Just a reminder of how things work before we start with today's choices. Every poll is open for 24-36 hours, always ending at 11:59 pm CST in the USA. You get one vote - no repeat voting. Since the point of this contest is pass time in hellatus, everyone is encouraged to respectfully comment about their choice. It's even more fun if you rank them or tell what you thought of each. Obviously, everything is a person's opinion so please share yours. With that in mind, I share my opinion also and here's my opinion of these episodes:
Twelve must be a magical number for SPN because I find I like these choices better than most. 3 are in my Top Episodes list and only one is in my Worst Episodes list. Which of course makes voting a whole lot harder.
Faith - Faith ties for my best episode of season 1 along with Devil's Trap. There is nothing I don't like about this episode from the introduction of reapers to Sam protecting Dean to the stellar music. We get Vulnerable!Dean in the wooby hoodie and that devastating phone call Sam makes to John. (Shameless promotion - My recap of Faith should be posted on Monday or Tuesday, here and on my blog. Fair warning - Faith cemented my utter hatred of John.)
Nighshifter - Ronald Resnick is one of my favorite PiP's of all time. Who can forget Mandroid and laser eyes. I loved Ronald and was so disappointed when he died. Still, the shapeshifter hunt was awesome, it introduced another favorite character Victor Henrickson, and nothing ever fit as well in Supernatural than Renegade by Styx playing at the end. "We are so screwed." Yep, you were but it made for awesome TV.
Jus in Bello - Again we have Victor Henrickson and again we have a top episode. This is another of those perfect Supernatural episodes. I love the introduction of Lilith, Nancy is fabulous, and we got "I shot the sheriff.......But you didn't shoot the deputy." Bwah! This is one of the best mytharc episodes in Supernatural history. Plus, it contains one of Dean's most clever plans. Well, until Lilith killed my favorites (stop doing that SPN).
Criss Angel is a Douche Bag - I didn't dislike this episode near as much as most people. I thought the story line was awesome and I enjoyed the "old-timer" magicians. It had some funny parts but this one is pretty middle ground.
Swap Meat - Ugh. This may be the episode I have seen the least because there is nothing that grabs me in it. I am not a fan of body swapping episode in general and found this one to be juvenile for the most part.
Like a Virgin - OK, I admit it. One of the reasons I like this episode so much is because the CW royally screwed us over it by premiering it one week later after an already too-long hiatus. This one benefits from the fandom for me. However, it also kicks starts a new and improved Dean and Sam relationship starting with that awesome hug. That alone makes it gold in my book. Plus, I liked the Mother of All story line. Especially when I thought it was going somewhere.
So there you have it - my opinions. The brilliance of many 12th episodes make up for the suckiness of the 13th ones for me. What do you think? What's your favorite? Vote your choice and don't forget that comments are the birthday cake of life.
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Best Show contest is over and
ReplyDeletewe are back to the best episode polls.
For me this was actually easy to rank but hard to accept because 4 of
them are all better than anything in the next go around. Still I end up with:
1. Faith
2. Nightshifter
3. Jus in Bello
4. Like a Virgin
5. Criss Angel is a Douche Bag
6. way, way below the others…Swap Meat
What do you think?
I love "Faith" and "Nightshifter" but for me it's always going to be "Jus in Bello." Perfect episode that ended incredibly.
ReplyDeleteI was hard pulled between Jus in Bello (this ep is just massive with a very scary awesome) and Faith (which is classic one with: brother pulling at heaven and hell to get the other out of trouble, new improved reason for totally justified John hate-age, super-awesome music, and first direct jab at religion which the show will only deconstruct further) and thus obviously I finally chose Like a Virgin. Coz I'm weak and there was a hug there- is the short version, for me the show is about Sam and Dean's relationship so as it got better so did the show- is the long one. Oh yes and I almost forgot how it was to believe Mother of All was some major storyline. It was nice feeling that I still had back then
ReplyDeleteI had a hard time going between Nightshifter and Jus in Bello. I think they are both tremendous episodes. In the end I placed Nightshifter on hair breadth ahead because of the humor and perfect music. Plus, Ronald beats Henrickson by the slightest margin in my favorite PiP's list. This is the problem with going be episode number though. All 3 (including Faith) are in the top of my Top 25 list while nothing in the next round even comes close.
