Let’s Speculate: Supernatural 13.04 “The Big Empty”
Episode 13.04 is titled “The Big Empty” and begins with a man entering an apartment and encountering his dead wife, who stabs him in the gut, then leaves.
In the bunker, Dean is investigating the death. Sam suggests that Jack join them on the hunt. Dean resists but Sam wins the argument. He goes to get Jack, who says no at first, and reveals that he heard the argument last week and feels that Sam is using him. Sam does admit that he wants to rescue Mary but even if that doesn’t work he still cares for Jack.
We see Castiel in the empty, calling out.
On the case, Sam and Dean arrive in Wisconsin with Jack. They investigate the murder and think it’s a revenant but they find the body of the wife and realize that they are dealing with something else. They explain the process of burning a body to Jack, who asks if his mother could be a ghost. No, they tell him, because they burned the body.
In a car, an old lady is on the phone. She looks in the rear view mirror and sees a small child. The child kills her.
As Sam and Dean investigate they uncover that the victims had a grief process in common, and go to investigate. Jack is trying to help but Dean is still resisting while Sam tries to get Dean to be kinder.
Back in the empty, a strange creature emerges from the darkness and takes form.
Sam, Dean, and Jack follow up with the grief counselor that the victims shared. They are “brothers” who just lost their mom. The counselor talks to them and Dean is just interested in finding out about catharsis. Sam and Dean argue about their mom, with Dean accusing Sam of not accepting it, to which Sam responds that he never had the chance of a relationship with Mary like Dean did. He storms out of the room and goes upstairs, where he finds blood and skin and teeth, indicating a shifter.
Back in the empty, the strange creature has taken form and is tormenting Castiel. He looks like Castiel but with a kind of Hannibal Lector voice. The creature attacks Castiel and reads his mind.
Sam confronts the counselor about being a shifter. She claims that she is not the murderer and in fact it may be a former lover, Buddy, who is a cruel shifter. She has been trying to atone for her misdeeds by helping people. The group tries to figure out who the shifter might be and she suggests her assistant. Dean and Jack leave to investigate while Sam and the counselor stay behind. At the assistant’s house, Jack tells Dean that Sam revealed the plan to save Mary to him. Dean says that Sam’s plans don’t always work out. Dean calls Sam when they realize Tom is not the shifter.
As Sam goes out to investigate a new suspect, we see Dean on the phone with Sam. He is back at the house and it’s not Dean, but the shifter, who is standing over the unconscious Dean. In another room, Jack pleads with the counselor to see his mother, Kelly. She shifts into Kelly and Jack has a heart to heart with her about wanting to be good but fearing he is bad since he can’t feel anything, even remorse. She tells him that it’s not about who you are but what you do, and she has to believe that too.
Back in the empty, Castiel and the creature fight and Castiel promises that he’ll keep the creature awake forever because apparently the thing just wants to sleep. It’s not happy with this promise of all night parties in the empty.
At the house, Deanshifter reveals himself to the grief counselor. He handcuffs Dean and Jack while he confronts his former lover/murder partner. Dean tries to get Jack to use his powers to free them, but Jack can’t. Buddy taunts his former lover and tells her that she has to embrace her monster within and charges her with killing Dean and Jack. Instead she tells Buddy to shoot her. Buddy notices that Sam is coming back to the house and he waits to shoot Sam when he comes in the door. Dean tries to warn Sam but Buddy knocks him out. Just as the door opens, Jack gets a surge of power and knocks both Buddy back and makes the bullet miss Sam. Sam takes the shot and kills Buddy.
In the final act, Dean tells Jack he did good. Sam finally admits that maybe Mary is dead but Dean tells him not to say that. Dean needs Sam to keep the faith for both of them. In a field somewhere, Castiel wakes up.
Questions, Comments, Specs….
- What did you think of the monster of the week story?
- Castiel has returned! Thoughts on what’s next?
- Do you think Jack will turn bad or can he save himself?
- Leave other thoughts below!
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