The Ten Worst Episodes of Supernatural
Somewhere back in season three, I actually did a “Best” and “Worst” list for Supernatural episodes. I’ll tell ya, it was way easier in season three! In trying to revisit that list now with more the double the number of episodes, I’m still trying to pull together a ten best (even 15 is tough), but somehow I had no problem with the ten worst. So I present, the “Ten Worst Episodes of Supernatural.” You’ll find this list is very different than the first list I did (which was only five), even if a few on that list made this one. Yes, count on “Bugs” being here. But is it still #1?
Naturally, I have an (dis)honorable mention. I just had to sneak that extra one on there. So yes, this one goes to eleven (hee, I love that line!). Here goes…
Dishonorable Mention: All Dogs Go To Heaven
I struggle with this episode actually. It always makes everyone else’s “worst” list. I easily rank it as one of the worst of season six. However, I saw some redeeming qualities in this episode. I actually liked the skinwalker MOTW story. I loved the dog that played Lucky. Man, that animal could act.
However, that’s the problem with this episode, that dog out acted everyone, especially Jared. By this point, I could not stomach soulless Sam any longer. The writing for soulless Sam was all over the map at this point, but when they decided that this week we would get to know jerkish, arrogant, completely uncaring about anyone including his brother Sam, I couldn’t take it anymore. It was not a form of Sam that was interesting to watch. No, it was a form of Sam that made me for the first time ever resist to urge to change the freaking channel during a Supernatural episode.
Dean was fine, but in “go with the flow” mode. If it wasn’t for sniper Dean, I’m not sure I’d remember what he did in this episode either. He was wallpaper. The directing though, I do have praise for that. Phil Sgriccia had some masterful moments, especially the under the bridge shots as Sam and Dean prepped their weapons at the trunk of the Impala. Gorgeous and iconic. So, because of that, this episode earns only a Dishonorable Mention.

Alice Jester is the founder, editor-in-chief, head writer, programmer, web designer, site administrator, marketer, and moderator for The Winchester Family Business. She is a 30 year IT applications and database expert with a penchant for creative and freelance writing in her spare (ha!!) time. That’s on top of being a wife, mother of two active kids, and four loving (aka needy) pets.
I actually liked Red Sky at Morning and Route 666. Now, I came into the show after season 5 was already on DVD. I dont know but that seemed to make a difference. I liked Bela, always have. But then I like strong females and she is one. I liked Cassie. I have seen the actress in other things so I already liked her acting.
I agree on Hammer of the Gods, and especially Bugs. I dont ever watch Manniquin 3.. just no oomph for me. No real scares either.
which of the seven deadly sins was your favorite? Mine was Pride… but then I had seen Ben Cotton in Harpers Island before I started watching SPN.. I really think seeing it all at once from season 1 to season 5 like I did made a difference on how I saw episodes and which ones I like more than others.
I also like other episodes most fans dont. I liked No Exit another episode alot of fans dont.
Guess I am wierd that way! 🙂
No Exit was actually on my original “worst five list.” I still think it’s bad, and easily the worst of season two, but others came after it that knocked it off the list. I also think it grew slightly on me over time. Plus that’s the episode they wrote Jared out of because he was too doped up on pain pills from his surgery (I think it was his wrist). Hiliarious story.
I swear, I wrote that so long ago (I think it was for Blogcritics) I can’t even find that article. Here was my five from that list though.
1. Bugs
2. Route 666
3. Hookman
4. No Exit
5. Red Sky at Morning
Dishonorable Mention: Playthings
I am in total agreement about Bugs, Season 7: Time for a Wedding (even typing it makes me cringe), and Fallen Idols. Never watching any of them again if I can help it.
I personally would have gone with “Family Remains” as being the dud from season 4, as I liked “Heaven and Hell” well enough despite the flaws you pointed out. And for me, Red Sky at Morning and Route 666 aren’t ever going on my must watch list, but I don’t particularly mind them. Haven’t watched Mannequin 3 so can’t comment on that one. The Magnificent 7 was so forgettable that I would never watch it again, but I wouldn’t say that I actively hate it.
The Magnificent Seven made the list because it was such a major letdown after “All Hell Breaks Loose.” Horrible season opener. So was “Exile on Main Street,” which was easily a finalist. So why TMS over EOMS? Because EOMS proved later that the frosty brotherly behavior meant something. Sam’s OOC behavior was for a reason. Dean’s behavior in TMS was just baffling. I get it was supposed to represent his new outlook on his short life, but he went back to normal the next episode.
Like I said, if TMS was a midseason ep, it wouldn’t be here.
I can’t argue with any of your picks, and while I agree these are alm pretty bad only a few make an appearance on my worst 10 list. However I don’t think Heaven and Hell deserves to be here. For a very long time it was among my favorite episodes of season 4. I liked Anna, and was still trying to figure out Ruby; at this point leaning towards believing she genuinely wanted to help (fooled me, writers!). I recently watched it again, as I’m doing a series rewatch this summer and while it doesn’t hold up to my initial love (it’s a bit melodramatic at times), I still think its a great episode.
My worst 10 would be…
(dis)honerable mention: Fallen Idols, for all the reasons you espouse.
10. Route 666 – the story could have been so good. But it fails on total missed opportunity and a seriously BAD case of miscasting in a romantic partner for Dean. Seriously bad.
9. My Heart Will Go On – I just do not like this episode and I find the premise frankly stupid.
8. Defending Your Life – so much potential!!!! So much wasted potential. I was so excited for this episode and then left wanting it to go away, wanting a do-over! Shameful.
7. The Girl Next Door – it makes me upset Jensen had such a shitty episode to direct. The only redeeming thing here was seeing Colin as young Sam. The rest was stupid and unbelievable.
6. Hook Man – for your above stated reasons.
5. Shut Up, Dr. Phil – I never watched Buffy and had no attachment to charisma carpenter. I knew James Marsters from Torchwood. I found the casting of these two actors to be more about publicity than the show. I couldn’t have cared less about them, and found their performances stilted and painful to watch.
4. Season Seven, Time for a Wedding – above stated views mirrors mine.
3. Swap Meat – hate this trope with the fire of a thousand suns and nothing about this episode is all that fun to watch.
2. Clap Your Hands If You Believe – I hated soulless Sam from episode two. And I didn’t find anything he did here funny. In fact I think this is the moment that Ben Edlund should have been reigned in a little bit. Horrifying episode.
And my very least favorite episode is…
1. All Dogs Go To Heaven – hate this one again, because of soulless Sam.
Bugs appears just before Fallen Idols for me, because while I think it’s a terrible episode, I’ve grown to love to hate it. I’ll watch it for that reason whereas these others I just want to skip forever. Many of my least favorites are season 6 and 7 and maybe time will make the heart grow fonder…but I doubt it. My first instinct about an episode is usually where my opinion stays.
A good list, except I would have to disagree with Clap Your Hands if You Believe. That is one of my absolute favorites! Easily one of the best in season six for me. I die laughing everytime I see it. There was a lot of dry humor it though, which is an acquired taste.
If I expanded this list to a top twelve, “Swap Meat” would be number 12. The only reason it escaped this list was the demon story was actually very good. The rest was pure crap.
Thanks for sharing your list!
I seem to be in the minority regarding Clap Your Hands. That’s okay, the episode just feels completely out of place to me, and doesn’t employ the type of humor I typically enjoy; or the type of humor that was ever used before, or since, on the show.
Swap Meat. Ugh!
I love making lists and have been fine tuning my series ranking over the summer. It’s interesting to think about why certain episodes work over others, and incredibly hard, too!
You’re not alone! LOL I thought I was the only one who couldn’t enjoy Clap your hand if you believe! I cringed through the whole thing and could not laugh for the life of me LOL Souless Sam just made me want to punch a whole through the wall and I just wanted it to be OVER! xD I completely agree with you and can’t see why the fandom loves it so much!
Your list is pretty much accurate to me, except that there would be more season 6 episodes in mine, I hated it that much LOL
Thank goodness I’m not alone. Yeah. I enjoyed about 30seconds of the episode… The closing credits. I don’t get the love for it at all. To each their own! At least it’s not offensively bad (like Swap Meat for example), just stupid and out of tone of everything else! 🙂
Season 6 was pretty terrible. I dislike it a lot and especially hate ALL soulless Sam crap.
Hi Alice,
I agree with some of your list, but I have to say that I didn’t really mind “Red Sky at Morning” or “Fallen Idols” or even “Hammer of the Gods” (blasphemy I know). However, you didn’t mention “Swap Meat” and that to me is the worst episode ever. Stupid premise, terrible out of character acting on everyone’s part, god –awful script…..just bad, bad, bad.
If this was a top 12 list, “Swap Meat” would be #12. It was a finalist. It didn’t make the list because if even though the premise should have never been tackled, the kid who played Gary was awful, Dean was amazingly out of character, and the swap concept was a total mess, the demon story with the high schoolers was actually very good. I loved that part. Whoever played the teenage girl who was possessed was great. So much so, it saved the ep from being a total waste. Perhaps though, it was worthy of a dishonorable mention.
She’s on “Grey’s Anatomy” playing the role of Kempner(?). I unfortunately forget her name right now. But, yeah, she was pretty good in that, especially when she gets possessed. I love the line, “Tastes like moron, yum”.
What really irritated me about Swap Meat was that it was the one and only time that said anything about a bounty being on Dean, making both demons and angels supposedly after him. EK had said before the season started that that would be Dean’s story, or part of it and we got this one episode mention as the premise for the swap.
You were right to say that some episodes were bad. i am going to frankle give you my opinion Supernatural was and always will be brilliant tv, but some episodes are worst then others. But really “Heaven and Hell” I never get tired of that episode, I found it to be really solid. I liked Bella so I really enjoyed “Red Sky at Morning”. I agree with you with the episodes Bugs nad TIme for a Wedding.
Would I sound bad if I said I have a soft spot for Bugs 🙂
Time for a Wedding just annoyed me beyond annoyance it is the fly in my cup of tea that episode.
[quote]Would I sound bad if I said I have a soft spot for Bugs 🙂
[/quote]
You don’t sound bad to me at all, [b]Sharon[/b]. I too have a huge soft spot for Bugs. It’s definitely one of my Supernatural guilty pleasures. 😆 Yeah, a lot of the episode was shaky but the brotherly moments in this episode were fabulous.
Not at all! Ardeospina is actually thinking about writing an “In Defense of Bugs” article because I rip on it so much. It’s a forgiveable bad episode, but it’s still a bad episode.
I’m so writing that article, especially since I know I’m not alone in my defense of “Bugs.”
Can’t wait for that!
Please include the fact that it would take a few hours for little bugs to chew through the roof? That seems to be the main complaint.
Loved the brotherly back and forths re Dad, and the boys being mistaken for gays, and Dean swatting Sam on his ass.
Lol- the things you mention here are what I enjoy about Bugs, too. The plot may be weak, but the character stuff is strong. 🙂
[quote]I’m so writing that article, especially since I know I’m not alone in my defense of “Bugs.”[/quote]
Oh, please, please write this. I love “Bugs” and I’d very much love to read your article . 🙂
I agree with everyone of your choices, many of which I have never seen since they were aired because of their awfulness. Though I agree with Sharon above, I too also have a soft spot for Bugs. They were so new and inexperienced. Just finding their way. I cut them a lot of slack on this episode.
Defending your life. HORRIBLE!!! The only redeeming value the whole episode had for me was the scene between Jo and Dean. The rest was garbage.
As far as Season 7 Time for a Wedding goes, I truly believe they did that on purpose. Like it or not Becky represents a certain segment of this fandom and maybe this episode was a way of getting back at those fans. Nasty, sure but some people have it coming. The fandom wank sometimes gets totally out of control. I don’t blame them if they want to take a dig at us now and then.
Rt 666. I’m with you on the actress, she was the worst. The only thing I like about that whole mess was Sam discovering that Dean had been in love at some point. I loved that brother moment between them. I remember that episode was really hyped up and I remember thinking, oh god this is what people are going to think this show is about. Who knows how many possible fans we lost that night.
I guess for all the really great episodes we get I can handle a few bad ones. They are few and far between.
I really wanted to put “Defending Your Life” on here. I found the whole episode to be a massive missed opportunity and poorly written. It was definitely a horrible waste of two good guest actors. However, the ep really didn’t stand out in its badness compared to these others. If was a boring bad episode! Plus, I LOVED the shots by the river in the closing scene. See our logo?
A lot of good choices, but I disagree with a few, and I would have been much harder on season 7 than you were.
The ones I agree should be on the list:
1. All Dogs – for most of the same reasons you listed
2. Hookman – I never thought about this one much, but it never grabbed me
3. Route 666 – Agreed with what you said
4. Mannequin – Agreed with most of what you said, but I would have included the Dean/Lisa/Ben scenes are well. Their relationship had already ended at this point, and Dean was moving on, so adding more angst at that point seemed too soapy for me.
5. Bugs – I don’t hate it as much as some people, but it deserves the criticism it gets.
What I wouldn’t put on this list:
1. Fallen Idols – It’s not a favorite episode of mine, but there was humor in the JD car, Paris Hilton, Sam wrestling with Ghandi, etc.
2. Heaven and Hell – I really liked this episode, mostly because I liked the Anna and the angels storyline in season 4.
3. The Magnificent Seven – I really liked this one. Maybe it wasn’t quite up to being an opener, but the early scenes with Bobby and the cicadas, Dean eating a burger for breakfast, the introduction of Ruby, and the seven deadly sins (and how they paired up with our characters) were fun to watch. Oh, and my favorite scene in this episode was, “I want those shoes.”
4. Time for a Wedding – This isn’t my favorite episode, but I don’t mind Becky as much as other people seem to do, it had funny moments, and the dialogue wasn’t stilted like it was through many of that season’s episodes. It doesn’t make my top five episodes of that season, but it doesn’t make my bottom five either.
5. Red Sky – The ship was a little campy, but Bela was always fun, and a bad episode from season 3 is ten times better than an average episode from season 7.
