and the nature of time in this plane.

I like how the show depicts Hell. I’ve always thought Hell was kind of like Heaven, in the way it’s different for everyone. Dean’s Hell saw him hung on meat hooks and ripped to pieces over and over until he broke and became something he never wanted to be. Bobby’s Hell was seeing the two people he loved most in the world, his boys, every minute of every day, taunting him. Sam’s experience, of course, was a different ball of brimstone altogether, because he was in the cage, which I’ve always assumed is not the same as Hell.

Maybe this corner of Hell we saw in this episode is more how it really looks (obviously Crowley changed up the décor again – frustrated hairdresser come interior designer), because Sam was just a visitor, not a tenant and so would see it how it is, not how it would torture him the most. The rambling halls and the tormented souls (creepy chick was creepy), for a show that operates on a minimal budget, they sure know how to make something look expensive. Hell looked great, as did the doorway portal in the alley.

BOBBY. I wasn’t sure it was going to be Bobby. It looked like his back in the preview, but I wasn’t sure if it was going to be a trick or if Bobby would turn around and look at Sam with black eyes or something. But it was BOBBY! I was so glad to see him. He looked pretty good for a guy who’d been in Hell for a while! But he’s a strong old dude and I can just imagine him cussing out everyone down there who got in his way. Also, as Bobby was not corporial - he was a spirit of sorts - the level to which he would carry trauma is debatable. Maybe if he ended up coming back to his body on Earth, we would have seen a very different Bobby. 

Oh, but I loved seeing him again, I really did and I loved that it was Sam who saved him and got to spend time with him, because Bobby’s spent more time with Dean, so it was nice for Sam to have that moment. And speaking of big mouth Dean…I laughed so hard at the thought of him telling Sam about Bobby’s Tori Spelling and pedicure secrets! Little bastard! Just shows you how tight those brothers are!

The Sam not looking for Dean thing came up again. That seems to have been happening a bit of late. To tell you the truth, there was a moment at the end in the car where I thought Sam was about to say something. But nope. Like I’ve said before, if we never hear anything more, I’m cool…I’ll survive and I won’t rage about it, but I’m certainly curious, so I’m hoping that something more is revealed and I'm hoping it's by Sam. With so many little mentions, it feels like it might be going somewhere.

Bobby is... such a Bobby! He can’t help but tell Sam off for reneging on the “non-agreement”, then having a dig at Dean about his vampire friendship and then saying that without him the brothers really went off the rails! Awwwww bless his heart. Of course they’re doing fine or as fine as they ever are, but I’m sure a bit of Bobby wisdom and a kick up the pants would do them both good, every once in a while.

Bobby was sad and beautiful, as was Jim Beaver's performance. Bobby said he wanted to stay to fight, though I’m sure he probably wanted to stay just for his boys, but you could tell that he knew it was impossible. I’m glad he’s in Heaven and I’m glad we know it. He should be there. He has friends there, a wife. I hope he’s happy and I hope, somehow, we get to see him again. Bobby and Sam’s reunion hit all the right notes. Just the right level of emotion for a couple of hunters in a sticky-wicket and this is where this episode soared, emotionally it was a cracker.

With Naomi coming to Dean to tell him about Purgatory, Dean discovers Ajay dead and realises his little brother is now trapped with no way out. It must have taken a lot to ring Benny, but then again, it probably didn’t. When it comes to Sam, Dean will do whatever it takes to keep his brother safe, including asking a friend one hell of a favour. This scene between Benny and Dean is the scene Jensen told us about in his meet and greet at VegasCon. While discussing a question regarding directing actors, he spoke of how sometimes, if an actor makes themselves emotionally available for a scene, it can go an unexpected direction. This is what happened with this scene between Benny and Dean. It wasn’t written with so much emotion, but something in the two actors took it to that place. Both were surprised. Neither of them saw it coming. They had a bit of a laugh about it afterwards, but once they’d identified it, it went to that place every take. Guy Bee was as surprised as Jensen and Ty; he hadn’t seen the scene like that on the page. Jensen said it was because it wasn’t on the page; it was just one of those magical moments that sometimes happens. What we got as viewers was a performance so raw that, I don’t know about you, but it stopped my breathing. Dean’s need for Benny to say “Yes” was etched into every line on his beautiful face. He was in a state of desperation and despair.

