Spoilers With Speculation

[catrox14]

15 minutes ago, DittyDotDot said:

Except Cass is probably being detained in Heaven... .

I can't imagine him being there the rest of the season.  I would expect he would sense her being changed in someway given he can feel someone's pain and suffering especially Claire's, unless he's being reprogrammed.

[rue721]

It seems like the BMOL storyline is ALWAYS about who is in the BMOL and who's not. It's like a super macho, violent, humorless version of Gossip Girl, with all this focus on who's "in" and who's "out." (Ketch is Blair Waldorf, of course. Mary is Jenny Humphrey).

I would prefer it if they shifted the storyline's focus to stuff more related to monster hunting.

52 minutes ago, DittyDotDot said:

I just assumed they'd find a solution which would show the Brits that you don't need to kill EVERYTHING, sometimes you can save them.

I think Claire's the type to martyr herself, though, too.

[catrox14]

45 minutes ago, rue721 said:

It seems like the BMOL storyline is ALWAYS about who is in the BMOL and who's not. It's like a super macho, violent, humorless version of Gossip Girl, with all this focus on who's "in" and who's "out." (Ketch is Blair Waldorf, of course. Mary is Jenny Humphrey).

I wish they would just go away back to the UK 

.I'm okay with the idea that that an organization exists that does things their way and TFW does it their way and neither have to be EVOL nor do they have to work together.

But then I think, what's the point of the BMOL if they are not EVOL or the Old Men are not EVOL. ( other than setting up a spinoff which I would not be surprised).

I don't really like the whole cliched OH BRITISH ARE EVOL. If they are EVOL then it makes Sam and Mary look really stupid for joining them unless we get some kind of hint they have been playing a long game. But if they are evil just wipe them out which is another dumb cliche of EVOL BRITS MUST BE KILLED BY GOOD 'MURRICANS. ( And I am as jingoistic as the next person when it comes to the Olympics or the World Baseball Classic - USA USA USA! )

I'm also not particularly interested in Sam and Dean showing them the error of their ways, with redemption arcs for them, particularly Mr Ketch and Lady Deadeyes because NO. 
 

Edited March 21, 2017 by catrox14

[7kstar]

Everything I'm seeing right now is depressing as HELL.  I'm tired of BMoL.  It could have been interesting but unless they come up with something new and exciting, it's a bore and let's move on.

Lucifer...boring and I don't even care about his brat.

Just say NO to killing anymore Characters, it's dull.

Funny I missed last weeks ep, and I'm not going oh dear I must watch, not a good sign.  I can handle the boys being apart as long as they do something interesting.  So go get creative...please.  If I ask nicely will they comply????

[trxr4kids]

7 hours ago, Wayward Son said:

It's a boy

So obvious name choice, Damien. I got nothing else.

 

7 hours ago, SueB said:

I can't oblige.

But....it's not fair! You can't see me but I'm totally pouting right now. ; )

[catrox14]

1 hour ago, trxr4kids said:

So obvious name choice, Damien. I got nothing else.

I'm gonna be so pissed if they go with Damien.  I hope its a really modern name like Justin or  Cameron. JUSTIN THE DEVIL'S SPAWN

[Myrelle]

Quote

I don't want Claire to die to prove a point to the boys.

The brothers don't have or know of a cure for werewolves yet, though. I'm betting that the Brits do, and thus will begin their "redemption", at least according to Dabb and Singer, anyway. And something similar with vampires made the Campbells storyline noteworthy to some, so there's that, too.

[RulerofallIsurvey]

On 3/20/2017 at 8:13 PM, catrox14 said:

Killing Claire would put Cas on a path to go after the BMOL.

I think that would be pretty interesting - and give Cas a strong storyline.  He could be all bad-ass and smiting again.  ::sigh:: Too bad it won't happen.  

