Once upon a time at San Diego Comic-Con, I weighed in on the very important issue of Jared Padalecki’s facial hair. Other stuff might have happened too, but I don’t really remember. Check out the video below for sideburn and beard talk, and maybe some thoughts on the upcoming season.
Okay, maybe I do remember some more of the interview. Padalecki talked about what’s in store for Sam in the upcoming season. With Dean in Purgatory, Sam got out of the life. “This time, he was able to make a clean break.” We’ll get to see some of this normal life via flashbacks. On Sam’s normalcy: “Happy has an asterisk because he lost everybody. It wasn’t lollipops and candy canes, but he was moving forward.” Obviously we’ll get back to hunting eventually, but Padalecki has always fought for individual time for his character and Jensen’s—to flesh out each character individually. So this story obviously can’t be the end game, but it services that purpose.
Are there any parallels to when Dean got out the life, when Sam was in hell? Padalecki says that was different as Dean still had anchors—other people out there. That is not the case for Sam. Everyone from his old life was gone. How is Sam able to make that clean break? Padalecki doesn’t really know yet. They touch on it in a bit in the first 4 episodes, and he has a guess. “He’s trying to be level-headed and not put the weight of the world on himself. He figures he’s given enough.”
Prior to Comic-Con, it was reported that a new love interest for Sam had been cast for season 8: Amelia, played by Liane Balaban. Bringing in love interests for Sam hasn’t really worked in the past, so what’s different this time? “Sam and Amelia’s relationship is not at the expense of Sam and Dean’s relationship. […] Dean wasn’t around. So we’ll see what happens.” And given Sam’s track record with women, should we go into this season fearing for poor Amelia’s life? Padalecki: “Of course! Absolutely. I told her already. I’m like, “Listen, all the girlfriends on the show, they die. Or marry me. But I’m already married.”
Photo and Video by Lucia Giusti, Copyright © 2012 TheTelevixen.com
Lucia is a Ph.D. Candidate in History, living in southern California. When she’s not reading about imperial women in ancient Rome, she’s probably watching television. Or writing about television on her blog, 