The words may have never come out, but we all knew what was being said. Dean was asking to cut off his friend’s head, a friend who means a lot to him and who’s shared a lot with him, to save the brother that is the world to him. Benny’s struggles topside probably made it easier for him to say yes, but I have a feeling the vampire would’ve said yes anyway. Dean thought Benny would come back with Sam, or at least hoped he would. The sheer devastation on Dean’s face as he pulled Benny into a hug before throwing his arm back and in a one swipe, killing one of the few friends he’s ever had in his life, was, well…*sob* What a scene. Jensen is the master of emotion. The chemistry between Ty and Jensen has always jumped off the screen, but this scene was something else. I hope it's not the last we see of Benny, but if it is, it was a worthy exit.

I’m glad Sam got to see the side of Benny that Dean connected with. I always considered it strange that Sam, of all people, wrote Benny off without a second thought. The fact that Benny’s sacrifice allowed Sam to return to his brother, release his father figure to Heaven and finish the 2nd trial shows that Benny was on the up and up and I’m glad Sam now knows that. I don’t think he’d ever really accept Benny, which is fine, but I do think being in Purgatory and seeing that Benny was a “man” who could be trusted was another important step forward for the brothers and another step to putting past hostilities behind them. Admitting when you’ve misread a situation doesn’t make you less of a man, in fact it’s the opposite, it makes you more of a man. 

For the audience, allowing a monster to be a friend, to be someone who can be trusted and to be someone we can care about adds to the wonderful level of greys in this show. It shows a maturity in the story telling to allow something we'd traditionally fear, to become something we end up crying for. 

Which brings me to what was my favourite part of the episode (can you guess what it is?) When Sam returns to Dean. When Dean is pacing and waiting for Sam, Bobby and Benny to emerge from Purgatory, he looks terrified. Then when Sam comes out of the light…oh Dean’s face… Then Dean pulls his jumbo sized little brother into a hug that actually looked like it hurt it was so powerful. A powerful hug, eyes closed, brothers wrapped around each other in relief. A great big Winchester love filled hug. If there’s anything better, I don’t know what it is.

The way Sam tells Dean about Benny choosing to stay behind is so gentle. I loved that moment. I loved Sam for being so gentle with his brother’s feelings. I loved that Dean tried to correct his disappointment over Benny with happiness for Bobby, “I mean, that’s fantastic about Bobby.” You can see he’s on the edge of a thousand emotions. You can see Sam is reading every one of them. These guys, seriously, Jensen and Jared, give them a scene together like this and it’s jaw droppingly good. They’re so damn GOOD. Will somebody give them a bloody award or something! Man.

Then, finally the Winchester brothers watch as Bobby’s soul soars to Heaven. Beautiful.

If there was one criticism I'd make about “Taxi Driver” is that it felt a touch rushed and I would have happily seen a "to be continued" but, the episode hit so many perfect emotional notes for me, any criticism of it was rendered meaningless. Even just writing this and going back and checking through scenes and dialogue as I go, had me feeling all the feels. Like I said, it’s why I watch the show and when a show gives me a punch in the gut as good as this…well then, I’m going to sing its praises loud and proud.

Two-week hiatus, people. BOOOOOOOO…and then...DEAN IN UNIFORM! YAYYYYYYY! I knew there was a reason I loved Robbie Thompson! I have a feeling it’ll be another play, pause, rewind, play, pause, rewind, play kind of episode…

Thanks for reading, see ya later.
-sweetondean

sweetondean is Chief Editor and writer for The Winchester Family Business.

For all the latest Supernatural info and article links, follow The Winchester Family Business on Twitter at @WinFamBusiness

Personal note:

Constructive, thought provoking, criticism is always welcome and enjoyed. I'll often raise contentious issues myself. Lively debate can be fun and that's certainly not what I'm talking about when I discuss the anger and negativity I've been witnessing in the fandom.

I've been facing each episode with trepidation, not because I'm worried if I'll enjoy it or if it will let me down, but because I dread the outpouring of anger that nearly every episode seems to get these days. Having issues with canon and the writing, I'm interested in discussing and debating those thoughts rationally, but the bitterness and toxicity of some dialogue is soul destroying and discouraging. Especially when it seems to happen week in, week out.

This week was my line in the sand. Had it not been for Alice, my fearless leader at The Winchester Family Business, I would not have been writing ever again. That's how disheartened I'd become by what I was seeing. But she reminded me, that there are a lot of people whose dialogue is well thought out and passionate without being soley negative and that there are a lot of people that are enjoying the show, but don't feel the need to yell it from the mountain tops and so their voices aren't heard. As one of the most read reviewers on the site, my posts are a place where these later fans come and feel safe, even if they don't comment.

So I had to take emotional stock and I had to make a choice for myself. I had to seriously look at why I watch this show, what it means to me, what I get out of it and whether or not I wanted to continue to share my perspective on it. 

