REMINDER - Due to season 3's shortened season, I made the executive decision to place the final 2 episodes of season 3 against the final 2 episodes of all other seasons. It seems more fair to have the penultimates and finales against each other. If this really annoys you, feel free to add them in your rankings in the comments section. On with the show - I personally feel the 15th episodes are far, far better as a whole than 13 or 14. What do you think?
The Benders - This is the first time we see just how evil people can be. There's nothing paranormal or supernatural in this case, just the ickiest family this side of Deliverance. I loved Officer Kathleen and the show was definitely creepy. It had the awesome poker scene and some fabulous one-liners. "Demons I get. People are crazy." "Eat me. No wait, you actually might." However cannibals just don't do it for me so this one goes in the middle of the episode list for me.
Tall Tales - Two words - The Trickster. It cannot be a bad episode with him. Who could forget alien slow dancing to Lady in Red? I actually liked the sibling bickering here because we got the he said - he said versions similar to the vampire episode on The X-Files. Now anytime someone drones on, I substitute "blah, blah, blah" in my head and it's instantly funny. Plus Bobby saves the day again. With the exception of the Impala's flat tires, there's not much I don't love about this episode.
Death Takes a Holiday - Again a large part of this episode's success is the guest stars. We got the trifecta of Pamela, Tessa, and Alastair in this one. I love the story line of a town with no deaths and the brother's conflicting opinions about this. I enjoyed Dean and Sam as spirits (astral projections) and Cole grew on me as the episode went along. "Thanks Haley Joel. I know I'm dead." A good show all around even if it included the death of a favorite character.
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid - I'm a sucker for back stories and Bobby so I was already predisposed to enjoy this one. However I was alternately surprised and heartbroken when the zombies started out good until things went oh so wrong. I enjoyed Bobby's reaction to his wife and to Dean and Sam when they found out. I liked Karen's conversation with Dean about Bobby. Mostly though I enjoyed meeting Sheriff Mills. I'm glad she's coming back in season 7.
The French Mistake - This will likely be the winner and for good reason. I HATE meta episodes. TMatEotB and Real Ghostbusters make me cringe every time, so I was prepared to hate this episode too. While it will never be my favorite or even close, I laughed continuously and didn't want to shoot myself when it ended. I've even rewatched it a couple times when I didn't have to. For me, that is the highest praise a meta episode can get.
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Past Winners:
Lazarus Rising (season 4)
Are You There God? It's Me, Dean Winchester (season 4)
Bad Day at Black Rock (season 3)
The End (season 5)
Simon Said (season 2)
Skin (season 1)
The Usual Suspects (season 2)
Changing Channels (season 5)
Croatoan (season 2)
Abandon All Hope (season 5)
Mystery Spot (season 3)
Jus in Bello (season 3)
The Song Remains the Same (season 5)
This poll is very hard for me because I like them all pretty much equally except for the Benders. No matter the ranking today, my top 3 are pretty interchangeable for me. Oh, if you are wondering, I would put Time is on My Side dead last on this list if it were included...and by a lot.
ReplyDelete5. The Benders
4. The French Mistake
3. Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
2. Death Takes a Holiday (by the thinnest of margins from #1)
1. Tall Tales
Easily Tall Tales for me as #1 here. One of the best episodes of the whole series. The French Mistake I enjoyed but simply did not like it in the continuity of the whole show, plus they just let Raphael leave at the end which irked me.
ReplyDeleteOh good grief. This is too hard..... BALLS!!!!
ReplyDeleteI also found the Raphael choice a mystery. Why not finish it then and there and move on?
ReplyDeleteExactly! They had the advantage over Raphael in that brief moment, and since their goal was to kill Raph, why not do it then? Although I have to say, it was cool to see Raph get split apart and blown up at the snap of Castiel's fingers.
