The end of an era is coming to TV this season due to the conclusion of Supernatural, which will wrap after 15 seasons, but not without pitting Sam and Dean Winchester up against their most formidable foe to date: God. The Season 14 finale brought back Rob Benedict for the first time since Season 11, and instead of helping the boys deal with the growing threat of Jack, he ultimately revealed that he's been toying with them as the "writer" of their story all along.
God as the final villain of the show is pretty much the most Supernatural twist that Supernatural could have pulled off. Rob Benedict, who plays God and will soon co-host the 2019 Supernatural Giving Back Convention in Burbank, chatted with CinemaBlend about his role as villain in the final season of the Supernatural saga. When I noted that there aren't many shows that could bring a character back after three years to play the big bad for the last season of a long-running series, Benedict said this:
Yeah, I mean, that's what was so cool about it too. The character of Chuck has always sort of represented the writers creating the show. And so I get excited when I think about the metaphor that they're creating, that the God of the show is the one who's going to come in and call it quits and he's going to be the one that sort of manipulates it to end after 15 seasons... He's the one that comes in and says, 'Welcome to the end.' It just felt right. So, yeah, it's exciting.
Supernatural has always found ways to embrace gloriously meta plot twists, ranging from the 200th episode's musical about the Winchesters to the legendary "French Mistake" episode -- so who could argue that setting the stage for the last season with the writer of the whole Supernatural universe declaring that the end is coming wasn't fantastic?
Admittedly, God turning on the Winchesters and their pals wasn't a fantastic twist for poor Jack (or Sam himself after he shot God in the shoulder), but fans clearly have a lot to look forward to. Considering an angry version of God is quite different from both Chuck and the more benevolent God fans have seen on Supernatural in the past, Rob Benedict shared his approach to playing an antagonistic God:
It's tricky but you kind of have to ride the line between still being good but being being a bit vengeful and it's very much an Old Testament God. The kind of God that would smite people down and that kind of thing. And ultimately it becomes sort of a strict father, I guess is the best way I can put it. A strict father still loves his children, but sometimes he needs to punish them and that's kind of where we're at.
Given that God's action's in the Season 14 finale were definitely more along the lines of "You shall not take the Lord's name in vain" and less on the same page as "Love thy neighbor," viewers probably won't be too shocked to see Rob Benedict's God going Old Testament and vengeful when angry. That said, if God still loves the Winchesters, perhaps he won't feel the need to smite them. Other people, possibly, but maybe it'll take more than Sam shooting him to turn him totally against them.
That's not to say that their friends would be safe. Poor dead Jack is proof of that. Sam and Dean couldn't even bring themselves to take out Jack after he'd killed their mom; God just went ahead and smote Jack when he was mad at them. As this was a huge departure from God in his pre-Season 14 appearances, Rob Benedict shared his reaction when he found out about the newly antagonistic God and what he would do to Jack:
Oh man. My first thought when I read the script at the end of last season was, 'People are going to hate me. The fans are really going to be upset.' And you know, I pride myself on being a nice person, a good person. I get along with the fans really well, but, 'Oh no, I'm gonna have something to report for!' But ultimately it's so fun. As an actor it's such a fun thing to play rather than being the reluctant God who's sort of never there. It's fun to be there and have a strong opinion and strong actions to play as an actor. It's really fun and it's always fun to play the bad guy. So that's neat. And I'm very thankful that I'm still relevant on the show and it's a good way to go out, to end the show being a part of it. It's just a blessing.
While Rob Benedict may be a nice person, God in Season 15 is very much the bad guy of Supernatural. Benedict went on to explain that some emotional Supernatural fans "booed" him at a European convention after the finale aired and revealed God killing Jack, but that's a good thing when it comes to a villain. If he's getting booed when the feelings about poor Jack were still fresh, then he did a good job being the bad guy!
You can see Rob Benedict in the flesh at the 2019 Supernatural Giving Back Convention in Burbank, which runs October 19-20 at the Marriott Burbank Airport. Available tickets can be purchased at the door. In addition to Rob Benedict, attendees include Misha Collins (Castiel), Alexander Calvert (Jack and now the demon Belphagor), Richard Speight Jr. (Gabriel/Trickster/Convention co-host), Ruth Connell (Rowena), Kim Rhodes (Jody Mills), and more. Check out the schedule for the full list of options!
As for what's next for God and the Winchesters, tune in to The CW on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET to catch new episodes of Supernatural's final season. God will be bringing back some old familiar faces to mess with Sam and Dean, who are going to lose some people before the final credits roll. Be sure to tune in!
