Jared Padalecki: Supernatural Without Conflict Would Be Gilmore Girls

Jensen Ackle, Ty Olsson, Jared Padalecki | Photo Credits: Diya Pera/The CW

Calm down, Supernatural fans. Brothers disagree, brothers fight, and yes, brothers may even have different demon-hunting goals in life.

But those bumps in their relationship are a necessary part of Supernatural, insists the series' stars. "Conflict brings the story," Jensen Ackles told TVGuide.com during a recent set visit. "I think if everything was all happy-go-lucky in Supernatural-land, it wouldn't be as interesting." "It would be called Gilmore Girls," joked Jared Padalecki, who once starred on the feel-good family series.

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After spending a year apart, Sam (Padalecki) wants to trade killing monsters for domestic bliss, whereas Dean (Ackles) has become an even more dedicated hunter than before. Wednesday's episode (9/8c, The CW) continues to widen the gap between the Winchester brothers when Dean goes to help his former Purgatory pal Benny the vampire (Ty Olsson). Considering that Dean has had a hard-line "all monsters are evil" policy in the past, Sam is more than a little confused about his brother's change of heart.

"Sam has always been someone who has had a better understanding of the good that can be seen in people, whereas Dean has always been kind of black and white: These are the bad guys, these are the good guys and that's it," Ackles said. "There's no 'one foot in, one foot out' kind of thing. So to have Dean befriending somebody who is essentially playing for the other team, it's conflicting not only for himself, but also it adds a lot of conflict between the brothers. You're really playing against the character that is Dean."

"Sam gets really upset because four years ago, he believed in Ruby so much, and Ruby was also a demon," Padalecki said. "Dean was on him like, 'You can't be with this demon. They're not to be trusted.' And now Sam sees Dean doing what Dean was condemning Sam for doing, and he's saying, 'Do you see why I want to go my own way? These are your double standards? It's only OK if you do it? You have a better quality of judgment than I do for some reason?' It definitely ups the conflict for Sam."

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Check out a few more thoughts on this season of Supernatural:

Dangerous Dean: "Dean is very sharp now coming out of Purgatory," Ackles said. "He was always a good hunter and his skills were always sharp, but now they're extra-sharp. He's essentially spent the past year in the trenches, in hunter boot camp, so coming out he's a little bit more quick and keen to be a hunter. ... Now Dean has come back, I think that's the biggest thing he's taken from this, that he understands his purpose. He understand why he is who he is, and that is what he's supposed to be doing. And he's not going to let anyone get in the way or talk him out of it."

Hunters Anonymous: "I definitely think hunting is more of an addicting thing for Dean. He thrives in that world," Ackles said. "Sam is obviously a seasoned hunter... but in the episode we're filming right now, I have a line where I say, 'At least one of us should be happy.' Dean is doomed to a life of this kind of misery, but he understands that's where he is at his best. ...Even Dean's novel attempt to have a some normalcy in his life [with Lisa and Ben] was doomed to fail. I think he understands there's no way that normal is ever going to factor into his existence."

Guarded girlfriend: "[Amelia is] a damaged person, who's going through her own ups and downs and who understands loss and who understands that it's not always going to be perfect," Padalecki said. "Sam wants Amelia to open up, and Amelia wants Sam to open up. But Sam respects that Amelia has things that she's going to hold near and dear that Sam might not know. And vice versa. Sam is almost happy about it because he doesn't want to let her in. Not that he doesn't love her enough, but because he doesn't want to ruin this thing he has with this person who's innocent and naive to what he's been doing for a living. ... They each have experienced a personal loss recently and they finally find someone that they're able to open up with and to find this happy little shell. ... They were safe there and had everything they needed."

Do you like the conflict between the brothers? Is Dean too jaded this season? Do you like Sam having this non-hunter life?

Check out this preview of "Blood Brother," which airs Wednesday at 9/8c on The CW:



(Additional reporting by Natalie Abrams)