ReplyDeleteI really wanted to absolutely love The French Mistake. I was so excited about it because I love when the show does meta. But save for a few lines and scenes the episode really didn't do it for me. It seemed really forced and definitely didn't fit into the overall story which was something I'd always loved about Monster at the End of this Book (one of my all time favorite episodes) and the Real Ghostbusters. In Monster there was a lot going on with Lilith and learning about Chuck and archangels. The Real Ghostbusters was a fun romp and then we found out at the end from Becky that Bela gave the colt to Crowley which set up Abandon All Hope the next episode and gave us one of the best guest star villains ever with Crowley. With the French Mistake though nothing really fit into the overall story and since heaven's weapons was never brought up again it's actually a skip-able episode in the season. Nothing pin the episode progresses anything and a lot of it actually left me scratching me head as to why was this happening at all. I wanted to love it, but I can't and due to some really funny one-liners and scenes I can't hate it. Actually there was a song a fan wrote about the episode that I find far more amusing and enjoyable than the episode itself and you can get the same amount of hilarity in less than 5 mins.
ReplyDeleteMy official order for this set of episodes therefore follows as:
1. Tall Tales (Yes the trickster! Now had he still been alive I bet the French Mistake could have really worked very well)
2. Death Takes A Holiday (great guest stars, a very interesting story)
3. The Benders (I really really liked this episode it was interesting that it just turned out to be insane humans. Too bad they tried to replicate the premise of the episode later and it failed so badly "Family Remains"
4. The French Mistake (I wanted to like it i really did)
5. Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (Its too bad there's so many good episode 15s because this really is a great episode too. And I love Bobby-centric eps. Too bad I tend to be critical of the episode because they did zombies before on the show and dealt with them differently in this one.)
I really enjoy all of these episodes but in the end I had to go with Death Takes a Holiday because I love the boys becoming ghosts and learning how to function as one. It's also Pamela's last episode who I loved, and it has Tessa who I hope we get to see again, she's pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of my list would go...
2. Tie between The French Mistake and Tall Tales because I find them both hilarious and awesome and I cant seem to choose one over the other.
4. The Benders
5. Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
I can't really choose but I have to go with French Mistake since it was the most recent
ReplyDeletewow this is a really difficult one!!!! gotta be death takes a holiday though! it was just so AWESOME!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed The French Mistake more than I expected to, but I can not say it is an episode I wanted them to make. it's META gone mad in my opinion. OK Sam and Dean trying to Act was probably the funniest moment on Supernatural ever, but over all I can not say I liked it. Tall Tales gets my vote, love the trickster.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping for Tessa to come back too. She has progressed into such a great character.
ReplyDeleteI must put at no.1--The Benders.
ReplyDeleteI am basing my vote on the memory of the first time I saw it.
I liked the initial mystery of Sam's disappearance and how Dean went to the rescue of Sam but it was Sam who saved his brother in the end.
Then there was Dean's scene with Pa Bender, having to choose who to hunt, and his anger against those who would hurt Sam.
I also liked the underlining of the fact that humans can be much worse than demons who, ultimately, have a certain "code of conduct".
2 and 3 Ex aequo. Death takes a Holiday and Tall tales.
There is such a wealth of interesting things going on in both eps that I like, so I can't decide!
4 Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
As much as the back story of Bobby may be interesting, I must say that this episode did nothing for me.
The story of Bobby's wife came over a little weak and his reaction to her too.
I am not a fan of zombies, I find them rather pitiful although I did enjoy the resistance to the full-on zombie attack at the end.
I haven't seen s.6 yet so can't say on the French Mistake but being aware of my dislike of meta eps. it probably wouldn't get first place anyway.
I think the Trickster pretty much trumps everything...even wood chippers. He's the reason I ultimately went with Tall Tales too even though it was a harder decision than most.
ReplyDeleteI would love to hear your reaction to French Mistake. I hate meta too and while it will definitely not be your favorite, I hope you find it better than you expect. I did.
ReplyDeleteWhat was your favorite part of Death takes a Holiday? I loved Pamela and when the brothers became astral projections and Dean was goofing around while Sam was not amused. I also liked when Alastair was on screen. He's so chilling he makes every episode scary just by his presence.
ReplyDeletefor me supernatural is all about those episodes that are just totally out there and have a bit of fun at itself. And thats why french mistake is one of my favourites. Not many shows get the chance to poke fun at itself and supernatural had the opportunity to do so and i think they did it brillaintly.
ReplyDeleteThe scene where sam and dean attempt to act is brilliant and the on going joke that jared and jensen dont get along is also pretty funny. (plus i love the guy that diges bullets lol)
The French Mistake for me
ReplyDeleteIt's just the whole idea of fiction and reality interacting that I don't like.
ReplyDeleteIf I like a show then I want to be caught up in that "world" while I am watching an episode.
