As fans already know from the promos, tonight’s Supernatural introduces us to the other side of Sam and Dean’s family tree through one time-traveling grandpa, Henry Winchester (Friday Night Light’s Gil McKinney). Hollywood.com got the chance to screen the episode early, as well as pick the brain of executive producer Bob Singer afterwards about the family-oriented, mythology-heavy hour, and believe us when we say that it’s one hour that fans won’t forget anytime soon. A true return to form concerning the Winchester family dynamics, the “Road So Far” segment alone is enough of a reward to longtime fans. Before you watch tonight’s episode, “As Time Goes By,” here are five things you need to know:
1. When we meet Henry Winchester, don’t expect a tearful family reunion. In fact, Sam, Dean, and their dearly-departed father John all believed Henry walked out on John way back when. But it turns out, Henry didn’t abandon his family… at least, not intentionally, as we find out tonight. “John was a product of the fact that he didn’t have a father growing up, and it’s the first of many a bad luck for him,” Singer says. “He always held this grudge against his father, because he thought the father deserted him. Now we know different, and in retrospect it makes you wonder what dad would have been like.” That grudge shaped John Winchester into the man, hunter, and father that he came to be. So what does this new knowledge mean for the boys? “All this knowledge that they’ve carried all their life — that his dad left him and he became this guy that he was — was all untrue,” Singer says. “If [the boys] could actually speak to John and say this is what happened, all that anger you carried, is not real… that has a certain amount of pathos to it. We thought this was a good emotional story.”
2. If you’re wondering how Henry Winchester is caught up in a hunting crisis, since it’s the boys’ mom’s side of the family that were hunters, you’re not wrong to be confused. It seems like the boys’ lineage on both sides had a hand in supernatural happenings… but the ways in which they approached the situations were completely opposite.
3. Obviously, Henry Winchester has to employ a bit of time travel in order to meet his grandsons in the present day. And if you think Dean is a fan of this based on his enthusiastic past experiences with time travel… think again. “Time travel sucks, man,” Singer says, quoting Dean from the episode. “[Dean thinks] ‘Do I really need this guy popping out of my closet and bringing up the whole dad thing? Now I have to have mixed emotions about this guy!’” It certainly doesn’t help matters when Henry’s big idea to save the day might have the minor consequence of Sam and Dean never being born.
4. Tonight’s villain, Abaddon, is no ordinary demon, and expect a lot of scrambling from the Winchesters when their magic knife doesn’t immediately do the trick on this Mad Men-era beauty. “She is a knight of Hell,” Singer says. “Personally picked by Lucifer. She’s certainly hardcore in the Lucifer camp.” Abaddon has more than one hellish trick up her sleeve, and gives the boys a run for their money tonight.
5. Sam and Dean are going to make a discovery that will lead to a whole new mythological arc that carries on the rest of the season. In fact, the result of this discovery will actually change the very structure of Supernatural at its core. Check back on Hollywood.com tonight after the episode airs for a post-mortem with Singer going in-depth on this very important game-changer!
[Photo Credit: The CW]
Follow Sydney on Twitter @SydneyBucksbaum
More:
‘Supernatural’ React: Back to the Good Old Days… Or Is It?
‘Supernatural’ React: Sam and Dean Made Their Bed, Now They Have to Lie In It
‘Supernatural’ Midseason Finale React: Two Wrongs Did Not Make It Right
