(Fridays at 9 p.m. ET) seems to pride itself on putting its characters
through the wringer. Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) have
both been to hell and back, literally, while their angelic sidekick,
Castiel (Misha Collins), has been exploded multiple times, fallen victim
to Leviathan possession and is currently suffering from Lucifer-centric
hallucinations ... Needless to say, they're all long overdue for a
vacation.

The May 4 episode -- "Reading Is Fundamental," written and directed
by genre favorite Ben Edlund -- sees Castiel awaken from his catatonic
state not a moment too soon; a new prophet has been activated, and there
are archangels on his tail, leaving him in desperate need of some
divine intervention. HuffPost TV has an exclusive sneak peek at the
episode below and last week, we caught up with Misha Collins to find out
what's coming up for the ever-evolving Castiel, including his
relationships with Dean, Sam, Meg and Crowley.

Light spoilers ahead.

The May 4 episode has Castiel waking up from his coma. What
state is he going to be in, mentally and physically, when Sam and Dean
arrive?

Well, once again he’s not going to be the same old Cas. I mean,
essentially now he has a broken wall. And he, in some ways, deals with
that very well, and others not well at all. One of the bonuses, I guess
for an angel, is that an angel with a broken wall is kind of an
enlightened being. He sees the absurdity of the universe in its true
light. But that makes him a little bit less efficacious when it comes to
helping, because he doesn’t really care as much.

- В эпизоде 4 мая Кастиэль выходит из комы. В каком состоянии он будет,

умственном и физическом, когда прибудут Сэм И Дин?

- Ну, в который раз уже он не будет старым добрым Касом. Я имею ввиду

что по существу у него теперь сломанная стена, и он каким-то образом

справляется с этим довольно хорошо, в то время как остальные вовсе нет.

Полагаю что одним из "бонусов" для ангела является то, что ангел с

разрушенной стеной это своего рода "просвещенное" существо. Он видит всю

абсурдность устройства вселенной в ее истинном свете. Но это делает его

менее "эффективным" когда дело доходит до помощи, потому-что его не очень

это заботит

I'm not sure how much the show is going to delve into this
narratively, so can you expand on what exactly Castiel took out of Sam,
in terms of the Lucifer hallucinations? Are Castiel's fears and insanity
now causing them, or is it Sam's unique craziness transferred to Cas,
or is it truly Lucifer?

Well, it's really actually a little bit of all of the above ...

- Я не уверена насколько шоу углубится в это повествование, поэтому не мог-бы

ты пояснить, что именно забрал Кастиэль у Сэма, я о галлюцинациях. Это безумие

и страхи Кастиэля их порождают, или это только сумасшествие Сэма, перешедшее к нему,

или это на самом деле Люцифер?

- Ну, это понемногу из всего перечисленного...

Oh dear. But it sounds like the hallucinations won't be too
much of a hindrance in the last couple of episodes in terms of Castiel's
involvement. Is this something he can recover from without lasting
damage?

I don’t know about that ... No. Maybe not. I don't know. I mean, it
definitely does affect him. It’s not like he can muscle through. He
behaves certainly differently now, and I don’t know how lasting that’s
going to be.

-ох, но похоже что галлюцинации не будут слишком большой

помехой в последних двух эпизодах с участием Кастиэля. Он ведь сможет оправиться

от этого без перманентного ущерба?

-Я об этом не знаю. Нет, может быть нет. Я не знаю. Я хочу сказать, это

несомненно влияет на него. Он-же не может просто "прорваться" через это.

Он безусловно ведет себя по-другому теперь, и я не знаю как долго

это продлится.

with Sam and Dean individually in the last few episodes -- Dean and Cas
had kind of a bittersweet reunion. Has that evolved in the last run of
episodes?

It's still strained. And there's, I think, more of Dean sort of biting
his tongue now. But I think that there is a little bit of reconciliation
coming at the end of the season.

