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'Supernatural's' Jared Padalecki on Sam's relationship with Amelia: 'It begs further questions'
By Carina Adly MacKenzie October 31, 2012 2:32 PM ET
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This week marks the fifth episode of Season 8 of "Supernatural," and we still have a lot of unanswered questions lingering from the season premiere. In the first episode, we saw Sam abandon a serious love interest (and his dog) in the middle of the night to return to Rufus' cabin. However, we still don't know why he left her behind.

"We do find that out," Jared Padalecki told us when we visited him on set during filming of the upcoming episode "Citizen Fang." "That's actually one of the cruxes of this current episode that we're shooting, and the next one, actually, so Liane [Balaban] has been around a lot this past week and she's coming back. I'm shooting with her tomorrow. We do find out when and why, and it begs a few further questions."

Since Sam's cell phone was turned off, we know he didn't leave her because of a phone call from Dean, and he's obviously still pretty hung up on her, given the rose-colored flashback we saw a couple weeks ago. "We see in Sam at the beginning of the season that she's not dead to him. It's not like 'Ugh, whew. Done,'" Jared says. "He still has something for her, even if it's just the idea of being able to settle down and have a woman in [his] life ... it's a very, very good reason, why Sam and Amelia go their separate ways, and I'm happy that we get to see that."

Just as Jensen Ackles told us he's enjoying exploring new connections for Dean, Jared is excited about Sam's new relationships this season. "The show is always going to be about Sam-and-Dean as a character, the brotherhood," he assures us, "but I do like fleshing out who these guys are outside of each other. It gives it more value, how much they care about each other, when you see that they have other things that they care about."

Even in its weakest moments, the relationship between the brothers is the cornerstone of the series, and Jared says that exploring other relationships will only serve to drive home how crucial the Winchesters' bond is. "[If they only have each other] it's not as much of a sacrifice, as if Dean is having to step away from this friend that he made in Purgatory, I'm having to step away from a woman that I still love, you know, knowing she's out there."

The love interest and Sam's abandonment of the hunt has been a controversial issue for fans, including us here, but Jared's loving the new direction. "It makes for some really good television," he tells us. "I'm really excited about it. It's been -- I don't want to say it's been a while, it hasn't been a while, but I've read the last few episodes and this last one coming up, and I'm actually thinking 'This is really cool!' I just had a talk with [executive producer] Bob Singer, he was up, and I was like 'I've got to say, I'm really impressed.' You sign on to another season and you're like 'I hope it's good!' and with a new showrunner, and new blood. I'm so happy with the direction we've gone. I think it's really really cool."

In this week's episode, "Blood Brother," Sam finally meets Dean's secret monster friend from Purgatory. If you'll recall, Sam's been in a similar situation, when he developed a morally questionable bond with Ruby while Dean was out of the picture. "[Benny] does have a lot of parallels with Ruby," Jared says. "I find myself in the flip position of where I was four years ago. It provides for a lot of moments between Sam and Dean, of going 'Dude, you said to me what I'm now saying to you in a different situation.' And Ruby was a lot hotter than Benny, so I should've had more understanding from you. Maybe I'm biased," he laughs.

Sam and Benny don't really get a chance to know each other before stuff hits the fan. "It's a quick introduction," says Jared. "Sam and Benny don't get to go out, have a beer, figure out what's what. It's a very abrupt, unexpected, 'Who is this?' because Dean has never been real forthright with Sam about who he was talking to ... but we see Sam kind of go, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa. Something's not right.'"

We'd have gotten further into the subject, but as you can see from the video below... we were interrupted. (We didn't hate it.) Tune in to "Supernatural" Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. EST on The CW after "Arrow."


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April Roberts10 days ago
Why is everyone saying Sam deserted Cas and Dean?! He had NO IDEA they were in purgatory!! He felt alone. Why was it okay for Dean to live a normal life with Ben and Lisa, but Sammy couldn't have a year to love someone. Why is it always a double standard? Why can Dean live normal, why can Dean have monster friends? Why doesn't Dean remember that Sammy spent a year "in the cage" with Lucifer and Michael?! He literally threw himself into hell to save the world and his brother. Why was it okay for Dean to break the first seal, but it was wrong for Sammy to break the last seal? (considering Dean didn't realize he had done it and Sam was led to believe it would STOP the apocalypse). You have to admit there is a double standard here. I am also becoming concerned that Jared may want to leave the show and that Benny is coming in as a replacement partner for Dean. I hope I am wrong.
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Angela Patterson9 days ago
I agree wholly. It seems Jared is trying so hard to sell this crap. Just like he did in season 6. Notice how he didn't last season. Maybe he is going to leave the show and this is the way they decided to go about getting Sam out. Benny replacing him? Maybe. Probably be Cas who replaces Sam because the writers have been determined to shove Cas where he's only barely fit before. Wouldn't be surprised if that happens again. (Remember season 5?) Never has Jared been so vocal about what he wants to do after Supernatural. Why now? If they have two more years to go, why talk about moving back to Austin and settling down with his family (I was at ChiCon and he mentioned that three times!)? I know nobody's ever given him much credit for his acting (this website and this author included) but surely this isn't it? Feels like it, though.