I came to the decision, that "Supernatural" and this fandom mean too much to me to walk away. But to continue to write and be involved in this community, I could no longer let other people's opinions affect how I feel about this show and the fandom. Consequently, I'm choosing to focus on my enjoyment of the show; remembering that this is something that I love, it's the only way forward for me. 

This doesn't mean I will never find fault, but if I choose to celebrate an episode and wave my hands at inconsistencies, I will and I won't feel less of a fan for doing so, because I'm not less of a fan for choosing to focus on what it is I love about this show and not what disappoints me.

At the end of the day it's just a TV show, albeit, a damn good one...

Supernatural - All Hell Breaks Loose 3 convention report

Part 2 – Cossack dancing, sing-a-longs and penis t-shirts….. 

(photos by sweetondean)

Warning…contains some coarse language and adult themes

Previously on All Hell Breaks Loose 3 – sweetondean had just wrapped up an eventful breakfast with Misha, Richard, Jim, Traci and Corin…

Now….

With breakfast finished, we all had to rush over to the University of New South Wales where the convention panels were being held. This is about 10 minutes away and a 20-minute cab ride in the splendid Sydney traffic.

My pals Courtney, Emma and Sarah and I all dived into the first cab...waving to the rest of the breakfast goers standing in the cab line as we tore our way across town to jump head first into the next part of the con. As we pulled into the gate for the area of the University where the auditorium is, what did we see? BABY! There, gleaming in the sunlight was a black, shiny Impala. Meeep! Ok…so in actuality, she only had 3 doors, so you know, but my goodness she was pretty and yes we all had photos taken with her.

The cast were immediately behind us in a mini-van, so we were hurried into the auditorium by the convention staff and told to take our seats. I found mine and gasped. It was front row, right in the centre. I was just about on the stage…seriously, I was pretty much in the cast’s laps…where’s Jensen when you need him… *sigh*. The first thing that happened was a hug-a-palooza! Out of everywhere came people I knew. It must have been a funny sight to see a bunch of fan-girls, front and centre hugging it out. Like I said, as much as I love and adore hanging out with the cast, this for me is the highlight of the conventions (except when Jensen is around then he’s the highlight…sorry friends, but you know me well enough to know that!). So we hugged and squeed and hugged some more. I got a few texts from behind me (because nearly everyone was behind me) and I scoured the seats to see where everyone was. I ran and said a quick hi to my friend Amanda, nipped up to see my friend Mel and to meet the wonderful Jules of Superwiki fame, said a hi to Kate, whom I met from the comments section here and eventually sat down. I got out my new camera, which I’d bought for Burcon and a brand new lens, which I was worried was going to be way too zoomy for my seat, but it wasn’t, as evidenced by my pics and I started the waiting.

Suddenly Corin popped out to welcome us and we were off! The guy should always wear green by the way and I totally love how he has a snazzy hanky hanging out of his back pocket, plus he was wearing colourful striped socks! Bless. After Corin did his bit, it was photo time! First up Misha. It’s ridiculous to say that even though I was just chatting to him a couple of hours ago, I was still a bit nervous about my photo with Misha, not Jensen nervous, because that’s some weird level of nerves that causes my motor functions and communication skills to become non-existent, these nerves are more like, I don’t want to look like a nit and I’m not sure what he’s going to do, nerves. Of course he was totally lovely as usual, so….hug, flash, thanks, smile, moving right along. Next was Richard. Now Richard’s photographer was having trouble with his light reflecting thingy so most of us that went up and got our photos had a little cuddle while we waited. I love Richard. He’s an absolute favourite of mine. Such a nice and funny guy and damn handsome… Anyhooo…after the Richard cuddle, umm photo, I hightailed it to grab my friend Shelley because we were sharing a Misha op. This was Shelley’s first con and though the two of us had been chatting on twitter and FB for ages, this was the first time we’d met! Yay. I decided to freshen up before my next Misha photo and grabbed some gum, then grabbed Shelley and her bro, who was super excited to be there too…ok, side note, I am so proud of Aussie men (not a statement you’ll hear that often from an Aussie woman) because at this convention, there were a lot of guys. The most I have ever seen at any convention. If you looked around, it didn’t appear to be an oestrogen fest. There were guys! Anyway, Shelley and I got on either side of Misha and snuggled in. Snap, flash… Photographer: ”We’re going to have to do that again, you looked like this” points at me and chews. Gum. Damn. I turned to Misha and Shelley, “Oh I’m so sorry I was chewing my gun” Misha: ”You’re so unprofessional” Me mumbling…”Umm yes sorry, you can’t take me anywhere” Gah! So I did a Jensen and tucked my gum up the back of my mouth (surely you’ve noticed that boy is always chewing gum). Smiled again…this time without the jaw movement and moved along.

