Roundtable Discussion on Supernatural Episode 11:02 “Form and Void”
Welcome to TNWU’s roundtable discussion about this week’s Supernatural episode Form and Void. Participating in tonight’s discussion are Debbi Bachman, Michelle Villery and Jackie Bojarski. We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
SPOILERS BELOW!
Topics:
“Billie” played by Lisa Perry
Michele: I loved Billie! I thought Lisa Perry was a breath of fresh air! I loved her dynamic with Jared. Her voice is simply amazing. Looking forward to seeing Billie again and I pray she doesn’t throw Sam or Dean into the ’empty’ ! (OMG !What is that?)
Debbi: Lisa Perry just killed this role! She is so beautiful and came off as so deadly that I’d run like hell if I saw her coming for me! I love, love, loved the fact that that even though she tells Sam that the reapers have given up on the Winchesters she still gives Sam the answer to the sickness.
Jackie: Honestly, the introduction of Billie into the story was my favorite part of the episode. Lisa Perry was brilliant, and her singing “Oh Death” was both haunting and well-placed in the episode. She also had great chemistry with Jared, which made their scenes together a joy to watch. I’m curious as to her motivations this season and whether she’ll prove to be an adversary or an ally to the Winchesters.
Dean/Crowley/Amara storyline
Michele: I think we’re not getting a lot from Dean because he is under the influence of Amara. This reminds me of how Ruby was with Sam in season 4. Amara is kind of Dean’s ‘’Ruby” so to speak. We’ll have to see how this continues to go. But one thing that is different, Dean knows she has to be stopped. Yet, I don’t think he can actually go through with it. Crowley was great. I love Mark Sheppard so much! He is so funny. I love when him and Jensen work together. It’s so great!
Debbi : The interaction between Dean and Crowley is always has some of the best lines of any given episode. Ackles and Sheppard are gold when on the screen together. As much as he’s the bad ass King of Hell, Crowley retains a soft spot for Dean. I believe he honestly feels a sense of brotherhood with him and while Dean may have no problem killing Crowley, Crowley will always hesitate to kill Dean. He (Crowley) doesn’t have anyone else in his life that he considers his equal. It’s a very interesting dynamic and Ackles and Sheppard both seem to respect this a great deal.
Amara was set up in the first episode to be more than she appeared to be, but wow, her powers are formidable. I believe that Dean, while not afflicted by the darkness, does feel bound to her through the mark. This may prove to be his Achilles heel, much like Ruby was for Sam – good insight Michele. I think right now he’s playing a waiting game, he’s not ready to go ‘all in’ yet, but can’t walk away either. The dynamic between these three will prove to be interesting as the season moves along.
Jackie: Scenes with Dean and Crowley are always enjoyable, because both are such snarky characters and Mark and Jensen have great chemistry together. With that said, I was kind of disappointed in the writing of Dean in this episode, only because it felt like the writers made him too ineffective in this episode. Perhaps, however, this was done to illustrate the depth of the hold that Amara has on him.
Baby Amara was terrifying in the episode, but I find the idea that she feeds on souls a little perplexing, since she existed BEFORE souls even existed. I’m curious to see how long it will take her to reach maturity, however. I’m not really digging the whole “Jacob/Renesmee” feel to Dean’s bond with her, either. It’s kind of creepy…but maybe that’s the point!
It’s also unclear as to what Crowley’s motivations are in regard to Amara, so it’ll be interesting to see whether he wants her as an ally or seeks to destroy her.
Sam’s/Jared’s storyline
Michele: This was the Sam from the early seasons. Jared knocked it out of the park!. He was amazing. I loved his interaction with Billie and the clue she gave him. I call those two frenemies (laughs). From the touching prayer scene (thinking of Dean. That’s how the brothers roll) in the church to him getting those visions, all of it was amazing! Plus he saved himself and the town!
Was it me, or did we hear Lucifer in those visions? I hope Sam does tell Dean what happened though.
Debbi: Sam and Jared were amazing. I wanted to hug him in church and I really felt his pain and confusion when he got that vision – the first in how many years? He creates a stun gun from things in a hardware store even as he’s growing sicker. He was so weak but once he realized Billie had given him that clue he pulled it together and toughed it out. Yeah, maybe Google is a little hokey, but Sam had to put it all together before he could act. He is so smart, so brave, so strong, he just powered through the pain of burning the sickness from his soul. Of course, in the end the Winchesters will always pray for the other to live, that’s what they do. It’s in their DNA or something.
I know some people have commented that Sam and Dean were apart, but they were working together to solve the puzzle rather than against each other at cross-purposes. The guys working together doesn’t always have to mean joined at the hip. The Js have said the Ws are united this season, against a common foe. We may not see every last conversation they have in terms of show time vs. air time, but they’ve admitted that they know they’re better together.
Jackie: I loved Sam in this episode. It was a return to the smart, sympathetic Sam whose goal as a hunter is to save as many people as he can, regardless of the danger it puts him in. I especially loved the church scene in which he prays to God to spare his brother’s life. To me, that epitomized the essence of the show. I will say that Sam turning to Google made me raise an eyebrow, but it was nice to see Sam put his research skills to use. But altogether I was satisfied with his portion of the episode.
I also loved the hints that were dropped in this EP that the answer to the Darkness might be in the Cage. I’m uncertain as to where Sam’s visions are coming from, but I anticipate that we will get answers as the season progresses.