Inserting reality in that story annoys me as a viewer. I love Jensen and Jared but they should't be forced to inhabit the fictional one of Sam and Dean. .(have to stop as the post won't open further)
That is one of the biggest reasons I can't stand meta either. It really takes me out of the moment and reminds me that I'm watching a TV show. I love Supernatural because when I watch it I get engrossed in the Winchester world to the point that sometimes I'm surprised when the commercials come on. Meta takes that away from me more often than not. My second reason I hate meta is that meta inevitably tries to make canon something that is not or in my opinion should not be canon on the show. With Ghostfacers (which isn't strictly meta) it was the Winchesters cursing. That bugs me to no end. MatEotB gave us Chuck, whom I can only stand in The End, and the whole book thing which I thought was stupid. More importantly, it lead to Becky, the worst character in SPN history, and acknowledging Wincest, which I detest. For me, meta only did bad things until French Mistake. I liked it in the sense that it was decent, middle ground fare. However it does take you completely out of the Winchester world so I'll probably end up liking it more than you.
ReplyDeleteMy last post was in answer to Dahne but the the mechanism blocked and didn't let me continue.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying that the individual meta eps can't be good, better or best and that I haven't enjoyed parts of those I have seen.
I liked the second part of The Monster at T E of T Book, Chuck was funny and there was a certain logic to the ep confronted with the overall story-arc.
Then the end scene with the great villan Zachariah was epic, afore-runner to Lucifer telling Sam that even if he killed himself Luci would just bring him back to be his vessel
I'm calling this one a complete tie across the board (and I resent you for not allowing me to check of all of them. )
ReplyDeleteI checked of Death Takes a Holiday...only because it had a little bit extra in the emotional stakes.
But....5 way tie.
In reply to dahne (the reply box is still out )
ReplyDeleteI practically agree with everything you have said.
My most "unliked" episode of the whole series is the Real Ghostbusters.
It embarrassed me and made me squirm as I watched it and I will probably never watch it again.
There is nothing wrong with fandom, which is what keeps the show on the air, and may it live long and prosper; or with fanfiction, some of which is very well written.
I have no problem in saying I'm a fan, but there is a time and place for every thing!!
As for season 6, I don't know how I'm holding out, so eager as I am to see it, but it won't be out on Amazon.uk until November although I will probably buy the dvd of the first half of the season which should come out at the end of August.
So looking forward to that!!
Voted for the French Mistake. I liked all Meta episodes and this was simply the best of them.
ReplyDeleteAnd it gets tough again! These are all good episodes. Fortunately there are still two that I would rate slightly lower than the others: The Benders and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid. The Benders is not a bad episode overall: I love Dean's worry for Sam and that it shows how much Dean is willing to risk for Sam (seeking out law enforcement when you've recently "died" after carrying out serial murder is not smart). I also like that Sam manages to get himself out of trouble using his smarts, which is something we don't see enough of these days. However, the storyline was a little bit clunky and while it was good, it just can't hold a candle to some of the others on this list.
ReplyDeleteDMDWP is another good episode, complete with Bobby backstory (which is always awesome) and the introduction of Sheriff Mills who was also awesome and whom I look forward to seeing more of in S7. However, I am not a big fan of zombies, which was always going to be a strike against this episode for me, and also, I felt the episode was kind of misplaced after My Bloody Valentine. I think (and someone correct me if I'm wrong, because it's been a while since I saw this ep) that there is no real reference to the events of the previous ep, especially Dean's plea to God at the very end. This was more dealt with in Dark Side of the Moon, which makes me remember DMDWP more fondly, but my main thing about this episode is that I can't remember it very clearly, which suggests to me that it was not a knock out ep.
The other three are all great. Tall Tales sees the introduction of the Trickster/Gabriel, who is a fantastic character, and also, this episode has genuine, laugh out loud funny bits: Sam's 'blah blah blah' and the slow dancing aliens being two of my personal favourites. It also has Bobby being awesome as per usual and there's a fantastic little scene at the end of the episode with Sam and Dean apologising over the roof of the Impala and Bobby interjecting "You two are breakin' my heart! Can we please get out of here?" which also cracked me up. It didn't actually do much in the way of advancing the story arc in season 2, but it did provide some much needed comic relief after BUaBS, and the trickster turned out to be very important in later seasons, so, who knew? Kripke, that's who.