[MysteryGuest]

I'm all for Cas getting his groove back, but I really don't want them to kill off Claire.  She may not be my favorite character, but I'm really tired of them always killing someone off.  I hope they can be a bit more creative than that.  

I really hate hiatuses...I wouldn't think they would help the ratings much, either.

Edited March 22, 2017 by MysteryGuest

[catrox14]

8 minutes ago, MysteryGuest said:

I'm all for Cas getting his groove back, but I really don't want them to kill of Claire.  She may not be my favorite character, but I'm really tired of them always killing someone off.  I hope they can be a bit more creative than that.  

I really hate hiatuses...I wouldn't think they would help the ratings much, either.

I was thinking earlier even Claire being turned into a werewolf might send Cas on that vengeance quest anyway.

[RulerofallIsurvey]

Oh, I don't want Claire getting killed off either.  And not just because I'm tired of people getting killed off to further the plot line.  (RIP Wally.)  I actually like Claire in small doses.

Not sure just the werewolf angle would be enough to send Cas on a vengeance quest.  Unless she was forced to go on the run/into hiding because the BMoL were relentlessly after her and he had to come to her defense.  (Assuming he wasn't still stuck in Heaven.)  But maybe that's what you meant.  :)

[catrox14]

Just now, RulerofallIsurvey said:

Oh, I don't want Claire getting killed off either.  And not just because I'm tired of people getting killed off to further the plot line.  (RIP Wally.)  I actually like Claire in small doses.

Not sure just the werewolf angle would be enough to send Cas on a vengeance quest.  Unless she was forced to go on the run/into hiding because the BMoL were relentlessly after her and he had to come to her defense.  (Assuming he wasn't still stuck in Heaven.)  But maybe that's what you meant.  :)

That works, too.

[MysteryGuest]

I have to say that I honestly don't have a clue how they're going to wrap this season up.  It just seems like they have way too many loose ends on storylines that aren't even all that interesting to begin with.  The BMOL has turned into a big negative for me, now that Sam and Dean are seemingly working with them.  Mary's storyline started out intriguingly, but has gone downhill from the very first episode.  As much as I'd like Castiel to be welcomed back to Heaven, I don't really have much interest in the other angels...they've proven to be pretty boring over the years.  And I truly loathe the Lucifer and his spawn storyline, so that really doesn't leave me with much to look forward to.  

I'm going to assume that at least one, if not more, of the plot lines will carry over to next season, but I'd be hard pressed to pick one I'd really like to see more of.  I suppose they could have some fantastical plot twists coming up in the remaining episodes, but the writing we've seen so far doesn't really fill me with confidence.  

I can't help but look at this season as a lost opportunity.  They could have done just about anything, but they took the lazy way out instead.  But worse than that, at least for me, they've ruined the simple monster hunt that we used to enjoy by introducing these killing machines.  

[SueB]

Based on this IRL equivalent of "BouncingBabyNamesDotCom" we've got a Jackson, Aiden, Lucas, or Liam in our future.

[AwesomO4000]

For some reason, I want him to be called Ralph. Or something equally innocuous.

(My first thought was Bob, but since we already had Bobby...)

1 hour ago, SueB said:

Based on this IRL equivalent of "BouncingBabyNamesDotCom" we've got a Jackson, Aiden, Lucas, or Liam in our future.

Lucas would make sense, since it's similar to Lucifer.

[DittyDotDot]

8 hours ago, AwesomO4000 said:

For some reason, I want him to be called Ralph. Or something equally innocuous.

"I will call him George. And I will hug him and kiss him and ..." ;)

Edited March 22, 2017 by DittyDotDot

[AwesomO4000]

Hee @DittyDotDot - The same thing actually crossed my mind!

(My cat was named George - exactly because of that cartoon.)

[SueB]

I freakin LOVE THAT CARTOON.  it's been etched into my psyche since I was young.  