But I digress. The double standard here is annoying. There HAS to be something else going on here. Sam suddenly decides to call it quits? Why now? Why when there were so many, less-crucial opportunities to do so? All Sam's ever done is sacrifice for Dean. (No matter what the Dean!girls say, there's simply NO arguing this basic premise try as they might.) That's who he been presented as being. Sam's now being characterized as the cowardly child. A selfish a**hole. Cruel. Leaving Kevin to fend for himself. Abandoning the very idea of having a brother for a girl. Meanwhile, Dean is the steadfast hero. The one who is righteous in everything he does. Nevermind that he started the apocalypse. Nevermind that he killed Amy last season but is hellbent on shacking up with this vampire now.

I'm holding out for this being all Crowley's doing. Hopefully it was Crowley that sent Dean to Purgatory and then somehow devised a situation where Sam decided to forget about Dean and move on with this really strange woman. Crowley's supposed to be the "big bad" this season then maybe I'm right. Hopefully I am. Ugh. I'm probably not and the Destiel Creator has decided to come in and royally screw one of the best characters ever created over.
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Anonymous9 days ago
I don't think it will ever be a case that Jared will want to leave the show. Looking at it pragmatically, with a new family to support, his motivation to stay would far outweigh his motivation to leave. Also, both he and Jensen have often said that they won't do the show without each other so if Jared decides he wants to leave then that will be the end of Supernatural as we know it.

A bigger worry would be that Sam's role in the show would be greatly reduced and that’s something I could see happening this season. I know that Carver has paid the usual lipservice about the brother bond and the show is about Sam and Dean etc etc but Supernatural is a business; it's aim is to make money and in order to do that they have to give the people what they want to see. Carver, as showrunner, can't afford to be sentimental. If the Sam/Amelia storyline is one that people are not interested in then it will be cut; that's just good business. If Benny turns out to be a popular character (and early indications are that he is) then he will get more screen time, he will get more development. We saw this happen with Castiel. Each episode is only approximately 42 minutes long so if more time has to be made for Benny then that’s less time somewhere else. Dean’s story is central to Benny’s so that can’t be cut. Castiel still has to be dealt with so if a main character has to lose out it will be Sam. We’ve seen it happen before.

Reading around, the Amelia storyline seems to be one that many viewers are not remotely interested in so Carver, as showrunner, would be a fool to push an unpopular storyline before a popular one. However, this is apparently Sam’s storyline for the season. Add to that, in a show about hunting Sam does not want to hunt and now with Benny and Castiel available to partner Dean he does not need to hunt. Sam could very easily be shunted off as a Bobby type figure, left somewhere to do the research etc but who gets very little screentime. That way, technically Sam would still be on the show, and emphasis could be put on the storylines viewers seem to be most interested in; Dean, Benny and Castiel.
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Peter Tony Parker8 days ago
I think (I'm not really sure. Obviously, I can't speak for everyone), what most people have a problem with, is the fact that Sam didn't even TRY looking for Dean (like he did in Time After Time After Time), whereas Dean never stopped trying to break Sam out of the Cage during his "normal year".
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Anonymous10 days ago
Kudos to Jared Padalecki for trying to generate interest in Sam’s storyline this season. I think his professionalism and loyalty to the show is admirable. However, I'm finding it very hard to muster up any interest in Sam's storyline this season. How are we to muster up any excitment about his relationship with Amelia when the first thing we were told about it is that the relationship is over? Sam’s girlfriend story has become the equivalent of watching a match that you've been told the score of; it's very hard to get caught up in the excitement of it when you know how it’s going to end.