Death Takes a Holiday is also good, though not as good (IMO) as Tall Tales or The French Mistake. The plot is a good one (and also very heartbreaking: having to kill some of the people who should have died was harsh), but I loved the return of Pamela and Tessa, especially Tessa, and I loved Sam and Dean's spirit walking adventures. However, the thing I love most about this episode is that it sets up 'On the Head of a Pin' which is certainly in my Top 20 episodes ever, because Alistair is just all kinds of awesome, and the creepiest demon they've ever had on Supernatural IMO (and yes, that includes the YED).
And last, but certainly not least, The French Mistake. I think this is the one which will get my vote, because of all the things Supernatural has done, this was one of the funniest, the weirdest and the most courageous. So much of it was hilarious: Sam and Dean arriving in bizzaro-world and trying to figure out if they should be killing people, "Jensen's" trailer, "Jared's" house, fake!Ruby/Gen, Kripke's death scene, Misha's death scene, the bad acting scene...I could go on. And it even advances the plot! Not only does it start cluing us in to what's going on in heaven, it also begins to demonstrate how ruthless Castiel has become, how he's willing to put the Winchesters in danger to advance his own cause. Plus (as Jared pointed out in his NerdHQ interview, which, incidentally, you should totally check out if you haven't already!), in what other TV show would you get Jared and Jensen pretending to be Sam and Dean pretending to be Jared and Jensen pretending to be Sam and Dean. It gets my vote for that alone.
i was going down the list thinking, oh yeah, i like the benders, lets ee what else. i was fully about to tick the box for tall tales and then i saw our season 6, episode 15. i feel bad for all these other episodes, but the french mistake stomps very heavily on all of them.
ReplyDeletenot only was the hype for TFM so extreme, but the episode eceeded my expectations, which were very very high. i loved every moment of it. even my family loved it, and they don't watch supernatural, i made them watch this episode because it was so awesome. from the inside jokes to misha hialrious death to the execution of the entire crew and writing team (except for sera gamble), this episode had me smiling the whole way through. it was deffinately worth the wait of the 2 crappy episodes before it and there was no way i was ever voting against it.
next on my list would be tall tales. i love the trickster. he is by far my fave non-sam/dean/bobby/cas character. in fact, he may even come there above bobby. every episode he is in is amazing and tall tales is no exception. the introduction of a demi-god who leaves to create mischief (i.e slow dancing aliens and aligators in sewers) was brilliant. i loved the way this episode was told, with sam and dean recounting their case to bobby with their own twists on how each event happened. and i loved how they let the trickster live at the end, because he wasn't really an evil monster, he was just having fun (yes, he may have killed some people, but they were jerks).
next up is the benders. i really liked this episode. it showed how capable sam and dean really are in getting themselves out of trouble, even when they are not in a supernatural situation. the bender family were absolutely creepy, all the way down to little missy, almost poking dean's eye out wih the hot iron. and it gave me a line which i use quite often (although no-one ever knows what i'm talking about) "demons i get, people are crazy"
the rest of my list would go something like this
4.death takes a holiday
5. time is on my side
6. dead men don't wear plaid
but these bottom 3 can really change. i don't love any of them and for me they are all pretty forgettable, not episodes i would rewatch often
"Tall Tales" for me... One of my all time favorites episodes of the show.
ReplyDeleteAfter that
- The Benders (one of the most crippiest episodes of the show)
- The French Mistake
- Death Takes A Holiday
- Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
French Mistakes seems like the easy choice, I guess, but for me personally, I had to go with Tall Tales.
ReplyDeleteI love Meta episode. The French Mistake for me.
ReplyDeleteHow come your not a fan of Time is on My Side?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the French Mistake but for me it's between Tall Tales and The Benders.
ReplyDeleteI usually would choose Tall Tales because the Trickster is always a good episode!
ReplyDeleteThis year I went for French Mistake though. Maybe because it was the episode that surprised me the most in a positive kind of way. Usually, like most of you, I am no fan of meta. That's the reason I was shuddering when hearing they wanna do one. I was like "Urgh, please no!". Aside from some good lines I still had "Monsters at the end of the book" in my head, which is not my favorite one (not saying it's completly bad, but still). So I was in between dreading and hoping before French Mistake aired.