[RulerofallIsurvey]

10 hours ago, SueB said:

Based on this IRL equivalent of "BouncingBabyNamesDotCom" we've got a Jackson, Aiden, Lucas, or Liam in our future.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think it would be funny if he were named Michael?  (And it's #13 on the list!  Lol.)

[ILoveReading]

I'm less concerned with Claire's fate than I am of Dean being made to apologize to the British Men of Letters for not trusting them. 

I saw a tweet from the actor that plays Ketch that he would be lurking in the shadows.   I can see them "curing" Claire to get Dean on board, and then Ketch coming in to clean up since it wasn't a real cure.

I don't want Dean to lose his instincts.  

As for my speculation on the rest of the season, they named 4 yellow eyed demons.  Two are dead, we know Dagon is with Kelly Kline, so that leaves Asmodeus (sp?)  I think we're going to find he's one of the Old Men running the brits and he wants Sam for some reason.  (I think this is the shocker we'll get in ep 21).  Then the last two eps will be about Sam trying to get out of his predicament, and he ends up killing the last two yellow eyed demons and is left in some kind of peril for the cliffhanger.

Kelly has her baby, and Lucifer Jr, rapidly ages over the hiatus and grows up to look exactly like Mark Pellegrino.   Then next season is just a combination of s5 and 11 with Sam and Lucifer Jr having some kind of connection, ala Dean/Amara.

Dean locks himself in a bathroom stall  (Kidding  but not really)

Edited March 22, 2017 by ILoveReading

[auntvi]

7 hours ago, ILoveReading said:

Two are dead, we know Dagon is with Kelly Kline, so that leaves Asmodeus (sp?)  I think we're going to find he's one of the Old Men running the brits and he wants Sam for some reason.  (I think this is the shocker we'll get in ep 21). 

That would be a much more interesting way to end the season. Oohh! Maybe Lady Tight Pants is a witch or demon who's close to Asmodeus and the other old men. I'd love to see her go down at sam's hands. 

[Aeryn13]

Quote

Two are dead, we know Dagon is with Kelly Kline, so that leaves Asmodeus (sp?)  I think we're going to find he's one of the Old Men running the brits and he wants Sam for some reason.  (I think this is the shocker we'll get in ep 21).  Then the last two eps will be about Sam trying to get out of his predicament, and he ends up killing the last two yellow eyed demons and is left in some kind of peril for the cliffhanger.

It is certainly not implausible but I very much hope not as I hate everything about it.

[mertensia]

20 hours ago, MysteryGuest said:

 

I really hate hiatuses...I wouldn't think they would help the ratings much, either.

It's March Madness. Hiatus is written in stone. Especially this year with no Syracuse and Villanova going down (go Badgers!). 

[ILoveReading]

3 minutes ago, Aeryn13 said:

It is certainly not implausible but I very much hope not as I hate everything about it.

I'm hoping they don't go down that road either, TBH.   And that they are actually able to surprise us.

[Geordiegirl1967]

22 hours ago, MysteryGuest said:

I have to say that I honestly don't have a clue how they're going to wrap this season up.  It just seems like they have way too many loose ends on storylines that aren't even all that interesting to begin with.  The BMOL has turned into a big negative for me, now that Sam and Dean are seemingly working with them.  Mary's storyline started out intriguingly, but has gone downhill from the very first episode.  As much as I'd like Castiel to be welcomed back to Heaven, I don't really have much interest in the other angels...they've proven to be pretty boring over the years.  And I truly loathe the Lucifer and his spawn storyline, so that really doesn't leave me with much to look forward to.  

I'm going to assume that at least one, if not more, of the plot lines will carry over to next season, but I'd be hard pressed to pick one I'd really like to see more of.  I suppose they could have some fantastical plot twists coming up in the remaining episodes, but the writing we've seen so far doesn't really fill me with confidence.  

I can't help but look at this season as a lost opportunity.  They could have done just about anything, but they took the lazy way out instead.  But worse than that, at least for me, they've ruined the simple monster hunt that we used to enjoy by introducing these killing machines.  