Next photos were Jim and Traci. Jim first. Jim gives good hugs. He’s such a snugly bear of a man. Traci and I cuddled and had a little chat, she called me sister again and then I was on my way. Last stop was Corin. Ok, let me just rave one more time. This guy is a darling. Can he come to every convention please and can I, like, go out to dinner with him or something? He’s so nice, lovely to talk to and very easy on the eyes. I just love that he hugs everyone and I’m talking after the photo, it’s hi, hug, photo, thanks, grin, great big hug! Nawww. He’s awesome. Then I had my Angel sandwich! Squished in between Misha and Richard. They were having a huge conversation and I just stood there between them with their arms around me as they continued to chat. I said “Just talk amongst yourselves.” Misha: “Thank you we will” Richard: “Yes don’t mind us” and that was the end of my photos. I really wanted the one with all the guests, but it was expensive and I have Vancon looming, Vegascon booked with ops to be purchased and Dallascon2013 calling my name…a gal has to draw the line somewhere!

While I write this by the way, I am sitting drinking tea from a Metallicar mug, snuggled under a Dean blanky…

So now was the time for more sitting and waiting. Everything was running really late but no one cared. We watched fan vids and Changing Channels while we sat. I popped out to grab a water from the café and bumped into Corin outside. He was getting some photos with some boys….told you….boys! I just said hi and moved along and let him have his break in peace. Our first guest on stage was Traci…

Traci:

Wonderful, beautiful Traci. Traci talked about being an actress and how everyone assumes that because she’s an actress she has money, but as a working actress she sometimes wonders where her next pay check is coming from and how she’s going to make her rent that month, But she loves it and wouldn’t do anything else. (Ooo while I think about it, at breakfast she mentioned how she taught Ashton Kutcher yoga and he wouldn’t take off his socks….we pondered the reason, Corin thought it might be because he has Hobbit feet!). Traci’s influences are Meryl Streep and Marion Cotillard. She said her favourite thing about acting is being able to wear another person and she slipped on a few personas to show us including Pamela. She also loves being able to tell a story. But her most favourite thing is the fan interaction. She spoke about how lucky she is to have us and to have that instant feedback and close contact with everyone via the conventions and twitter etc.

She talked about the porch scene in Lazarus Rising when Pamela first meets the boys. She said she asked Jim if she could sort of pick him up when she hugged him, of course he was all for that! She talked about the Dean kiss. She said that she thought for sure it would’ve been Sam she was kissing so she was surprised it was Dean. She said everyone said how lucky she was to get to kiss Jensen, but she thought HE was lucky! She also said, you really can bounce a nickel off that thing. Nice! Traci told us that when they killed her off Eric rang to tell her personally. She was in the car so pulled over so she could concentrate on the phone call, which was a good thing, because when she hung up she burst into tears and had a really good cry. Then she talked about how she’d hoped that we would have got to see Pamela’s Heaven. She figured her and Ash would be up there going to concerts and rocking in out together. She told us how difficult it was to do the scene where Pamela’s eyes burned out. She had to keep them wide open for the CGI guys and keeping your eyes open while you scream is tricky, so she crossed them! So basically the raw footage of that scene is Pamela screaming with her eyes crossed! Why was that not on the gag reel? There was lots of talk about farts, fart jokes, Jared’s massive eating causing his equally massive farts, of which, she says, he’s very proud. She said farts are big on set. Hey, everyone loves a good fart joke right? She also talked about how it’s such a family atmosphere up there in Vancouver, with dogs running around and everyone just enjoying everyone else’s company. 

Then she talked about love and how love is love. She discussed same sex marriage and the support she feels out there in the Supernatural community for same sex marriage and equality in all relationships. She talked about how she married a couple in New York recently, whom had contacted her via twitter. Years ago she got a one of those online certificates so that she could conduct weddings, but this was the first time she’d used it. Then, before the panel was over she popped off stage to grab her drum. She asked us if we’d mind if she conducted a ritual to finish off the session. She then had us repeat after her the words to And When I Rise. Then, she drummed and sang while we sang along with her. Except I couldn’t sing very well, because it was about now that I started to get teary! It was one of the most wonderful things I’ve experienced. Traci’s voice is beautiful. She drummed and sung as the whole auditorium harmonised with her. It was a moving and simply amazing experience. I find Traci an inspiration. Her spirit shines through. She’s so connected with herself and with the world around her. She looks bright and happy and healthy. What a fantastic woman. After the convention she was off to Uluru. She’s going to write an article on the experience. She had to get all the appropriate permissions from the Aṉangu people, the traditional land owners of Uluru, because she’ll be visiting and photographing some of the sacred areas not open to the public. I can’t wait to hear what she thinks of our Outback. I have a feeling visiting Uluru and talking to the original people of that land, will be something that she will connect with deeply.