Cas’ storyline
Michele: I missed bad ass Cas so much and this week we got a glimpse again. I’m still kind of confused on Cas’ role though (after re-watching it again) in this. Does he still have the attack dog spell on him?
RIP Hannah!! I’ll miss Lee. He was such a great actor and I’ll miss Erica Carroll (the original Hannah) as well. Did they really have to kill Hannah? I wonder how that affects the angels going forward because isn’t he a guard or something?
Debbi: I have missed the bad ass Angel Warrior Cas so much that I wanted to stand up and cheer as he fought off two armed angels while handcuffed! This is the Castiel who awed us with his character introduction in S5. This is an Angel of the Lord, one who awes and inspires you. Not someone to laugh at or make fun of – someone whose voice can make you tremble. I hope to heck they keep this guy around.
Misha is also doing a commendable job at portraying a cursed angel. His fight to control the effects of the curse was well done. You could see it eating at him while he struggled with it.
I was glad to see the appearance of Hannah. Lee, the actor playing the role, is so very expressive. You could definitely see Hannah there even though the vessel was male. I was sorry that she was destroyed and sent back to heaven again. It was interesting to me that the curse was too strong for an angel to break. Of course this sets the stage for the return of Rowena the wicked, wicked witch.
Jackie: First off, I want to say that I was so thrilled that badass Cas made an appearance in this episode! This is the Cas that I’ve been missing for a while and which I like the best. Hopefully, he’ll be around for a while. I wasn’t crazy about the fact that the writers chose to torture Cas yet again–as it’s been used before as a plot device, it’s started to become redundant–but I was happy that Cas pretty much got himself out of trouble. I was very disappointed that they killed off Hannah, since she was pretty much Cas’s last angelic ally. I felt it was unnecessary, to be honest.
Overall, though, I’m anxious to see what direction Cas goes in this season, and whether he’ll regain his sanity.
Predictions for Season/Next week
Michele: I think Crowley will continue to be the middle person between Dean and Amara. I do think Crowley is protecting Dean. From himself, and since he’s the king of hell, he’s keeping Amara close because she’s a powerful entity. (keep your enemies close)
I think that Lucifer is sending Sam visions from the cage. Lucifer is one of the few that has defeated Amara and can help Sam. I think Michael will do the same for Dean. Will Michael and Lucifer assume their true vessels (Sam and Dean) to get rid of Amara?
Maybe Cas goes after Metatron because he’s currently running around with the Demon Tablet. Could the tablet hold one of the keys to defeat Amara?
Rowena comes back next week. She has the Book of the Damned which I think also has something about Amara in it. I love Ruth Connell and it will be a fun episode!
Debbi: I agree with Michele’s predictions and add the following:
Billie may be Death’s new vessel. Her singing Death’s entrance anthem could be a clue, or a red herring.
At least one Reaper is still siding with the Winchesters. All Billie had to do if she had wanted to reap Sam was stick around for a couple of hours, but she gave him and out. Why?
Will Lucifer (Light-Bringer) and Michael, archangels, end up being critical to defeating the darkness?
Will S&D have to step back into their original roles as vessels for this to happen?
Has Crowley bitten off more than he can chew with Amara? Think Lilith.
Rowena has a role to play, but what will that be and will she play nicely?
Jackie: The brothers will share their secrets. I know that a lot of fans are annoyed that we’re only two episodes in and Sam and Dean are already keeping secrets from each other. In the next episode or so, I predict that they will finally share those secrets. Let’s hope it’s sooner rather than later!
Rowena and Metatron will come into play. My gut feeling is that the demon tablet is gonna have some info on the Darkness, but to get the tablet, they’ll need Metatron. Seems like a mission for the Winchesters’ angel pal! As for Rowena, methinks she’s gonna pop up to wreck havoc and make things difficult.
Sam will continue to have visions. Someone is trying to tell Sam that the answer to defeating the Darkness lies in the Cage. But who’s sending him the visions? God? Lucifer? Someone else?
Is Billie an ally or an adversary? Only time will tell! I certainly hope we see more of her this season.
Dean’s connection to Amara will continue to be significant. I can’t tell yet as to whether this connection will prove to hurt the Winchesters’ attempts at defeating the Darkness or help them. We’ll have to find out!
Cas will be cured. Undoubtedly, it has to happen if Cas is to be of any use to the Winchesters in this fight.
What are Crowley’s intentions with Amara? Is he taking a “keep your enemies close” approach, or is he planning something sinister?
Overall thoughts on the episode
Michele: To me, it was a solid episode. I give it an A-. Only reasons for that were the minor stuff with the Angel storyline.
Debbi: General Observations: Did anyone else notice that each time the scene switched to one of three storylines that there was a connecting theme or piece of dialog between the two scenes? I need to watch again, but I’m fairly certain it happened with each switch. I only noticed it midway through and started watching for it. It tied the storylines together nicely and was a really nice piece of film making by Phil S.
This episode did an excellent job of tying off the storyline started in the S10 finale. We have been brought up-to-date on everyone by Rowena and Metatron and there are multitudes of ways in which Carver and the writers can progress this story. The actors were outstanding. Even Ackles, who had less to do this episode than in others, made his every movement and facial expression count. I give this episode an A- and liked it very much.
Jackie: I’d give this episode a B, because for all its good parts, it also had bad or poorly written ones. I did a lot of eyebrow raising during this episode. But I also did a lot of cheering. It was nice to see Sam and Cas be self-sufficient, and nice to see Sam score a win for the Winchesters!