13.04 The Big Empty

Title	The Big Empty
Episode #	Season 13, Episode 4
First aired	November 2, 2017
Directed by	John Badham
Written by	Meredith Glynn
On IMDB	The Big Empty
Outline	When patents of a grief counselor begin dying at the hands of deceased loved ones, Sam, Dean and Jack investigate and are forced to deal with their own unresolved grief. Meanwhile, in the Empty, Castiel learns that he is not alone.
Monster	Shapeshifter
Timeline
Location(s)	Madison, Wisconsin Lebanon, Kansas
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Characters

• Sam Winchester
• Dean Winchester
• Castiel
• Jack Kline
• Cosmic Entity
• Mia Vallens
• Buddy

Definitions

• Alcohol
• Aliases
• Costumes & Disguises
• EMF
• The Empty
• Impala
• Men of Letters Bunker
• Monsters
• Revenant
• Salt
• Shapeshifter
• Silver
• Table of Death
• Unconscious

Music

None

Quotes

Dean: So, what? Does this mean your plan for bringing Mom back isn't working? Because I'll say it again. Mom's dead, Sam. Lucifer ripped out her freakin' heart. Now the sooner you can wrap your head around that, the sooner we can all move on.

Sam: So you're saying you want to move on from Mom?

Dean: Right now I wanna kill some dead guy's dead wife.

Sam: Jack, when you were born, it ripped a hole in reality. Like a -- like a door from this world to another, to a really bad, bad place. So -- so Dean and Cas and I, we closed that door. But our mom, Mary, she's trapped on the other side. If we can get your powers back, maybe we can open the door back up, maybe...

Jack: You wanna save her.
Sam: Yeah. Yeah I do. But, if this doesn't work, if that can't happen, that's okay. Because I do care about you, but I should have told you. I'm sorry, it's a lot.
Jack: Dean can't even look at me. He wants to kill me.

Sam: I won't let that happen. Listen, there's one thing Dean respects, that's effort. So come along, help us out. Let's go be the good guys.

Sam: Dean, what's up with all the orders, you're starting to sound like Dad.

Dean: Is that a bad thing?
Sam: You're saying his drill sergeant act worked with you, but it didn't with me. And that's not the way we're gonna get through to Jack.

Dean: Look, you wanted the kid here, he's here. Alright? But I'm not gonna hold his hand and tuck him in at night, pass. I'm not gonna be his mother and neither are you. And the kid can dig, so I give him that.

Sam: Dean he's not our intern, I told you to keep an eye on him.
Dean: I can see him. He keeps staring at me.

Dean: Alright, well, Mom was great. Now she's dead. What's the deal with catharsis?

Dean: He won't even admit that Mom's dead, won't even admit it. Because if he admits it then it's real, and if it's real then he has to deal with it, and he can't handle that.

Sam: Right because this is so easy for you, huh?
Dean: It's not easy.

Sam: But at least you had a relationship with Mom, I mean, who would she always call? Who did she look to for anything? You had something with her I never had, and now I'm just supposed to accept that I never will have it!?

Castiel: What is this place?

Cosmic Entity: Oh yes, excellent question. You see, before God and Amara, creation, destruction, Heaven, Hell, your precious little Earth... What was there?
Castiel: Nothing.
Cosmic Entity: Yes, that's right. Nothing. Nothing but Empty, and you are soaking in it. Angels and demons, you all come here when you die.
Castiel: Every angel that ever died is here?

Cosmic Entity: Yes. Sleeping an endless peaceful sleep, you know I -- I was sleeping too. Hey, uh, since we're pals, there's something I gotta know, I gotta ask. Hmm, why are you awake? 'Cause fun fact, in all of forever, nothing ever wakes up here. I mean ever, ever. And second fun fact, when you woke up, I woke up and I don't like being awake, so what's up smart guy?

Jack: Sam thinks you were right, that I'm good. He wants me to believe it, and I wanna believe it too. It's just I -- I've hurt people. I didn't mean to, it was an accident, and I know I should feel bad, and I say I feel bad. But most of the time, I mostly -- I don't feel anything. And that's why I think maybe -- maybe I'm a monster.

Mia / Kelly: Jack, it doesn't matter what you are, it matters what you do. And even monsters can do good in this world.
Jack: You really believe that?

Mia / Kelly: I have to. I have to.

Dean: You did good today, Jack.

Sam: What if you're right, about Mom? What if she is dead and I'm just in denial?

Dean: Don't say that.
Sam: What? you've been wanting me to admit that since it happened.

Dean: I know I have, don't say that. I need you to keep the faith, for both of us. Because right now -- right now I don't believe in a damn thing.