How are we meant to be able to empathise with and relate to Sam's hopes and dreams of getting out of hunting when we know that he's never going to get out of hunting? It's a story that's going nowhere because, once again, we know how it'll end. If season 8 was going to be the last season then yes, there might be more of a 'Will he, won't he?' feel about it which the audience could get caught up in but Carver has been talking about going to season 10 from the day he got the showrunner job so unless Dean hunts on his own for the next few years, then Sam isn't going anywhere so the result of this particular storyline is, once again, a foregone conclusion.

Is Sam's story this year going to be about Sam accepting that he's a hunter? He's been doing that for the last seven years and as recently as last season was in a place where he was at peace with who he was and actively endorsed the value of hunting. Has Carver decided to ignore those seven years of character developments? (Though this is a guy who decided that, at some stage in the past, Sam and Dean apparently promised they'd never look for each other, despite that fairly monumental reveal never actually making it on screen, so it really wouldn't surprise me if he did. It reads to me that Carver is just hacking off the parts of past seasons that don't fit his story, regardless of how important they were once deemed to be.)

This whole idea of him not looking for Dean? Not only is that throwing away seven years of character development, it’s screwing with the very heart of the show. I’d love to just sit Carver down and ask him how much it would screw up his vision for season 8 to have Sam utter three simple words ‘I did look’. Sam doesn’t need to have found Dean or played any role in getting him out; just that he looked for him. I’d also like to ask him how on earth he’s interpreting that Sam Winchester, the Sam who has been running into burning buildings to save people since he was a kid, would just leave an innocent (and extremely valuable) boy in the hands of Crowley! For years all we’ve seen Sam do is risk himself to help others; he sacrificed himself to the Cage, he was willing to risk the wall in his head to save others but now, that part of him is gone? I know that Carver is trying sell is as Sam's 'maturity' but what on earth is mature about not giving up, about not even trying?

I’m sorry, but any faith I had in Carver is gone and nothing I’ve read for upcoming episodes has rekindled it. To me it seems that he has drawn his line firmly in the sand in relation to the brothers; Dean, the brave, noble hunter who never gives up, never lets a man behind and Sam, the lesser brother who scurries away first chance he gets. It’s pathetic, and hugely disappointing from a man who, in the past, seemed to have a grasp of the show and the brothers.

I’m glad that JP is happy with what he has this season. It’s allowing him to branch out in terms of his acting and I’m sure it’s freeing up more time for him to be with his family, which rightfully takes precedence over a TV show. I’m just disappointed that what defined Sam as a character, what made him memorable, has been cast aside by Carver.
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Mothballnose10 days ago
Gen? Hot? *pukes*
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Peter Tony Parker8 days ago
Hot enough to get Jared Padalecki to fall in love with her.

Don't be rude.
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Winchester_OTP10 days ago
Horribly boring episode. Horribly boring Sam flashbacks. Too much Benny. Carver is ruining the show.
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sep ithet10 days ago
I guess my main concern with Sam's "domestic" storyline is the fact that we all learned with Dean and Lisa and Ben that no matter how hard they try, Sam and Dean as hunters will always have a supernatural threat after them. Their loved ones aren't safe, as we saw with Lisa and Ben, and that resulted in Dean taking a very drastic and problematic action with the mind wipe. So how has Sam been able to keep Amelia safe for a whole year without any consequences? I won't reiterate what others have already said regarding him searching for Dean suffice to say that it remains a glaring misstep on the part of Carver and the writers, one that makes Sam look wholly unsympathetic. To top it off, they haven't given him a very strong tie-in to the supernatural elements in the show. He's only barely and grudgingly agreed to take on the search for Kevin/closing the gates of hell. I guess I'm just afraid with every new spoiler that comes out that they've ruined Sam's character for good and aren't even going to bother to fix it. Which makes my interest in Season 8 continue to wane.
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violentdaylight10 days ago
Dammit Jensen! He was getting right to the juicy stuff! LMAO.
Very cool interview. Cool Qs and very thoughtful answers. The brothers at the core and some solid characters à la Benny and Cas that in the end make the brothers relationship all the more powerful. Makes me also hopefull about Sam's SL and I hope the mysterious good reasons about Sam and Amelia dynamic will shed some light on the hows and whys Sam didn't look for Dean.
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Lorena Marisela10 days ago
Hope that the new show runners do know what they are doing,this season feels different.
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Anonymous10 days ago
I feel I must add to my more meta comments the observation that in that picture where he's wearing the grey shirt with the light on his face that man is absolutely, stunningly gorgeous.