6. Hammer of the Gods – I really like this one and don’t understand the criticism. The setup (Sam and Dean being driven to a creepy hotel on a dark, stormy night), Gabe and Lucifer, and Dean at a pie buffet were great.
What I would have included instead (not necessarily in this order):
1. Defending Your Life – Awful all around
2. Shut Up Dr. Phil – A boring episode with so much wasted potential of their great guests
3. Adventures in Babysitting – Stilted dialogue, dull case in which Sam got captured far too easily, and at this point I was really tired of the lack of balance between Sam and Dean (focusing on mostly Dean in an episode about grieving for Bobby).
4. The Slice Girls – It had some fun moments, but creating a monster daughter for Dean just so Sam could kill her – to balance out the Amy fiasco – was unnecessary. They should have just moved on at this point.
5. Party on Garth – Garth is more annoying to me than Becky.
6. Of Grave Importance – What was wrong with it included the Bobby ghost story (somewhere they never should have gone), the stilted dialogue, the unbalance in the writing between Sam and Dean (I had reached the bounds of my tolerance for this by this point in the season), and all of the glaring inconsistencies between Bobby’s ghost powers with the previous episodes (if Bobby couldn’t move a drink, how did he move the sword or get rid of Dean’s beer?). And another thing wrong was the juvenile humor in having all three of them have sex with the same woman. The guest (Annie) was good though.
Season seven episodes are hard to judge because there hasn’t been an adequate passing of time yet. My mind tends to change about episodes after a while. For example, I gave “Playthings” a dishonorable mention back with the original list. Since then, I’ve grown to actually like it.
I would rank all of those you listed low in doing a 1-149 ranking (which is a super insane exercise), but the worst? For me, a recent episode has to really really piss me off (like Time For A Wedding) to make the worst list. That’s not saying any of those won’t end up there in the future though.
Point taken. I had very strong polar reactions to season 6 – parts I absolutely despised and other parts I loved. I felt I couldn’t judge it right away because I needed to let it settle and get some perspective. I’m pretty sure though that season 7 will be mostly skipped in my rewatches. I’ve tried a few times to go back to some of these episodes and see if I’ve changed my mind, and for the most part, they’re not getting better. I retried “Of Grave Importance” when it was on TV a few weeks ago because that was one I was on the fence about when it aired, and my reaction was “nope, it’s not aging well.”
Hi Alice, I have to agree, none of these episodes are stellar.
I agree with you on Family Remains. Right after watching it, I had a distinct feeling of “do not like”. That episode rubbed me the wrong way, even though I was entirely creeped out by those feral children, especially the scene where the girl thinks it’s her dog…
Oh, and Time For A Wedding? *shudders* I think I may have, just maybe, for about three seconds felt sorry for Becky, but that all went out the window when she turned the corner into psycho territory. I know the episode was meant to be funny, but it just wasn’t. Eh, maybe knocking people out, kidnapping them, tying them to a bed against their will after turning them into a lovesick fruitbat is just not my idea of ‘fun’. When I first heard there was going to be a wedding on the show and before we found out Sam’s wife-to-be was Becky freaking Rosen, I thought “yeah, this has got to be twisted in some way!” After all, Show has already ruined Christmas and Valentine’s Day so why not the ubiquitous, sappy wedding scene? They should’ve done it scary, dammit!
And, just to be shallow? Only reason I’ve watched Red Sky At Morning more than once is because I think the boys look particularly hot in it. Never liked Bela in any of her appearances after BDABB. I think it was how she made the boys look like idiots. Fool me once and all that.
I agree with several of your choices, but I definitely put Time for a Wedding at the top of the list. I loathe Becky and have from the start. Nothing about that episode is worthy, and I refuse to watch it again. I’m also not fond of Bugs or Route 666, so those eps are always on my least favorite list.
On the other hand, I actually don’t mind Heaven and Hell. Maybe I’m shallow, but I think I’m one of the few fans who like the sex scene in the Impala between Dean and Anna.
I’ve also never been a fan of the Ghostfacers, so the episodes with them just plain irritate me.
A previous poster dislikes Clap Your Hands…and it’s one of my favorite episodes, for the humor if nothing else. Jared’s comedic timing in that one just made it for me. For most of his time as Soulless Sam, I was not into it, but that episode grabbed me.
I was never a fan of Bela. I was glad to see her go away.
I agree with you on “Time for a Wedding” as the only thing I liked was (sorry!) Garth, the smarmy demon & Crowley.
I like “Bugs” and “Route 666” for reasons stated in my post below.
But I love “Heaven and Hell”. The love scene in the backseat of the Impala. The hand in the window didn’t bother me as I’ve never seen “”Titanic”. And Dean’s bare back! Yowza! Loved Dean and Anna’s conversations. Dean’s ‘in your face’ talk with Uriel. Grace in a bottle may not be the best thought out plot but the rest of it was stellar.
Love love Clap Your Hands and I’ve found I’m loving season 6 so much more now that I know what was wrong with Sammy.
Bela was good at being annoyingly hateful.
Thank you for mentioning the great work of Phil Sgriccia in All Dogs Go To Heaven. I disagree with your comments on soulless Sam. I remember as we were living soulless Sam in Season 6, I knew Sam of course would get his soul back, but I was enjoying the excellent work by Jared. I was not sure I wanted to see Sam this way all season, but just before I was to the point of “okay, let’s get the soul back” Sam got it back. The soulless arc was a highlight of Season 6. Although not a classic, I very much enjoyed Mannequin 3: The Reckoning. I thought some of the slower paced sequences and shots by director Jeannot Szwarc were wonderful, and the “Lars and the Real Girl” twist was funny and, well twisted! The look on Johnny’s face when his Real Doll comes to life is a favorite of mine. Thank you for not listing mostly Season 6 and 7 episodes!
I agree, soulless Sam was a fascinating idea and Jared did a great job of it. I keep hearing that the storyline was truncated due to fan-feedback but it seems to me like it was a storyline that came to its natural end.
I liked soulless Sam, but I was getting weary of the whole idea come “All Dogs Go To Heaven” and the way he was written in that ep made it far worse. I LOVED soulless Sam in the next two eps, especially “Clap Your Hands If You Believe.” The biggest problem with soulless Sam is he was so inconsistently written. They really didn’t take the right approach in exploring, what does it mean to be soulless? It really could have worked all season if it was done better.
You’re on your own for Mannequin 3. 🙂
For the most part i agree with your list. I disagree about Heaven and Hell as this is among my favorites. I am a huge fan of the Angels and Demons storyline and feel that this epiosde truly helps the storyline to move along. At this point we’re starting to trust Ruby along with Dean. I think the love scene between Dean and Anna don’t work only becasue the sex between Sam and Ruby are just so hot.
I also liked Time For A Wedding because it was just so nutty. And Crowley showing up at the end made my day.
I would have put Shut Up Dr. Phil on the list as one of the worst episodes. I was a bit Buffy fan and was so excited with the idea of James Marsters and Charisma Carpenter working together again. Their scenes had no chemistry and the two actors were just wasted.
Also among my least favorites was Changing Channels. I thought it was a silly story and a waste of Richard Speight and Misha Collins. It was also a waste of my time.
So looking forward to season 8.
Ooh, you might not like my top ten best then (still a WIP). I guarantee Changing Channels had a spot on that list. One of the most legendary episodes ever done on television, let alone Supernatural. Plus it even tied in with the mytharc. Written by Jeremy Carver.
Shut Up Dr. Phil was a finalist, but I guess it wasn’t bad enough to make an impression compared to others. It would have easily made the top 15 though.
I wouldn’t put Red Sky, Hammer of the Gods, or Magnificent Seven on the list.
I would put I Know What You Did Last Summer on the list, just after Heaven and Hell. I don’t think I will ever get over the grace tree or that awful Titanic sex scene that was there for no good purpose whatsoever. The loathed Ruby2 and there was entirely too much of her in IKWYDLS. Hated that episode. I did like the Uriel and Dean scene in the barn in H&H. What a good great bad guy Uriel was, and I loved all of his and Dean’s mano / mano scenes.
I would add Defending Your Life, in addition to Fallen Idols. Flat out boring episodes for me.
Route 666 is probably my very least liked episode ever, because of the really terrible actress. I loved the brothers in this one, Sam ribbing Dean, but even that could not save it from that terrible actress or the fact that it seemed to be an obligatory episode covering racism. Seriously? A racist truck just didn’t work.
Time For A Wedding definitely should be on a worst episode list. What a slap at fandom.
Then again, there were only two episodes I liked in S7, and S6 wasn’t a whole lot better. Any time guest stars are showcased and the brothers are wallpaper, it doesn’t work for me — not even way back with Chriss Angel. While I loved Ghostfacers, and still do, it was the placement of that episode that didn’t work well. The show was coming off a long break, IIRC, and there was too too much focus on the guest stars and not enough of the brothers. I still loved it, though.
The only reason I would put up practically any S7 episode instead of All Dogs Go To Heaven is because of Phil Sgriccia’s work. Never should guest stars or dogs ever outshine the brothers, but there was some lovely shots in that episode.
You mentioned Criss Angel is a Douchebag, which is an interesting topic to me. I like that episode. Then again, I’m a fan of Barry Bostwick and I think they wrote a very strong episode for him, John (and Michael) Rubenstein, and Richard Libertini. All four of those guys were top notch actors, and it really brought something to the credibility of Supernatural to add such acting caliber to this little sci-fi show on the CW. Plus, at the time in season four, the concept of using guest actors to give Jared and Jensen a break was rarely used. So I thought this one worked very well for the show. As long as it didn’t happen all the time, I was forgiving of one week.
I do agree that in season seven, guest actors were way overused and took too much priority over the brothers. It was almost like the writers weren’t interested in writing about Sam and Dean anymore. That did hurt the enjoyment of the episodes from week to week. Having said that, I did love what the guest actors brought to those roles, even when the scripts for them (cough Shut Up Dr. Phil cough) weren’t great. I do vote for less guest actors in a season though taking over the story.
I didn’t disklike Criss Angel and only mention it because the story was about the three old guys, not the brothers. Who could dislike an episode with that name and a scene where Dean meets Chief in an S&M Club!
Despite being an episode to showcase guest stars, this one worked for when it was shown. If it had showed up in the middle of S7, I probably wouldn’t have.
Good job, Alice. I’m always grateful to a fandom that can take a set back and constructively critique itself and not gloss over the mistakes. So much of Season 6 and 7 belong in this list; on those I agree!
I had finally just been able to forget Mannequin 3. So bad! And Hammer of the Gods. I don’t think I could even tell you what that was about. I try to forget it ever happened.
I know people hated Red Sky at Morning. For the most part, I enjoy the episode. Most of all I just hate that the ghosts talk to each other at the end. For me, that totally killed the creep factor.
Nice list Alice!
I can usually find something good in every episode. I agree on “Time for a Wedding”, but for a different reason. I couldn’t stand that they made Sam out to be a moron. He is highly intelligent & quick to react. Drugged or not-never would have happened.
I loved Heaven and Hell for several scenes. Dean & Anna’s talk about why she wanted to be human. Dean’s reaction when she told him she “knew”. And of course, Jensen’s amazing scene at the end telling Sam about Hell. The man should have won an Emmy for that one!
Route 666 was great character development for Dean. It showed a different side of him. More layers so to speak.
Fallen Idols I loved the scene at the end. Dean says “Who would have thought killing Lilith would’ve been a bad thing?” I’d been thinking that myself for a long time.
I would have a hard time picking fav’s as well. So much goodness to choose from!!
So, yeah to 666 and Manequinn (*sp) and All Dogs (REALLY!?) Season 6 let me down a lot. Others on the list, The Mag Seven, not to fond of that one. And I don’t know why, but I hate the two episodes with Anna in them. Don’t know what it is, my hubby loves them. I just find them irksome. Hammer of the Gods…I don’t “hate” the episode. I do HATE that I lose Gabriel in it. That really pisses me off. But the fact he was in it, probably put it higher on my like list, because I LOVE him!! I like Red Sky at morning. I think it’s pretty playful…the old woman hitting on Sam…hard! But honestly…I think it’s time for me a good ol’ season 1-7 marathon. I’m off the next 4 days. Might just go pop in season one now!! Time to refresh!!! 🙂
I wish I could join you! I’ve been really wanting to watch some older eps of SPN but haven’t had time. I need to do it for the top ten (or 15) best eps list I’m still struggling to get done.
Great list, although there are a few episodes that I actually like. “Heaven and Hell”, “Red Sky at Morning”, and don’t shoot me, but I kind of liked “Hammer of the Gods”. Mainly because of Lucifer and Gabriel, man I wish they would bring him back. He’s one of my favourite characters.
I would have put “All Dogs Go to Heaven” as my worst one, with “Bugs” a close second and definitely “Defending Your Life”, just yuck for that episode. Such a waste of an hour. They bring back Jo, and this is what they give her? I shudder at the thought!
I have been reading your articles for a while, but this is my first participation. Thanks for all the work you do – it is always a pleasure to read your articles.
I have some of the same episodes on my “not so good list” as you – Bugs, Route 666, Red Sky at Morning, and the only episode I have wholeheartedly disliked, Season 7, Time for a Wedding. However, I liked the other ones on your list. The other 6 on my list are:
Roadkill – probably just me, but I found it boring.
Ghostfacers – I spent too much time wanting to slap the guest stars to enjoy the episode (I know, everyone else loves this episode – I am weird)
Family Remains – boring and annoying
Chris Angel is a Douchbag – the only thing I liked about the episode is that it has the best title ever.
The Curious Case of Dean Winchester – nothing against Chad Everett, but will never understand why Ackles could not have played old Dean.
Dark Side of the Moon – had a great opening with a classic badass Dean line, but the rest of the episode drove me nuts. Sam was pretty much raised by his brother, but does not have one good memory of him in his march down memory lane. And the capper to the episode is Dean throwing away the amulet.
All that being said, the wedding episode is the only one I would never watch again. A bad Supernatural episode tends to be better than whatever else is on tv. Thanks again – I know my choices are not as analytical as others – just my own preferences.
