#spn 11.06

[foxthefanboi]

11x06 - Our Little World

[mittensmorgul]

Hi, I was rewatching the spooky Bobby and Rufus episode from season 11, and I remember at the time people were convinced that this was the first appearance of The Empty, because at the time it had only been mentioned by Billie as a threat to Sam. I was wondering if that’s still the case, if that soul eaters Nest was in the empty? Because it would sort of make sense?

Hi there! and yeah, they did show us the Soul Eater’s nest during the season the concept of the Empty was first really introduced (in 11.02, by Billie threatening Sam with that fate, written by Andrew Dabb). At the time, we had no idea what the Empty would be like, and assumed it was exactly as Billie described it-- as complete annihilation.

I... personally didn’t think of the Soul Eater’s nest as a small version of the Empty, but perhaps a parallel or metaphorical comparison, at best. I was personally still convinced that the Empty would actually be more like what Amara described happened to the souls she “consumed” that would become “boundless within her” in a state of bliss. Combined with Billie’s threat to Sam that she would scatter his molecules so that he could never be brought back.

I was hoping for a version of the Empty that would be the “nothingness” version of Chuck’s heaven and hell-- basically the afterlife corresponding to the universal force of darkness the way Chuck’s creation corresponds to the universal force of light. I was hoping it would be a state of dissolution, rather than a place where consciousness could exist.

I think the closest a Soul Eater’s nest came to being what I had thought of as The Empty at that time was what happened to the souls trapped there when the Soul Eater had finished consuming them. Yes, its nest existed “outside of space and time,” and I do associate those characteristics with the Empty. But at the time the episode aired, before we understood the reality of the Empty, I thought of the Soul Eater Nest as more... “the Empty’s waiting room” than “the Empty itself.” If that makes sense?

Granted, when they finally did choose to show us the Empty on screen in s13, it ended up being quite different than we were expecting, and I have since wondered if they didn’t afterthought the original concept of the Empty into something more on par with the Soul Eater’s nest when they needed to stage scenes there. I mean, like I’ve argued over how Heaven has been presented in canon being the result of “they need to film in three dimensional space and therefore had to use visual shorthand to cover the described reality of Heaven, which is why we ended up with sterile white hallways instead of a maze of Dean’s perception of “open roads” for the Axis Mundi, and why all the “Surly Bobbies” appeared in that white hallway rather than how the Axis Mundi may have appeared to each of them that may have been entirely perceptually different.” They needed to film ~something~ that may have been implied to be... non-Euclidean space... but had to settle on thematic visual shorthand due to the limits of the human condition... if that makes sense >.>

So, yeah, I think if anything, the Empty fell into that category, and even the eventual presentation of it ended up quite different to the Soul Eater nest, which was also outside of time and space, but also necessarily tethered to a fixed location on Earth (the house where it collected its victims).

Lol, I love thinking about this sort of stuff :’D

[lillysilverus]

So here I am again watching season 11 of SPN on TNT and “Our Little World” is on.  I may not love all of this episode, but damn, Sam is on fire in this one.  He basically tells Dean that Castiel has been babied long enough and I think it might actually be the first time he acknowledges that he’s been through some shit and HE’S still working so Castiel can get his sorry ass out of bed and get in the game.  Then he gives Dean shit about his “summer of love” with Crowley which he should have been doing constantly, BTW.  And then he takes out a bunch of demons by himself while trying to save the meatsuits.  An episode where they actually remember that Sam is a sassy, capable, badass.  

[mittensmorgul]

I watched 11.06 again today, and overall I feel like this episode hit a lot of the themes that have evolved into s15 endgame themes...

Cas vs Humanity (his own, and in general):

METATRON: You thought if you could get your Grace back, it would help fix you, but it hasn't! (Castiel punches him in the face)

Which in 15.13 was explored through Jack reclaiming his own human soul and suddenly reconnected with his humanity and human feelings... It hurts, yes, but it’s what will truly enable his forgiveness and reacceptance into the Winchester family, as well as set him apart from all the Cosmic Forces at work in the battle for creation itself.

and again from Metatron, or as I’ve been thinking of him for years now, Chuck Lite:

METATRON: The truth -- ha -- it'd make the Bible thumper heads explode. I mean, they want their God to be a-a f-finger-snapping, all-powerful creator, you know... And they want magic... Mary Poppins. But what he did -- creation... that took work. Took sacrifice. In order to create the world, God had to give up the only thing he'd ever known. He had to betray and sacrifice his only kin.

And that is EXACTLY what Chuck wants from Sam and Dean, and why he’s so entirely pissed that he still can’t get that from them in exactly the way he wants. His “As above, so below” has failed at the basic level, because The OG Winchesters refuse to validate the fundamental principle of Chuck’s understanding of his creation.

[mittensmorgul]

11x04 just makes me feel so good. You'd think angels-are-soldiers Cas would be concise when he's talking to Dean on a hunt, but no, he just rambles about werepires when he knows that they aren't the likely culprits. Idk, I just love rambly Cas

OH MY GOSH I LOVE HIS RAMBLING.

I wish Dean heard most of it instead of fighting for his life in the background :’D

I think he was a little bit lonely, too. I mean, Dean told him to stay at the bunker to rest up, and they introduced him to netflix, and he was basically holed up in Sam’s room watching tv (well, and also researching the lore when they needed him to), recovering from the attack dog spell and being tortured and nearly killed by other angels, including Hannah... I really think he not only needed to feel useful at that moment, he needed to feel connected to the only people he could truly count on, you know?