ReplyDelete"totally justified John hate-age"
ReplyDeleteHa! Love how you put it and I agree with every ounce of my being. John sucked out loud here and nothing ever made up for his ignoring his kids when they needed him the most. No, not even burdening your oldest son with your secret about your youngest son as you trade your life for his. You suck John!
Tough one, but I have to go with Jus In Bello too. It was like Croatoan on PCP. Just epic.
ReplyDeleteLoved Faith as well. It took guts to make a religion-themed episode so quickly. It was very nicely done, and a great exploration of Dean personality.
Like A Virgin was full of memorable moments ; Sam's return, Dean and the sword, Eve's arrival...
Nightshifter's a classic as well. So intense.
As for the other two, they were okay as standalone episodes, that's all.
Ok If I were ranking them I'd go
ReplyDelete1.Jus in Bello
2.Faith
3.Like a Virgin
4.Nightshifter
5.Criss Angel is a Douche Bag
with
6.Swap Meat
because there is no other position. I REALLY hate that episode. Ugh.
My is a bit different but it might be because Jus in Bello oficially scares me into choosing it. :>
ReplyDeleteWent with Just in Bello because I love it when the smoke monsters attack. Plus, Henderson was great. Second choice would have been a toss up between Nightshifter and Like a Virgin.
ReplyDeleteYes. Even when he died (which is when I did a little Snoopy dance with holee lotta of 'finallys!' falling here and there) he could not just STAY DEAD. No he did not even become a MOTW or something, no! He just laid a thick self -destructive streak inducing guilt trip on the older son, the cherry on top being the very secret info of the potential evilness of Sam, while inducing a major 'am I a monster, I must be a monster, why did ever Dean sacrificed himself for a monster!' angst on the other. Guh! Sure he did not tell Dean to pass it to Sam but he must have known that he would. And did he honestly expect Dean to just shoot Sam after burdening him with his brother's well being for all his friggin life??? He might as well has given Bobby a call about that tid bit, though I'm sure Bobby would actually have been-uh I dunno- FATHERLY about this.
ReplyDeleteAlso don't get me started on the whole JW-patented-upbringing method: 'leave them a '45 and 20 buck to a name for an unknown amount of weeks and hope for they'll make it', the whole soldier like indoctrination and all that bullshit.Not to mention that when he's gotten himself hellified he had to make it all 120 years under torture without being broken, thus leading to another major angst for dean. Sure when one does not even care for his kids in anything reminding a sane parent fashion, how can hell break such a person???! There, rant possibly over. :>
Love the first 3
ReplyDelete1. Faith - Sam takes care of Dean; reapers
2. Nightshifter - 'Renegade' perfectness; Ronald; laser eyes/mandroid
3. Jus in Belo - Henrickson, "I shot the sheriff...", Nancy
4. Like a Virgin - the hug (awww)!; Sammy's back, brothers being brothers again
5. Criss Angel... - immortal magician was interesting
6. Swap Meat - didn't really care for this one, I don't like the brothers separated
I voted Jus in Bello. The Criss Angel episode I found boring and Swap Meat was funny but not great. Faith really showed how much the brothers care about each other. But since i saw it last year I knew that there were another 5 seasons to come and not to worry about Dean dying (little did I know he would die several more times). Like a virgin we were all very excited about after the haitus and it was technically my first Supernatural hellhaitus since I started watching Season 6 live :P. I loved the brother hug (finally) with soulful Sam! Dragons are always fun and of course we meet the Mother. Jus in Bello is my favourite though out of all of them, the story was great and we got to see the brothers matching tatoos! I liked Katie Cassidy as Ruby and she was good in this episode and maybe right for once but Dean wouldnt be Dean if he had agreed to her plan. Sad to see Nancy and Henriksen die and lilith was super creepy. And who doesnt love a couple good exorcisms and some holy water on the go!
ReplyDelete1. Jus in Bello
2. Like a Virgin
3. Faith
4. Nightshifter
5. Swap Meat
6. Criss Angel
Don't forget the travesty of Something Wicked. He leaves his 2 small children in a hotel room alone for several days with a monster that HUNTS SIBLINGS in the area. Then he happens to come in right when the shtriga attacks? That timing sounds like he used his own kids as bait to me. Ugh! I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one doing the happy dance when John died.
