Supernatural's Jared Padalecki shares his reaction to the 'tragic' and 'optimistic' finale

In 2005, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki made the drive up to Vancouver to start filming on the second episode of Supernatural. 15 years later, with a U-Haul full of stuff, they made the trip back across the border.

"It was right during all the wildfires, so the sky was really weird," says Jared Padalecki of the recent drive. "It felt like a Supernatural episode or something. We crossed the border together and it just felt like a pretty poignant meaningful full-circle [moment]."

In a new interview, EW talks with Padalecki about the decision to end the long-running series — which he says he and Ackles came to during filming season 13 — and what it was like to actually read the ending. "I think I cried every time I read the script," Padalecki says.

That being said, Padalecki is "100 percent" on board with the way the series wraps up, calling the story both "wonderfully tragic" and "wonderfully optimistic."

At the end of the day, he says "I feel really proud to have been a part of this."

Watch his full interview above.

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