-Поговорим о том как эта новая версия Кастиэля взаимодействует с Сэмом

и Дином по отдельности в эти последние два эпизода.. У Дина И Каса

было своего рода горько-сладкое воссоединение (я хз как это лучше перевести).

Будет-ли эта тема развиваться в оставшихся эпизодах?

-Отношения все еще натянутые. И мне кажется, что Дину теперь приходится

прикусывать язык, Но думаю что будет немного примирения к концу сезона

What about Sam, since Cas did him a solid and took his craziness away?

I think he's a little bit more, you know ... forgiving.

-А что с Сэмом, раз уж Кас восстановил его, забрав себе его безумие?

-Я думаю что он более..ну знаете...прощающий

Sam and Dean made the dubious decision of leaving Meg to
watch over Castiel. Can you talk about how their stories tie together in
upcoming episodes?

Yes, she’s become sort of a helper. It is strange bedfellows once again.
But you know, we're used to that. Again, of course, it’s a strained
relationship. Cas likes her ... Sam and Dean have a little more trouble
with her. [Laughs.]

We know that the guys are going to encounter a new prophet called Kevin. Can you reveal anything about his storyline?

Kevin is an unlikely prophet. The casting is as close as I would imagine
to the opposite of what you would imagine a prophet to be.

So, like Chuck, but even weirder?

More so, yes. Or maybe you can say, Kevin is to prophet as Chuck is to God.

Cas and Crowley weren't on the best terms at the beginning of
the season. Is there anything you can tease about their interactions
towards the end of the season?

Well, they will be ultimately collaborating; although that is, of
course, also a strained relationship. [Laughs.] There’s a lot of fence
mending to go on, I guess.

A lot of fans were desperate to see Castiel redeemed in some
way, and I know you felt the same the last time we talked. Do you feel
like his return arc has achieved that?

Yes. I mean, it's not 100 percent satisfying, but let's just say that he's been put on the path to redemption.

Have you had any discussions about your involvement in Season 8 [which was announced shortly after this interview took place]?

Yes -- those discussions are occurring. Nothing is solid, but yes.

What, in your opinion, would be a happy ending for Castiel?

Hmm, I don’t know ... It would be nice to have him go off into the
sunset with a sense of purpose in his life. Maybe he falls, becomes
totally human. And has a good job -- let’s say at McDonald's or
something like that -- that he can look forward to everyday. [Laughs.]
That would be totally satisfying.

Your charity, Random Acts, is planning a return trip to Haiti this year to continue work on the Jacmel Children's Center you're funding -- can you talk a little bit about that?

Yes, we are going back to Haiti again this year. And people have got their fundraising pages going on Crowdrise,
and it's actually going really well down there. The project, it looks
like we are going to be expanding it. We had a one-story building and
now we are going to be doubling the size and making it a two-story,
14,000 square foot structure, and it’s just going to accommodate a lot
more kids. It’s great, so yeah, if people want to check it out they can go to the website
and see what we are doing. And we also have Colin Ferguson, a star of
"Eureka," joining us down there. And some other really great people, so
the family is growing.

Have you been doing anything else, aside from the Haiti fundraising, in your time off?

I’ve been doing some writing projects. I’m actually working on getting a
web series off the ground called "TSA America: Level Orange." It's a
comedy web series with short episodes that all take place at a TSA
checkpoint. I'm writing and producing it, and I'll be acting in it as
well, so that should keep me busy. We are going to shoot in the summer,
and it will be probably ready for viewing in the fall.

-Ты делал что-нибудь еще, помимо сбора пожертвований для Гаити во время твоего отпуска?

-Я работал с некоторыми письменными (или писательскими) проектами. Сейчас я пытаюсь

сдвинуть с места проект с веб сериалом, который называется "TSA America: Level Orange."

Это комедийный веб сериал с короткими эпизодами, действие происходит на контрольно-пропускном пункте

TSA ( администрация транспортной безопасности в США). Я его пишу, продюсирую и буду также там

играть, так что все это будет держать меня достаточно занятым. Мы начнем съемки летом, (последнюю

строчку вообще не поняла).