ReplyDeleteI've only seen Faith and Nightshifter, ironically the next episode on my Supernatural run-through is Jus In Bello, so my vote may change in a couple of days, but I thought Faith was brilliant... Loved it. The bank one in Nightshifter wasn't bad but not a SPN classic so far for me...
ReplyDeleteDon't forget ole Johnny boy did even more then using his kids as bait. He knew that the Sthriga is unlikely to attack when both kids were together but still they were little, no adult was around so there they are bait. But still it's more likely to attack when kids are separated, so he lays on thick to poor Dean how he absolutely CANNOT leave his brother alone, and then leaves- a what? 8year old- alone, with a sick sibling for HOURS with absolutely NOTHING to do, basically setting him up for failure. Then he swoops in, saves the day, super-duper-guilt trips Dean and uses the whole experience as a tool for mind control... I mean programming...I mean raisin Dean into a good soldier.
ReplyDeleteLydecker from Dark Angel and programmers fro Dollhouse have nothing on John. After all those whiny bastards never even mind-fucked they're children *scoffs*
Funny thing is I'm an older sister myself and at 9,10 I did a lot to help my mum, also stuff that I get goosebumps over when I think my brother would be doing them at that age coz I thought him 'just a kid'- so i get why Dean always thought himself all adult and responsible, but John as a friggin parent should have known better.
I remember thinking my brother was too young to go few stops on the bus by himself. John let 8 old take care of a 4 year old alone (that we know of)- that guy had some serious head injury (or several) along the way to think that was ok.
oh wow. You haven't seen Jus in Bello.
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous of that. lol
Hey Adam! Glad you joined us. Wilson's right about Jus in Bello. As far as mytharc episodes go, it is one of the best. What did you think of Mystery Spot?
ReplyDeleteAs much as I loved Jus in Bello and Victor Hendricksen, and Ronald in Nightshifter, I had to go with Faith. simply because it was a fantastic episode and it completely focused on Sam and Dean and their desire to save each other. It was the ep that cemented that relationship for me, so I have to give it my vote.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the hardest rounds for me because there so much awesomeness in it.
ReplyDeleteSwap Meat was ok - but I'm not a huge fan of the whole body swap concept. I do think Jared did a great job of being a teen though - I loved the 'mirror' scene - very well done.
Criss Angel - I've tried and I just can't put my finger on why I dislike this episode. I just don't.
This is where it gets harder.
Like A Virgin is great, although I think the whole 'dragon' thing could've been done better - but given SPN's crappy budget they did the best they could. And as Dahne said the hug - and what that told us about the status of the brother relationship makes it truly awesome.
So then I'm left with three of SPN's best episodes.
So I'm just gonna go think about this some more before it is VERY close.
This is really a hard one.
ReplyDelete1. Faith
2. Jus in Bello
3. Nightshifter
4. Like a Virgin
5. Criss Angel is Douche Bag
6.Only because there's nothing else I can slip in...Swap Meat....I hated this one
I love SPN fans :D The reason i started watching this show was because every site i went on for tv spoilers there was a heap of SPN fans commenting and only a few for other shows. And all they had to say was good stuff about the show, so i started watching from s1 and immediately loved it! So thanks guys for getting me started in such an awesome show!
ReplyDeleteWas hesitating between "Jus In Bello" and "Like A Virgin". Finally went for the former.
ReplyDeleteThat's the best compliment you can give to the Supernatural fandom. We love promoting our show and to hear that it worked for you is a great encouragement. Glad you our in the SPN family.
