SUPERNATURAL THINK TANK - Theories and Thinky Thoughts on 11x02 "Form and Void"

Hi guys, welcome to the Think Tank, our brand new Thinky Thoughts article! Here we will look at ideas and theories that have sprung out of the latest episode, and dissect them and discuss them in a fun and positive way! The comments are open for you to join in and we're hoping that you'll add your awesome ideas and get a discussion going!

For sometime now - from way back when I was writing for The Winchester Family Business - Anna has been a regular commenter on my articles, offering some wonderful insight into different aspects of the story, as well as, well thought out theories. You may have read some of her amazing comments.

I love Anna's thinky thoughts, they always get my brain going too, so I invited her to become sweetondean's first regular contributing writer, and yay for us, she agreed! Anna will be writing regular articles looking at various aspects of the unfolding mythology and offering up some food for thought for us all to discuss.

So please join me in welcoming Anna, and let us know you're amazing thinky thoughts in the comments!

Now without any further adoo doo, welcome. to the first sweetondean, SUPERNATURAL THINK TANK!
-sweetondean



Thinky Thoughts on Supernatural 11x02 "Form and Void"

Amy has honoured me with the privilege of writing down my thinky thoughts and sharing them all with you. Thank you Amy for this opportunity.  She's given it quite a catchy name and declared it an open forum for discussion of the topic at hand.  I thought I might start with "Form and Void" if that's ok.....so here goes my thinky thoughts for last week.

I've always believed that from the moment we found out the boys had to be born, it was because God had wanted it.  Supernatural seemingly gives the impression, as declared by the angels and archangels, as well as Metatron, that God has seemingly left the planet.  These angels then took it upon themselves to run things, including throwing themselves a little Apocalypse.   In watching "Free to be You and Me" last night, it occurred to me, ....Sam asked Lucifer...why me? And Lucifer replied..."It had to be you Sam".  But it seemed to me that Lucifer couldn't provide a specific answer to Sam's question.  He simply noted, for no other reason that it had to be Sam.  It's as though Lucifer couldn't give a reason, he just knew.  Same could be said of Zach and his insistence and belief that Dean was the Michael Sword; "You are the chosen one" Zach told Dean...And yet he could never provide an answer as to why.  It leads me to believe that the angel's belief that the boys should be the vessels has been ingrained in them by God...because God knew, as he chose them, that it would be Sam and Dean that would prevent the Apocalypse. Any other vessel, any other psychic child would've failed...but Sam & Dean, chosen by God, didn't.

We find out in "Dark Side of the Moon" that God is in fact  ever present.  Joshua told the boys that God was on Earth. He noted that God didn't think that the Apocalypse was his problem. Yet he saved the boys from the church and put them on the plane. He brought Cas back...So perhaps if we delve deeper behind Joshua's words...God thinking the Apocalypse wasn't his problem was in fact true, because he knew all along that the boys were going to stop it...therefore, the Apocalypse wasn't a problem... and to say God didn't help along the way...I don't believe that to be so. I always found it very interesting that the character of Chuck was in the episode "The End"...the episode which helped Dean realise that he was wrong in thinking that he and Sam were weaker together, that in fact the opposite was true.  I highly doubt that Chuck's role was simply to inform Dean to treasure toilet paper....given in "Swan Song", we find out that  Chuck is in fact God....this leads me to believe that God is in fact present in the supernatural world and has been there to help the boys...especially given how many times they've come back from the dead.