Then it aired and it took me three runs to get all the inside jokes and too be able to actually listen without laughing so hard. Supernatural managed what no other show (none that I know of) did: to make a meta an enjoyable, funny worthwile watching experience.
To make it short - cause I don't think I get a cookie for talking much, do I Adam? - I was surprised positivly by this episode, so it gets my vote.
For the most part, I again thought it was filler taking up time from the essential story. I did not like Doc Benton at all so that whole side of the story bugged me. I liked Rufus here but he really didn't grow on me until his second episode and getting back story that late in the game for Bela was pointless since they were killing her anyway. Also, by that time Bela had begun to annoy even me and I was originally her biggest defender. This wasn't the worst episode but it's definitely lower on the list than these other ones.
ReplyDeleteHa! Family Remains was one episode were watching people paint would be more entertaining. It was a mess from start to finish.
ReplyDeleteThe "acting" scene makes me laugh so hard it's hard to catch my breath. I also like the scenes in Jared's McMansion. Alpaca? Using Gen Cortese here was brilliant.
ReplyDeleteHa! I feel your pain. I wanted to check 3 episodes this time and it took more more than an hour of mulling it over to finally choose one. I still want to go back and change my vote every minute or so.
ReplyDeleteSeason 6 like everything else has split the fandom. I really enjoyed it but then again I was not a big fan of season 5. I like how things weren't quite as desperate and devoid of hope as it was the previous season. Still, I'm really looking forward to season 7 and hoping it will top that. You have lots of patience because I would be screaming about not seeing season 6 yet. This whole being in different seasons in different countries is frustrating.
ReplyDeleteI think Alastair 2.0 is the scariest villain on Supernatural - way more than YED and especially Lucifer. Just looking at him is enough to give me the willies. When he speaks I get tense. I also agree that the French Mistake took the most courage to make, not only by the Supernatural cast and crew but also by the CW and Warner Brothers. As much as I knock the CW, they do give Supernatural a tremendous amount of leeway to go as far into the bizarre as they want.
ReplyDeleteThey didn't let the Trickster live. They thought they killed him. Even though those people were jerks, the Winchester clan, including Bobby, would never let the bad guy go on killing people. Even if those people deserved it. The Trickster was just too smart for them, faking his own death.
ReplyDeleteI think The French Mistake has the advantage of being new and fresh in everyone's mind. It was also a great episode so that's a plus and it broke boundaries that no other show has even attempted. Although I chose Tall Tales too, I still hope French Mistake wins. If for no other reason because season 6 needs a victory. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks! We will continue to do one poll a day until the Character Cup begins. I'm hoping we will be done by that time though. Depends on when Adam gets the Character Cup up and going.
ReplyDeleteI miss Pamela too. She had a real chance of being a strong recurring female character and I was disappointed that they killed her off. In the end though, I'm glad she died protecting the Winchesters. That gave her death meaning to me.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like this one was hard for everyone. Glad it wasn't just me. I like how there are two strong comedic episodes competing. It makes it interesting to see which one people choose and for what reasons.
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy meta episodes (except Ghostfacers), especially TMATEOTB, which I find brilliant. But Tall Tales, is just my least favorite episode of SPN. I just don't get that kind of humor, it does take me out of the show, unlike the meta. I see them making fun without any kind of sense at all. I guess I have a different sense of humor than other people. TT made me abhorr Supernatural and get away from it (I had seen just 3 episodes by then), and later I heard all the fuss about TFM and I wanted to see that. After having seen it, I went back and watched the whole 6 seasons back to back in six weeks or so.
ReplyDeleteSo I have voted for The French Mistake, a real great episode which brought me back to SPN.
The French Mistake (other than the season as a whole since I was worried about it) was the best surprise for me too. I was prepared for it to be my all-time worst episode but it ended up mid high on the season 6 list for me. I guess it shows me to always trust in the cast and crew of Supernatural no matter how wacked out the idea.
ReplyDeleteAny episode that brings people back to Supernatural has my love too!!!
ReplyDeleteIn the end every taste is different but the love for the show as a whole is what brings us here together. So I am glad you gave it a chance again.
These were all very cool episodes, but my favorite it's definitely Death Takes a Holiday, it was heartbreaking, besides, I love Tessa.