ReplyDeletewow. this one was pretty difficult
ReplyDeletei love a lot of these episodes and some of them are also very high up on my favourites list, the highest 2 being jus in bello and nightshifter. i found it very difficult to choose between these two.
nightshifter was epic. it had the shape shifter, one awesome(if somewhat gross) monster that we didn't see much of. it also introduced us to hendrickson, the epic FBI agent who always made episodes more interesting. i loved the setup of this episode, that they were trapped in a bank with swat outisde, and the outcome, that they were now in deep trouble because the FBI were onto them. one unfortunate problem with that was (if i recall correctly) the KAZ 2Y5 number platre got changed after this episode because they were on the run. nightshifter also had the awesome 'renegade by styx' music cue at the end of the episode.
but then there's jus in bello. it is a truly awesome episode. it put the brothers in a similar, tough situation where they really had to come up with one of their genius plans to get out of. we saw hendrickson again (maybe its him, funny how he's in both of these episodes) and this time he joined the good team to help fight off the massive demon army. we got to see the boys' new demon proffing tatoos, got some virgin jokes (like one of the other episodes on this list) and even saw lillith for the first time (granted, she was only mentioned by name for the first time in that epiosode) and watched her smite an entire room of people, including, sadly, hendrikson.
funnily, this episode was, until season 6 began, the last episode i had watched of the first 5 seasons. i'm not sure how it happened but when season 3 was on air i had missed it and after i had gone back and watched the first 2 seasons, i kept heaing references to something in an episode i hadn't seen yet. once i worked out it was jus in bello i watched it and was in awe of how i could possibly have missed an episode so awesome. i dunno, i really liked this episode.
so, even though i loved nightshifter, i voted jus in bello. another season 3 epic episode :D
for the rest of my order for 12th episode
1: jus in bello
2: nightshifter
3: like a virgin (it was our first ep back from hiatus and i liked it, the dragons was original, the sword in the stone was hilarious, sam had his soul back and we got our first glimpse of the mother of all)
4: faith (a great season 1 episode, but for me it just wasn't good enough to make it higher on my list. it is pretty interchangable with like a virgin for spot 3, depending on what i'm feeling. the reapers were cool, because they were an unstoppable force that were prettyscary. it also was pretty sad because we met someone the brothers couldn't save b/c she (layla) was dying of natural causes)
5 and 6: i honestly can't pick a bottom and second bottom between the last 2. swap meat and CAIADB are in my list of bottom episodes and are some of the few episodes i've only seen once. i dunno, i just didn't really find anything speacial in either of these eisodes that warrented them a higher ranking
thanks Dahne for getting these back up again, even throughout the best show competition i've been missing these, almost as much as i've been missing supernatural
:D
we are a happy bunch :D
ReplyDeleteglad to here you're enjoying the show :D
awesome you've gotten so far through!! get ready for jus in bello, its incredible!!
ReplyDeleteThanks and you're welcome. I missed them too. Probably because the only real campaigning I'm going to be doing for these is WiaWSNB and it's going to lose to an episode in my bottom episodes list. Other than that, this contest is post, vote, and comment. No stress there. :-)
ReplyDeletewhich episode is that? i'm having a full on mental blank, and there can't be many episodes that would beat WIAWSNB
ReplyDeleteJus in Bello is the very first Supernatural episode i watched and the one that intrigued me, so it has to be my favourite!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh Lord, this is tough. Fortunately I can knock out two straight away: Swap Meat and Criss Angel is a Douchebag. While I quite like the Body Swap premise, and Jared did a good job of acting a 17 year old in his own body, this one just didn't do it for me. I think I just couldn't believe that Dean wouldn't notice immediately that it wasn't Sam. Criss Angel is a Douchebag is my least favourite of all these episodes: it has a couple of funny one-liners, but it's just (IMO) a nothing episode. Plus, I didn't like the guest characters.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the other four are all in my top 30 episodes ever, and I don't know how to choose! Faith was one of the best episodes of season 1: it showed us a vulnerable side of Dean that had only been hinted at before, it showed how far Sam was willing to go for Dean, and it introduced the thought that maybe, just maybe, this show was brave enough to kill off one of the main characters (as proven conclusively about a year later).
Nightshifter is just a brilliant episode. It makes my top 30 for the closing scene alone, that brilliant montage with Styx 'Renegade' playing in the background. Ronald Resnick is a fantastic PiP with his mandroid theories, and it's responsible for bringing Victor Henricksen to the fore, one of the best recurring characters they've had on SPN, with the exception of Rufus and Crowley (I consider Bobby and Cas to be main characters at this stage).
Jus in Bello is just amazing. It has Nancy, my favourite PiP ever, some fantastic one-liners, and a fantastic, creepy-as-hell plotline. It also shows some of the fallout from Sam's 'Groundhog Day' and hints at what he might become without Dean to guide him. It introduces Lillith as the creepiest little child ever to grace our SPN screens (which is saying something) and it brings the Henricksen storyline to a close in the most amazing way ever.