Welcome to first time commenting! I love hearing from long time lurkers. It’s always good to know there are people out there that enjoy what we do. My stats tell me we have way more visitors than commenters, (95% don’t comment) but I rarely know if people like what we’re saying.
I would agree, a bad Supernatural episode does tend to beat whatever else is on TV, except season seven. That was the first season for me where most of the episodes weren’t better than other shows. Perhaps that’s why I often express such disappointment in the season.
I got to admit, I love Ghostfacers, and I really love The Curious Case of Dean Winchester. Chances are it was due to my lifelong girl crush on Chad Everett, but there you go. It’s interesting, but boring is exactly what ended up keeping Family Remains off of this list. It wasn’t even bad enough to stand out.
Roadkill was a finalist. I’ve always called it, “Touched by a Winchester.” The reveal at the end saved it, plus Dean was funny in that one. Sam was just out there. I thought “No Exit” was worse though, but interesting how no episode in season two made this list. It was that consistent.
Dark Side of the Moon is a big favorite of mine. You won’t see it on any “Best of” lists here, but it has a special place in my heart. The ending did suck though, and shame on the writers for never resolving that.
Thanks for your comments! I hope to see more in the future.
Thanks Alice for the welcome. I know what you mean about nseason 7 – on a silver lining note, there were several occasions where your site reviews were more entertaining than the episode itself. Must see website reading, rather tham must see tv?
Yes, I have nothing against Chad Everett, but wouldn’t it have been far more interesting if Jensen had played his older self?Chad didn’t even look like he could’ve been old Dean. Also, I did think Swap Meet was actually funny, but I think many people here will agree with me that the most obvious and interesting body swap would have been, of course, Sam and Dean! Seeing J&J play eachother? Writers kinda dropped the ball there.
Loved DSOTM, but yes, I want to know if they’re ever gonna get that amulet back on Dean’s neck. I think Sam would’ve fetched it out of the trash, that’s in character for him.
I had nothing against Chad Everett but the most logical person, to me, to play older Dean would have been Jensen’s dad, Alan. I’ve never seen him do comedy, but Jensen has always said his dad is an amazing storyteller. I’m sure he has a sense of humor he gifted Jensen with. JMO.
I also agree that the writers dropped the ball in Swap Meat in that the body switch should have been between the brothers. That would have worked a lot better for me.
You know why I loved Ghostfacers? I thought the episode was successful at showing the difference between civilians and how Sam and Dean were at the top of the food chain. That’s why I cannot stand Garth. He comes off as just a village idiot — a hunter wannabe — without showing the difference in a creative, humorous way. He was showcased in a humorous attempt, just like the Ghostfacers, but the humor they used for him was cliched.
I am with you on Garth, Ginger. He reminds me of Richie from Sin City, and should meet the same fate.
My thoughts exactly re: Garth.
And it annoys me even more since I really want to see more hunters (please, those 2 guys that killed Sam and Dean in Dark Side of the Moon!), but not a walking joke like Garth.
Garth may seem an idiot, but he was the one who figured out that Bobby’s spirit was attached to the flask and also that the illegitimate son of one of the owners was going to be targeted.
He’s seems just like a sweet natured guy who happens to be a hunter. Reminded me of Andy, who was also a sweetie.
Seems to be a pretty capable hunter too. Since he is still alive.
And he manages to get smiles out of the boys and I’m hoping to see more of him. 🙄
I agree “not logged in Bevie” 🙂
I love Garth. He’s kooky, but refreshing.
When I first saw him in “Girl Next Door” I was not pleased with his character, as he DID seem pretty inept. But once we got to “Party-On, Garth” and fleshed out his personality and character a bit, I found him to be a very believable, offbeat kind of guy. 🙂
Roadkill – probably just me, but I found it boring.
You know the first time I saw that episode I didn’t pay much attention either but then I realized that they actually are out in the dark, in the rain and sleet in Vancouver in the middle of winter – it must have been totally miserable! I started looking for some of the outside scenes to see if they were sets, and I don’t think they are!
You feel obliged to watch simply because of that level of commitment on everybody’s part. Then after a while the episode kind of grows on you 😀
Well, now I feel like I am mean for not liking Roadkill. Ok, Eilf, I will watch it next time it is on to see if it has grown on me. Although, seriously, these guys film in Vancouver – they have got to be working in miserable weather conditions at least half the time. It amazes me how often, when you look closely, you can see rain is falling, and they are just ignoring it.
Speaking of episodes growing on me, when I watched season 6 I hated the first half with soulless Sam. Then, when I got the DVD and re-watched it, I totally appreciated those episodes (but still hate that scene in Twihard). Although they will never be among my 30 or so (so far) favorites, they have their moments. Come on – who did not laugh at “I’m not the one who pizza rolled Tinkerbell” or Sam’s rant at the fairy lady, ending in telling her all that was missing was “a dozen cats”? He nailed those lines.
Funny thing eilf, the last time I watched that episode I noticed that too. I also thought Jared sounded like he was getting sick, or just getting better from being sick.
As I understand it they were originally told the show would be filmed in LA. Then once it started they were sent to Vancouver. Troopers, all of them!
[quote]As I understand it they were originally told the show would be filmed in LA. Then once it started they were sent to Vancouver. Troopers, all of them![/quote]
Easy there, eilf. I adore Vancouver. It’s a beautiful city, home to my daughter, and their winters aren’t all that terrible! They can have some wet spells, sure, but there are a lot worse climates. Seriously!
It doesn’t surprise me that a lot of people were fond of “Heaven and Hell” but there’s a reason it’s on this list. It’s from a very strong season four, and compared to all the episodes from that season (except for “Family Remains) it was the weakest. Part of this is because it was supposed to be the highly anticipated, taking us into the kick ass part two of season four (Supernatural’s best season according to many) midseason finale. It had high expectations and didn’t live up. The rest of the season was going so well, and then the midseason ended with this on a whimper. Let’s face it, the mythology in this was so clunky. Angels and demons fist fighting? I had hoped for more. Thrown in a gratituous Ruby torture scene, the unfunny humor the forced references, and it was lackluster at best. Not to mention this version of Alastair sounded like Elmer Fudd.
If this wasn’t meant to be a midseason closer and if it fell in seasons 6 or 7, “Heaven and Hell” likely wouldn’t be on this list. But really, none of you though grace in a bottle was just ridiculous? The Titanic inspired sex scene? Maybe I really hated that scene because I’ve never been a fan of Bad Company. The closing scene is iconic and gorgeous, and saves this episode from falling higher on the list. Again, another scene that we used for a logo.
I think I would’ve liked Heaven and Hell better if not for Anna. And yes I’ll say it, Ruby! Sorry, it’s hard for me to move past my Ruby hate, I guess. I am a total feminist, always love it when strong female characters get prominence, but these two, argh. I guess I hated Ruby because she was always taking time away from the Sam and Dean relationship, plus I was really mad at Sam for screwing a demon! Of course I forgave him, but it seemed out of character that Sam would do this, and I guess I would’ve been mad at Dean too if he had actually given in to lust and banged Casey. Of the two Ruby’s though, I found Katie Cassidy easier to tolerate(sorry Jared). Then again, maybe if the girl who played Casey had played Ruby, it would’ve been easier for me to take because I thought she was at least a much better actress (sorry again Jared)
Hey, does anybody know if the actress is the same one who plays the bride in the ‘Hangover’ movies?
Hi Alice – Yes, grace in a bottle was ridiculous, but not so bad it ruined the rest of this episode. LOVE love love Heaven and Hell. The love scene turns me on every time I see it, and the Titanic hand doesn’t bother me as I’ve never seen Titanic Lucky lucky Anna, I keep muttering through that too short scene.
The talks between Dean and Anna. Dean stumbling with his words when she tells him she knows what he did. His confrontation with Uriel. Jensen should have another Emmy for that as well as the 4 or 5 he should already have, for “Devil’s Trap”, “All Hell Breaks Loose II”, “In My Time of
Dying”, “What Is and What Should Never Be” and ‘No Rest for the Wicked” and the still to come “On the Head of a Pin”.
By the way, I do agree with you about “The Curious Case of Dean Winchester”. Chad Everett was wonderful as old Dean and made me just want to hug the old dear. And “Clap Your Hands” and “Changing Channels” are fantastic episodes.
I could never list my top 10 episodes as I have over 100 of top ten episodes on my list. 😮
Alice — The ‘grace in the tree’ was BY FAR my biggest WTF moment in 7 years of watching Supernatural. It inspired me to incredulously say outloud “‘Grace in a TREE!??!’ What show am I even watching?”
I HATED Anna in Heaven & Hell especially the Titanic-esque handprint on the Impala window. To me she was interesting in IKWYDLS but I hated it when she became an angel. They didn’t kill her off soon enough as far as I was concerned.
I’ll have to give some thought to the episodes I would put on a ‘worst’ list.
Disagree about balance being slanted towards Dean. I still don’t think he’s gotten a fair shake. Will agree about the actresses they pair him up with though. If Jensens’s love scenes are not as hot as they could be, and yes this is one of my big disappointments, I refuse to believe it’s because of him. It seems to me the writers deliberately never write his scenes as hot as they could/should be, and I never understand why. For one thing, I still believe he had tons of chemistry with Jo, but they had to go and kill her off. I too thought Cassie was a horrible actress and I just felt she wouldn’t have been Dean’s type.Too highbrow. If they would actually pair him up with an actress that’s more like a female Dean I bet it would be hot. Maybe a female thief/outlaw. Anorexic Anna? Ugh. She would suck the life out of anybody. I also thought he had chemistry with the female shrink, who of course was an hallucination, damn. And Casey the demon. I thought for a minute he actually thought about getting in that circle with her and knockin boots.
Maybe Sam/ Ruby were hot together because they were falling for eachother offscreen LOL. Probably helps.
Yes, I thought Bugs sucked too, but its one that’s so bad it’s great, if you know what I mean. Couldn’t believe the guys kept straight faces.
I actually like HOTG, save for the pagan God/ cannibal thing. Parts of it were really funny. I liked Dean’s interactions with Gabriel.
I will surprise some people here who know me as a Dean fan and say I actually liked some of Souless Sam’s interactions with Dean. Didn’t want him to stay Souless forever but it did give an interesting twist to the brother relationship we all love. Of course I’m a Sam fan too.
I adore Dean but I have to agree that Sam’s love scenes are much more intense than Dean’s. They aren’t bad, just that Sam’s are filled with a bit more wild abandon. My personal theory is that Jared is a completely irrepressible person and Jensen is a little more reserved and he may be just a little bit uncomfortable with the process. Jensen is completely insanely handsome but I gotta give a nod to Jared for his love scenes!
I completely agree with your list Alice. With the one exception of H&H. I have to fall on the side of those who love that episode. The scene that Bevie mentioned between Anna and Dean. I always love when Dean shows his vulnerabity. The scene at the end just tears me up every time I watch it. Dean’s pain and Jared’s pain watching Dean’s pain. Powerful.
I really don’t think that’s because of Jensen though. I really do think the writers just haven’t paired him, for starters, with an actress he has chemistry with, and then they don’t write the scenes too well. Yes I realize at a certain point it’s on the actors to make it work, but they first have to have something to work with.
You might be right. I think Jensen is incredibly sexy so I was wondering why that didn’t translate to those scenes. I’m not saying that there needed to be wild,crazy,rough stuff. I just didn’t buy it. Jensen never seems to be about the beefcakey stuff. Bring on the chemistry then, I say! 🙂
OMG HA HA HA – this is so awesome and I totally agree with every single one! I did not care for Pig in a Poke (6 months of demon killing covered in 10 seconds? Dean dying without any Sam angst?) or Ghostfacers (I just thought it was so cheesy), but you nailed the top 10 you have here. Nice!
Oh, I loved Mystery Spot, and it’s one of my favorites of the entire series.
I thought Sam had plenty of angst in Mystery Spot. He never gave up on trying to bring Dean back even 6 months after he had died. And I thought the deaths were creative and funny except for the ones they lingered on, which were heartbreaking. But I respect your opinion.
I just wish they would bring in an actress with real chemistry with Jensen and finally write/ allow him to be as steamy as I know this gorgeous man can be. Just one time SPN writers, please? No more Annas or Cassies. More Jo’s and Caseys! Then I won’t complain anymore! (NOT!)
These lists serve to prove how different tastes can we all have.
Fallen Idols was really bad, I can’t even think of anything good to say about it, except chopping PH’s head.
I liked Family Remains well enough, but I don’t think Season 4 was the best season. Not by far *shrugs*. I agree on Heaven and Hell, though. Anna is a character many fans like, but she was was all I never wanted angels to be.
Time for a wedding deserves a higher rank, imo. I just wanted to scream at the screen during the whole thing. Bad, bad, bad. It felt like a cheap comedy, and yeah, I was okay with Becky (even if I think she’d stepped over the line before this episode when she insisted in touching Sam. Nobody would make a male fan touch a girl like she did), but after this, I just hope she never comes back again and they stop with the meta, sorry. Plus, mocking your fans, not just a few jokes, but actually mocking, is not cool.
I dislike Bela a lot, everything about her seemed forced and unnatural to me, so I guess I’m biased against Red Sky. Same for Route 666, never bought the wholeCassie is Dean’s real love’ thing, and I saw no chemistry between them. But time gave me a new perspective, I now think he wasn’t all that in love with her, but he needed someone besides that time in his life, and he needed to ‘spill out’ everything to someone. Too bad Cassie let him down. But I think it’s still a proof of how sad and lonely Dean really was during that period of his life (it seems I like Sam’s love interests better than Deans).
Hammer of Gods was bed indeed. And a bit offensive and cultural insensitive. But I hate The Slice Girls even more, sorry. Even the title is bad and the whole episode what a big WTH for me and I don’t think I could be more annoyed at the writers than I was after that particual episode. Swap Meat, as many have said before me, was bad. I couldn’t believe Dean didn’t find out that wasn’t Sam before, and I think the idea of switching bodies is unoriginal and it wasn’t even played in a way we could have some character insight. Defending your Life, another hot mess.
