Ever sinceJared PadaleckiandJensen Acklesrounded out their 15 years onSupernaturalback in 2020, fans have been waiting for the band to get back together. With Ackles continuing theSupernaturalsaga via his prequelThe Winchesters, not to mention reuniting withEric KripkeforThe Boys, many hoped that Padalecki would do the same. But sinceSupernaturalended,Jared Padalecki has been busyhelming a CW series of his own,Walker. This reimagining of theChuck Norrisclassic,Walker, Texas Ranger, is a good time, but it was in for a wild ride when Jensen Ackles returned to support his former co-star. DuringWalker’s impressive second season, that’s exactly what happened. The episode “No Such Thing as Fair Play” brought this dynamic duo back together for more, with Ackles returning to the director’s chair to help bring this Cordell Walker story to life.
A widowed father returns to Austin after one year, attempting to reconnect with his children, navigate clashes with his family, and find common ground with his new partner, while growing increasingly suspicious of his wife’s death.
“No Such Thing as Fair Play” Was Jensen Ackles' ‘Walker’ Debut
Following a shocking season finale,Walkerintroduced the Davidson family,the McCoys to the Walker’s family’s Hatfields. In the middle of dealing with land disputes, aggressive family rivalries, and a mystery surrounding a burned barn and a dead body,Walkertook a break from some of those theatrics with the episode, “No Such Thing as Fair Play,” which took Cordell Walker (Padalecki) and his family to Austin’s annual Ranger Fair for a nice reprieve. Only, as usual, things don’t stay nice when Walker’s new partner Cassie (Ashley Reyes) spots an unfriendly, familiar face, and Geri (Odette Annable) deals with the revelation that she’s a Davidson herself.
But it’s Jensen Ackles' part in the episode that was the most notable, returning to the director’s chair for the first time in three years. Prior to directing thisWalkerepisode,Ackles helmed six episodes ofSupernaturalspanning from Season 6’s fan favorite “Weekend at Bobby’s” to Season 15’s “Atomic Monsters” in 2019. But this 2022Walkerepisode pushed the actor back into directing, and, boy, does he do an impressive job. Just likehisSupernaturalepisodes, thisWalkerepisode thrives on its attention to detail and in Jared Padalecki’s performance.
“It was fun to get back into the shorthand with him with performance notes, with technical notes,” Ackles toldEntertainment Weekly. “I can even use a reference to a movie, and he knows that I’m actually giving him a note. There’s nobody else I can do that with. He and I have that, and we’ll always have that.” The actor-turned-director also noted thathe believes that Cordell Walker is a lot more like Jared Padalecki than Sam Winchester ever was. “Not necessarily in actual character development, but just in mannerisms and reactionary things,” Ackles explained. Understanding who Padalecki is as a person and an actor no doubt assisted Ackles in directing this character, who he didn’t know nearly as well as he knew Sam Winchester. Unsurprisingly, the results speak for themselves.
Ackles also played a part in the episode, even if it was just a small one. Sadly, we didn’t get to see him and Padalecki on screen together again this time around (though maybe one day), but Ackles did cameo at the very end of the episode as a stand-in for Cassie’s ex-partner Miles (later played byMustafa Elzein). “That’s my M. Night Shyamalan,” theSupernaturalstar joked, noting that true fans would still recognize him even masked in shadow. But originally,Ackles was offered a different part when theWalkercrew first reached outasking him to consider directing an episode. Had things gone differently, Ackles would’ve played Fenton Cole.
Ackles admitted laterthat the character was too big of a role for him. “If it’sSupernaturalit’s one thing, I know that character backwards and forwards, but creating a new character onscreen while also trying to direct might be a taller order than I’m willing to do.” Instead, the newWalkerdirector chose to cast Austin-based actorJosh Hopkinsin the role after working together previously on the infamous Western film,Rust. “He and I worked together onRust,” Ackles explained, noting that Hopkins had moved to Austin at the time as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.After what happened on theRustset, Ackles drove back to Texas, with Hopkins accompanying him. “So I called Josh and he was like, ‘Yeah man I’ll come play with you.'”
