God is angry. Wrathful, you might say. In Supernatural’s season 14 finale, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) learned that Chuck (the preferred name for the big man upstairs, played by Rob Benedict) has quite literally been the author of their lives, orchestrating every dramatic twist and turn that has made them who they are (and made the show a hit). And the moment the brothers stopped following Chuck’s plan, he opened the gates of hell, freed the many souls Sam and Dean had defeated over the years, and left the Winchesters and their angelic brother-of-sorts Castiel (Misha Collins) surrounded by a horde of zombies. “We start right back up in season 15, and it is a bit of a triage situation,” Ackles says. “They gotta get out of there, they gotta find some shelter, and they gotta figure out what to do.”

But escaping their current situation is only step 1, because then the boys have to deal with the fact that they’re going up against God himself. “This is, as far as we know, the most powerful being in the universe, and he’s against us,” Collins says, with Padalecki adding, “But we’re also struggling with: Is Chuck evil, or is he just trying to objectively write a story that’s exciting which controls our lives?”

Regardless of Chuck’s intentions, he’s revealed himself to be the grand puppet master, which brings up the question of free will. Which of their decisions have been their own and which have been God’s not-so-divine intervention? Did Sam choose to say “Yes” to Lucifer all those years ago? Does Dean really love bacon cheeseburgers?! “God’s been pulling the strings behind the scenes, and now Sam and Dean are really trying to break free for the first time in their lives,” says co-showrunner Andrew Dabb.

And they have 20 episodes to do just that. Because the world isn’t the only thing that’s ending. The show is too. And before it says goodbye, fans can expect a number of familiar faces. Turns out, there’s an upside to God opening the gates of hell. “There’s specific characters that we’ve dealt with in the past that will reprise their role,” Ackles says before adding, “That doesn’t necessarily mean that everybody’s walking out though. Even though the doors are unlocked and people are walking out of hell, not everybody is quite as eager to jump ship. That begs a question of ‘why’ and it begs a question of ‘when will they?'”

Get a first look at season 15 below:

Image zoom Dean Buscher/The CW

Supernatural returns Thursday, Oct. 10, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the CW.