I disliked a lot of s7 episodes, but I think it’s unfair to list them all here, my general distates for the season should not affect particular episodes, I think.
Weirdly enough, while it’s obviously not one of my favorites, I’m okay with Bugs, lol.
From a fan in Indiana, what I find humorous about Hammer of the Gods is the geographic mess it is. Per the beginning, the boys were on the toll road (which is near the top of the state) and were forced off because of a terrible storm and ended up in Muncie? That is in the middle of the state and there are three main roads that cross the state between the toll road and there. Either Sam really sucked with his navigating skills or it was one epic storm. I remember rewinding it and making sure I heard them right. And that was before the rest of the mess that came.
I live in Central Ohio, and I was thinking the same thing! I’ll have to pull up my original review (I was writing them for Blogcritics at the time) but usually I write about geographic issues in those reviews. It’s very possible I didn’t do that for HOTG because I was so livid over the rest of it. It was a very negative review!
My 10 worst. Let’s see. There won’t be ANY from the Pilot to Lazarus rising. Seasons 1 – 3 are my favourites and to me, perfect and perfectly fitted together to make a grand saga.
The detested “Bugs” complaint of the ‘short night’ could have been avoided by someone commenting that “it’s been 5 hours, do you think we’re safe now?” as it would have taken hours for the bugs to chew right through the roof. Didn’t see any bad acting from the 2 Js either. Loved the brotherly interactions all through it, especially regarding the kid and his dad.
I didn’t consider Lorie a love interest for Sam in “Hookman”.
He didn’t seem to either. She did approach him and was rejected right away (politely, of course!). i enjoyed seeing a familiar urban legend brought to life and Dean burning the bones in the cemetery was a beautiful sight and kudos to the director for that. 😛
And the hatred for Cassie is something I could never fathom. She was a strong woman and someone I could see Dean admiring. She was no bimbo. I loved the sex scene. Dean is so very considerate, gentle and loving and that is what turns me on, not the desperate angry violence as seen with Sam and Ruby. Some like it rough, not me! The racist truck was a blip in this episode that had a lot of brotherly moments, with Sam teasing and surmising and inquiring into Dean’s love of Cassie and why Dean told her what they did.
I saw no sexual tension in “Red Sky at Morning”, just an amused comment from Bela about having “angry sex” and the little smirk on Dean’s face. Dean coming down the stairs in the tux to the Bond music? Oooooooh! Nice! Sam and the cougar were hilarious IMO. Also, never hated the actress who played Bela. She was good and made me dislike Bela intensely which I think she was supposed to. And all kinds of grisly things are to be found in museums.
As far as “The Magnificent Seven” showed us an entirely unlikeable hunter couple, I enjoyed it immensely. I did not think Dean OOC at all. It’s just Dean putting his mask on and making out he isn’t bothered by going to hell for eternity. Yeah, right! I admired Jensen in this episode for showing how scared he was behind that facade he was trying to sell his brother and Bobby. So, “Yeah, i’m heading for hell, but who cares? I’m living it up right now!” And I was actually pleased (bad me) when that ass Isaac drank the drain cleaner. Sam shoving Dean into the dash when he got in the back seat was a hoot! 😀
I liked “All Dogs Go to Heaven” too. Lucky was a gorgeous dog and a great actor. I felt sorry for Lucky at the end. And Sniper Dean? Wow! We didn’t know what was wrong with Sammy then and his coldness towards the innocents and his brother was hard to take and almost made me hate him. But, something just HAD to be wrong with him!
I’ve always found mannequins to be creepy (remember Chucky?). They didn’t need to kill off the sister though and I thought the Lisa/Ben/Dean confrontations beautifully done. (Lisa is another female some fans hate for no reason whatsoever. She took Dean in at his lowest time, welcomed him, trusted him, and loved him, and no doubt saved him from eating his gun. Exceptional woman!)
“Hammer of the Gods” is an episode I enjoy very much. It’s got my favourite angel “Gabriel” in it, after all. Good stuff: wet Winchesters, comedic bits, Ganesh the elephant in the hotel room, Dean’s speech to the gods, confrontation of the brothers Lucifer and Gabriel. Did hate them killing off Gabe/Trickster though.
My 10 worst: (if I can find 10, that is, ha!)
1. Falling Idols (hated Sam telling Dean he went with Ruby to get away from Dean. Didn’t compute.)
2. Swap Meat. The boys really tried, but it just didn’t jell.
3. Defending Your Life. Loved to see Jo again, but it was a lost opportunity to show how Sam really feels about his brother and Dean hearing it.
4. After School Special: Colin Ford was wonderful as young Sam, but I just couldn’t buy teen Dean. Jensen would have done a better job and they could have made him up as an 18 year old, Look how they changed his look in “It’s a Terrible Life”. He looked years younger in that.
5. Time for a Marriage: Yucky Becky? Save me! Just can’t see Sam, even love potioned, falling for her. Loved Garth though! And the smarmy demon and Crowley were good.
6. Cris Angel is a Douchebag: This was OK on the first viewing but I grew to dislike it as the magicians story became more boring the more I watched the episode. Have to watch my epiodes in order, though, so I suffer through it.
Dean and the S/M Chief were great though.
7. When the Levee Breaks: When Sam put his hands around Dean’s neck and squeezed, this episode went from tolerable to “i don’t really want to have to watch this again.” (I know this is not a worst for any other fan)
8. Sex and Violence: This is only on my list because of the “boo hoo” comment to Dean from Sam about how Dean is always ‘whining’ about ‘torturing others in hell’. Outside of that, I do enjoy this episode.
9. The Rapture: Just because I can’t stand Mrs. Jimmy Novak. Misha is great in this. (having a hard time finding worst episodes)
10. And Then There Were None: Only because 3 characters met their end needlessly. Dean kills his cousin Gwen (and doesn’t seem too concerned about it later), Bobby kills his lifelong friend Rufus (RIP). That’s like if Dean killed Sam, and doesn’t seem too down about it. Sam kills his grandfather who is infected with the worm, but forbids everyone from killing Dean for the same reason. I really wanted to find out more about Grandpa and I loved Rufus Turner. And poor innocent Gwen! The writers were way overdoing the character deaths IMO!
My brain is fried and I’ve bored you enough (if you’re still reading) and these are in no particular order, only I would put “Cris Angel’ as my number 1 worst episode to enjoy.
Peace! 🙂
I too hate Levee, for the reasons you give and The Rapture just bored the heck out of me, plus if they were going to go to all this trouble it should have come up again. Did the angels stop protecting Jimmy’s wife and child when he defected? Is Jimmy still trapped with Castiel? The episode brought up a lot of questions and then just pretended it never happened.
I do hate Sam’s line in S&V although I hate his ignoring Dean’s call to have sex with the doctor as much.
I also agree on And Then There Were None. I was really interested in the Campbell side of Sam and Dean and it got totally wasted in season six. Plus yeah, we can kill Rufus and Grandpa, and Dean feel no guilt about Gwen makes no sense. Three characters that I wanted more insight into gone.
These episodes didn’t make my list because there are others I hate more.
I’m not bored at all! I’m always curious what people like and dislike.
I keep a list of what I call “personal favorites.” They aren’t episodes loved by the masses, or even critical standouts, but they’re just episodes that I love to watch over and over again and just love them more than any of the others. “When The Levee Breaks” is on that favorite’s list. Rather high on it. I REALLY REALLY love that ep. The brotherly fight served its purpose. They had to go to those extreme lows in order to get to where they were at season five. Which of course was obliterated by seasons 6 and 7. But, I still love that ep! Mostly because it was the perfect unraveling of Sam Winchester. It was what The Born-Again Identity should have been!
“After School Special,” “The Rapture,” and “And Then There Were None” were middle of the road eps for me. I didn’t hate, but they don’t get frequently re-watched. There’s only a ton of those!
I actually though “Hookman” was scary, and a good-quality S1 episode.
“Fallen Idols” was horrible, but the only things I thought were OOC were Dean’s petty words to Bobby about Sam over the phone, as well as Sam’s “part of the reason I started hanging out with Ruby was to get away from you” bullcrap. But the Ghandi and Lincoln stuff? Just horrific. And not in a scary way.
I didn’t think “Heaven and Hell” was that bad, and I really liked the interactions between Dean and Anna.
I also thought “Time for a Wedding” was hilarious.
“Red Sky at Morning” and “Magnificent Seven” were pretty horrible.
“Route 666” was poorly executed.
“Bugs” was poorly paced, but scary enough.
I thought “Mannequin” cartoonish. And I didn’t like “All Dogs Go To Heaven”, but can’t put my finger on why. It just never resonated.
I think some other considerations would have to be “Chris Angel is a Douchebag,” because for the life of me I can’t figure out what the point of that episode was, and “Out with the Old,” which was EXTREMELY poorly paced, and ruined my ability to take the Leviathans seriously. Sometimes I think Dick Roman saved S7.
I also think “It’s a Terrible Life” was poorly executed, and almost served as a cop-out after Dean’s emotional break in “On the Head of a Pin.”
“Monster Movie” would have also made my list of top ten worst episodes. Again, it was cartoonish.
And how about “Swap Meat”? What a weird, unnecessary episode. Again, IMO it was poorly written and executed.
Great article.
I couldn’t agree with you more about It’s a Terrible Life. The episode itself Is fun but coming after On the Head of a Pin? I was so disappointed that we didn’t get any real resolution from Dean regarding his emotional breakdown. Though I’ve noticed the show does that trick a lot, especially in the later seasons.
I disliked Monster Movie at first, but it’s grown on me, even though it does the same thing that Its a Terrible Life did, diverting from emotion and not acknowledging it.
Monster Movie for me was a technical achievement. It was a true blue homage to the old style monster movies. The cinematography, the framing, the black and white and using sets like they did in the old days, it was very, very well done. The story was okay, but the style, just wow. They did their homework.
It’s a Terrible Life will always win for me just for one thing. Cramming Sam Winchester in a cubicle. The rest of the ep gets a pass just for that alone.
I will concede on “Monster Movie.” You’re right.
But really? “It’s a Terrible Life” gets a pass for one little thing? I’m sticking to my guns on this one. 😛
You know, I loved “It’s a Terrible Life” just because it was the only episode in season 4 that the brothers were together and in sync with each other, even though they didn’t know they were brothers!
The reason season 4 is still my least favourite is because of the enormous schism between the brothers, when the closeness of them is the reason I love this series.
Diverting the emotion and not acknowledging, IMHO, is the biggest problem SPN has had as the seasons progress. There’s no demonstrable character growth because, for some reason, the writers won’t allow Sam and Dean to find [i]resolution[/i] for their personal demons.
Hopefully Carver does a better job in that regard.
Yes. I want nothing more than for season 8 to feel like seasons 2-3, emotionally. In that the true character actions and motivations are given reason (not made-up for the sake of story) and that the guys, especially, are allowed to feel their feelings and then heal from them. I sincerely hope Jeremy can do all that! I’ve been waiting since season 5 for something to be said/done about Deans drinking! I don’t need an after school special (haha) but its a point that’s been made over and over and just pushed aside. Anyway, I digress now. 🙂
I agree wholeheartedly with this, mybelle.
They haven’t been feeling their feelings and HEALING from them since season 3.
The emotional connection between them in seasons 1 to 3 have been missing ever since, and still have not been settled. Do they always have to be at odds to make the drama? They used to have an ‘unhealthy co-dependence’ and that was why I loved this show.
I want to know they still love and care about each other. I believe they do, but it is not SHOWN nearly as much as before.
Exactly! There have been flashes of it, but it doesn’t carry through the seasons like it used too. I guess in a way it could be character growth, but I don’t really believe that myself because with everything they’ve been through they’d seemingly grow closer not more distant. Who knows. I get with age people change but I’m disappointed that aspect of Sam and Dean’s brotherhood has been lacking, visually onscreen.
As loath as I am to defend “Time for a Wedding,” I think that episode takes a turn for the better in the second half once we learn about the involvement of the rogue crossroads demon. The final confrontation with Crowley saves it for me–compared to “Bugs,” anyway.
What really bothers me about that episode is that we had every indication except a direct statement that Sam was likely sexually assaulted in Hell; what Becky does REALLY squicks me out when taken in that context. I know she says they never consummate their marriage, but there’s still such a violation there, especially when considering what Sam had just recovered memories of. Come on, writers!
I can’t say I hate “Hammer of the Gods” as much as you, Alice; it’s bad, but not the worst by any means to me. Terrible representation of other religions, yes, but in my head canon, all the gods faked their death and are laughing at Lucifer now.
“Heaven and Hell” also seems out of place (I spam watched the entire show until mid-season 6, so placement of episodes as mid-season means nothing to me); “Family Remains” is my big season 4 dud.
“Mannequin,” to me, is one of those episodes that wasn’t [i]good[/i], but it also wasn’t offensive enough to make a list like this. It’s one I tend to watch the first and last few minutes and skip the in-between on rewatch.
“Defending Your Life” easily makes my list. There was so much potential for an excellent episode with general plot, but what we got absolutely fell flat.
Oh, btw – I thought “Hammer of the Gods” was pretty creative, albeit ignorant and, as others have stated, culturally insensitive. I would have liked to see more of those gods.
Alice, I would click ‘next’, and then nod my head and laugh at every terrible episode you had picked.
I would like to add ‘Clap your hands if you believe’ (only part that I liked was Dean and the microwave) and ‘Shut up Dr. Phil’ (complete waste of Buffy alumni).
Sniper!Dean was the only high point of ‘All dogs go to Heaven’. In fact the only episode that I liked with Soulless Sam in it was ‘The man who Knew too Much’, and that was only because he gets shot by Sammy 😆 )
Becky was ok in little bits, but when she was front and center in ‘Time for a wedding’, it was just too much. I also want to mention that I hated the return of Lana Lang, why torture us with her, when we all know that Clark ends up with Lois.