I have to agree. For me the biggest fail this season has been the total and unforgivable lack of writing attention that Dabb et al have paid to the relationship between Dean and Sam. They have just taken it for granted and have missed some glaringly obvious opportunities to elicit genuine emotion from certain scenes - instead just going for a paint by numbers approach that has left me totally cold.

But I share your other issues with the storylines;

Mary - what are they doing with her? They have made her so unlikeable. Why?

BMoL - again no clue what they are doing here but it is a misstep. If they are as efficient as they claim, and the UK is genuinely monster free, that undermines Sam and Dean, and every other US hunter's life work. The message is 'your way of working is not effective and it is getting people killed'. Given that we have invested 12 years in these characters struggles it is a bit galling to be told there is another set of people just a plane ride away who could have stopped the apocalypse, put Lucifer back in his cage, defeated the Leviathans etc - but couldn't be bothered. But having set them up to be amazeballs they are suddenly incompetent? Huh? I do not know where they are going with it at all. I suspect they'll turn out to be untrustworthy, but why? Because they have killed a few extra monsters / people than Sam and Dean would've? You can argue tactics but if their end result is a monster free country where no one has been killed by supernatural means for decades that's a price I'd pay and I'd think they would. How arrogant do you have to be to turn that down on behalf of all the future people whose lives would be saved by it? Which is why I don't see a credible outcome for this story unless their version of the UK situation is a lie (though as D&S could easily check whether the UK is really monster free that would also take some believing). The BMoL also frustrates me because it is being used as a tool to split the brothers. The way they have done it one of them, probably Sam if past stories are anything to go by, will turn out to be wrong about the BMoL. But why couldn't they have been shown as a united front? Why make one of them have good instincts and one be a gullible fool? Sam is right based on what they currently know, to be willing to work with them. Dean has no credible logical reason not to at least use them for what they can get/learn. But we are no doubt leading up to yet another 'Dean has infallible instincts even when he has no reason to believe what he does, while Sam is a credulous fool even though his position is perfectly logical based on the facts' situation. After Lilith (was NEVER clear why Dean didn't want to kill her), Ruby, not looking for Dean in Purgatory, Amy, and innumerable other examples I am ready for some balance on this front. But I doubt we will get it. 

(as an aside and as a Brit, I find it quite a funny contrast of the US and British / European culture where we believe something paid for by all and centrally organised along clear sets of rules works better than a bunch of armed mavericks insisting on doing it their own way and working individually...but thats OT)

Cas and heaven? Really? Again? The writers ran out of ideas for Cas in about s7. Nothing they do with him now interests me though I like him as a character.

The we have the Lucifer story..............Yawn...........I am soooooo over him. He is not scary anymore and I want him gone.

My speculation (as that is what this thread is for) is that the main story we will see carried over to next season is the 'Nephalim and Lucifer as the big bad tag team'. I think this is why Mark P has been signed up on a more regular footing. I think they will close off the BMoL story though maybe with S&D getting some cool new toys. I don't think they will kill off Mary but I think she will maybe go back to England with the MoL or be sent to run a group of hunters in Canada or Mexico with the occasional visit. The only alternative to that is her moving into the bunker and they won't do that as it would mess up the key dynamics of the show i.e. Dean and Sam living and travelling and hunting together just the 2 of them (mostly).

[MysteryGuest]

25 minutes ago, Geordiegirl1967 said:

My speculation (as that is what this thread is for) is that the main story we will see carried over to next season is the 'Nephalim and Lucifer as the big bad tag team'. I think this is why Mark P has been signed up on a more regular footing.

I am fearful that you are correct in your assumptions, though I'm holding out hope that they've given Mark the "regular" status for this half of the season as a thank you for his years of playing Lucifer, because they are officially locking him back up this season, and throwing away the key.  I'm going to cling to this shred of hope until I know for a fact that he's going to be back next season.  Honestly, if Dabb makes Lucifer the big bad for this season and for next, I'll be so disappointed in this show. 

