If you’re wondering what Wayward Sisters could look like as a spinoff and would like a glimpse at the possibilities for the potential series, look no further than the next episode of The CW series Supernatural, appropriately entitled “Wayward Sisters.” With Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) missing, rebellious rogue hunter Claire (Kathryn Newton) returns home to help Jody (Kim Rhodes), Alex (Katherine Ramdeen), Donna (Briana Buckmaster) and a psychic named Patience (Clark Backo) go on a hunt for the Winchesters, who went through a rift opened by a dreamcatcher (Yadira Guevara-Prip). With humor, heart and monsters everywhere, the women have to kick some major ass, all while protecting each other.
During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, actress Kim Rhodes talked about not wanting to overshadow the world of the Winchesters, but instead add new voices and perspectives to the mix, her reaction to finding out about the possibility of a spinoff series, what the tone of Wayward Sisters would be like, how her friendship with Briana reflects the one between Jody and Donna, the biggest challenges of shooting this episode, and what she admires about her character.
Collider: I really loved this “Wayward Sisters” episode of Supernatural. It’s great to see so many awesome, as well as very different woman, on the show and working together. What did you most enjoy about the opportunity to do this episode and have it be almost entirely focused on this family of women?
KIM RHODES: I love the characters. I love that the playing field is expanding. I don’t, in any way, shape or form, want to take the ball away from the Winchesters and say, “Now, it’s the girl’s turn!” It’s about more. It’s about more representation, more types and more perspectives. I love that we are reminded through Patience what it must look like for someone who isn’t a part of this world. We’re reminded through Claire what sort of complete lawlessness and utter anarchy there can be, in the spirit of hunting. Alex has a willingness to put somebody else’s needs above her own. The relationship between Jody and Donna, and all of that, are just flavors. The fact that they come with women’s perspective and experience is something that I rejoice at, although I rejoice because there’s more and it’s expanding.
Right now, “Wayward Sisters” is just an episode of Supernatural, but it’s also a backdoor pilot with the intention of moving forward as a series. When and how were you first told about that possibility, and what was your reaction to all of this?
RHODES: Well, I am the pessimist. I call myself a realist, and they call me a pessimist, in this group. I’m very much about, “We’ll wait and see.” I’m gonna be honest, at first, when it was floated as a fantasy, I was like, “Nah, never gonna happen!” And then, Briana [Buckmaster] sat me down and was like, “That is negative language! You stop that, right now!” I said, “All right, fine. I will start saying, ‘It would be nice if . . .’” And she was like, “Say when!” And I said, “I cannot commit to that language.” But, it’s something that means so much to me that it was difficult for me to hope for. I didn’t want to hope for it, and now I hope for it with every fiber of my being. It started as a fantasy. It started, really, from the fans saying, “Wouldn’t it be nice if . . .” And then, the producers came to us and said, “Hey, we have an idea.” Then, about a year and a half ago, they said, “We’re gonna do something. Let’s have some contracts.”
How do you think the tone of the show would differ, as a series, from Supernatural?
RHODES: It’s still about family dynamics and killing monsters. It’s just a different family. This is a voluntary family. This is people who are family because they choose to be. Understanding that the risk of loss is such a tremendous, terrifying fear, in this situation, you have the ability to step away. Will you choose to, or will you continue taking that risk because of the love that’s there? And then, underneath that, the tone is a little bit different because it’s local. What we’re looking at, in terms of Wayward Sisters, is monsters coming to us. Sam and Dean go to the monsters, but the monsters come to us in Wayward Sisters. It’s a different genre of hunting. It’s also hunters learning to be hunters, so there’s going to be a different level of expertise. There is going to be different consequences and different stakes sometimes, where there are situations that the Winchesters could handle easily that maybe we can’t because we don’t know what we’re doing. I think the learning curve will be pretty steep on Wayward Sisters.
I love the friendship between Jody and Donna. It’s so fun because they’re so different, and yet they clearly care about each other. What do you like about getting to play with that dynamic, especially playing it with Briana Buckmaster?
RHODES: I have been unbelievably blessed, in my relationship with Briana. Even before I met her, everybody was like, “You’re gonna love her!” So, of course, being the curmudgeon that I am, I was like, “I refuse to love this woman, just ‘cause everybody says I’m going to.” And then, I met her and went, “Yep, I love ya!” And because of the convention circuit, we developed a dynamic as partners that is very much in sync. We compliment each other. We are not identical, but we compliment each other’s assets and I think we make up for each other’s deficits, and the same thing happened on set. Neither of us were sure that was going to carry into working in a different area on the spinoff, but it did. We just know how each other things, we know how to set each other up, so that the other one can take the spike, and we’re really good at taking turns.
It seems as though Jody and Claire come to something of an understanding about each other, by the end of this episode. Will they be able to build on that, in the future, or will their conflict on how best to be a hunter continue to be an issue for them?
RHODES: My prediction is that it’s going to be both. People don’t just change on a dime. You can’t just say, “Oh, I see that your perspective is valid now!,” and then incorporate it into your life. Claire is who she is, and that’s one of the reasons Jody loves her so much. I think Jody would be heartbroken, if Claire were so hurt by this experience that she became tamed. Claire is wild and that’s something that’s hard for Jody to accept, but she wouldn’t want her to be any other way. So, the conflict will be passionate and big and explosive, but it will not eclipse the love that they have for each other.
Along with wanting to get Sam and Dean back from wherever they are, you guys have a lot of monsters coming at you, in this episode.
RHODES: Yeah, we do!
What was the most challenging aspect of shooting this episode?
RHODES: Just being scared! The sheer enormity of what we were doing and being aware of that was terrifying. We were in fight training for six weeks before we started shooting it. We had firearms training. The characters we play have skills that we, personally, don’t necessarily possess. We had to work really, really hard at developing a skill set, so that we could at least act like we knew what we were doing. Beyond that, the set-ups were so well thought out and the choreography was so intense that I was legitimately scared, at moments. I forgot what I was doing and I missed my mark because I was like, “There’s a monster running at me really fast! Even though my brain knows it’s pretend, my body [doesn’t]!” That was challenging, as well. They did not hold back [on this episode]. They went for A-level action, all the way through.
In a world where it’s questionable as to what humanity even means anymore or whether it actually exists, Sheriff Mills is a woman who believes that humanity has value and deserves to be saved. In what ways do you most admire Sheriff Mills and how do you most enjoy playing her?
RHODES: I don’t know where that comes from in Jody. I don’t know if I would have the strength that she does, to continue choosing to love, after having experienced such devastating loss. I think Jody may not believe that humanity deserves to exist, but she deeply believes that the people she loves deserves to exist. That’s a distinction that I, personally, make as Kim. I look at everyone, even if they’re doing things that I abhor, and say, “I see that you’re trying to get your needs met.” I get that. I have empathy. I have abundant love for people that are doing things that seem unlovable. But I also am really frustrated at the pain that people seem to perpetuate on this planet, and I think Jody has the same thing. She’s like, “Any day may be my last, and I’m okay with that. The only reason I’m not willing to step into it is because there are people that still need me, that I love too much to hurt by choosing to just check out.”
Supernatural airs on Thursday nights on The CW.
