The Big Empty

• If the Empty-guardian properly read Castiel's mind, Cas believes that there's nothing left for him in this world. Is that true? Does Cas really feel that way?
• Is Sam right that Dean is not processing his grief? And is Dean right that Sam won't admit that Mary might be dead because he isn't processing his grief either?
• Was Sam correct that Mary had more of a relationship with Dean than she had with him?
• Is it possible for other entities to escape the empty now?
• Which Castiel actually came back? Was it the real Castiel, or the entity from The Empty pretending to be him? Or are they both in the same vessel?
• If Castiel did truly escape, what will be the consequences?
• When Dean was talking to Sam at the end of the episode, it appears that Sam was reading a book on demonic possession. Why?

• After eavesdropping on a conversation between Dean and Sam (Patience), Jack understands that Sam wants him to use his powers to get Mary back.
• Jack may empathize with Sam's desire to get his mother back because Jack may feel the same way about Kelly.
• The Empty is where demons and angels go when they die. It existed before Chuck created anything, and pre-dates Amara, heaven and hell. Traditionally, once a soul arrives in The Empty, it never wakes up again and never leaves.
• The Empty-Guardian told Castiel that his true form would frighten him. He also told Cas that he is a cosmic entity, and that heaven, hell, and god have no power or authority in The Empty.
• Jack hurts people, but can't feel remorse, even though he says he's sorry.
• On this rare occasion, neither Winchester mentioned killing the shifter-therapist.

• The therapist-shifter (Mia) changed without shedding her skin, but Buddy didn't. Perhaps Mia is closer to an alpha generation and doesn't need to shed her skin each time she changes.
• Misha Collins is credited as a series regular in this episode, but he wasn't in the first 3 episodes of season 13.
• Rukiya Bernard, who played Mia in this episode also played a psychic in season 7 "The Mentalists".
• Jack got a hot dog and some beverages from Doug's Dogs.

• This episode takes place in Madison, Wisconsin
• Dean asks Sam if he's ready to "ditch Damien", referring to Jack. This is a reference to Damien Thorn, a fictional character from the 1976 film "The Omen" (and its sequels). In the film, Damien Thorn is Lucifer's son/the antichrist.
• In Christianity, the antichrist is the son of Lucifer. But in Supernatural lore, we met Jesse, the "antichrist" in season 5 "I Believe the Children Are Our Future". In Supernatural lore, an antichrist is simply the offspring of a demon and a human. Jack is a nephilim, the offspring of a human and an angel. He just happens to be the offspring of the archangel, Lucifer
• Netflix is an online service that allows users to purchase movies, television shows and other media on demand.
• Jack was playing "Clone Wars", a video game based on the Star Wars film characters and story. Anakin and Ahsoka are fictional characters in the game.
• Jack noticed that Dean and Sam had several fake Fed badges indicating that their names were Agents Bonham, Seger, and Anderson. These names refer to musicians: John Bonham was the drummer for Led Zeppelin; John Seger is a musician and composer; and Anderson may refer to John Anderson, lead singer with the band Yes.
• Dean explains to Jack that ghosts who get stuck in this world and can't move on go crazy, or "Looney Toons", referring to the long-running Warner Brothers cartoon franchise.
• Revenants have been mentioned in Supernatural several times, but we've never seen the Winchesters hunt one. Revenants are similar to zombies. Based on Bobby Singer's reaction to the resurrected Dean in season 4 "Lazarus Rising", revenants are injured by silver.
• The Empty-Guardian reads Castiel's mind and then teases Cas by telling him that he has "tiptoed through all the tulips" in Cas' brain. This refers to the 1929 song "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" by Al Dubin and Joe Burke.
• When Dean and Sam are trying to figure out why what they think is a ghost doesn't leave EMF, Dean suggests that with everything going on (i.e. their lives not making sense) they seem to be dealing with a "whole new set of Tiddlywinks". Tiddlywinks is a game in which players try to flip flat, circular game pieces into a container. Perhaps Dean believes this game doesn't make sense.
• Dean comments that one of Mia's patients was "one Kool-Aid away from Jonestown", indicating that she was mentally unbalanced. Dean was referring to the tragic 1978 Jonestown mass suicide, in which members of the People's Temple religious cult drank poisoned Kool-Aid after being ordered to do so by their spiritual leader, Jim Jones.
• Dean jokes that "catharsis" is another word for "happy ending". "Happy ending" is a slang term referring to oral (or manual) sex at the end of a professional massage session.
• Dean refers to Mia as the "Hannibal Chick" and tells Sam not to forget the "fava beans and chianti". This refers to the fictional character Hannibal Lechter, from the 1991 film, "Silence of the Lambs" and its sequels. In the films, Lechter is a psychiatrist who is also a cannibal and a serial killer. The character jokes about how he ate a victim's organs with some fava beans and chianti.
• Buddy tells Mia that he will kill her "courtesy of Tweedledee's silver bullets". This refers to the fictional characters Tweedledee and Tweedledum, who are twin brothers from Lewis Carrol's 1861 nursery rhyme Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. The characters are also featured in the 1951 film adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland".
• Dean refers to Jack as "Mr. Spock", a popular character from the "Star Trek" television series and subsequent films. In Stark Trek, Mr. Spock is a vulcan -- a species that does not feel emotions. Dean was implying that Jack seems to lack empathy and emotion.

• None

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EPISODE #5 : Advanced Thanatology