[Geordiegirl1967]

24 minutes ago, MysteryGuest said:

Honestly, if Dabb makes Lucifer the big bad for this season and for next, I'll be so disappointed in this show.

Me too! I was incensed when Cas freed him last year. Partly because it was a beyond idiotic decision that did huge damage to Cas's character. Cas is naive yes, but he is not stupid. But mainly because it negated 5 years of build up, and all the enormous effort and sacrifice from Dean and Sam to do what should have been impossible; defeat the Devil himself, avert a long prophesied apocalypse against the assembled forces of demon and angel kind.

We are then told in s11 'oh all you need to set Luci free is a spell. Forget all that nonsense about seals and the 4 horsemen and all the rest. You just need a powerful witch and a spell'. Makes you wonder why Azazel and Lilith bothered with all that rubbish of raising a generation of psych kids, plotting the most elaborate (risky and ludicrous but don't get me started) long con with Ruby/Lilith on Sam, breaking demons out of hell, getting John (and then Dean) into hell, breaking all those pesky seals etc. They could have just given Rowena a ring and asked her to help out. Job done. So yes...fair to say that p****d me off royally. 

And then apparently all they ever needed to get Lucifer back in his cage was a fancy egg gizmo that some fellow supernatural fighters over the pond had gathering dust on a shelf. Shame they didn't think to let Sam and Dean (who they were watching apparently) have this fancy device given that if Dean and Sam failed all of humankind including the BMoL would have been annihilated. Must have slipped their mind.

Sorry - the whole Luci thing touches a big nerve with me because it undercuts so much of the incredible back story of the boys and undermines their achievements and our emotional involvement in it. And it was just done because they ran out of ideas for a story. It is lazy writing. They could still have had the story of Sam being tricked by Luci re the visions, and him going into the Cage and Dean and Cas rescuing him. But the Cas as Luci thing was pathetic and the rest of the season and the finale could have gone down the same more or less without Luci ever having got out.

Edited March 23, 2017 by Geordiegirl1967

[auntvi]

Maybe something good coming in ep.22.

From Kim Rhodes' twitter:

Quote

 

ΞXΓЯΞMΞ ҜIM‏Verified account @kimrhodes4real 23h23 hours ago

Ima say this publicly, even though I will get in trouble: they let @robertberens out to play and IT. IS. AWESOME!!! #spn

 

From ibelieveinthelittletreetopper:

Quote

 

Episode 12x22  

Title:

Written by: Robert Berens 

Director:  Phil Sgriccia

Filming Dates: April 4 - April 13

Airdate: May 11

Castiel? Probably Crowley? Probably

Guest stars: Courtney Ford (Kelly Kline), Elizabeth Blackmore (Toni Bevell)

 

[ILoveReading]

Reading that tweet from Kim, the first thing that comes to my mind is that Claire dies and this episode will be a repeat of The Prisoner with Jody going after the British Men of Letters.

[Aeryn13]

I`m not sure. I think if Claire died, we wouldn`t have the "Mick tags along AGAIN" in episode 17. Not if she died because of BMOL interference. There would be bad blood there. Right now it looks more like Mick gets some kind of "redemption" story or something.

[ILoveReading]

2 minutes ago, Aeryn13 said:

I`m not sure. I think if Claire died, we wouldn`t have the "Mick tags along AGAIN" in episode 17. Not if she died because of BMOL interference. There would be bad blood there. Right now it looks more like Mick gets some kind of "redemption" story or something.

It's possible that its another Magda situation, and they don't know the Brits killed Claire.  They might have given the Winchesters a fake cure and then "cleaned up" after they left.