ReplyDelete1. Death Takes a Holiday
2. Tall Tales
3. The Benders
4. Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
5. The French Mistake
This was probably the hardest round/episode number for me to vote on so far because there were no Route 666/No Exit/RSAM level bad episodes so you could easily separate the best couple episodes from the rest. I liked all the episodes 15 nearly equally.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge meta or even "funny" episode fan but I loved these 3 from BE: BDABR, CYHIYB and TFM even though I was very worried when I read the early spoilers for TFM.
In the end I voted for TFM just as you predicted.
Daphne, I think you made the right choice btw for handling 3.15/3.16.
I didn't care much for TT the first I saw it, either, basically because I was WTH was *that*? - and because there hadn't been a dramedy on SPN since Hell House (which I still consider superior to TT) but it started growing on me by my first rewatch. I do consider TT to be the "weakest" of the good to great ep 15 choices.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you gave Supernatural a second chance. There are many episodes that had I seen them first, I probably wouldn't watch Supernatural now. I am surprised that The French Mistake is the one that brought you back though because many of the jokes were based on things that happened in earlier seasons or stories that circulated during cons and online. My biggest worry after TFM aired was that people who were not familiar with SPN would not get it and think the whole show was one cosmic joke. I'm glad that wasn't the case for you.
ReplyDeleteI agree and I was very, very leery of TFM until I saw it. There was so many hysterically funny moments in TFM but I had a massive headache when the episode aired initially and there seemed to be more awful and loud commercials than usual, so I chuckled a few times (Jared n'Gen's McMansion and the bad acting scene). But when I rewatched the next day (sans headache) I laughed so hard tears were rolling down my face. Jared talks about how hard it was to do the "bad acting" on the Nerdhq videos.
ReplyDeleteAgreed that this one is harder because there is no awful episode to immediately toss out. I would also add that while I really like these episodes, none of them are in my top 10 either. It's like the battle of the middle upper shows. (If that makes any sense.) Thanks for the support on 3.15 and 3.16 by the way. I'm a bit surprised people aren't unhappy but I am extremely grateful for how awesome everyone has been during these polls. I love how people are sharing their opinion and respecting others. It's one of the things I love best about the Supernatural fandom on SpoilerTV.
ReplyDeleteHad to choose between Tall Tales and The French Mistake...in the end The French Mistake won, at least for me ;) I just love this episode ;)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you all ... the decision not to press Castiel's advantage over Raphael at that point in time bothered me... and then the show dropped Cas having Heaven's Weapons and his own army to take on Raphael. I only assume that the show had made the choice already by 6.15 to go with using the Cas/Crowley/ Purgatory souls as "weapons" instead.
ReplyDeleteThis didn't make TFM a "bad episode" for me though, just a head scratching one.
I'm not rating all the episodes because it's just too hard. There's nothing about any of them that I truly dislike, which makes it even harder.
ReplyDeleteOf course The Benders was very disturbing in that the monsters were actually human, which still freaks me out.
But as for the rest - all completely awesome!
Others have already said what they thought was great and not so great about all the episodes so I won't go into detail about each one.
This is definitely one of those polls where I have to rely on my gut instinct as I view the list - whatever jumps out at me wins. So....... here goes......
Doh!!! It's not working!
Ok The French Mistake - mainly because I'd been so worried about how potentially AWFUL it could be and it wasn't awful at all. And I needed a laugh after Unforgiven and Mannequin3.
But the other eps are so awesome too for different reasons......
Alastair, Tessa, Pamela, Sheriff Mills, Trickster, Bobby......
Nope. Sticking with The French Mistake. Because I love that Supernatural can do what other shows only dream of, and that they can get away with it in such spectacular fashion. (Just so long as they don't go this far too often)
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid was an amazing episode. It was an easy vote for me. Perfect casting for Bobby's dead wife too. On top of all that, we got a recurring character out of this episode - Sheriff Mills.
ReplyDeleteWell, I decided to see episode 6.15 by itself thinking that I would really never see the whole show, I was kind of sure it wasn't my thing by that time. But then I thought the episode was just womderful and felt compelled to watch the whole show to try to understand better this masterpiece, because as you said, there were so many references that I was unable to get.