At the risk of having tomatoes thrown at me, I also want to say that I hated the episode ‘Girl with the dragon tattoo’ (something like that). I hated the character of Charlie and really did not see what all the fuss was about.
Kripke made a good call about umbrellas. Sam and Dean are too blue collar to be bothered with unbrellas. 😆
I’ll share tomatoes with you. I’m right there with you on the Charlie Day episode — The Girl with the…Dragon Tatoo. I hated that character. I’m hoping against hope that Carver saying there will be a return of old home week characters (in addition to new ones) that she is one that they will[i][b] not[/b][/i] bring back.
1)I agree that Hammer of the Gods is MY worst episode. The complete disrespect for non-Judeo Christian religions and the implication that Christianity although flawed worships the only true God infuriates me.
2) All Dogs go to Heaven. Lucky was a supernatural being that murdered three people. They weren’t immediately threatening anyone. Since we have seen Sam and Dean living in worse conditions than Lucky’s family, I couldn’t feel that the landlord was a slumlord and he didn’t deserve to be killed because he wanted his rent. Plus Lucky voyeuristicly watching the mother undress, shower and be naked when she didn’t know he was actually human AND then crawling into bed with her was just plain icky.
3) Fallen Idols poorly written bad storyline and it has been used to bash Sam ever since it was shown.
4) Time For a Wedding Just bad, embarrassing and insulting to fandom. Becky was always an iffy character, but after The Real Ghostbusters I felt that she had been semi-redeemed. This was just a slap in the face.
5) Defending Your Life. Osiris way OTT. Sam did a crap job of defending Dean. Dean not wanting the truth to come out was stupid.
6) Mannequin 3 all the reasons you listed.
7) Heaven and Hell Grace in a tree, really?
8) Adventures in Babysitting. Sam keeps the girl safe, sacrifices himself to buy the father more time, gets taken down way to easily and then the girl thanks ONLY Dean.
9) Any of the Ghostfacer episodes. I really don’t like those guys
10) Route 666. The episode is a total mess. Over on livejournal manead is analyzing the episodes in order from the Pilot on [url]http://maenad.livejournal.com/?skip=30&tag=spn[/url]. She goes into great detail and they are really fascinating analyses to tide us over until October. She talks about Route 666 [url]http://maenad.livejournal.com/103687.html[/url] for part one and [url]http://maenad.livejournal.com/104138.html[/url]for part 2. She makes a pretty compelling argument that the script is so incredibly poor that Meryl Streep couldn’t have made Cassie come alive. It’s worth a read for those who hate this episode.
Since it makes the worst list so many times her look at Bugs part 1 is here [url]http://maenad.livejournal.com/100827.html[/url] and part 2 is here [url]http://maenad.livejournal.com/100928.html[/url].
Y’know, I was totally in agreement with this list -save for a few harmless throwaway comments- but then I lost all faith in the author of this list when they said “the superb ‘The French Mistake’.” I can’t take anyone who says that was a good episode seriously.
Hey, to each his own. As you can tell here, we have a wide variety of tastes. Criticism and top ten lists are highly subjective. They’re also fun to ponder!
Then I can’t be taken seriously either, as it was the highlight for me of the last 3 years, not only for me but for all my Supernatural fan friends.
Sadly I actually really like a couple of episodes on your list but never mind – here is mine!
1. Route 666 – just awful – watched it about twice when forced
2. Bugs – as above
3. No Exit – or as I call it – no Sam
4. Sin City – Bored out of my brain and as for Dean smoozing the demon – ugh
5. Red Sky in the Morning – I am a couger and believe me we are not that wrinkled or cliched (lol) – also Bela makes the boys look silly
6. Malicious Malfarium – yuk – hate the tooth bit – just hate it
7. In the Beginning – or as I call it – where the feck did Sam go and why do people like this episode – it is really irritating as it goes nowhere up a tree!
8. Swap Meat – a missed opportunity
9. 99 Problems – not at all good – the only redeeming feature was staggering drunk Sam!
10. How to win friends and influence monsters (or something like that!) I hate this so much I have only seen it once and cannot bear to watch it again.
Dishonerable mention – On the Head of a Pin – just hate that too!
Sam was drunk in 99 problems? I don’t remember that. It was Cas, right?
Other than that I agree, it was kind of a dumb episode to set up for the much more awesome Point Of No Return
Both were. Sam’s was less pronounced and nothing like “Playthings” but he did go out drinking and came back very happy. It was Castiel though that was totally hammered. That was funny and that is why I don’t mind that ep. That and Dean’s line, “On a good day you get to kill a whore.” 🙂
Oh yeah that’s right, Sam did have a couple of drinks in that bar where they eventually killed the bartender, but he didn’t seem drunk to me. Now Cas was hammered.
It’s funny how I don’t agree with almost anything in your list. That’s maybe because if I had to do a list of the worst episodes in the history of Supernatural, probably around 8 or 9 of them would be seasons 6/7. I really can’t compare these two to earlier seasons.
That said, I disagree with almost your whole list, which makes me question how much we judge episodes by what we feel, and not quality itself, like script, editing, pacing and acting. It’s all very personal, so no, I don’t think this kind of list is very useful, even if it is kind of fun xD.
Your hate for Bella made you pick Red Sky at the Morning, the same way my hate for souless Sam would make me pick most of the first half of season 6 (even the one everyone loves Clap your hands if you believe, that is completely awful to me).
I see no reason at all to dislike Hammer of the Gods except for how easy it was to kill the Gods. I really liked the episode, same as I never had anything against Heaven and Hell or even The Magnificent Seven and would absolutely include All dogs go to heaven, even if I loved the dog, he was so cute LOL
Anyway, that’s my opinion, you see? That’s what I mean, we all have very different tastes and judging episodes as bad or good is really hard and most of the episode choices will have people disagreeing with you (except for Time for a wedding or mannequin or bugs, as much fun as bug is to me, it was a bad quality episode LOL). Also I’d like to add Swap meat here, what a bad episode in an absolutely stunning season! Waste of time xD
I’ve been writing extensive episode reviews since season three and have already written long analytical pieces for almost of these eps. They got bad reviews based on all those things you said, the script, editing, pacing, acting, etc. To save time and a lot of verbage, I didn’t rehash those reviews here. For those that have read those reviews though, this list should be no surprise!
The links to those reviews can be found in our episode guides. I was every bit as livid over “Hammer of The Gods” then as I am now. Time has not changed my mind at all.
My hate for Bela didn’t make me pick “Red Sky at Morning.” Just like I said in my original review, it was just a sucky episode with a very ludicrous plot and wacky setups that just didn’t work. It was a mess. Bela was in other episodes that I liked, but yes, she annoyed me everytime I saw her. That was the fault of the writers, for Lauren Cohan is quite an exceptional actress.
Oh yes, everyone has different tastes. You will never find one critic/reviewer have the same list. We are rarely in agreement. Add fans to that and the variety is endless! Your opinion is just as good as anyone else’s, including mine.
Picking individual episodes from seasons 6 and 7 was impossible. They couldn’t dominate the list, and the issue with those seasons was as a whole they didn’t work. With the exception of a couple of really horrible eps, the issues from those seasons cannot be traced to just a few eps.
I have to agree with Rosetta in a way. If you’re picking worst episodes as far as writing, acting, etc, it’s different then picking the episodes you hated because of content. If I was picking because of content, then most of mine would be from seasons 4 and 5. Actually, alot from season 5. I know I’m in the minority on that, but it would take way too long to explain my severe dislike of how everything after “Fallen Idols” was handled. If I had to pick a word, I’d go with “contrived”. I’m getting irritated just writing this, LOL. I imagine if you wrote an article just about episodes you hated just because of how you felt afterward, your replies would go on for about 40 pages.
I mean, I’m not saying your opinion is not important, Alice, of course it is! Who am I to judge? I’m just saying that there’s something very subjective about anybody’s choices, what you can see from all the comments and how different people’s opinion about the same episodes can be!
Take Sylvia here as an example. I’m not as found of season 4 as the majority of the fandom, but I’m completely in love with Season 5 and I probably could hardly point out anything I disliked about it. We have very different opinions, especially about seasons 6 and 7 that I could really pick many individual episodes with huge issues.
No real criticism here, just making a point xD
I liked The Magnificent Seven and I love Bugs so they wouldn’t be on my list. I also don’t mind RSAM so much – I hated Bela but the episode has Sam all soaking wet and speaking Latin so it’s not all bad. 😆 I also liked Cassie so Route 666 wasn’t a complete fail for me.
Heaven and Hell would be on my list though as would Fallen Idols and especially S7, Time For A Wedding (for the same reason stated by purplehairedwonder upthread )
My list would also include No Exit, The Rapture, Ghostfacers, Sam Interrupted, Yellow Fever, Changing Channels, Adventures in Babysitting, 99 Problems and DSOTM.
I thought Jensen was really funny in Yellow Fever, but I thought it was heartless that the poor ghost in question had been treated so horribly in his earthly life and then Sam had to in effect torture him again. I thought the writers could have found a better way to save Dean.
Another good thing about Yellow Fever – Sam’s yellow eyes right at the end, just for a blink. It is fun the way Sam’s eyes changing colour is almost like an easter egg in several episodes. I didn’t notice it the first time I watched Yellow Fever, and in some episodes it is had to tell. His eyes are black in the Great Pumpkin episode, and in another one where he is driving the Impala (though I don’t remember which episode that is).
I agree Misty. The cruelty toward that character dragged the whole episode down. That episode though was the first full episode of the series I ever watched and it dispelled a lot of the misconceptions I had about the series. I thought it was a show that took itself too seriously with a couple of pretty actors who couldn’t act and also took themselves too seriously. The episode proved how wrong I was in all aspects and also gave me my favorite line of the whole series, “We fight monsters. What the hell?!”. Love that line.
In the Begining would be up there as would be No Exit for me. Ghostfacers would of been alright in a different time and place for me.
Sam Interrupted and Swap Meat and Changing Channels would be safely sitting on my list .
Sadly, I have trouble identifying episodes by title alone. 🙁
That said, I really enjoy most of the meta ones, and the episodes with a lighter, teasing tone. Ghostfacers are a laugh. Gabriel and Lucifer are my favourite angels, so any episode with them is great.
Episodes with little of either Sam or Dean are not favourites. Gotta have my boys!!
Perhaps this is a sad comment on myself, but the only episode I seriously dislike is the one where Sam weds Becky. She is one seriously disturbed fangirl. 🙁
There are some episodes that aren’t as good as others overall, but I enjoy certain scenes from each of them. See? I told you. I’m a sad, sad fan.
While overall seasons 6 and 7 are my least favourites, missing a compelling story arc, there are a few good episodes. I enjoyed Soulless Sam, except that I found the writing inconsistent, and wish they’d done more with him. Adored CrazySam and Lucifer. Wish there’d been more of that…
I enjoyed reading your list, and agree that some of these are less than stellar episodes. Coming up with my own list would be nigh on to impossible. Thanks Alice.
I love Heaven and Hell too. I also thought that Season 7 Time for a Wedding was funny though I could see at the time that it would drive people nuts. But, you know, I recently watched a video from Comic Con where someone asked Jensen what he thinks of ‘Destiel’ and this type of question happens pretty often – if people deliberately try to embarrass the actors why shouldn’t the writers have some payback? The cast and crew know that most fans are not like that, they were just having a little fun.
I don’t absolutely hate any episode but here are some that are not my favorites and why:
Family Remains: I was unlucky enough for this to be the one random Supernatual episode that I came across, while channel surfing – it is the reason why I never watched any more until this year TBH. It is just a really workaday episode and kinda depressing, too like the X-files ‘Home’. (Imagine if it had been ‘Mystery Spot’ or The Monster at the End of this Book? It would have been like Christmas, I would have had to have seen more!)
It’s the Great Pumpkin Sam Winchester: At the end of the episode Sam is forced to use his power or he would have died. Dean could see that, he is right behind the monster and he has the knife beside him. He should have stepped in to help but he doesn’t, and then Sam gets more hassle from everyone for using his powers, this bugs me. Also the monsters name is mangled in this episode. Samhain is pronounced Sow-an not Sam-Hain (ok, so it isn’t intuitive). It is not an uncommon word in Irish since it also means ‘November’ – though I get that there probably aren’t a huge number of Irish-speaking viewers. Anyway it is distracting every time someone in the episode says it. To sum up, this entire episode drives me nuts 😀
Red Sky at Morning: Because of the granny-cougar, otherwise it’s fine, I liked Bela (and Ruby(s) and Meg(s) and Anna and Jo and Ellen – guys, please stop killing off the female characters)
Hammer of the Gods: I liked this at first but it really does have a bad attitude towards non Judeo-Christian religions.
Fallen Idols: Really? You’re going to diss Gandhi? Why on earth would you do that?
Mannequin 3 the reckoning: sad because it was such a cliffhanger from the previous episode! (the cliffhanger-resolution bit is good).
And finally, Garth. Don’t get me wrong, I like the actor who plays Garth but I feel his character is totally impossible in the Supernatural universe. Sam and Dean work as a team, they are top level hunters and yet they have been killed at least 106 times between them (that we know of)! Garth can’t even stay conscious for a fight. How is this possible?
I didn’t like Time For a Wedding, but I understand your argument that the writers engaged in a little tit for tat with the fans. I do have a problem that the ONLY fans that get shown in a bad light are those who like Sam. Becky is disinterested in Dean and loves Sam and is shown to be virtually unhinged. The other fans as presented in The Real Ghostbusters were reasonably normal if invested in the books. Only Becky is portrayed so negatively. Now to be fair Becky may have originally been a one off idea and they just picked a brother, but as a continuing character who eventually drugged and assaulted Sam, it bothers me.
I completely agree with you on It’s The Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester. I’m not sure why Dean couldn’t have been more supportive of Sam that one time, because he didn’t know about the demon blood at that point. Instead the whole message seemed to be that Sam using what, at that time, seemed to be his innate powers was worse than letting 2,000 people die. But then one of the problems with season four for me was that the upside of Sam’s powers was mentioned once when he told Dean that he exorcised the demons and the hosts lived and then it was ignored.
