Jake Abel Previews ‘Bad Blood’ in Adam’s Big ‘Supernatural’ Return

Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven
Q&A
Colin Bentley/The CW

The last time we — and the Winchesters — saw Jake Abel as Adam/Michael, it was 2010. Supernatural had yet to reveal Chuck (Rob Benedict) was actually God, Dean (Jensen Ackles) hadn’t yet been forced to retrieve Sam’s (Jared Padalecki) soul from hell (and leave their other brother in the cage), and we hadn’t even been introduced to purgatory, not to mention seen some of the more creative (and meta) episodes. A lot has changed.

But what hasn’t changed is the experience on set. “It was just like jumping back into the playground with all my old friends,” Abel told TV Insider of coming back for the Thursday, December 12 episode.

Here, Abel previews what to expect from his long-awaited Season 15 return in “Our Father, Who Aren’t in Heaven.”

First of all, welcome back to Supernatural! It’s been a decade. What was it like returning to the set and getting back into character?

Jake Abel: What’s really unique about this show in particular is so much of the crew has been there since day one, so going back 10 years later was like going home again and seeing all these familiar faces. While I might not have remembered everyone’s names, I would see someone’s face and be like, “oh my God, I know you, I remember you, you were in the sound department.” If there was any anxiety about returning, it was washed away the first day I showed up to do wardrobe and all of that.

Also having Richard Speight, Jr. as the director for this episode was hugely helpful because he and I have gotten to know each other pretty well at conventions, so there was really no anxiety once I got there and saw how good the script was for this episode.

What can you say about the big Winchester family reunion? Clearly there are a lot of issues there.

Yeah, there are. We want to do right by the fans so much and also give these characters closure. What’s interesting is we’re not going to necessarily have that wrapped up in a bow quite yet with this episode. It leaves room for more things to happen. There’s a lot of bad blood to go through, and that’s what’s going to be interesting about watching this great return of this long-lost brother.

(Colin Bentley/The CW)

No matter who’s in control of Adam’s body — Adam or Michael — I can’t imagine either is ready to jump in and help the Winchesters, right? Like you said, there’s bad blood, for both characters.

Yeah, Adam and Michael have had a lot of time to sit and think. I’m curious to see what the ultimate outcome will be: Will he help them or will he hurt them?

How much of Adam is left after all those years in the cage with Michael? What can you say about what to expect from both characters after all this time together? They only had each other, which is depressing.

Depressing or bonding, who knows? That’s something [that will] be a surprise for the audience, what’s going on inside this person’s head.

What do you think life would’ve been like for Adam if, say, the Winchesters had gotten him out of the cage around the same time as Sam’s soul? Would he have become a hunter after everything that happened or tried to get as far from that life as possible?

I don’t know. I feel like he could have gone either way. With the loss of his dad and his mom, he would’ve had nothing — maybe that would’ve been up to Sam and Dean. Maybe they wouldn’t have wanted that life for him. They might have pushed him out for his own good, which would have brought us back to where we are now anyway, resentment and potential hatred. Maybe there was no other outcome besides all of this coming to a head at the very end.

Supernatural, Thursdays, 8/7c, The CW