Next up was lunch…which consisted of a Devil’s trap cookie made by my friend Kat. Then Corin and Richard hit the stage.

Corin and Richard:

I think Richard should do stand up. The guy is funny! And I’m pretty sure you could pair him with anyone and he’d be ok. I thought the Corin/Richard duo was odd for a panel, but of course it wasn’t. They bounced off each other wonderfully.

Richard talked about doing a scene with the Js and their height difference. How when everyone hit their mark you actually couldn’t see Richard in frame. Everyone was “Richard, just get on your mark” and he was “I am!” but you couldn’t see him. So they stood him on a box. Still no good. So then they stood him on a bunch of boxes! Corin mentioned that he’s 6ft and Richard was highly unimpressed. He said the Js are uncomfortably tall...and also dreamy…so handsome. His words! One of the girls asking a question had it written down on a flash card, so Richard went and took it off her. He read the whole card and decided to answer the Jim question instead, which was what was his/Bobby’s favourite dance. Richard then did a full on Cossack dance. No kidding. The arms crossed leg kick out thing and the whole deal!

The next girl got dragged on to stage and was made to sit down as Corin and Richard exited. They went back into the green room with their mics on and basically issued instructions to her. Before they would come back, they made the poor girl get up and dance like a maniac. Bless her for doing it! I’m thinking a bunch of people high tailed it out of the question line after that! The guys were asked what the most disgusting thing they’d ever eaten was; Richard said Vegemite (sacrilege!) and Corin said he dug Vegemite (see…he’s awesome). Corin said he’d eaten calves brains in Belize and Armadillo meatballs, which he considered tantamount to eating road kill. A girl in the line was dressed as Cass. She had on a t-shirt that had the blue tie on it and was wearing the trench and a mini skirt. Richard was impressed with Cass’ legs! He made her parade across the stage!

The guys talked about their on screen deaths. Corin was totally surprised when Christian turned out to be a demon. He had no idea. He still doesn’t know if he was ever human or was always a demon and just faking it the whole time (we all yelled out yes he was). Richard said that he was totally bummed when he read the script where Gabe got killed in. He said he went (excuse the language) “Fuck they killed me….oh no wait, I’m not dead. Oh fuck, he killed me. Dick! Oh hang on, I’m in a porno!” Richard has a whole scenario created as to how they can bring the Trickster/Gabriel back. He’s really over thought it! He thinks maybe Gabe took over the Trickster and his meat suit or something…I don’t know, he ranted it out really quickly and then said something about blaming the drugs. There was then a question about going back in time. Richard wanted to go back and stop Hitler from writing Mein Kampf. Corin wanted to go back and invent the paperclip, except he’d call it the Corinclip. They discussed their favourite actors – Richard: Gary Oldman, Steve Martin in his early years, Misha, because he’s like a father to Richard. Corin: Johnny Depp, James Bridges, Sam Rockwell and he loves Sigourney Weaver.

They were asked what their least/most favourite thing about Australia is. Corin said his least favourite was that he didn’t live here! Richard said Corin was hitting on Australia. Richard said his least favourite was the flight. He doesn’t like to fly or sit still so 14 hours on a plane is hard work (hey, we’re used to it!) and his most favourite thing was the unstoppable sexiness of the people. Word. By now of course the guys were in the crowd. They were walking the steps of the auditorium. Some poor girl chose exactly the wrong moment to go to the bathroom and then try to get back to her seat. Corin blocked her. Side step. Block. Side step. Block. Side step. Block. Side step. Block. Honestly, you have to admire her tenacity! She ended up getting one of the awesome Corin, all enveloping hugs…so actually it was a good move on her behalf. Then they were done. Richard and Corin’s panel was great fun. Lots of laughter. These two guys are a couple of my favourites for panels. I remember Corin’s one in Chicago was hugely entertaining. Thankfully Corin comes to Aussie a lot for various expos etc., so fingers crossed I’ll see him again soon. (Yes Amy has a crush).

Next on the stage was Jim.