The reason I mention this is because, I do in fact believe that there was more to this episode in regards to faith and hope than it might seem.  I do lean towards the fact that Billie wasn't only there to simply reap that soul and scare the pants off of Sam Winchester. It was all in what she said and the fact that she said what she did. She told Sam he was unclean in the Biblical sense...pretty on the nose choice of words to insult Sam with. That insult didn't even directly have anything to do with why she was angry with him, which was because he supposedly helped in offing her boss. So the whole, you're unclean was kind of out of left field, which is why I don't believe it to be merely an insult, but a clue. She seemed quite calm and though menacing, she didn't seem to give off the impression of hostility or rage at the "supposed loss" of her boss.  She also told Sam that Death thought his and Dean's returns were amusing, which seemed odd given that Death had mentioned how Dean's messing around with the natural order was actually quite irksome. Death did mention having to clean up his mess did he not? He even went so far as to teach Dean a lesson by making him wear his ring and be Death for a day. That remark kind of threw me...but I kind of hand waved it, as I believe that God is the one who keeps bringing the boys back, and I feel Death is keen on the boys being the ones chosen by God, so he simply just deals with it.  He's even helped once or twice himself.  A kind of a well, if I can't reap em, join em, attitude. :D Billie threatened Sam by noting that this resurrection business has come to its end and she threatened to throw them both into the 'Empty"....a place no one can ever come back from. That threat alone didn't seem right to me. First off,  I don't believe Reapers decide where souls go, their job is simply to reap them and send them to where God chooses the souls to go.  Billie's threat, though scary feels like an empty one to me. Even if she went rogue, I still believe that God trumps rogue Reaper, I even believe God could trump the Empty. I'm therefore leaning very strongly towards the threat wasn't actually meant to be a threat...she gave Sam very important information...nothing can come back from the Empty....so if the Darkness cannot be killed, as it wasn't able to be killed the first time, then it stands to reason that it needs to be re-contained.....and the only place that the Darkness wouldn't be able to escape from would be the Empty. So basically Billie has given Sam the solution to the boy's problem, I just don't think he understands and realises it just yet.

Billie's threat/insult to Sam while intending to or not, did lead Sam to the church to pray.  Sam praying for everyone but himself doesn't surprise me in the least...his owning up to his mistakes and dealing with them also, typical Sam Winchester SOP. Sam asked for a sign, some direction, and I do believe as some others do that his prayer was in fact answered by God.  It wasn't a direct answer, it was subtle and Sam will eventually figure it out, which leads me to believe he will have more of these visions.  His sign was of his time in the Cage, and while it's too early for Carver to show us anyone in the Cage, he did provide us with subtle hints that it won't be too long now before we do get back to Lucifer/Michael. Sam may not have seen his torturer but he saw his torture...and we all know who did that to Sam. I believe God was sending Sam visions of  the Cage, because the help the boys need, might just start there...with Michael/and or Lucifer.  Carver also made mention of unrest in the Cage as well. I don't believe that Sam's visions a mere coincidence, given that his prayer was answered within, like two minutes after asking for a sign from God. I also don't believe those visions can come from the Cage...if that was a possibility, why bother putting Lucifer in the Cage in the first place? I think as others noted it would've happened already.

"Form and Void"....the Darkness had no form according to lore. When Rowena cast the spell she removed the curse from Dean, but she didn't destroy the mark. To me it seems, she transferred it onto the first child born at the time the mark was removed....and when the Darkness was freed, she entered the vessel with the mark? Does that seem plausible? The Darkness is now form. But as a form it needs to feed, so what does the Darkness need to grow stronger?  Apparently so, and by eating souls.. Death foretold how powerful souls are...how it's all about the souls. Will the Darkness always need to consume souls?  Does Crowley want to get in good with the Darkness so she can consume souls for him...since he cannot have Purgatory?  Or does the Darkness simply eat souls to create a world that is void....that is dark....after all, without a soul, one is evil, cold, empty, without sympathy or empathy...they might even kill..depending on the vessel....in essence, without a soul, the vessel is void...dark. Is that what the Darkness ultimately wants? Ultimately needs? To live in a dark world...a world without light...a world without hope? As it once was when before she was imprisoned by God....the creator of light.

Seems to me this all goes back to Sam and Dean Winchester.  Sam has always represented the light. The light of knowledge...the light of empathy. He is sympathetic and patient. He has unwavering faith in his brother, and I believe he's still has unwavering faith in God or at the very most God's goodness. Praying is symbolic of that. Sam had promised once to show Dean the light because he believes in it. It's this faith and his belief in the light that will help in the fight against the Darkness. It's his light that has always helped Dean make it through his own darkness....The Winchester's ....the chosen ones....their, always keep fighting attitude, their never ending love for each other and their unending desire and need to save others....that's what will allow them to beat the Darkness.

I don't foresee the boys being punished in the end...when all is said and done, I believe there's only light in the boys future.... ;)

What do you think?

See you again soon for the next eppy's thinky thoughts.  :)
-Anna