ReplyDeleteI find meta episodes a really 'avant-garde' thing to do (you know, as some modern literature out there, where novel characters wonder who they are and ask their creator for their meaning, as a metaphor of the human condition) and also really risky for a TV show, and I see SPN has tried other ways for meta, of which I totally prefer 4.18 because it has been so well integrated within the story. But 6.15 is very good too, I love how the Winchesters discover that apparently there are no supernatural powers in our world ("no hell below us", no angels, no God) and they prefer their world, because there is more meaning there for them and because they just want to be brothers and be themselves. I mean, the episode is hilariously funny and metaphysically interesting, and it's a whole new level of crazy (full of hidden meaning) when a show survives the 'killing' of their producers and crew. Somehow Dean and Sam Winchester have gotten to be immortal beyond the life and death of their creator Erik Kripke.
Loved French Mistake just for the humor, no matter what you think, you have to admit Sam & Dean's bad acting was priceless! Really liked all these episodes with the Benders being my least favorite but I still liked it alot, the family was beyond creepy but Dean's relentless search for Sam was heartwarming, and yes the "Deanisms" were pricelss in this one too. The writing on this show is amazing!
ReplyDeletethey're all awesome but my top 2 favorites are tall tales and the french mistake. I'll vote for tall tales just cause the trickster is on it though. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is such a hard one. I voted this morning and picked my favorite, which of course, would Tall Tales which was a fabulous story. Richard Speights, jr. as the Trickster was a fabulous edition as a guest star to the show. I enjoyed even more when he became Gabriel. I miss him on there. My second would be Death Takes a Holiday. It had great guest stars. I loved Pamela as always. I hated that she died in it. Tessa was good to see again. Alistair is danged terrifying. His interactions with Dean are always fantastic. i still tickled at the scene where Dean sticks his arm through Sam. Third would be Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid because I like Bobbycentric stories, even this one. Although I do get aggravated with the writers not following their own mythos within the series. One season they have one mythos, another they change it. They need to keep a journal of what they know within their universe, because they sure change the canon whenever they feel like it. Fourth was hard because I actually like the Benders. Dean had some great one liners in it, but French Mistake was great too. I think I won't have a a four and five, but they tie.
ReplyDeleteno, i didn't mean the brothers let him live. i meant the writers let him live. i was happy the writers didn't kill him off because he's so awesome
ReplyDeletei know the winchesters would never have let him live if they knew he wasn't dead
OMG! I can NOT not put The french mistake first but aw! I love the Benders ahahah. LOL and now I'm reading Dahne's comment... tsktsktsk It's Good! :( oh well :D It has a special place in my heart cause its the first ep I saw and thought dean and sam were cousin :DDD
ReplyDeleteMy vote will always go to the slow-dancing Aliens.
ReplyDeleteWhile none are in my top five, I'll have to go with the French Mistake simply for the scene of the boys 'acting'. It was a funny episode. But I liked all the others for various reasons: The Benders was a good creepy story (and Dean's "Eat me... no wait, you just might." was classic), Tall Tales was our intro to the Trickster and who didn't like the little smiling angel in witness protection? Death Takes a Holiday and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid moved their respective mythologies along nicely -- even if we didn't realize it at first. So all, in my opinion, were good eps.
ReplyDeleteI get it! Sorry. Yes, I am glad that the writers left the Trickster to rise again. To bad they killed Gabe off later. For being in so few episodes, he sure made an impression.
ReplyDeleteI know this is off-topic and everything but since we are examining meta, did anyone else wonder where the Jensen and Jared of the meta world went? You think the angels sent them off to some bizarro world too and how would they handle it when they got back. Did Supernatural in that world get canceled because the two main leads who hate each other went spontaneously crazy with the same delusions?
ReplyDeleteJust some random thing I think about when Supernatural goes on hiatus. Hiatus should probably end soon before my mind takes down more bizarre highways.
Welcome to SpoilerTV Mikaeru. Thanks for sharing who you voted for.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to SpoilerTV D Mentis. We're glad you are here.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to SpoilerTV, Jan. I thought Death takes a Holiday was awesome because of Tessa too. While I am sorry that Pamela died, I am grateful that Alastair didn't get Tessa.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily. Belated welcome to SpoilerTV. I was cracking up at the bad acting scene just like everyone else but I think meeting Ruby was my favorite. When Gen was crying over Misha was hysterical too.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to SpoilerTV Cecilia. That's the exact reason I voted for Tall Tales too. Hard to believe I got that attached to a character that quickly.
