Eric Kripke Fields Your Questions About Supernatural

Supernatural by Michael Courtney/The CWThe Supernatural sibs catch up on the latest news.

Is the CW’s Supernatural (Thursdays at 9 pm/ET) "cooking" the numbers? Are the Yellow-Eyed Demon’s days numbered? Have the writers been favoring Sam over Dean? Series creator Eric Kripke answers those burning questions from TVGuide.com readers, and many others! Plus: Kripke’s very important message to the show’s fans.

In Season 1’s "Phantom Traveler," Dean mentions that the significance of the 40-minute flight time goes back to biblical numerology. Since 7 is also a biblical number, was the fact that there were seven survivors intentional? I’ve always wondered about that.

Eric Kripke: I love how much our fans pay attention! Yes, using the number 7 was intentional. We’re always trying to drop in small but significant details, and we occasionally look to numerology. To give you another numerology hint: the Yellow-Eyed Demon re-entered the Winchesters’ life 22 years to the day after it disappeared. Sam was 22 at the time. We chose that number intentionally.

You stated in a recent interview that you were originally working on a three-season plan, but now you’re moving past that. Does that mean you intend the big bad Yellow-Eyed Demon aspect to end with Season 3, and that there will be a different driving force for later seasons? Or will the YED always play a major role?

Kripke: I think our story is larger than just the Yellow-Eyed Demon. I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say this: Our heroes confront and converse with the Yellow-Eyed Demon in a way they never have before in Episode 21. And because the Demon’s feeling charitable, he gives Sam some answers.

You’ve mentioned that "the war was starting" and everything would come to a head in this year’s season finale. How do you imagine things wrapping up? Will tying up so many loose ends open up more questions?

Kripke: Our season finale is a two-parter, and we’ve been busting our asses to give the fans something really climactic and special. I think you’ll be happy. And you’re right - the war definitively begins. We definitely tie up some major story threads. We climax the "psychic children" story line, for example, as well as deliver a few other surprises. But we’re telling a multiyear story, so in no way do we answer everything. Nor should we. We answer some questions; we leave some hanging; we ask new ones, too.

This is more of a comment than a question: I wanted to say thank you for all of the wonderful progress you and your crew have made with the show! This season just keeps on getting better and better! Please let everyone who works on the show know that we the fans really appreciate all of the hard work you guys put into it!

However, I have to be shameless and say to the fans, If you love the show, please spread the word. Let your friends know there’s a smart genre show on the CW, a show for people who dig Buffy and X-Files. Drag ‘em in front of the TV and make ‘em watch. We don’t get a lot of marketing, and word of mouth is the only way we’re gonna get a long, healthy series run. We need your help!

Do you think Papa Kent (John Schneider) from Smallville could join the show?

Kripke: Sure, why not? Bo Duke could be rocking the General Lee, and race the Impala. They’ll jump a bridge, and we’ll freeze-frame midair and go to commercial.

This is going to sound facetious, but I am at least half serious: Were you traumatized by a mobile as a child? (I have to admit there is something a little creepy about them!)

Kripke: No major mobile trauma. It’s funny, I get questions like this a lot. Because of the show, people wonder if I had a disturbed childhood, or tortured puppies, stuff like that. But I’m a normal Ohio boy from a tight-knit family - though my friends and family do seem surprised that I’m coming up with such twisted crap. About once a month my sister calls me and says, "What the hell’s wrong with you?"

A lot of plot points have been set in motion to further the development of Sam as a character. We are continuously reminded of the fact that Sam is integral to the central mythology, and in one way or another the majority of this season’s episodes have all served to raise questions about his destiny. However, because of this, Dean has largely become, in my opinion, a "reactive" character in the sense that most of his actions simply seem to involve reacting to Sam’s crisis. So my question is, will Dean ever have his own arc or story line, one that isn’t based just on Sam?

Kripke: Well, first of all, stay tuned. There’s the beginning of a major Dean story line in the season finale two-parter. But I have to admit, I’ve heard this comment before, and I just don’t get it. Not even a little. It’s never been a show about Sam. It’s always been a show about family, much more than it is about anything else. The mythology is only an engine to raise issues about family. A big brother watching out for a little brother, wondering if you have to kill the person you love most, family loyalty versus the greater good, family obligation versus personal happiness.... These are all issues that Dean faces, and in my opinion, they are just as rich, if not richer, than psychic children and demonic plans. Fans seem to worry unnecessarily at times, and I’ll say this: It’s never going to be a show about just Sam, or just Dean for that matter. It’s always going to be a show about brothers. So quit worrying.

Every time the boys get in and out of the Impala the doors squeak. It wouldn’t be the Impala without it, but is that a sound effect? Because in the blooper reel on the DVD, that door did not squeak at all. Also, what kinds of extras are you planning for the Season 2 DVD?

Kripke: Those squeaky doors are the work of our brilliant sound [editing] guys. As for the DVD, we’re going to do two commentaries; a documentary about bringing the season finale from script to screen, warts and all; some Easter eggs; and the coolest feature, where we’ve rounded up a bunch of history and folklore experts to give commentary on the urban legends used in the show. It kinda blows me away, having legit academic commentary about our little bloodfest....

It seems like having the cops and FBI on Sam and Dean’s tails would severely cramp their style, not to mention their ability to hunt, over the long run. Any chance this story line will be resolved this season? Will the guys be cleared? And why do I keep thinking that there is something fishy about Agent Hendricks?

Kripke: We bring Henricks back for an episode before the end of the year. But no, we don’t resolve the fed story line this season. We wanted to... but we sort of got too busy dealing with demons and wars and various apocalyptic stuff. But we plan on getting back into it for Season 3. And yes, you’re right, the feds cramp the boys’ style for sure. But don’t forget, Sam and Dean are expertly trained, very clever and cagey, and they know how to drop off the grid when they need to. When they don’t want to be found, they can’t be found.

In recent interviews, you’ve stated that the last few episodes will pull the threads together of the special kids/Sam’s destiny/myth arc, and Sam’s and Ava’s roles. My question is: How many years have you given yourself to tell the entire story of the Winchester brothers, and are you on track with the overall series arc?

Kripke: Yes, we’re on track for the overall series arc. Some things were accelerated and other stories took longer to tell than I thought they would, but overall, we’re on track. I’ve always thought that we could tell this story properly in five years. That’s what I’m currently aiming - and hoping - for. But I love the show, and if it turns into a monster hit that goes on for eight years, I guess I’ll adjust accordingly. You know. Weddings. Raven Symone. Maybe we’ll literally have Dean jump a shark like Fonzie did.