The funny thing is that Sam’s power WAS a better thing than the knife for the reason he said – it didn’t kill the victim. Ruby said he didn’t need the blood at all (Dumbo’s feather). Not all of the ‘children’ were evil, so the power wasn’t inherently ‘evil’ it was twisted by Ruby.
If the angels had worked with him and helped him the way they were willing to with Dean the power could have been an advantage. But the point was that the angels wanted the whole thing to play out. In this entire thing Sam was more sinned against than sinning. (Castiel owes him an apology too). But what a great storyline!
But I’ve never even seen any of Dean’s fans. Where were they? Did I miss something? If so, please point them out because I really don’t remember them. And I’m not being snarky here, I really don’t recall them.
I can’t agree with you on the shippers.
First, if people ask stuff about ‘Destiel’, throw a stone to ‘Destiel’ shippers, not Sam fans, please.
Second, shippers wouldn’t be as annoying (sorry if anyone find this too negative, but I think making Jensen unconfortable just to have a few giggles witha question about a pairing that does not exist at all is the worst) if the writers stopped with the unnecessary and out of character gay jokes and some dialogues that make no sense.
If they feed the fans they should also respect the fans.
Btw, I was okay with the level of fun they made of fangirls in TMATEOTB, but TFAW crossed the line.
The Destiel thing does seem to bug Jensen, I don’t know why. I mean, he knows full well about the fringe elements of the SPN fandom! But I don’t get Destiel, only because it has always been shown from that beginning that Dean is a straight man And no, I have absolutely NO problem with GLBT persons or characters, if this had been shown to be who Dean is from the beginning it would have been fine with it. No homophobia here. But they’ve always shown that he is a straight, woman loving man so it makes no sense to me. Cas being an Angel on the other hand probably would have no concept of gender or sexuality so yeah maybe, I could see him having those feelings for Dean but not understanding what they are. And Wincest! Come on people, if that was going on on your street, wouldn’t you be repulsed? Or what if Sam and Dean were Sam and Deanna? Would it still be a turn on? It’s incest guys! That being said, it’s clear to me that the writers and yes the actors too occasionally like to throw those particular fans a bone. You can’t listen to some of the dialog and not see that LOL. And some of those episodes are the funniest. As far as TFAW it was funny on some levels, but no, I did NOT like that Becky drugged, beat over the head, and tied up Sam. NOT funny. Reverse their positions and then tell me how funny it is. And while I have had many heated debates on here due to my love for Dean, I also know that none of the fans/posters here fit into the Becky category, and that they would NEVER violate Jared, or Jensen in such a way. Near sexual assault is NEVER comic fodder!
You know, I never thought the “Sam was nearly sexually assaulted by Becky and that’s not funny” was a fair or legit claim. Becky was portrayed from the beginning as an extremely naive and innocent character. Guy (the demon) in that episode had told her that the potion wouldn’t work unless Sam loved Becky deep down. And she wanted to believe that. And I believe that the line “we haven’t even consummated our marriage yet” was put in there specifically to point out that Sam was NOT sexually assaulted. Becky just wanted a hot husband for her 10 year high school reunion. Her intentions weren’t evil. And she in no way could be representative of a real SPN fan, because she’s so off the wall. AND just to be fair here – Dean has had his fair share of “moments” – for example: meeting ‘The Chief’ in “Chris Angel is a Douchebag” and the joke about servicing Oberon, King of the Fairies in “Clap Your Hands if You Believe.” “Time for a Wedding” IMO was not meant to be joke about near sexual assault, nor a representation of the fandom. We all know we’re not like Becky, she was a parody and nothing more. It was all in good fun.
I tend to agree that Becky did not sexually assault Sam, but she did drug him and she did physically assault him when she hit him with Dean’s wedding gift. Then she tied him up. Considering Sam’s backstory of being trapped in the Cage, I still don’t think physical assault and imprisonment were funny. For the record, Yellow Fever Dean who was suffering from PTSD being traumatized funny either.
I guess part of it also depends on whether you think it’s canon that Sam was sexually assaulted in the cage. Lucifer using it as a play-on-words taunt doesn’t cut it for me. For me, it’s highly likely it happened, but not certain, not until I hear it from Sam’s mouth or see some evidence of it. But I TOTALLY understand why you believe it to be canon.
Personally, I think Becky is judged more harshly than any other unwitting antagonists because she’s (a) female and (b) a super-fan of Sam. Other characters – even female ones – have physically assaulted the boys, betrayed them, imprisoned them, etc. And they don’t get that kind of heat, even though some of them were flat-out evil characters. To me that is unfair. I guess I just took the episode for what it was. The best parts for me were Dean’s reactions to Sam’s sudden marriage and odd behavior, and Sam’s reaction to Dean’s reactions. Perhaps the only real “sin” of this episode was its timing, set when Sam was in such a fragile mental state. But there are many SPN episodes like that. Again, IMO it’s unfair to put “Time for a Wedding” at the top of the hated list for that reason, especially when it was otherwise entertaining.
Bamboo, i don’t want to argue, but I think the difference between Becky and any other female characters that have assaulted or otherwise harmed the brothers were evil, had some agenda or otherise could have been considered their enemies. That’s the difference for me. You expect antagonistic characters to do bad things. Also, I don’t think in those cases it was meant to be funny, either.
Becky was not a bad character. Nothing in the episode actually seriously bothered me (honestly, I can’t say I enjoyed it), until she knocked Sam out. That took it a step too far for me. That whole scene where she had Sam tied to the bed, bothered me. It was a gut reaction. I don’t find drugging, assaulting and kidanpping someone funny. I don’t think anything was necessarily implied there, but it was a little too close to the line for me.
What Bamboo24 said.
LOL every time I see a comment I totally agree with it turns out to be one of yours. You do a much better job of saying what I want to say than I can 😀
I know Becky didn’t really sexually assault Sam. Just saying, if you had a male character do to a woman what Becky did to Sam, what would your thoughts be?
She drugged him, beat him over the head, then tied him up. She kept him against his will. Now she probably didn’t intend to hurt him, but still, it was a violation.
Yes I think it’s been implied that both boys may have been assaulted sexually in some way. I thought that even the scene in ‘Live Free or Twihard’ where Dean was turned by the head vamp had a feel of sexual assault to it.
While I thought Jensen was funny in Yellow Fever, you’re right percy, I guess he was still raw from his Hell trama at the time. I hadn’t thought of that.
Yes I know what you mean and I don’t argue with your point about sexual assault at all. Also I don’t like the shipping myself and I haven’t really seen much evidence of it here which is why I like this site. And, as I said, the writers know the vast majority of the fans are not like that.
What I mean is that the writers are saying: ‘this is the result of you getting what you think you want by the wrong means. You don’t, ever, you just get a very angry victim’.
Of course it would seem to be different if it were the other way around and of course it wouldn’t be. In fact it happened, and it was scary (Sam and Jo in BUABS) .
What is funny about the episode is not the actual things that happen to Sam, it is the fact that everybody (both characters and audience) gets the trope that it is based on. Everybody understands the story. The Monster at the End of this Book and the Real Ghostbusters do the meta stuff much better but I am a sucker for meta stories so they generally won’t be ones I dislike.
You are totally right about Sam getting hit in the head, by the way – the number of times someone either hits Sam or uses some sort of mind altering thing on him from the time he gets his soul back is crazy! He has a wall, people, it’s fragile! Quit hitting him – that means you, Dean! It isn’t surprising that the thing can’t be repaired later on.
[quote] What is funny about the episode is not the actual things that happen to Sam, it is the fact that everybody (both characters and audience) gets the trope that it is based on.[/quote]
You said that just fine! 🙂
Why thank you 😀
Regardless of the spin people put on TFAW. For me it was done in bad taste , bad timing , bad idea .
Considering what Sam had gone through in the cage and he had obviously gone through something it was just stupid and the episode felt like something some students would come up with on a drunk Saturday night.I can take a joke like the next person but that so called ‘meta’ episode was just not it for me.
It was a episode that leaves me with one simple question Why?.
Yes Sam technically did almost assault Jo, but it wasn’t Sam, but Meg possessing Sam. And yes, it was frightening. Jared played it well, but again, because we knew it wasn’t Sam and that he would NEVER do something like that, well I’d almost forgotten. And with Jared being so feakin HUGE, that just made it all the more scary.
Does Dean really hit Sam that much? I know Sam does get hit over the head alot by various bad guys, but I didn’t think Dean hitnhim that much, although yes I know he has hit him in the past when they were fighting.
What would you think of a case in the real world where someone’s defense against a rape charge was that they had been told that roofies wouldn’t really work if the person didn’t deep down want to have sex with the person who roofied them?
“We haven’t even consummated our marriage yet” makes it clear that Becky entered into marriage with Sam intending to have sex with him, sex to which Sam could not consent. She did have him enter into a legal contract without consent, tie him down, and caress him without consent.
The threat of rape in the episode is canon. The fact that Spn has fallen down before on this kind of issue (it treated rape lightly in Wishful Thinking, flirted with the idea that Sam might have sex with Gen in French Mistake when Gen would have been consenting to sex with a different person, which would be rape, it made a joke of Gary having sex in Sam’s body in Swap Meat; Clap Your Hands, at least, has the excuse of being robo!Sam POV, and the audience is presumably not meant to share robo!Sam’s perceptions of what is and isn’t amusing) makes the fail of TFaW more culpable, not less.
And, yeah, in a week that’s included Mr. Akin, delegitimizing or trivializing rape or the threat of rape is not something I am likely to take as “all in good fun.” Letting that episode air is by far the blackest mark in my book against Gamble.
[quote]What would you think of a case in the real world where someone’s defense against a rape charge was that they had been told that roofies wouldn’t really work if the person didn’t deep down want to have sex with the person who roofied them?[/quote]
Okay, whoa. First of all, as a woman, I am a teensy bit offended that you would even ask me this question, as if I don’t know the difference. Believe me, I know the difference between what happens in the real world and what happens on a TV show. Just because I think “Time for a Wedding” was funny and took it for what it was intended as, does NOT mean that I trivialize or delegitimize rape. I never thought that what happened to Sam in that episode was particularly funny, I thought Sam and Dean’s reactions to everything and each other were hilarious. That’s all. Those humorous interactions between the brothers MADE that episode for me, just like Becky’s actions ruined the episode for you. I obviously didn’t see it the way you did. This isn’t “Law & Order: SVU.”
[quote]”We haven’t even consummated our marriage yet” makes it clear that Becky entered into marriage with Sam intending to have sex with him, sex to which Sam could not consent.[/quote]
No, the sole reason Becky did what she did in that episode was NOT to have sex with Sam, it was to get a quick, handsome husband for her 10 year high school reunion. She was an incredibly naive character and didn’t intend harm for Sam. I actually don’t believe she had it in her to consummate the marriage at that point in the episode, as she was obviously conflicted after finding out that Sam really didn’t want to be with her.
But you’re right, she did do all those things without Sam’s consent, and if it happened in real life it would be criminal. But you know what? A ton of crap happens on SPN that, if it it happened in real life, would not be funny. But because we [i]can[/i] tell the difference, we still watch, and laugh. You may argue that “TFAW” took it a step too far. That’s your opinion. I don’t, in fact, believe that “Time for a Wedding” was delegitimizing or trivializing rape. It wasn’t the intent or point of the episode, and that’s a pretty harsh charge to level against another woman (Sera Gamble didn’t write that episode). I agree that jokes about sex on the show have often been done in poor taste – I think that’s part of the noir/horror genre. Do I think they’re funny? Certainly not. I shake my head or roll my eyes or cringe a little bit and move on. Actually delegitimizing or trivializing rape or the threat of rape is not something I would EVER called “all in good fun,” nor did I EVER suggest such a thing.
This is obviously a very, very fraught topic and one that I find extremely upsetting, especially right now. Please understand that when I say in all seriousness that I think that the way this episode treated sexual assault, and the way you evaluated Becky and her actions, contribute to cultural attitudes to rape that I think are real, pervasive, and harmful, I don’t mean that you yourself personally make light of rape. But I do think that the flat denial that the episode depicted a near approach to rape is a problem.
The way that rape is depicted in popular culture, and the way that depiction is discussed, is not a separate issue from the way rape is discussed in public discourse. It makes a difference. It makes a difference to the ways people who are making and administering laws think. And this is particularly true when it comes to the definitions of what rape is.
To defend someone who deliberately took away someone’s ability to consent in order to get them to do things that they would not do without that consent, things that, by the person’s own admission, included sex (they hadn’t consummated their marriage YET; though she changed her mind, she didn’t enter into a marriage intending it to be a sexless marriage — the fact that the marriage, not the sex, was her main goal makes no difference; raping someone in passing as part of a larger goal doesn’t make it better) on the grounds that they are “naive” is very, very problematic.
It is possible, in the real world, for “naive” people to genuinely believe that no means yes, that someone whose consent they are taking away actually consents. When you claim that Becky almost assaulting Sam doesn’t happen in the episode, when you make light of her action with reference to her naivete, yes, I think that you are downplaying what happened, and that making light of a fictional, hypothetical instance does contribute to a culture that delegitimizes rape. The divide between fiction and reality doesn’t mean that fiction, and the ways in which we talk about fiction, don’t bear a responsibility to the wider culture.
I also think that if they had reversed the genders in that episode and played it the same way, they would have been pilloried, simply because the implications of the episode would have been much more visible with a woman roofied, tied down, and touched against her will by someone who had intended to have nonconsensual sex with her.
I 100% agree with what you’re saying here, that the rape or almost-rape depicted in pop culture reflects and influences public discourse. Absolutely. And as an educated woman, I appreciate your level-headed reasoning. Your personal reasons for not liking the episode are absolutely valid and fair.
I don’t deny that the claims that, if they had reversed the genders in that episode and played it the same way, it would have been vilified. That’s very true.
I do balk at the hard-line dealt this particular episode – it seems this episode gets a worse rap than others and is treated more harshly than others because of Becky and who she is in the show. [b]That[/b] is what I initially was responding to.
