Supernatural

The remainder of Supernatural's eighth season — which resumes Wednesday at 9/8c on The CW — with the focus on Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam (Jared Padalecki), who are on their quest to finish translating the "Word of God" tablet, which will allow them to shut the gates of Hell and trap demons there forever. But the Winchesters won't be alone in that pursuit. "Everyone's going to have some skin in the game," says exec producer Jeremy Carver, especially King of Hell Crowley (Mark A. Sheppard).



And it's not just the demons keeping the boys busy. The angels have their own agenda, and we'll finally discover why they have been manipulating Castiel's (Misha Collins) memory since they pulled him out of Purgatory.



Taking a trip to the light side, fan fave Felicia Day will return as tech whiz and sometime Winchester sidekick Charlie Bradbury in what Carver promises will be a "pretty fun episode with a heavy dose of live-action role-playing. The boys will be in tight, tight medieval getups."



With more long-lasting consequence, Sam and Dean meet their paternal grandfather, Henry (Friday Night Lights' Gil McKinney), for the first time — even though he's been long dead. "That episode involves time travel and fills a void that will have great effect on the boys while opening new chapters for the show," says Carver. "And despite what their dad John told them, Grandpa is not a mechanic." You didn't really believe that one, did you?



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