/shallow
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Angela Patterson10 days ago
The only good thing about any of this is ... nothing. Jared says the show will always be about the brothers' relationship and Jensen says something that totally contradicts that notion. If Dean and Benny are closer than brothers (even though apparently that's an exaggeration?) and Benny and Dean rivals Sam and Dean, then the only thing Jared could possibly be talking about is the discourse between the brothers. Because it's not like there's anything good there anymore. Sam's being a colossal dickwad. Dean's being a colossal dickwad. Nothing like what it used to be. Jensen's right about one thing, though, the brothers' good relationship is what made this show work in the first place. It simply won't work if they remove that aspect and replace it with turmoil and discourse. The proof for this being how divided the fandom is over it. Hate on me all you want, fangirls. I'm literally through with this crap.
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Beth_Minervino11 days ago
What an adorable interview! They really do seem happy on set, these days. It's good to hear that they're enjoying the season as much as I am. I can't wait to hear more about Sam's journey, the past year.
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padakitty11 days ago
Tell Jensen he owes me a refund for ruining Jared's interview. I'm not laughing here. Sam's gotten the Blame Game - yet again this season - he's the mystery when there should be no mystery. Unless the mystery is that Sam actually DID save Dean from Purgatory, I'm not sure I know what to look forward to so far. i'm glad Jared is happy though, but he's always happy, it seems like. I don't mind Amelia at all. What I do mind is Dean having more time for his 'boyfriends' than Sam does with his girlfriend. I don't want Amelia to be an idea; I want her to be a person, and she has to learn about Sam's real life, or it won't make any sense on a show like this. We should know as much about Sam as we do about Dean. Period. No excuses.
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cadlymack11 days ago
He didn't ruin it -- the director needed them back on set, Jensen was coming to get him. The interview would've been over regardless.
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Aly Cat10 days ago
Thank you for clarifying that up.
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Aly Cat10 days ago
Wow, man. Just wow.
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DarkAng411 days ago
Don't stop there writers. I still hope you give me something on Sam POV on when Dean first vanished.
I know Sam didn't meet Amelia over night, but the way it looks on TV it does.

Like I said Sam not looking for Dean is huge deal so can you make sure Jeremy knows this.
I felt he turned left field to hard on episode one and then expect us to just take it. Give me a stressed out Sam or something not those Summer Eves flashbacks.
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sammysangel11 days ago
Yes I think Sam not looking for Dean and the reaction to that maybe has been underestimated by Jeremy and his writers. The Amelia sl is okay but I am not sure what we are going to learn about Sam from it?.
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Geordiegirl196710 days ago
"Yes I think Sam not looking for Dean and the reaction to that maybe has been underestimated by Jeremy and his writers. The Amelia sl is okay but I am not sure what we are going to learn about Sam from it?."

I totally agree. It seems that the writers just thought we'd accept that Sam would not look for Dean, and maybe wouldn't notice that it was totally ooc. Bizarre.

I wonder if we'll see an abrupt about-face - as we have in other seasons - when the writers see how their decisions have been received in the fandom. Lord I hope so. I watch for 3 reasons; Sam, Dean and Sam&Dean's bond. So far in s8 we have an unrecognisably ooc Sam, and zero brotherly bond. I'm sorry but much as I love Dean 1 out of 3 just isn't enough to keep me interested.
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Anonymous10 days ago
I am, at least, encouraged that Jensen's interview at, I think, the Toronto con seemed to suggest that he felt that a reveal was needed on the subject. I have good hopes for the brotherly bond if that is eventually cleared up, I'm liking Dean's story and the hints we're getting of Cas's, and I will have few remaining problems with Sam's story if this issue is convincingly dealt with, so it would be a real s8 saver for me. I'd rather think they were planning all along, and maybe they have been, but I'd honestly take an obvious retcon and be happy with that, too.
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percysowner10 days ago
I'll take a retcon as well. Anything to take away the bad taste of Sam never even trying to find Dean.

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percysowner10 days ago
I totally agree. I hope that the writers did not anticipate the way fandom in general would take hearing that Sam never looked for Dean. Even people who have not cared for Sam agree it is OOC. Almost every poster I have seen has no problem with Sam going for normal once he realized he either couldn't find Dean or couldn't save Dean without risking releasing the Purgatory monsters and then decided that they had both saved each other at the expense of the world and that was no longer an option.