[SueB]

Kim wouldn't be thrilled about Claire dying.  No way.  But Kim also wouldn't have a copy of the script for 11.22.  UNLESS, it's a big Sam Smith episode and Kim and Sam (who are buds) have talked or Kim is in it. I'm going to guess, it's the former (big Sam Smith episode -- and GOOD for Mary).  That's my guess.

[DittyDotDot]

Quote

 

ΞXΓЯΞMΞ ҜIM‏Verified account @kimrhodes4real 23h23 hours ago

Ima say this publicly, even though I will get in trouble: they let @robertberens out to play and IT. IS. AWESOME!!! #spn

 

This sounds awesome. 

What if it's not that Claire dies, but she starts working with the BMoL on the boys' recommendation and perhaps Jodi isn't too keen on the idea?

[catrox14]

1 hour ago, auntvi said:

Maybe something good coming in ep.22.

From Kim Rhodes' twitter:

From ibelieveinthelittletreetopper:

There was a time, back in s10, when a Robert Berens penned script would excite me, but his most recent  few episodes leave me skeptical.

1 hour ago, SueB said:

Kim wouldn't be thrilled about Claire dying.  No way.  But Kim also wouldn't have a copy of the script for 11.22.  UNLESS, it's a big Sam Smith episode and Kim and Sam (who are buds) have talked or Kim is in it. I'm going to guess, it's the former (big Sam Smith episode -- and GOOD for Mary).  That's my guess.

I have to say, I'm not keen on a big Mary episode as  the penultimate episode if s12 unless it highly focuses on  the boys too. Sorry I'm skeptical. I have the bad taste of We Happy Few in my mouth.

[catrox14]

Huh, this is an interesting tweet from a pap in Vancouver

[auntvi]

How does "Ken" know this? Is it a joke or a dig?

[catrox14]

5 minutes ago, auntvi said:

How does "Ken" know this? Is it a joke or a dig?

If you read through Ken's TL, he knows A LOT stuff about a lot of the shows. His tidbits about Arrow are fairly accurate.  I don't think it's a joke or a dig. I think he's saying they don't work nearly as much as they used to. 

[Res]

1 hour ago, catrox14 said:

If you read through Ken's TL, he knows A LOT stuff about a lot of the shows. His tidbits about Arrow are fairly accurate.  I don't think it's a joke or a dig. I think he's saying they don't work nearly as much as they used to. 

Or he's just referring to how much they goof off while they are waiting to work, blooper stuff, so it's like they never work because they are always having so much fun.

[catrox14]

5 minutes ago, Res said:

Or he's just referring to how much they goof off while they are waiting to work, blooper stuff, so it's like they never work because they are always having so much fun.

I don't think so given the question was whether they were off today. They don't work on Friday and Mondays that much according to Mark and Misha, except for the occasional Fraturday. Jared tweeted about coming by to say hi at his bar in Austin tonight. 

[Res]

4 minutes ago, catrox14 said:

I don't think so given the question was whether they were off today. They don't work on Friday and Mondays that much according to Mark and Misha, except for the occasional Fraturday. Jared tweeted about coming by to say hi at his bar in Austin tonight. 

You're probably right. I am glad the guys are getting time with their families but it's really not giving me to be excited about regarding the show.

[catrox14]

Just now, Res said:

You're probably right. I am glad the guys are getting time with their families but it's really not giving me to be excited about regarding the show.

Sorry!

[catrox14]

I don't know when episode 12.20 wrapped filming but I wonder if this is the twins mother or older sister. Also DEAN IS WEARING HIS MURDER SHIRT OUTFIT LOL

According to IBelieveInTheLittleTreeTopper Spoilers sheet 12.20  should have wrapped on March 22, which is Wednesday so they should have been starting 12.21 Yesterday.

 

Edited March 25, 2017 by catrox14

[catrox14]

According the same spoiler sheet

Misha is due to speak at

Written by:  Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Lemming

Director:  PJ Pesce

Filming Dates: March 23 - April 3

Airdate: May 4

Castiel? Probably Crowley? Yes.