Jim:

“G’day Idjits!” Jim’s a well read, well versed in just about everything, man. He sung us an Australian folk song. The Ballad of Moreton Bay. He was surprised most people didn’t know it and that we weren’t taught that particular song in school. He’s known it since he was a child. He has a nice voice. Jim talked about acting in a wheelchair. He said he didn’t like it because he likes to move when he acts. But being in that chair, he was respectful of people who live in a wheelchair because he could get up and walk away when he was done, so he was conscious of all the people who can’t. The old prank question was asked again. He said it was the one question that he can guarantee he will always be asked at a convention. Yep. Anyway, he said he’s never been pranked per say, not like Misha and his car full of coins, but basically, Jared will always try and make him laugh. Most recently, they were shooting the scene in Survival Of The Fittest where Bobby was saying goodbye to the boys and telling them when it was their time to go, go. He said that the camera was on him and all he could see was Jared poking his head above the camera and in a gap in the equipment pulling crazy faces. Here he was delivering his death eulogy and Jared was trying his hardest to make him crack. Jared does it to him all the time. “And you thought they were professionals” Jim said.

He discussed GhostBobby again and how he didn’t like it. Well he said with GhostBobby the pay was better than being DeadBobby but he preferred the status quo. He liked the relationship Bobby had built up with the brothers and he enjoyed playing that dynamic. But he understood why the writers did it. He understood the drama and the storytelling and from that point of view he thought it was great, but from his point of view, the point of view of both the actor and the character, he preferred it when Bobby was alive. He has no idea what the future holds for Bobby, he only hopes that he is back at some point, preferably whole again and not as a spirit. Jim then said after being overseas for a while, he loved that we spoke English. After that he pretty much didn’t understand about 50% of the questions! We do speak fast. Then the dancing question came up again. Jim said, Bobby doesn’t dance, however Jim does, if he’s drunk enough. He’s been known to do the Timewarp. Oh Mr Beaver, red rag to a room full of Aussies. Yes we all taunted him into doing it. We yelled out all the words. I think we got a partial jump to the left, and then a step to the right, we got the hands on the hips and sort of got the knees in tight…he drew the line at the pelvic thrust!

Jim talked about whether he ever thought he’d have been on Supernatural as long as he was. He said, that no, he thought it was a one shot deal. But when he was leaving after wrapping his first episode all the crew were clapping him on the back and saying, we’ll see you again, you didn’t die. Now, 53 eps later…. The kissing Crowley question came up…again. Jim said, he has a soft beard but Mark’s stubble is scratchy! He told us to be careful what you wish for because he’d been teasing Kripke for ages, asking for a love scene and then of course he got a kissing scene, but with Mark Sheppard! He said Mark’s been riding that one kiss to fame ever since. Jim did enjoy kissing Sheriff Mills. He likes Kim/Jody a lot. He said, “It was gooooooood.” By the way, I pretty much think everyone flirts with Jim. There’s a lot of very easy teasing and flirting going back and forth.

Jim was asked if he’d ever thought about writing for Supernatural and he said, funnily he had. He’d started working up an idea that all took place in Bobby’s house…and then they burnt Bobby’s house down. So then he came up with another idea….and then they killed Bobby. So then he stopped. He said that was it because he wasn’t going to write something he wasn’t in! Though if he did write something for Bobby, he’d make sure Sheriff Mills was in it. Adorable! He was asked about his relationship with the Js. He said they get on great. He loves working on the show because it’s so much fun. Everyone gets along and has a great time on set. Everyone loves each other. He talked about how his relationship with the Js is that of a friend and a peer/colleague. That they are equals. He’s not like a father figure to them, that’s just the character he plays. He said the Js are both great at what they do, talented, Jim’s just a little “…older than them, 6 months….ok 8”.

He talked about his favourite onset memory. It was during the shooting of Death’s Door. They had what he thought was one of those emergency training deals where everyone has to muster and watch a movie. He went and hid out in his trailer, but a PA knocked on the door and said, sorry Jim but you really need to do this. So he grumbled and grizzled his way over to where they were all supposed to meet and walked into the room to see everyone in the crew there. He knew something must have been up because Jensen and Jared were there and they’re never on set before he is! He sat down and waited for the health and safety video to start but instead it was a Bobby tribute video. He was incredibly moved. Many people cried. He ascertained that he didn’t. He said, “Jim don’t cry.” Yeah, I’m sure. He also talked about Jensen directing and how, as an actor, he felt totally safe and supported by Jensen. He said he’d watched Jensen essentially training for that role for years, asking questions of every guest director that came on board, absorbing as much of the technical information that he could. Jim was never interested in that stuff. Directing is too much work and he just wanted to act, but he said, Jensen was always interested. He’d been preparing for the role of director for years. (Side note….I get irrationally excited when the cast members pontificate about Jensen, I remember Jim saying on one of the WinBros podcasts that Jensen is a “Magnificent human being.” Seriously. I feel like getting that tattooed across my heart.). Anyhoooo, that was it. Jim wrapped up by signing a hat for auction. He wrote Balls and Idjit on it. Of course he did.