It has struck me that since many people do accept that Sam deserved a normal life once he tried to find Dean, then Dean being angry about Sam wanting a normal life seems petty and controlling. Perhaps the writers decided that in order to give Dean a justifiable reason to be angry at Sam, they had to have Sam commit the sin of not looking for Dean.
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Anonymous11 days ago
I do care about the whys and wherefores of Sam's leaving Amelia, and I am invested in his desire to leave hunting, but what I need there to be an answer to is why Sam didn't search for Dean. Unless that issue is going to be brought up and resolved in a way that makes plot and character sense, everything else that follows from it won't work for me. I can't help feeling that Carver thinks the issue is Sam giving up hunting, and doesn't realize that for most fans that is perfectly understandable, the crux is why he didn't even begin an investigation into Dean's disappearance. So I hope that turns out to be related to the other mysteries, and that the writers have really thought it through, whether it's a plot reveal or an emotional one.
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Geordiegirl196710 days ago
"but what I need there to be an answer to is why Sam didn't search for Dean. Unless that issue is going to be brought up and resolved in a way that makes plot and character sense, everything else that follows from it won't work for me. I can't help feeling that Carver thinks the issue is Sam giving up hunting, and doesn't realize that for most fans that is perfectly understandable, the crux is why he didn't even begin an investigation into Dean's disappearance. So I hope that turns out to be related to the other mysteries, and that the writers have really thought it through, whether it's a plot reveal or an emotional one."

Great post. I agree 100%. I see so many people saying 'why is it ooc. Sam always wanted a normal life'. And I keep pointing out that the life outside hunting is NOT the ooc character issue. It is the not looking for Dean. If he'd tried, failed, then got the dog and the girl I'd have been fine with it. But Sam not looking for Dean is so jump-the-shark ooc, and a betrayal of everything we thought we knew about Sam and about how he felt about Dean, that like you I just cannot, and will never, get past it unless it turns out that either he did look or he couldn't look.
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percysowner10 days ago
Yes, but since Sam has always wanted normal then Dean would be a bit of a jerk to resent him for going for it. OTOH, Dean has a right to be hurt if Sam didn't look for him at all. It may have been a choice between making Dean look bad and making Sam look bad and they went with making Sam look bad because if one brother has to look bad, Sam is the go to choice.
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dottweets11 days ago
Thanks for the Sam spoilers! Glad to hear we are getting more of Sam's pov and more of the Sam and Amelia backstory and hopefully more fleshing out of Amelia's character. I'm with Jared on this--Sam and Dean may be the center of the show, but the brothers need other people they care for and the brother bond is more meaningful if Sam and Dean each get more development as individual characters. Hopefully Amelia won't go the way of far too many spn recurrings (especially love interests) and she'll stick around for a while.
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percysowner11 days ago
I don't have a problem with either Sam or Dean having outside friends. I have a problem that for years only Dean got outside friends. Cas was Dean's friend and took Sam on sufferance. Bobby liked Dean better. Ellen had a message for Dean from beyond the grave, not for Sam. Jo had a thing for Dean. Garth worked with Dean alone, not Sam. As far as recurring characters the only one Sam has had was Ruby and that was total manipulation, not caring.
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OicOzzie11 days ago
Not impressed by Sam's new love and wasn't impressed to when he was with Ruby 2.
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Michele MacKay11 days ago
To be honest, I'm not the least bit concerned about why he left a girlfriend. What I am very concerned about is why he deserted Dean, Cas and Kevin when they were in mortal trouble. The Dean, Benny, Purgatory storyline looks really interesting though. I'll just have to keep hoping Sam's storyline turns out to not be sappy romance and charater assassination.
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Geordiegirl196710 days ago
"What I am very concerned about is why he deserted Dean, Cas and Kevin when they were in mortal trouble."

Me too!
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percysowner11 days ago
If they actually start focusing on Sam and his POV, I will be very relieved. I'll hold out some hope for this episode.
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dawnages11 days ago
Thank you for giving us these interviews, especially with video. Every time I watch these two, I fall in love with them all over again, they are just so awesome!
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Winchester_OTP11 days ago
Why is Jared even excited? It's not like we're actually going to see much of him during the Dean and Benny hour. Dean gets to be SUPER!HUNTER! with his vampire BFF while Sam gets slapped with a lame-ass romance. Color me unimpressed.
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DarkAng411 days ago
I guess us Sam fans now know how the Dean girls felt with Lisa.lol
But im cool with it but not very excited.
Im just glad we get Sam POV in any shape or form.