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In an interview with CBR, Meg Donnelly talks about Mary’s last hurrah, Dean Winchester, the yellow-eyed demon, and happy endings.
Time is running out on the Supernatural spinoff, The Winchesters. The Season 1 finale found the Akrida an alien species of insectoid creatures and their queen preparing to open a portal to invade the planet. Only Mary, John, and their hunter pals Latika, Carlos, and Ada, along with Mary’s father, Samuel stand in their way. After discovering Joan, aka the Queen, was once a hunter banished from the Earth, the gang summons a “mystery man” to help save the day. Mary slams Dean Winchester’s impala into the Queen, sending her through a portal and defeating her.
In the aftermath, Dean, Jack, and the deceased Bobby show up to explain the existence of the Supernatural multiverse. Dean gifts Mary and John his hunter’s journal, the powerful Colt, and a cryptic warning: Beware a yellow-eyed demon. The episode concludes with Mary and John leaving town together to forge their own destiny and happy ending. Meg Donnelly recently spoke with CBR about digging into Mary, her sacrifice, Supernatural cameos, putting the pedal to the metal, and what’s next for The Winchesters.
Meg Donnelly: It’s been an honor. It’s been fun playing Mary. It was so scary at the beginning because I was like, “I don’t know if I can do this and do this justice.” The fans are so incredible and connect so well to this story. Everybody has been so nice and welcoming, so I felt safe to explore Mary. It’s been cool to peel back her vulnerabilities in some episodes. She feels comfortable around John. They can be vulnerable together. Mary has so many layers. Whenever you are talking about business and going hunting, she has that hard shell on. If people ask her questions, maybe she will start peeling back. John and Mary’s romance has been awesome, too. In all the episodes, there has been so much foreshadowing. We are giving context to what happens in the canon. It’s been cool exploring that and giving fans Easter eggs here and there.
The season finale had plenty of loose ends to tie up. What kind of closure does Mary get with Samuel? Do you feel they came to an understanding?
Yeah, I definitely think so. Her whole life, Samuel had one path for her. He wants her to leave hunting because that’s what she wants to do. In this last episode, he starts trying to dictate what she does now. “You have to go to college.” But the whole point is Mary is like, “I want to choose my own future. I don’t want you coming in between anything.” They come to an understanding, especially when everything happens. They get their closure. Samuel goes off and does his thing, and Mary goes off to do her thing. At least they know where each other are now.
There is a moment when Joan, aka the Akrida Queen, tells Mary that they are a lot alike. How did that declaration sit with Mary?
That is one of Mary’s fears. That is why she had a hard shell on. Especially with Mary’s past. She could easily go down a dark road because she has seen so many awful things. Life is so unfair. So many of her loved ones have died. Joan is a path Mary could easily go down, and Joan knows that. When Joan was talking to Mary, she knew how to push Mary and knew how to turn the knife. That scared Mary, but obviously, she didn’t want Joan to see that.
What were your thoughts on Dean Winchester fitting so prominently into this episode?
It was wild, especially doing a scene with Jensen Ackles. Whenever he did his takes, it felt like we were watching Supernatural. It was crazy that we were in scenes with him. And having so many cameos in Episode 13 was surreal. Working with Jensen was cool because since he is an executive producer, too, he was giving us notes and was also in scenes with us. It was amazing to watch his brain work. Even with the writing, he would go off script sometimes because he knows Dean so well. He would know exactly what to do and what the fans would want to hear. The scene where he comes over and is talking to John and Mary was so crazy. I don’t even have words.
How gobsmacked were you that Jack and Bobby were also along for the ride?
Filming with them was incredible because they are so nice. It is weird for us being in a scene with them. Again, it feels like we were watching Supernatural. It was funny for our characters not to know who these people are at all. It was very surprising. When we read the script, we were like, “People are going to freak out.” We were so excited.
The finale features some iconic Supernatural artifacts. How was it getting behind the wheel of the Impala?
Oh my God. It was so scary. I just got my license recently. They were like, ”You are going to be driving Baby. You are going to have three people in the car, and you are going to have to turn this corner and step on the gas.” The first time I was actually driving was in Baby. I was freaking out.
But it went so well. Even when I had to drive by myself, I had to turn corners and drive really fast. There were cameras on motorcycles going around the cars. There was a lot happening. Jensen gave me advice the day before. He was like, “When you are driving Baby, it’s a lot lower than you think. The number of times I hit my head on the side of the car door…” We were doing a scene where we were all getting in the car, and I hit my head on the door. It hurt so bad. My head was swollen. Jensen was like, “What was the first advice that I gave you?” It was so surreal. The car is so cool. Drake Rodger was very jealous [that] he didn’t get to drive it, so that was hilarious to tease him about that.
It was do-or-die time for Mary. What was going through her head as she was speeding towards the Queen?
Once Mary goes through that portal, she has no idea what is going to happen. She is assuming she is ultimately sacrificing herself to save everybody. As she is driving the car to the portal, she is coming to terms with, “If I die, at least I saved everybody.” That was fun to shoot. It was at night. It was dramatic and like, “I am going to die. This is it.” That was fun to film, and everyone thinks that happens until she comes back with Dean. Also, sitting in the car with Jensen before we had to go out was crazy in itself.
Dean passes along a weapon rooted in Supernatural mythology. What was your reaction to the Colt being introduced?
It was crazy, especially the line where Dean says, “If you ever get a whiff of that son-of-a-bitch, yellow-eyed demon, use this.” Mary is looking at him like, “What the hell are you saying right now? What are you talking about?” It was fun to play.
The finale almost saw Mary and John go their separate ways before committing to this road trip. Where do you feel they stand now as a couple and as hunters?
The plan, for now, is Mary doesn’t want to hunt anymore, but John does. They are moving away together. Mary will get a job, and John will hunt at night. They want the perfect ending that Dean wants for them. Do I think that actually ends up happening? I don’t think so. Whatever place Mary and John are in, it’s fate. But for Mary, at least right now, she’s like, “We saved the world. I’m done with hunting and losing people.” She is done with hunting.
Looking ahead, if the series gets picked up for another season, what is on your bucket list for Mary?
I want Mary to have her happy ending. I think Mary gets back into hunting, somehow. I don’t think she can be forced into it. It has to be on her terms. Once you are in the hunting world and you see the news where something doesn’t add up, you can’t turn that part of your brain off. Once you are a hunter, you are always a hunter. She is always going to see things that are unexplainable. She has to go back into it. I am curious to see what that means for Mary and John.
Even though the episode wraps up, there are so many questions that need to be answered. And even though Dean came into this universe and tried to create a happy ending for his parents, what else did that mess up? Even Jack and Bobby were saying, “You should not have done this.” So, what does that mean? It would be interesting to figure out.
Dean alluded to the yellow-eyed demon. In another universe, Mary is destined to die at his hands. How much would you like them to start touching on that complicated detail?
That would be really awesome. I would love to talk more about the yellow-eyed demon and whether Mary has contact with it or learns more about him because Dean told her about it… and whether or not that prevents it from happening. I hope so.