We wouldn’t see just how traumatized he was until 11.06 when he left the bunker to chase down Metatron. Dean had asked him to join them in their hunt for Amara, and he couldn’t open the front door, and went back to watching tv (until he spotted Metatron and had enough motivation to push through that).

(heck I have 8.22 on in the background, and just un-paused it, just in time to hear Sam say, “Because it’s Cas!” and that’s a good comparable feeling)

I just need Cas to feel like not only is the bunker his home, but that the Winchesters, as his family, are his home. I think that’s the painful disconnect early s11 makes plain. Separately he understands these two concepts, but he hasn’t quite figured out how they fit together yet.

BUT I WILL TAKE ALL OF THE CAS JUST RAMBLING ON BECAUSE HE FEELS THAT COMFORTABLE JUST TALKING TO DEAN LIKE THAT.

[lillysilverus]

“Our Little World” is on and the best thing about it is that Sam is so over Castiel being a wuss.  I’m trying to think of another time in the show where Sam basically said to anyone, “I’m over your lame ass whining.  Let’s compare traumas and see which one of us should be binging TV and hiding in his room.”  I love it.  His “give a shit” factor is so low in this episode.

[mittensmorgul]

I was only able to kinda watch out of one eye today while getting a ton of other stuff done today (why does this always happen on days when they show the most episodes? >.>) so my notes are... ultra-light today. I’ll try to make up for it later, but this was also the era where I wrote the most week to week. For more, please see the tags for each of these episodes. I was supposed to be caught up with real life by today and yikes... it’s just not happening :’D

11.01: Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire, and 11.02, Form and Void.

Aah, remember my obsession with the "paired episodes" of early s11? Yeah, good times. :'D Interesting also that the first half of this two part episode was penned by Carver, and the second by Dabb, when Dabb would be taking over the show by the second half of s11...

So much is set up in 11.02 that Dabb will carry right through 14.20, too-- everything from our first meeting with Billie and her entrance that made so many of us believe that she was "The New Death" right from that first episode, Sam and Dean's personal struggles, what they hid from one another, their priorities being united but different, and effectively setting the stage for everything they'd go through over the next four seasons-- right down to Chuck's role in all this mess.

11.03, The Bad Seed, and 11.04, Baby.

All hands on deck to save Cas-- even including Rowena, in the next evolution of her relationship with the Winchesters-- and their relationship with Home and Family.This was big for Sam, but stlil a baby step in that direction for him. The theme of personal an family legacies will become even stronger during Dabb Era, but much of the future building blocks for that are being set in place here in early s11.

11.05, Thin Lizzie, and 11.06, Our Little World.

Again we're exploring Sam and Dean separately in these episodes, where each of them has their own role in the story, where they're each basically finding their own roles-- both important, but by necessity, different. Cas struggles with his own trauma, only overcoming it through his anger at Metatron. It will take him years to come to terms with all of this, but he's finally up and moving again...

[mittensmorgul]

I’m finally up to s11 on the TNT loop (yay!), and there’s just so much in this season that’s relevant to s14, I’m screaming. Because here’s the truth of it, of what motivated Metatron’s story in s9 and s10, when he was literally taking over writing Chuck’s story:

Metatron: The truth would make the Bible thumpers' heads explode. I mean, they want their God to be a finger-snapping all-powerful creator. They want magic, Mary Poppins. But what he did... Creation. That took work, took sacrifice. In order to create the world, God had to give up the only thing He'd ever known. He had to betray and sacrifice His only kin. The Darkness -- His sister.

IN ORDER TO CREATE THE WORLD, GOD HAD TO GIVE UP THE ONLY THING HE’D EVER KNOWN. HE HAD TO BETRAY AND SACRIFICE HIS ONLY KIN.

And as long as Chuck has power over his creation, this is the story he’s doomed to reenact over and over again. Because this is Genesis. This is his creation. This is what started it all, and as powerful as he is, it’s literally the only story he knows.

And why did he need his creation to be born? 

CHUCK: I was stupid. Naive. I thought if I could show my sister that there was something more than just us, something better than us, then maybe she'd change. Maybe she'd stop... being... her. But... every time I'd build a new world... she'd destroy it.

[...]

METATRON: (Stands up and looks at CHUCK with wet eyes.) No, look. I know I'm a disappointment, but you're wrong about humanity. They are your greatest creation because they're better than you are.

So now that I’ve covered 11.06 and 11.20, let’s look real quick at 11.07, which was all about masks. Remember Sam’s visions that were coming from Lucifer, but Sam wanted to believe were coming from God?

Sam: Yeah, we did, Dean. But why is it so hard to believe that God could be sending me visions about the darkness? Dean: You kidding me? He didn't feel the need to show up for the Apocalypse. Why would he give a crap now? Sam: I don't know. Maybe because she's his sister? What do you wanna do? Sit back? Ignore him? Do nothing? Dean: No, that's -- that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying, don't count on God. Okay? Count on us.

...

Dean: You okay? Donna: No, not really. A 19-year-old kid is dead. Sam: That's not on you or Doug. He was just doing his job. Donna: I know, but... That kid was innocent. I mean, if the mask was cursed, then he was just a puppet, right? He was a victim, too.

A ghost, getting revenge, through a series of masks and costumes, after his sibling had been manipulated into betraying him wrongly, leading to his wrongful death.

Meanwhile a ton of innocent people’s lives were ruined or destroyed, because the ghost couldn’t let go.

Kinda... sounds Chuck-y, you know?