Guest stars:  Elizabeth Blackmore (Toni Bevell)

Other Spoilers/info (newest to oldest):

Misha is speaking at Western Washington University during filming (Friday, March 31)

According to a tweet from Jason Fisher, a big shocker is coming in this ep. (x)

So it's possible Misha films next week before the 31st.

[Res]

I LOVE the murder shirt!

[ILoveReading]

Just before IMDB shut down someone posted that Jared and Jensen were contracted for 97 days this season which is half the filming schedule.   So if they filmed for 5 days one ep, they have to have another ep where they only film 3 days. 

One day of filming equals approximately five minutes of screen time, so if the brothers have to be attached at the hip and we only see them for 20 minutes. or half an episode, it explains why we're getting so much focus on Lucifer and Cas and Crowley.

Take with a grain of salt because there was no source but given the way this season is playing out that sounds accurate. 

[SueB]

Sounds like we should just ask at a convention.  If no one does, I promise to ask in November (that's a long time a way), but I'll be getting that VIP pass if it kills me.  So, I'll get a shot to ask. Of course, it's an awkward question: "As the seasons progress, it seems natural that you're filming schedule would adjust from what it was in the early years to provide a little stability. Do you work out something to get a "routine" set of days you film so you can organize your time or do you work out number of days and just roll with a shifting schedule to fit in both home and work?"

How's that? Subtle enough?  Too intrusive? Opinions please.  Obviously I'm counting on them spilling more than a simple yes/no. 

Edited March 25, 2017 by SueB

[Wayward Son]

If that's true, at this rate, if J2 use future contract negotiations to get any more time Sam and Dean only MOTWs will be a thing of the past. One of Cas, Crowley, Lucifer, Rowena and Mary will have to appear in every episode to ensure J2 appear in all eps and still meet their half the schedule plus time off quota.

Edited March 25, 2017 by Wayward Son

[SueB]

1 minute ago, Wayward Son said:

If that's true, at this rate, if J2 use future contract negotiations to get any more time Sam and Dean only MOTWs will be a thing of the past. One of Cas, Crowley, Lucifer, Rowena and Mary will have to appear in every episode to ensure J2 appear in all eps and still meet their half the schedule plus time off quota.

I think the boys are at the the max time off IMO.  They still are in every episode a tremendous amount. It's different than most series.  But they get to keep family going and a family life.  Seems to me, it's a moderate balance.  There's some "seams" showing, no doubt. But I would be surprised if they pushed it further, based on show premise. 

[ILoveReading]

3 minutes ago, Wayward Son said:

If that's true, at this rate, if J2 use future contract negotiations to get any more time Sam and Dean only MOTWs will be a thing of the past. One of Cas, Crowley, Lucifer, Rowena and Mary will have to appear in every episode to ensure J2 appear in all eps and still meet their half the schedule plus time off quota.

That's why I think they should have had the brothers going their own way in this men of letters storyline.   The boys on separate hunts would give more Jensen or Jared throughout the episode.   I'm not saying it has to be every ep or multiple eps in a row.  They could still even showcase how in step the brothers are by having them show up at the same hunt on eps where they're not seperated.

I know some are opposed to this, but as it stands now, neither Sam or Dean really matter to any storyline. Sam's a little more attached then Dean is, but you at this point you could write either of them out and the season doesn't change.  Unless the writers can come up with a more creative solution but they don't seem strong enough to compensate for the leads time off. 

[Bessie]

I think there may be a larger obstacle to separating Sam and Dean than TPTB not wanting to alienate fans of the brothers' relationship and that's J2 themselves. @SueB probably has a better sense of this than I would, but I'm not so sure J2 would willingly go along with a significant portion of the season having the boys separated. 

Everything I've read indicates to me that part of the reason they've continued with the show for as long as they have is because they love doing it together. Take that away and they might decide they're done.