If ‘Supernatural’ Comes Back, We Need This Character Back, Too!
If ‘Supernatural’ returns from the dead, there’s one character we need revived. And, no, we’re not talking about Dean.
The Rock Band Kansas Reunited With Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles for This ‘Walker’ Episode
Of course,Jensen Ackles’ directing slot isn’t the only thing thatSupernaturalfans will recognize in thisWalkerepisode. Perhaps the biggest surprise in “No Such Thing as Fair Play” is that the classic rock bandKansasmade an appearance at the Texas Ranger’s Fair, complete with a concert performance of “Carry On Wayward Son.” That might not sound all that exciting to casualWalkerfans, but toSupernaturalfans, that’s almost as good as Jared Padalecki being back in the show’s trademark ‘67 Chevy Impala. Asthe official unofficial theme song ofSupernaturalfrom the very first season (played in nearly every finale), this Kansas anthem is a great callback to Padalecki and Ackles’ previous show. But that’s not all it is.
WhenSupernaturalwas filming its series finale,“Carry On,“back in 2020,the original plan for the endingwas that the show would conclude in Heaven with all of Sam and Dean Winchester’s friends and family at an otherworldly Kansas concert, with the band appearing for the first time on-screen to send off the show. Unfortunately,as a result of the pandemic, that’s now what happened. “I didn’t know this, but they were literally at the airport and some of them were getting on a plane to come to Vancouver when they got called and told, ‘Sorry, COVID, we’re shutting down,'” Ackles told EW concerning theSupernaturalfinale. “So that’s how close we were to having that experience with them.”
But even after that massive disappointment,Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, and Kansas were able to reunite to close that chapter. Ackles explained that after finding out Kansas was actually going to be playing in Austin, they did everything they could to make the band’sWalkerappearance happen. In the final episode, theWalkercast attends the concert together, with almost all of them singing at the top of their lungs. “The fact that we got to do that in any capacity felt likewegot to scratch an itch that needed to be scratched,” Ackles concluded.
‘Supernatural’ Easter Eggs and Reunions Can Be Found All Throughout ‘Walker’
In “No Such Thing as Fair Play,“SupernaturalEaster eggs are abound. Jensen Ackles’ return as director and the appearance of Kansas are only the tip of the iceberg that includes a prominently displayed plate of bacon, a familiar green cooler full of Larklair Tejas beers, and “The Novak Memorial Auditorium” (Jimmy Novak beingMisha Collins' Castiel’s human vessel) all harken back to their original television series. Even the song “All My Livin’ Time” by Radio Company is a sly Jensen Ackles reference, given it’s Ackles' own band.Walkermakes references toSupernaturalthroughout its run, displaying “Winchester Auto” on Walker’s phone and Captain James (Coby Bell) calling our titular Texas Ranger “a moose of a man.”
Of course, these aren’t the onlySupernaturalreferences or reunions that can be found throughoutWalker’s first three seasons. Jared Padalecki’s wife,Genevieve Padalecki, who played the demon Ruby duringSupernatural’s fourth season,also recurs as Cordell’s deceased wife, Emily. FormerX-FilesstarMitch Pileggionce played Sam and Dean Winchester’s grandfather, Samuel, during the fourth and sixth seasons ofSupernatural, andJake Abel,a recurring cast member inWalkerSeason 3, originally played alongside Padalecki and Ackles onSupernaturalas Sam and Dean’s half-brother Adam (and Michael the Archangel). And let’s not forget thatColin Ford, who played a younger Corporal Cordell Walker throughout the show’s third season, originally played a young Sam Winchesterduring the early seasons ofSupernatural.
For Padalecki, it looks likeWalkerwill continue to go strong. Despite the failed attempt at a prequel series withWalker: Independence, the series was renewed for a fourth season. But even withWalkerbeing his primary focus these days,the formerSupernaturalstar has expressed interest in reuniting with his old creative partners, bothforThe Boysand eventuallyfor a potentialSupernaturalrevival. Who knows, now thatBig Skyhas been cancelled, maybe Ackles will make his way back to Texas again for seconds.
Walkerairs Wednesday nights on the CW and can be streamed on Max.
