Supernatural star Misha Collins says Castiel ‘is not coping well’ with Jack’s death

When it comes to twists, Supernatural saved one of its biggest for its final season: As viewers learned in the season 14 finale, God is not good. At least he isn’t anymore.

When the Winchesters realized that Chuck had been scripting their entire lives and decided to stop playing along, God welcomed them to the end of the world by killing Jack and then opening the gates of hell, leaving them surrounded by zombies. But when it comes to Castiel, God’s turn to the dark side is only so surprising. “Cas actually gave up on his dad, God, in season 9 I wanna say,” Misha Collins tells EW. “I think that he has come to terms with the fact that God is not going to be the father figure that he had hoped for. So I think the pill is a little easier to swallow of God showing up and being the big bad.”

That being said, Collins does admit it’s a “shock to the system” for Castiel and the Winchesters. “This is, as far as we know, the most powerful being in the universe and he’s against us, and we thought he was good,” Collins says. And with this twist, they’re also dealing with the fact that their entire lives have been brought into question. Did God script their every move up until this point? “I think more than anything it’s about adjusting how we frame our existence,” Collins says.

But God and the question of free will aren’t the only things on Castiel’s mind when season 15 begins. More than anything, he’s thinking about Jack. “Cas is not coping well with Jack’s death because he feels responsible,” Collins says. “He made a promise that he was going to protect Jack and now, not only did Jack sort of turn toward the dark side, but he also died and it feels like a huge failure for him.”

Supernatural returns Thursday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.

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