Last on the days agenda was the inimitable Mr Collins.

Are you all still with me?

Misha: (warning…ahead be bad language and smut)

This is the 5th Misha panel I’ve seen and I think it was the best. The man was on fire. He was suitably dirty for the Aussie audience…we aren’t very pc at best of times, and we really love a bit of cheek and smut…and he wasn’t too smart assed as sometimes I’ve seen him get. Like at Chicon, where he obviously thought the questions were inane and basically told everyone off.

Misha made several comments at this convention about the mythology of the series. He said it at breakfast, on stage and at the autos. Basically, he says he doesn’t understand how they can kill off and then bring back Cass with no explanation. I remember at the breakfast he was saying about how Cass was walking around naked, how did he survive, why wasn’t that explained? I’d said what about the wife thing too, he said, exactly! Then he added, though if any of us saw him walking around naked we’d put him in our car. He’s probably right. He said he thinks it’s interesting the writers don’t seem to bother using mythology to explain that kind of thing anymore, they just do it. At the panel, he said this in relation to the fact that Cass is back and obviously, for him that’s a good thing. But what I heard at the breakfast and at the autos came across as a bit snarky quite frankly! Misha is Misha, so you kind of expect that bluntness from him and he tended to say it as a throw away line, so if you wanted you could take it in jest, but I’m torn by his openness in saying that he’s not impressed with how elements of the story are being written. As an ongoing cast member, I always wonder if it’s cool to be bagging out the writers like that? I mean, I guess I’ve heard Jensen do it a couple of times too, they really let their guard down a bit the conventions. They know we love and respect them so I think they’re more honest with us than they sometimes intend to be. Jared totally bagged out Dawn Ostroff in his meet and greet! Jensen’s criticised a few things but then he sort of professionalisms his way right over the top of it. Misha just basically out right said he thought it sucked! He said, how many times has Cass died anyway? We all started yelling out answers. He said, “This is not a guessing game!” I do appreciate his candour (amongst other things) and the trust he shows in sharing these opinions.

There was a question about furniture making and failure. I guess this came from the Rome con with his resume saying he makes furniture and Jensen confirming that Misha’s pretty good at it. Misha had no idea what this girl was talking about. She soldiered on asking again if he’d had any furniture failures. He still didn’t get it. He came forward to the front of the stage and leant down and said to me and the ladies sitting next to me. “What? What is she talking about?” We’re going, furniture, you make furniture right? Have you had any failures? He was so confused. He’s looking at us like we’re insane and then I think the penny dropped. “Oh furniture. Yes I make furniture.” He then talked about how the only failures he’d had were ones involving blood. Basically every piece of furniture Misha has ever made is tinged with his blood! He said he always nips off the top of his fingers with the rotary saw (he needs to be more careful, my dad cut three fingers off with a rotary saw!). He says he’s accident-prone at the best of times and he doesn’t like wearing the stupid safety gear so he’s continually injuring himself. So all of his furniture is imbedded with his DNA. Then he asked if the girl was satisfied. This became a running joke. Was he satisfying us. Yes, you know what he’s talking about….

Then there was a badly cloaked Destiel question. Why did Misha think Cass has bonded so strongly with Dean? (Language warning) Misha: “You mean why bond with Dean over Sam when obviously Cass wants to fuck Sam so much?” *Audience tries to pick themselves off the floor* Then he said to all of us “Now see what you made me do. Shame on you.” And yet, he continued…. He said Cass likes Dean for conversation where as “…Cass and Sam, its just sex. It’s more shallow.” He said that basically they can’t put him into scenes with Jared, because Jared just wants to pull Misha’s pants down. The poor girl asking the question sort of tries to slink off… “Are you satisfied? Wait, did you just fake it? Or did you come twice?” Yes…it was that kind of panel. He then apologised, “I’m sorry I’m very vulgar today.” We all yelled out, don’t worry about it you’re in Australia mate! Then he told us how a certain convention organiser in the US had the nerve to ask him not to swear…he issued a string of expletives to illustrate his point! I think by this stage we were all in tears and finding it hard to draw a breath!