Finally, Like a Virgin has a special place in my heart for the return of our Sam after half a season of RoboSam, the fantastic brother hug, and seeing Dean so happy at the return of his Sam. It also has some very funny lines, and the introduction of Dr. Visyak, who was awesome in her own right and also turned out to be way more important than I ever expected. The dragon storyline was a bit odd, but they mostly made it work, and it also saw us introduced to the Mother of All, who was interesting as a big bad, even when she turned out to be a red herring.
I think really, it comes down to a decision between Faith and Jus in Bello, and for sheer brilliance, I think Jus in Bello just has the edge. The win for Lillith at the end introduces a moral dilemma for Sam and Dean about the possibility of sacrificing one person for the good of the many which is an important theme throughout the subsequent apocalyptic story-arc.
You've just exactly described my response to Criss Angel is a Douchebag: I don't know exactly why I don't like, I just don't!
ReplyDeleteThat's funny, I actually like all these episodes :P
ReplyDeleteThese are my opinions:
1. Like a Virgin ( LOVED LOVED LOVED IT, everything was perfect - except the dragons maybe, they were kinda lame x] )
2. Faith (A very different episode from the eps before it, and it catched my interest right from the start. Wonderful episode)
3. Nightshifter (Mandroid-Ron was hilarious! Awesome ep)
4. Jus in Bellow (Nobody kills virgins!!! Haha, a really exciting episode, loved it)
5. Swap Meat (I actually loved that episode, even though it's my number 5.. I think it was really funny XD Jared's acting was especially funny)
6. Criss Angel is a Douche Bag (I think it's an okay episode with some funny scenes, and the old men were kinda adorable.. but not an episode I can watch again and again)
#1 was easy for me....Jus in Bello. It is a top 3 for me for sure. I watch it every time it comes on TNT and tape it and rewatch it. "do you think its because we're awesome....I think its because we are so awesome!" And I love Hendrickson.
ReplyDeleteI actually like all of these episodes (even Swap Meat), so rating them is hard.
#2. Faith. I love sick Dean and Sam calling John
#3. Like a Virgin. The brother hug, Sam finding out he had no soul for a year, and the whole end conversation with Dean....all classic SPN
#4, Nightshifter. Intro to Hendrickson and the BEST use of a song in any tv show in history...Renegade was totally inspired at the end
#5. Swap Meat...I loved every second of Sam in Gary's body. I cracked up
#6. Criss Angel...I loved Barry Bostwick and john rubenstien as the old magicians. The plot...not so much.
Wow. That means this is your first summer hellatus. Hope you are dealing well.
ReplyDeleteFaith is the first episode I obsessed over although Dead in the Water kick started my obsession as a whole. It was probably the most talked about episode during that first hellatus, except of course the car crash at the end of the season. It also kicked off a flurry of fan fiction. Faith will always have a special place in my heart for first showing that they were vulnerable and also for showing that Sam fights as hard to save Dean as Dean fights to save Sam.
ReplyDeleteThis surprises me because I thought it would be Jus in Bello without a second guess. The episode that brings you into Supernatural is always special and you happened to come in on one of the best. Your son had great timing!
ReplyDeleteHa! Yeah, I think I'll hold 6 -9th place for whatever they show in seasons 7-10 as the 12th episode. I can't imagine them being worse than Swap Meat.
ReplyDeleteI imagine there will be a lot of votes for The Man Who Would Be King. A lot of people loved that episode. I was not one of them. Not that anything would get my vote other than WiaWSNB as it is perfection in an episode for me.
ReplyDeleteThat was a great episode to come in on. No wonder you were intrigued.
ReplyDeleteCan't believe I forgot to mention the "awesome" quote for Jus in Bello. It's one we use a lot in the fandom. Thanks for mentioning it. I also agree that Renegade was the most inspired use of music of all, and I watch Cold Case so that's saying something.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't hurt that Julie Benz (Rita from Dexter!!!) was the girl with cancer who was painfully optimistic. She was so awesome as that character. Of course that's but a small part of an amazing episode. I loveeeeee it when the reaper comes after people and they start playing Don't Fear The Reaper. :O
ReplyDeleteYou didn't like The Man Who Would Be King?