PLEASE understand that I AGREE with where you are coming from, and everything you said. But I still enjoyed “TFAW” and have re-watched it many times, because I don’t think it was depicting or making light of a sexual assault. I just don’t. My hope is that you can respect that, and that I will not be lectured or lambasted about it. I like the episode for Sam and Dean’s interactions; though that doesn’t mean I don’t ‘get it’ regarding your issues with the episode.
OK I will answer that. It is the ICK factor. Sorry – but the when Becky tied him to the bed, it was just EWW ICK! The character has always been annoying, but in small doses it was ok. However, this episode sent the character right over the line by about a mile. Sorry but I had the same reaction to this as when our heroes realized the character in Ghostfacers had brought the dead bodies home to play. And THAT is why this episode is the only one that I will never watch again. Just bad!
Actually, Supernatural has had a reversed gender version of this issue. In “Wishful Thinking”, Wes wished for Hope to love him more than anything, and the result is her bizarre devotion to him. He took away her identity as anything other than what he made her.
It was a disturbing scenario that went even farther than what was done to Sam, with the exception of physical restraint.
Sorry, I think the comment of mine above, which I had intended as a reply to Bamboo, ended up attached to your comment instead. Sorry! I think you and I are in agreement.
As long as I’m here, I’d note that Meg menacing Jo sexually while possessing Sam’s body was also a violation of Sam. Had Meg used Sam’s body to rape Jo, there would have been two victims, Jo and Sam.
Yes Sam technically did almost assault Jo, but it wasn’t Sam, but Meg possessing Sam. And yes, it was frightening. Jared played it well, but again, because we knew it wasn’t Sam and that he would NEVER do something like that, well I’d almost forgotten. And with Jared being so feakin HUGE, that just made it all the more scary.
Does Dean really hit Sam that much? I know Sam does get hit over the head alot by various bad guys, but I didn’t think Dean hitnhim that much, although yes I know he has hit him in the past when they were fighting.
Sorry about the double post
I feel a need to defend “The Magnificent Seven”. No, it was not a good kick-ass season opener, but I think it set things up reasonably well for the season. It brought out the idea of truly dangerous demons being around, emphasized that Sam has a role to play in demon future, that Sam is now trying desperately to find away to help Dean with his deal by pouring over everything, even Faust. And Dean’s behavior? I model his behavior during Season 3 in part on the five stages of grief, and stage one is denial. He goes through all of them during the season and it made complete sense to me for him to begin there. As far as weak openings go, I think “Exile On Mainstreet” is worse.
“Bugs” will always be my number one absolute worst episode ever, with “Mannequin” a close second, with “Defending Your Life” third by a nose. “Route 666” is probably fourth, then “Time for a Wedding”, and I would swap “Family Remains” in for “Heaven and Hell”. “Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things”, “I Believe the Children Are Our Future” and “Swap Meat” feel like they ought to be on here somewhere.
I really disliked “Swap Meat”. That was another concept that just didn’t get the right execution. Dean not realizing that wasn’t Sam? No way, not when the Apocalypse was on and everything was a threat.
So many of the rest don’t live in my memory as terrible episodes, but I feel an apathy toward them. “Simon Said” wasn’t a bad episode, but it doesn’t click with me, just like “Red Sky at Morning”. And I know so may people love “The French Mistake”, but eh.
As for “Hammer of the Gods,” execution was lacking, but I don’t think it deserves to be number one. Rekha Sharma nailed it, and I like the idea of a confrontation between Gabriel and Lucifer. I wouldn’t have put it on the list, but I won’t pretend it isn’t a bit of a mess.
Thanks for the food for thought!
Alice, I love all your blogs. I have been stalking the site for a while but this post made me sign up so I could comment. I discovered Supernatual only about four months ago and marathon-watched all seven seasons. Love it so much!
I agree with all of your choices but ‘Heaven and Hell.’ I really enjoyed that one…but yeah, No Time For a Wedding…wow, epic bad. Becky annoys me to no end.
I look forward to your best 10 (or 15) episode list!
Actually, as much as I love the show, I really hope most parents out there realize this is not a show children should watch! The blood, gore, and violence, especially for a network tv show, rivals anything I’ve ever seen on HBO. And often in the very first scene! So, at least not under 12, and that’s stretching it.
I forgot about the Wishful Thinking thing but yeah come to think of it, why didn’t the boys kick his ass for that?
While I agree that most of the episodes on this list were stinky, I would definitely add Adventures in Babysitting. That was one of the only eps that left me angry at the end because of how bad it was, including the part with Dean trying to put on a happy face at the end. I just didn’t buy into anything and it left me wondering if the writers had any idea why viewers actually tune into this show.
i don’t know about 10, but i can give you 6 of the eppys that were just bad…
no exit
the kids are alright
let it bleed
rt. 666
bugs
sex and violence
thought the old lady groping sam in red sky made it bearable. it did make me laugh.
time for a wedding may not have been so bad if it had been shown in s8 or s9…definitely not in s7…i mean were we supposed to believe that love potion is the solution to sam’s hellucinations?
I think I could’ve liked LIB if not for the mind-wiping. That was just dumb, because what does it matter if Lisa and Ben can’t remember Dean? He remembers them! And that is the thing the demons could use as leverage over him if they wanted to.
If they were going to erase memories then the logical thing would have been to erase Dean’s memories of them as well. Then threats against Lisa and Ben wouldn’t have held as much power of Dean.
S&V I could only watch one time, believe me, that was enough.
Something that always bugs me about the flashback episodes is the fact that they never find a kid to play young Dean who actually looks like he could’ve been him. They found a good young Sam match. Why is it so hard to find a good Dean? First of all, Jensen has green eyes, and he has dark blond hair! Ok even if you might call his hair light brown (I call it blond which you can tell when it’s longer), it’s still that shade that adults who were blond as children and teenagers have when they get older. There are young pics of Jensen that prove he was blond as a teen and had almost white blond hair as a small child. So why the heck do they always cast kids with brown hair and eyes? The one little boy is a good actor, but young Dean should be blond with green eyes.
As one of those adults who lived my childhood and teen years with golden blonde hair, only to have it darken as I got older (It’s not BROWN!!!) I had to comment in appreciation of your recognition of Jensen’s blondness. And of course, those green eyes…
🙂
I liked the kid they had playing Dean in the pilot, he was completely appropriate looking. The older kid, Ridge I think is the actors name, was very good on the show, but you are right, he didn’t channel the feel of a younger Jensen, not like Colin Ford channels young Sam. I also liked Brock Kelly, I thought he did a decent job as a teen Dean, but again – not the right color of hair or eyes. ah well. 🙂
And I am a brown eyed brunette, so it’s not like I have something against that coloring. It’s just not Jensen.
I do wish he would let his hair grow a little longer like it used to be when he was younger, then you could see easily it was blond. Plus I think he looks so much hotter with it longer.
Those were my only complaints about AVSC and SWTWC, episodes I otherwise thought were great.
You’re right about the little boy in the pilot, I saw a pic of Jensen as maybe a 4 year old and he was a total little towhead!
[quote]And I am a brown eyed brunette, so it’s not like I have something against that coloring. It’s just not Jensen.
[/quote]
Totally agree. 🙂
I like Jensen’s hair longer, just not spiked crazy like in season one. But how it was styled in season 7 was really nice. He looked so good! I could get behind his hair just a tad longer… 😀 Though really, he looks sexy always, lol!
Beautiful emerald green eyes
I pretty much agree with your list. My worst has to be Hammer of Gods. I do like some elements in it but being a Hindu, I found that episode very offensive. I stopped watching the show after that episode but I couldn’t stay mad at it for long. I have always been iffy about episodes featuring Gods in them as i find them disrespectful to few religions and beliefs and they making killing Gods seem super easy. In fact according to Hindu mythology Hindu God’s cannot be killed. If you don’t respect some religion… fine but don’t disrespect it atleast.
The other episodes I would include on the list have to be Shut Up, Dr. Phil… I just couldn’t watch that episode at one go and Defending Your Life. This episode had so much potential to be brilliant but they ruined it and made Osiris seem like a douche bag.
They did have so much potential for Defending Your Life, handled it stupidly. First off, why wouldn’t the first witness be the first soul Dean tortured in Hell? And then, He just decides to let Osiris sentence him to death instead of allowing Amy to be called and letting Sam find out. Really? He’d sooner choose death over Sam finding out about Amy? And then of course at the end when you think after all that he would tell Sam the truth about Amy, but he still keeps it secret.
I absolutely hate It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester. It has the same effect on me than Hammer of the Gods. The writers blasphemous views on Paganism and pre-christian cultures saw their lowest when they made an evil god out of Samhain. WTF??? Were they [i]trying[/i] to sound ignorant? And that is saying something for a show that caught me on the first episode when Sam taught Amy that a pentagram is actually for protection against evil AND resorts to pagan solutions every single ep to save the guys asses.
My least favorite wouldn’t have Heaven and Hell in it, but Swap Meat. I agree on Red Sky and Mannequin 3. I guess my list would just have those five.
Hey, Adeorspina! I’d love to contribute on your article about Bugs. Not that I love that episode, but I think it’s a real good premise. The only problem for me is that the night was too short. That part is helpless, but I like thte fact that the show established early on that the human creatu deserves to suffer for what it’s been doing to the Earth. Ok, by now y’all get that I’m pagan.
Spank me, bit I love soulless Sam. It was a great moment for Jared. Some of the eps were not that good all around, but I wouldn’t blame it on him. For the first 3 eps, I thought Jared had simply lost his will to act and I was actually worried about him. I don’t think he is the most amazing actor ever, we all have a lot to learn on our craft always (I’m an actor too, have been for 20 years now), but it was like Sam had no presence, no will, no SOUL. Than we learn that the problem was exactly THAT and then I just applauded his amazing job, now that I finally understood and it made the whole thing brilliant in my eyes. The first time I really loved Jared, like flawlessly loved, was when Lucifer is wearing his meat suit in In the End. Wonderful. Soulless Sam came in second.
Great job on the list, and I’m having fun reading all the comments it has generated as well! I agree with a lot of your criticisms and many of these episodes would be in my bottom as well.
That being said, I actually like “Hammer of the Gods” quite a bit. I admit I was annoyed at first that the other gods weren’t handled with more respect, but when Kali pointed out how arrogant it was, I felt like the writers were laughing at themselves – poking fun at how heavy and wrapped up in judeo-christian mythologies the season had become. I also thought several aspects of the episode were hilarious, such as Dean hitting on Kali, spotting the elephant, and the boys trying to sneak out of the room. Not to mention Gabriel in Casa Erotica! Egads! I was thoroughly entertained, and I liked Kali enough to hope she shows up to cause some mayhem in a future episode. So what I guess I’m saying is that I respectfully disagree. 🙂
That being said, there are several reasons to dislike an episode, whether it’s bad script or characters behaving oddly or continuity issues or just plain boring. I can barely watch “Ghostfacers” because I’m so annoyed by those characters and shaky-cam in general, but understand that’s a personal taste. I didn’t care for “I Believe The Children Are Our Future” because (although there were several laugh-out-loud moments and I appreciated the nod to Good Omens) having an all-powerful child suddenly show up was didn’t jive with the overall story. But no episode, in my mind, was so horrible in every single aspect as “Out with the Old”.
So that is my #1. Worst. Episode. EVAR!!! I’m not sure whether I consider the biggest problem the horrendous dialogue or the lack of an episodic story arc – both were unforgivable. That scene at the beginning on the snowy deck where they both trail off at some point is really awkward and made me want to jab a fork into my eye. Then when Sam is yelling at the kid with the record for being ungrateful… what is that??? I was fairly stoked for another cursed object episode, as I loved “Bad Day at Black Rock”, but this one was a waste. The implications of cursed porn should have been funnier, and the whole storyline should have lasted longer. They could have been clever and used cursed objects against the Leviathans! But ten minutes into the episode, that’s all resolved, and instead we get them NOT ganking one Leviathan because he promises to eat the other? And then there’s a big reveal about curing cancer? And then Frank is dead? Maybe? Worst of all, I did not laugh or get any emotional response from any of that, and was thoroughly NOT entertained. Usually when I dislike an episode, I can think of at least one redeeming moment (funny, sad, scary, clever, suspenseful), but this one seemed to fail on every level, so it would be my worst.
But to each his or her own. I think it’s great that we all love the show enough to be passionate about these things!
Kim,
I totally agree with you. “Out With Old” was bottom-of-the-barrel. The pacing was slow, the story lacked direction and coherency, the Leviathans were annoying rather than menacing, and there were many OOC moments.
I don’t remember the scene you mentioned with Sam, but he was running on fumes that entire episode, so anything that he said or did can be explained by that. But I can remember that scene where Dean turns around and tells the owner of the cursed objects that “guilt won’t bring them [being dead loved ones] back” and “all you can do is try to live in a way that wouldn’t embarrass them.” I was like, ‘what?’ where is this coming from? It seemed like an attempt at character development that certainly hadn’t been earned, much less properly explained. The most gripping part of that entire episode was when Sam almost wrecked into a semi. But that was just another fake-out. Like ‘hey, we’re gonna make you think you’re going to get some character development’…’just kidding!’ 😛 😛 😛 Watching S7 was like being stringed along, following a carrot that turns out to be plastic instead of a real vegetable.
Oh yeah, the “all you can do is try to live” line was weird, too! What were they smokin’ that week?! Seems like I agree with a lot of your comments here. [Sidenote: With the minor exception of “It’s a Terrible Life”, which made me LOL with Dean listening to NPR and Sam’s reaction (or lack thereof) to the guy getting crushed by the elevator. It’s only crime in my book was that it came after “On the Head of a Pin” and completely abandoned the emotional buildup from that… though that is a pretty big crime.]