Trivia & References

Dean: So what, you ready to ditch Damien? So, what do you wanna do, leave him in a ring of holy oil with some Netflix and a frozen pizza?

Damien refers to Damien Thorn, the son of Satan, who is the main character in The Omen series of films.

Dean: Uh, hell no. What? Adventures in babysitting the Antichrist, no thank you.

Adventures in Babysitting is a 1987 comedy movie.

Sam: Jack? Hey. Clone Wars.

Jack: The computer said I'd like it. I do like Ashoka, kinda hate Anakin.
Sam: Uh, that's probably for the best... Never mind.

Clone Wars is an animated series set in the Star Wars universe that ran from 2008-2014. Ashoka Tona is a Jedi who trains under Anakin Skywalker. Anakin, of course, goes Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader.

Jack: Agent Bonham, Agent Seger, Special Agent Anderson? These are you?

Sam: Yeah. Sometimes.

John Bonham was the drummer for the British rock band Led Zeppelin. Bob Seger is an American singer-songwriter; his hits include "Night Moves', which featured in a Sam-Dean singalong scene in 11.04 Baby. "Anderson" may refer to Ian Anderson, flautist and lead singer of Jethro Tull, or possibly Jon Anderson, former lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes.

Sam: When a person dies and their soul can't move on-

Dean: They're called ghosts. And hanging around makes them go Looney Tunes. They go crazy.

Looney Tunes were cartoons by Warner Brothers that ran from the 1930s to the 1960s. As "looney" is slang for "lunatic" the phrase became slang for someone having a mental illness.

Sam: Alright I don't get it. I mean a ghost that won't show up on EMF? Doesn't make any sense.

Dean: Yeah, well, what does these days? You know, I mean we got portals to apocalyptic words, we've got shapeshifting demons. Dealing with a whole new set of tiddlywinks. I say we just, do what we do.

Tiddlywinks is a game where players try and flip flat discs into a container.

Dean: 'And now that I've achieved catharsis, I can truly see the program works.' 'The program'? Come on, man. She's one Kool-Aid away from Jonestown.

Dean is referring to the Kool-Aid poisoned with cyanide that members of the People's Temple were made to drink during the Jonestown massacre.

Dean: So, let's say that Hannibal chick is a medium, right? She's talking to spirits, she pisses them off somehow. A ghost shows up, notches a kill and takes off.

Sam: Follow my lead.

Dean: Yeah, and doctor's gonna eat our liver with fava beans and a bottle of chianti.

Dean: Listen Mr. Spock, you speak when I tell you to speak.

Castiel: What are you?

Cosmic Entity: Oh, I'm just your friendly neighborhood cosmic entity.

A play on Spider-Man's nickname of being known as, "Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man."

The Cosmic Entity's supposed horrific true visage as well as his state of being in a deathlike sleep, bear some similarities with the Great Old Ones of H.P. Lovecraft's writings. Specifically the ruler of the Outer Gods, Azathoth, also known as the "Blind Idiot God", who slumbers outside of creation and dreams of the Universe. The Entity's black viscous form also bears similarity to Magnum Innominandum, the Nameless Mist.

Castiel: Why do you look like me?

Cosmic Entity: Oh yes. Yes, yes, yes. I show up in my real form and you freak out, rip out your own eyes, etc... that would be embarrassing for the both of us.

An element of author H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos is that if a person were to lay eyes upon a member of the Great Old Ones, the sight would drive them mad.

Cosmic Entity: I have tip-toed through all your tulips, your memories, your little feelings. Yes. I know what you hate, I know who you love, what you fear. There is nothing for you back there. No. Here, let me show you.

A reference to the 1929 song, "Tiptoe Through the Tulips".

Mia: You're -- you're a...

Buddy: What? A monster? Well, so are you, and it's about time you embraced that. So I'm not gonna kill those boys, you are. You end them, or you die. Courtesy of Tweedledee's silver bullets.

Minutiae

Rukiya Bernard, who played Mia Vallens, previously played Camille Thibideaux in 7.07 The Mentalists.

Matt Hamilton, who played Wes Bailey, previously played Sheriff Pat in 9.12 Sharp Teeth.

Kayla Deorksen, who played Erica Bailey, previously played LARP Maid in 5.09 The Real Ghostbusters.

Janet Glassford, who played Bailey's Neighbor, previously played Librarian in 7.03 The Girl Next Door.

John Emmet Tracy, who played Tom, previously played Mercury in 5.19 Hammer of the Gods.

When Castiel wakes up in the field at the end of the episode, he is wearing his original outfit (long trench coat, blue tie) from seasons 4 - 8, instead of his current outfit (short trench coat, striped tie) which he was wearing in the Empty.

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

• 13.04 The Big Empty (transcript)

Promotion

• Promo Photos
• Promo