ReplyDelete:O
How is that even possible?
Well I'm trying to work through this without taking into account that it was JiB was my first ep. (I don't think it's working though :P
ReplyDeleteAgreed although I would say Julie Benz from Buffy and Angel. :-P Another example of a great star star knocking the role out of the park. Oh, and immediately after I saw this episode, I bought a BOC compilation CD. I had forgotten how good they really were. Perfect choice for this episode.
ReplyDeleteSo I've made my decision - which wasn't easy. Well in some ways it was, but I was trying to look at this without going with my gut instinct - which is never a good thing.
ReplyDeleteFirst up, I love Faith. The mere fact that Supernatural even went 'there' still amazes me. It was a risky move which the writers (Raelle Tucker and Sera Gamble) handled exceptionally well.
Second, I also love Nightshifter, for all the reasons Dahne gave. Also shapeshifters happen to be right up there as far as favorite monsters go (all grossness aside)
But Jus in Bello. Well, this was the very first episode I ever saw. My son asked me to dvr it for him as he was working night shifts. The next day I wandered into the room as he was watching it. Little girl Lilith had just arrived at the police station. Those last few minutes of one episode were enough to hook me in. I rushed out that same day and bought the dvds of the previous seasons.
I tried to look at this poll objectively but I have to go with JiB. To me it's just as fantastically awesome as either Faith or Nightshifter, but it does have the edge purely because it's where I came in.
So, yeah, Dahne you did predict my vote correctly :)
It was boring is how that's possible. I expect when I do my season 6 wrap-up this will be one of many very controversial things I will say. For me, TMWWBK is in the bottom third of season 6 episodes.
ReplyDeleteThank you for doing this again, Dahne! Too bad I'm leaving for a couple of days tomorrow so I'll miss several polls. But it's such an awesome way to make it through the hiatus!
ReplyDeleteFaith, Nightshifter and Jus in Bello are awesome. The rest are just average IMO.
But even though, it was easy for me to pick Jus in Bello. It's in my absolute elite of episodes, one of the best the show has ever done. It's fast and full of tension and includes outstanding guest stars (LOVE Henrickson and Nacy, the little angel faced girl was the best Lilith ever and I really liked Cassidy's Ruby).
Although, regardless of my vote for JiB, gotta say the "we're so screwed" scene from Nightshifter is one of the best moments ever on this show.
I loved The Man Who Would Be King, it was one of the best episodes in season 6 and I will have a real headache choosing between the two. But I still think people loved What Is and What Should Never Be enough to make it win the poll. People are very sentimental about season 2 and skeptical about season 6. I will be ok with any of those episodes winning, but I wouldn't be losing my hope yet if I were you ;)
ReplyDeleteI second the Mystery Spot question.
ReplyDeleteAnd have a nice Jus in Bello watching, it's pure brilliance from beginning to end.
Swap Meat was just too, too funny. So I had to go with that one. However, Jus in Bello is really a classic, but it had so many people voting for it, that it didn't need my vote. I do love it, but it is on a different end of the scale from Swap Meat. Jus in Bello is intense, but sometimes I need to laugh. Luckily this show gives us a choice and we can have both.
ReplyDeleteIt was between the 3 first for me. I had to go with Faith for some reason though.
ReplyDeleteHa! I knew it! JiB is probably in my top 5 mytharc episodes of the show. If it hadn't been in the company it was in, it would have been my pick too. A superb episode.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. We'll miss your comments while you are away. Good news - you'll miss the next poll which has a culmination of suckitude unknown in most other episode numbers. And we all know that Born Under a Bad Sign is going to win the 14th episode - again a group of episodes that for the most part go in the thumbs down pile. The 17th episode should be fun though when the humor of Hell House goes against the tragedy of Heart. Hope you're back for that one.
ReplyDeletei loved man who would be king, but i don't think it compares, not even by a long shot to what is and what should never be. that episode is just amazing
ReplyDeleteat least you got one vote from me for WiaWSNB :D
funny how it was the first one you saw and one of the last ones i saw
ReplyDeletebut great choice :D although faith and nightshifter are still all amazing episodes