He was asked if he thought things would’ve been different for Cass had he not met the Winchesters and he said, well yes, he wouldn’t have got drunk, he wouldn’t have been to a brothel. Then he stopped and said, “Cass is such a nerd isn’t he.” He talked about how Cass had really been through the ringer but that he’d finally got the hug. I think we all yelled out…well only sort of! He talked about Win Wenders’ Wings Of Desire and that basically Kripke just stole the idea for Castiel from that movie. Because in Wings Of Desire there’s the Angel Cassiel, who falls. But Cassiel got lots of sex and Cass didn’t. Misha was hoping that when Cass fell he’d be able to explore more human emotions and failings and get loads of sex, but that didn’t happen. Misha was disappointed, mostly through the lack of sex I gathered.

The next girl up managed to stop Misha in his tracks and leave him speechless. Girl: “Congratulations on your face…it’s fantastic.”

Misha:………………………………………………..

Yeah. He literally had no idea what to say! Finally he said, “Well thank you!” She asked him about candy, because she was going to send Richard and Corin some Tim Tams (a yummy chocolate biscuit) and what would he like. We all started yelling Fantales. He should remember these from last time he was here because he gave us all a Fantale at the cocktail party. I may or may not still have mine (I still have mine). Anyway, someone pegged a Fantale at him, which he ran and got and ate. Big mistake, they are very chewy. Then someone gave him another lolly called a redskin. It’s this red/pink, impossibly hard stuff. He said that was the real deal, the Fantale was more like foreplay. Then he took off his jacket while the congratulations on your face girl sung stripper music!

He was asked if he ever improvised in his scenes and he said no, he’s been specifically asked not to! He said he did however improvise the look down at his crotch in the pizza man porno scene. He thought they’d cut it out but we said, nope they left that in. He was surprised they could get away with it. Obviously he hadn’t seen the episode or he’d have known even Dean said he had a boner!

Then he was asked a question about Random Acts. Cue serious Misha. He sat down to tell us about how Random Acts had recently bought a car for a family with a 3-year-old daughter who had cancer. With the car it made it easier to get back and forth for her treatments. He said it was wonderful to see how something like that could make a substantial material difference in their lives. He’s continually impressed by the enthusiastic and generous energy of the fandom. He spoke about Haiti and the orphanage he’s involved with there and about one little boy who’s father, a widower, didn’t know what to do with the boy while he was at work so he chained the boy to a table. Now the child lives at the orphanage is learning to walk and talk…at age 4…and has completely changed from being in a sustainable loving environment. The girl who asked the question said, “See you in Haiti” Misha said, “No way, will you be there?” and excitedly ran over and met her properly.

The next question continued this serious note, if there was a zombie apocalypse, which 3 real people would you take and what would be your weapon. Misha’s answer… Spiderman, Batman and Wonderwoman and a Fantale, because if the zombies were eating those they wouldn’t be able to bite him. True fact and great idea. Fantales take forever to chew. He was asked about a possible Cass spin-off. Misha said he thinks that Cass has an addictive personality; “Obviously” so Cass would be up to no good and strung out the whole time. He talked about when he grows old how he’s going to explain Supernatural to his grand children. “There was a time when women would scream for me.” He said he’s saying this while weighing 400lbs and being stuck to the couch. As a last question, he was asked what Cass’ theme song would be and he said it would be violent gangsta rap, something about bitches. Then he was done…well not quite done, because next up was the auction!

Misha decorated his shirt. He didn’t know what to draw, so people yelled stuff out and he started to draw Angel wings…then he realised we were all watching so he ran into the middle of the stage, turned the chair over and hid behind it while he drew. Then he jumped up, with his back to us, pulled the t-shirt over his head and proudly spun around. Here it is. It went for $1600AUS.

Next Corin came out and decorated a t-shirt…. He chose to put his on a little differently. I’m sorry I can’t remember what the t-shirt sold for…for obvious reasons it was the least of my thinkin

 

And then it was all over. Boo. After the convention I went with Jules from Superwiki, Shelley and her brother and Amy and Rebecca to the local pub, where we relived all the fun, looked through my photos on my camera and talked conventions, genre TV and Vancon over several….like SEVERAL….bottles of champagne. It was a good day. It was a good night. Supernatural conventions and Supernatural fans…yeah, you’re all my happy place!

That’s it. Oh my gosh I am so sorry it was so long! But I warned you…I took notes!

I hope you enjoyed the write up. Sorry about the language…but blame Richard and Misha! Thanks for reading.

NEXT STOP VANCON!