Being someone who’s been on board with Supernatural ever since the pilot episode aired, one thing I’ve learned about the long-running horror series is that death doesn’t mean a permanent end. Really, in a world where ghosts, monsters and a variety of gods exist, there’s no shortage of ways to bring back characters that fans have come to love. In fact, Jim Beaver’s Bobby Singer has been one of the best examples, having appeared as both a ghost and in a coma dream.
Actually, the series has opened up a myriad of new possibilities in recent memory, what with its exploration of alternate universes. Primarily, “Apocalypse World,” a place where Sam and Dean Winchester were never born and therefore unable to avert the end of the world, has been a frequent destination of late.
Of course, this provided a natural way to bring back Bobby, albeit with some notable differences. You see, he’s a bit more grizzled and hardened by war, yet is still a force for good. And aside from soon being introduced to a different take on Zachariah, we should expect to see more of alt-Bobby in this week’s episode.
In a recent chat with Variety, Beaver was willing to discuss the differences between Bobbys:
“This Bobby, for one thing — at least so far — isn’t as fun as real-world Bobby. And it’s because he doesn’t have Sam and Dean to bounce off of [and] he doesn’t have Rufus to bounce off of. So far, he’s a deadly serious man in a deadly serious world with very little room for lightheartedness or banter. Those were qualities I really enjoyed with Bobby — not that I don’t enjoy playing the tough heart — but one of the joys was always the banter with the boys. Without the relationship, and of course without having been there in the same universe, it’s a different piece of the character.”
But even with all the crap hitting the fan in his universe, don’t expect for this Bobby to head for greener pastures. Instead, he’s said to feel bound by duty, even if Beaver has other hopes for the character:
“He says in this upcoming episode that he feels a large responsibility to the people there. This is just selfish Jim [but] I’d be delighted if they found a workaround for that. Frankly, I think anybody who exists in this horrible alternate universe would welcome the opportunity to be transported to one a little less bleak. But he does feel like he’s one of the few people where he lives who knows how to do what he does.”
Supernatural returns with new episodes this Thursday on The CW.