Seriously, though, I like to think of S7 as more like one of those delicious filled donuts, except when you take a bite, you realize it’s filled with the sugary white fluff instead of the creamy vanilla pudding… and that’s not so bad, it’s still a filled donut, and more delicious than most breakfast foods, but you really had your heart set on that vanilla pudding, and so you can’t help but make that face you get when you’re kind of shocked and a little confused and pretty disappointed because that donut tricked you with its stupid white fluff and lack of vanilla pudding! But also, you keep eating it, because after all, it’s still a delicious donut. 🙂
That being ranted, I’m super-excited about S8… I think we will definitely get some vanilla pudding out of that purgatory storyline!
I hated ‘Out With The Old’ in which they tried to make Dean look a pathetic wuss by having him tempted by those shoes. As someone who loves Dean I can’t stand the way they keep dissing his character! If he had put on those shoes I’d have got up and turned off the tv in disgust. Why do they always try to make a fool out of this man? And the episode in question was so stupid and didn’t make any sense.
All Dogs Go to Heaven This one was kind of just MEH. Ironically, the only scene was that held any emotional impact was the scene where Sam tells Dean he has no emotion. I really felt Dean’s pain and that worked for me. The rest not so much.
Hookman. This one gets kind of the same pass that a lot of season 1 gets. Bugs and Route 666 were particularly bad but I didn’t think this one was horrible. They took a good portion of S1 to find their footing IMO.
Fallen Idols This one didn’t really work. It felt liked it should but it just didn’t really come off. It looked especially bad following four incredible episodes.
Heaven and Hell I liked this episode. I thought it could have been better, but I didn’t have the big problems with it that you did.
Family Remains- weirdly for me the last scene is what saved that episode. I loved that they took such a bold choice for Dean’s character and to me that absolutely made sense. He was in constant, horrific pain for 30 years and being able to pay some of that back would feel good, regardless of how wrong it was.
The Magnificent Seven I agree this was not good as a season opener, would have been okay later in the season. But I liked the brother scenes. And I thought Dean’s attitude really fit the character. Loved the threesome while Sam waited in the car.
Season 7 Time for a Wedding- I actually liked this one. I just didn’t take it seriously at all. And other than the title and how Becky knew them I didn’t see this as being meta really. Or a statement on the fans, but just I one particular fan who was always a bit creepy to me in a funny way. But Edlund would have kicked ass on it. Of course I don’t think there is an episode of his I haven’t liked.
Red Sky At Morning Bad. ONLY good was the tuxes and Dean hyperventilating over Baby being gone.
Route 666 Bad, but this is one of the many the brothers’ scenes saved it. I didn’t think the sex scene was bad. I do watch it with the sound off though. I don’t know what that song was but it was NOT GOOD.
Mannequin 3:The Reckoning I didn’t mind the episode. It wasn’t the best but it I thought it was ok.
Bugs Yeah just bad bad bad. Best thing about are the BTS stories.
Hammer of the Gods I completely agree with you on this one. Unlike most of the other episodes on the list the brother moments didn’t even save it for me. I agree that the Lucifer/Gabriel confrontation was good.
No Exit would definitely be of my list as would Defending Your Life. (I do really like Jo. These 2 episodes just blew). I would probably have Long Distance Call there too. I don’t know why but this one didn’t work for me either except for the brother scenes. It may just look bad in comparison to all the kick ass ones that were at the end of season 3. I usually only watch this one if I’m watching them all in order.
Wow….so don’t agree with this list! Love a lot of the eps on it. Hammer of the Gods is my second fave episode (after Changing Channels). The only bad thing about it was Gabriel’s death (in my opinion the worst and most upsetting death in all of tv history). A part of me will always refuse to believe the trickster is really dead.
I really never cared for a lot of the witch episodes so I’d probably have a few of them on here if I made my own list.
For “Time for a Wedding” I have to disagree. Don’t get me wrong I would never put it on the top ten list, but it wasn’t one of the worst either. As for Becky going looney, I always felt she was one baby step away. And yes fans would do that. I mean how many fans attack the models? How many fans stalk their models? Yeah it may not be a norm, but if it were available, I do think some super craze fan would follow in Becky’s foot steps
“Family Remains” is actually one of my favourites. Mainly because I really like the beginning with the whole “It’s you. It can’t be” and her smile is really creepy, I barely dared to finish the episode. I think it goes to far with her having a brother at which it just becomes confusing, but besides that I really like it.
Well now season has come and gone – IMHO Freaks & Geeks was a thousand times worse than “Time for a wedding” and “What’s up tiger mommy?” was way worse even than that. Writers like Adam Glass will never hold a candle to work by Cathryn Humphris, Raelle Tucker or Kripke.
[quote]Well now season has come and gone – IMHO Freaks & Geeks was a thousand times worse than “Time for a wedding” and “What’s up tiger mommy?” was way worse even than that. Writers like Adam Glass will never hold a candle to work by Cathryn Humphris, Raelle Tucker or Kripke.[/quote]
I was going to argue with you and then I remembered that Freaks and Geeks is the one and only episode of Supernatural that I have never watched and never intend to, so I can’t argue on the quality of it. I will argue that taken in context Time for a Wedding is the worst. TFAW takes place during Sam’s hallucinatory period where he is unsure of what is true and what is hallucination, battling Lucifer and memories of being a captive of Lucifer and Michael and after several hints that some of what they did to him was rape. For Sam to have absolutely NO EMOTIONAL OR MENTAL reaction to being kidnapped, given a drug that makes his memories and emotions unreal and finally tied to a bed with Becky telling him she is going to get a potion that will make him want to have sex with her against his real will is SO far from any conceivable normal reaction that I have to give TFAW the worst episode for refusing to acknowledge Sam’s mental state. I could have taken a different comedy episode with Becky. I could have appreciated Sam going through being roofied and kidnapped if it was shown to be affecting his mental health. But making it a comedy was so far off base.
That said, I still find Man’s Best Friend With Benefits and All Dogs Go to Heaven to be the two most offensive episodes of the series.
He he, I love these lists! I agree with some of your choices Alice but in other areas I had different ones. It’s interesting how varied my idea of a failed episode is; sometimes it has to do with script mechanics or actor chemistry, sometimes its logic (or the lack thereof) or the killing of great momentum etc.. and sometimes it has to do with my least favorite thing, wasted potential. In addition to my list there are several episodes that sit on the edge for me, basically “meh” possibly flirting with bad but just saved from ‘worst’ by some redeeming feature: Bugs, Long Distance Call, Fallen Idols, Clap Your Hands…. I was much harder on season 8 than you were despite the fact that I basically liked it overall.
10 Worst:
Dishonorable mention: All Dogs – Lucky was creepy and stalkerish watching his owner undress… ick. But I love and adore Soulless Sam so this gets a mention and a pass compared to the rest of my list.
10. Season 7: Time for Wedding – I wasn’t all that offended by the characterization of the fans through Becky, just annoyed by Becky herself.
9. The Rapture – I love Cas… but, I. Don’t. Care. About. Jimmy. And Jimmy’s boring story totally overshadowed the more interesting and more important story of Sam’s blood addiction that was “playing in the background.” Ugh
8. Freaks and Geeks – I. Don’t. Care. About. Krissy. And Sam was virtually non-existent in this episode and not in the necessary way that he was non-existent in In the Beginning which worked, but in a lame, “excuse me while I take myself out of the scene for no reason so Dean can bond with guest of the week,” kind of non-existant. Yuck.
7. Route 666 – For all the reasons you mentioned. It seems inconceivable to me that they could make Jensen look awkward in a sex scene, but somehow they managed. Poor casting, lack of chemistry, racist truck. Nuff said.
6. Shut Up Dr. Phil – I hated that the brother’s took such a hard line about killing Monsters in The Girl Next Door only to completely ignore that two episodes later by letting these two awful, petty, ‘let’s kill people out of spite’ witches go without punishment or death. Completely inconsistent. Gr.
5. Hammer of the Gods – Yeah, not show’s finest hour. it did seem woefully ill informed about any and all non-Christian religions and I don’t like it when Show looks dumb.
4. Defending Your Life – I hate being underwhelmed and watching a wasted opportunity. Why wasn’t this like a real trial? Why didn’t Sam behave like a real lawyer? Why wasn’t anything REALLY relevant brought up at the trial? Why wasn’t Sam a witness or John? I think TPTB wrote themselves into a corner and then chickened out before addressing anything really meaningful.
3. Mannequin 3: The Reckoning – Gawd! What a dismal, slow moving, depressing episode. I need to root for the people that the brothers are trying to help, but those dudes were awful, and got what they deserved. I was rooting for the ghost in this one.
2. Man’s Best Friend – Ugh! just ugh and grrr. It was soooo bad, so illogical at it’s best and squick making and possibly racist at it’s worst. Incongruous and irrelevant plot points (Dean’s allergic to cats now?) just brought this episode crashing down. I am not sure how the writers thought that this looked good even on paper. At least the dog was beautiful.
1. Taxi Driver – Now, before anyone starts throwing things at me, this episode did have many redeeming features; great broments, emotional scenes btwn Dean and Benny, Bro-hugs, but the wholesale attack on canon, rewriting reaper lore for no other reason than they couldn’t come up with anything better (despite the MOL bunker practically oozing plot options out of every pore) lazy story conception, rushed execution, and the absolute cake walk that was Purgatory and Hell, this is currently my all time least favorite episode of the entire series.
Whew! There you go.. I hope at least one person manages to slog through this novel.
Quoting Alice #16
“I swear, I wrote that so long ago (I think it was for Blogcritics) I can’t even find that article. Here was my five from that list though.
1. Bugs
2. Route 666
3. Hookman
4. No Exit
5. Red Sky at Morning
Dishonorable Mention: Playthings”
I know that you wrote this ages ago, but I am behind and just seeing this now… but Ah! Alice!! I looooooove Playthings!! Love it! Drunk Sam, Hero Sam and caring Dean. Love… it’s one of my favorite sleeper episodes. Just saying.
[quote]
9. The Rapture – I love Cas… but, I. Don’t. Care. About. Jimmy. And Jimmy’s boring story totally overshadowed the more interesting and more important story of Sam’s blood addiction that was “playing in the background.” Ugh
[/quote]
I am glad I am not the only one who doesn’t like this episode because Jimmy is such a boring person. And sort of unpleasant too, somehow. I find his religious fervor and overbearing behavior with his daughter a bit creepy. And his wife doesn’t seem to like him much either 😕 Mind you he redeems himself as the episode goes on and makes a huge sacrifice at the end
Not Misha’s fault though – Jimmy is a totally different person to Castiel which is kudos to Misha’s acting!
Are worst episodes ones you never watch? In that case (pretty much in order of least worst to worst)::
After School Special – I don’t know. Because only Sam could stand up for himself and a friend against a bully and still come out of it looking bad because the bully had a heart of gold?
Bugs – though you know it is like the curate’s egg – it is good in parts. (as most of these episodes are)
Red sky at morning – specifically BECAUSE of the cougar, it is embarrasing … ick. And that is one elegant older lady too – hats off to her!
Family Remains – the X-Files is 25 years old this year and it was a creaky storyline (and a miserable depressing episode) when THEY did it … The only good thing about the episode is how every one of the guest actors look like people you think you ought to recognize from other shows – but it turns out you don’t.
Criss Angel is a Douchebag -It’s called “Criss Angel is a Douchebag” there was never any hope for it …
Blood Brother – vampires as Hallmark Movie-of-the-Week, what show are we watching again? This didn’t even have the decency to be funny.
The Mentalists (that belongs near the top of my list – I detest it).
Southern Comfort – *sigh* ‘Nough said.
eilf… X-File is 25 years old?!?!? How the hell did THAT happen?
[quote]eilf… X-File is 25 years old?!?!? How the hell did THAT happen?[/quote]
LOL oops – it is 20 years old … my bad…still I think the question stands – how the hell DID that happen?
20 years 25 it doesn’t seem conceivable that it was that long ago… I must be getting old or something, I mean it just seems like yesterday……. 😥
Memories, like the corners of my mind, misty water colored meeeemorieeees of the way we were….
I know I read that on twitter yesterday and all I could think was I’m old. I didn’t think Family Remains was anything like Home (which I adore) though. I think the Benders is incredibly like it (but not done nearly as well though-sorry but the whole first season had a tendency to be X-Files lite and this was probably the worst offender) but I still enjoy it anyway. I don’t enjoy Family Remains other than the brother scenes.
Playthings is a sleeper episode for me too. The boys are just so adorable in that episode. I don’t think it should have one Emmy’s but I always enjoy watching it.
Rapture is just the opposite for me. I thought it was a really good episode that I don’t care to watch very often. I think because when I think of Jimmy trapped in Castiel it makes me uncomfortable. I did ADORE the last scene though. It is such a freakin fantastic way to expose Sam blood addiction -AWESOME.
eilf We are on pretty different pages with this list. I love love After School Special. Thought Blood Brother was great-other than the Amelia scenes. And I thought despite all the brouhaha that follow, Southern Comfort was a really good episode (other than the Amelia scenes) and the fact that Kearney, MO seemed pretty Southern. But that probably just bugs me because I’ve driven through it so often.
See, I liked Red Sky…and I like Bela a lot. It’s too bad they got rid of her. I liked seeing such a different character. Bugs…I liked the idea, but I agree with that–it was ass. And as a pagan myself, I was pretty irritated with Hammer f the Gods, too. : P I liked Trickster though (Yeah I still called him that…suits his personality XD) And his phrase “great big bag of dicks” instantly became one of my favorite insults.
And I liked Route 666 myself…
Can’t say I have an uber favorite… But here are a couple I like: Playthings, Bad Day at Black Rock, Mystery Spot, Yellow Fever, Criss Angel is a DOuche Bag (love the title, too), I Believe the Children are Our Future, Changing Channels, and Dog Dean Afrernoon…which is one of the last ones I’ve seen so far. :sigh: Thanks, CW for SKIPPING spisodes… Anyway… This was a fun read!
Lol why are you picking TV shows apart when you don’t even know that a director of photography, not a director, picks the shots. You can’t possibly call out all the actors for sucking and then give the director props, the director is there to tell them how to act and has no bearing on where the cameras or actors are in a shot