'Supernatural' Showrunners Explain Real Reason They Are Bringing Back Jeffrey Dean Morgan

The upcoming 300th episode of Supernatural is certainly a major milestone for the long-running series, warranting a special reunion for its beloved characters. To celebrate the occasion, the series is bringing back Jeffrey Dean Morgan's John Winchester, the father of Sam and Dean who has been gone since the show's second season.

Fans of the series have been begging for John's return for the better part of a century, and the 300th episode is finally granting them that wish. But why now? After all these years, and plenty of landmark episodes, why was 300 the right time to stage a Winchester reunion.

Showrunners Andrew Dabb and Robert Singer spoke with EW about the episode, and their answer to that question was pretty simple: Episode 300 is all about family.

"The 100th episode was just an episode," Singer began. "The 200th was so special. It was bold and great. We knew we weren't necessarily going to top that so we said, 'What would make the fans happy? What would they like to see? Bringing John back.' So we sort of built the idea around that."

Singer went on to add that the 300th episode, titled "Lebanon," is very "John-centric."

"The 300th is in a lot of ways, for Sam and Dean, about home," Dabb added. "You're dealing with two guys who, when this story started and for the bulk of our show, never had a home. It was motel rooms and the Impala and they'd have a place they'd stay for a few weeks or maybe a few months at a time, but that's pretty much it. Now Sam and Dean have a home, they have a family, and they have Lebanon and that's really where the idea started. Like okay, what does the town of Lebanon think of these guys? And conversely, what do Sam and Dean think of the town? And then when the idea of Jeffrey Dean Morgan was floated it was great, because not only is it awesome to have him back for a number of different reasons but it's thematically consistent because suddenly it's about home, it's about family, it's about having that family dinner, it's about coming home in a more emotional way."

Not only is this a great way to reunite the family, but it provides viewers with context regarding how much Sam and Dean have changed over the years.

"The way you react to your dad when you're 25 is much different than the way you react to that person when you're 40," Dabb continued. "The fact that the guys were older now and could have different reactions to John was what made it exciting because they're not going to have the same conversations they had in seasons 1 and 2 of the show."

Ultimately, the episode will give the Winchester men the closure that they've been seeking for nearly 12 years.

"They finally get some closure with their father in a way that doesn't feel like the end of the show," Dabb added. "t's not like, 'And now roll credits, we'll never see you again!' It feels like it allows these guys to put some, not all, of their 14 years of baggage down and move on to the future maybe with some new knowledge, maybe a little bit more unencumbered. Because if we had just brought him back and it had been like, 'And then they go and hunt a demon together,' it wouldn't have been satisfying."

Are you excited for John Winchester's return to Supernatural? Let us know in the comments!

New episodes of Supernatural air on Thursday nights at 8 pm ET on The CW.