Supernatural Showrunner on Sam's New Guardian Angel

Supernatural's Season 9 premiere more than lived up to the hype (and it has the ratings to prove it). In order to save  Sam (Jared Padalecki), his brother Dean (Jensen Ackles) enlisted the help of the angel Ezekiel (Tahmoh Penikett) to secretly possess Sam and act as, what showrunner Jeremy Carver calls, "an angelic pacemaker."

But before Dean approved Ezekiel using Sam as a vessel, Castiel (Misha Collins) had given the angel his seal of approval. But coming from the guy who was Metatron's right-hand man, should Ezekiel really be trusted with our Moose? "I think you're going to see [in Tuesday's episode] truer, more indications, perhaps, of Ezekiel's character," Carver tells TVGuide.com. "The trust and everything we saw in Tahmoh when he was playing him, I think we have no reason not to believe this guy."

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While that's a relief, as long as Ezekiel's sticking around, things are going to be more than complicated for the brothers. Though Carver refused to say how long before Sam learns the truth, he did reveal Ezekiel won't always abide by Dean's order to stay hidden. "That's something that we really can't wait for the fans to see for themselves. You have to start to imagine situations where this angel could possibly come out," Carver says.

In addition to keeping the secret of Sam's possession, Dean will also be burdened with the knowledge that his brother really and truly was ready to die. "He might not have the emotional response that we're expecting for this until a bit later on," Carver says, adding that Sam's decision is symptomatic of a larger rift between the pair. "It goes to the root of how these brothers are maturing and how they're relating to each other and how they're maybe looking at this hunting life a bit differently than each other in these later years," he explains.

While these differences and Dean's secret will cause ample complications for the brothers, their bond was seemingly stronger than ever after choosing each other over closing the gates of Hell in the Season 8 finale.  So though we may never again see the happy-go-lucky bromance of Supernatural's early seasons, Carver assures the Winchesters' bond is one that can never be broken. "They're brothers and at least in my mind that's something unshakeable ... I feel like no matter what transpires in the present, there's always this common bond of the past," Carver says. "I feel like the moments of joking or joy or togetherness are as ever-present as the moments of secrecy and disdain and distrust. To me it goes hand in hand. Its not quite either or."

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And with Castiel off exploring life as a human and Dean struggling to keep the truth from Sam, the eldest Winchester will be looking to a surprising new confidant. "[Dean's] isolated in the sense of who can he talk to about this and that list is very, very short. And so I think there's a certain feeling of isolation, but there's also a feeling of great burden upon him," Carver says. "In a crazy sort of way, the one person he's able to talk about this with might just be the angel who's possessing Sam."

What do you think of Dean and Ezekiel growing close? (Or should we call them Deakiel?)

Supernatural airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW.

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