ReplyDeleteWe have the same rankings. I get annoyed with the retcon too, but I choose to forget the awful CSPwDT so I've conveniently erased that continuity problem. Much like the writers sometimes do. :-P
ReplyDeleteThe first episode that hooks you into Supernatural is always special. I defend Dead in the Water to the death because it is when Supernatural went from TV show to obsession for me. For most people this episode is just another MotW but for me it is the heart of Supernatural, or maybe more when I gave my heart to the show.
ReplyDeleteIt looks to me that Sam and Dean just inhabited their bodies, they might not even remember what happened or if they did they would really believe that they did go through some kind of psychotic break. Anyways the show would probably be cancelled because of the big massacre, at least they would need to stop filming while everything got investigated. Poor meta world Supernatural fans!!
ReplyDeleteBwah! I guess mass homicide does tend to crimp your TV shooting schedule. Perhaps sharing the same psychotic break would force the meta world Jensen and Jared to become closer too, resulting in fans both happy about the stars and sad about the state of their show.
ReplyDeleteI had to go with Tall Tales as #1. Love the Trickster and anything with him in it. Plus aliens slow dancing to Lady in Red...classic.
ReplyDelete#2. The Benders. Just loved worried Dean and the entire thing after he gets to the house!!!
#3. The French Mistake. Great, but not my top one in this batch
#4. Death Takes a Holiday. Loved Tessa, but didn't really pull me in, plus hated that they killed Pamela off.
#5. Dead men don't wear plaid. Did nothing for me although I did enjoy the intro to Sheriff Mills.
#1 French Mistake - I can't help loving this episode.
ReplyDelete#2 Tall Tales - A very close 2nd. This episode has so many good quotes.
#3 The Benders - I love worried Dean.
I'm looking forward to seeing Sheriff Mills back in season 7!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Dahne. Pamela was a great female character and although I was sad to see her go, I thought she went out on a high note.
ReplyDeleteThis episode made me really sympathize with Bela. Also, the doc was the Demon of Fear on Charmed and was always really creepy in his role so I was predisposed to like his character. :P
ReplyDeleteVoted for The French Mistake, loved that episode
ReplyDeleteI voted before the poll closed for Tall Tales. It was a tough choice between that and French Mistake, but I loved Trikster/Gabriel.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's exactly where I would rank the episode 15's, too, upper middle.
ReplyDeleteI like this site, it's normally quite comfy and fans with differing viewpoints are accepted and there's not as many extreme fans. I lurked through S5 and decided to start posting in S6 and I feel very welcomed. (Die, Cas, Die!!! - OOPS, did I just post that? ;-) ).
I see that The French Mistake won. I admit it was funny in some places. But for me, Tall Tales was the better overall episode, which is why I voted for it.
ReplyDeletevoted for tall tales
ReplyDeleteThis 1 might have been the hardest 1 yet. For me, it was between Tall Tales and The French Mistake. I've seen both so many times (Tall Tales obv more b/c the episode is from 4 seasons ago), and both have never gotten old. I still find myself cracking up when I watch them. I went with The French Mistake though
ReplyDeleteVery difficult one! The first three are so close I had to just lose my eyes and point to actually give them a number, although Pamela was such a funny, charming and strong female character she gave DTAH that extra little oomph especially since we had to say good-bye. Watching Bobby lose his wife all over again in DMDWP was so sad and showed a side of Bobby that made me love him even more. The French Mistake was just simply perfect! TFM was just awesome!! I didn't think anything could make e laugh more than Yellow Fever, but boy was I wrong! Watching Jensen & Jared act (TRY to act!) like Jensen & Jared acting like Dean & Sam (?!) is priceless, I laughed so hard I could hardly catch my breath! They're all #1 for me!
ReplyDelete1.Death Takes A Holiday
2.Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
3.French Mistake
4.The Benders
5.Tall Tales
Veeery good this list! Keep making these polls (:
ReplyDeleteThe French Mistake
ReplyDeleteOh crap. I LOVE Tall Tales, Death Takes a Holiday and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid. And The French Mistake was hysterical. The Benders has always been a staple episode of season 1.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...I guess Tall Tales wins out just barely over Death Takes a Holiday...