Jim Beaver Returns to 'Supernatural' as Bobby Singer

Supernatural is well into Season 11, a season that promises to only get better now that news has broken that Jim Beaver is returning as Bobby Singer in Episode 16! There are spoilers ahead, so be warned.

TVLine first reported exclusively that Beaver would reprise his role as the beloved father figure to Sam and Dean Winchester (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) later this year when he shows up through flashbacks in Episode 16.

But that's not all, Steven Williams will also return as Bobby's friend and fellow hunter Rufus Turner!

The episode will flash back to Season 5 as Sam and Dean in the present day "are going to be investigating an old case that was once investigated by Bobby and Rufus" that would have taken place during Season 5, showrunner Jeremy Carver told TVLine.

"There's a lot of great throwbacks to things that happened" in Season 5, Carver said, which includes "the wonderful relationship between Bobby and Rufus. That's going to be a really neat episode."

This explains how Rufus comes back, as the character died in Season 6.

The last time we saw Bobby was in the Season 10 episode "Inside Man" when he helped Sam break Metatron (Curtis Armstrong) out of jail in Heaven in the hopes of finding a way to remove the Mark of Cain from Dean. This of course did not sit well with the brass in Heaven, who hunted Bobby and Sam unsuccessfully.

However, once Bobby returned to his quarters, the angels found him, though he ignored them as he just smiled at a picture of Sam and Dean.

Bobby also wrote a letter to Sam at the end of that episode that he should not go behind Dean's back in trying to release him from the Mark of Cain. He added that Sam is a good man who will always make the right choice. Bobby said that he was proud of him, and Sam cried.

What do you think of this news? Are you dissappointed the returns will be in flashbacks instead of characters brought back to life?  Let us know in the comments section below.