The WFB Admins’ Top 15 “Supernatural” Episodes List: #15
Alice’s #15
“My Bloody Valentine”
Why: This episode is taking character angst and pushing it to its maximum limits. Very few writers in the history of Supernatural have excelled at doing this, and Ben Edlund is the king. Considering this episode ties in heavily with one of the critical signs of the apocalypse, the appearance of a horseman, how does a town handle the wrath of Famine? As expected, very badly. How does Sam, Dean, and Castiel handle Famine? The results are MIND BLOWING. There’s that perfect mixture of humor, gore, action, and life changing character drama.
Famine’s affect on Dean was the most unexpected, because he wasn’t affected. He wasn’t his usual self either, avoiding “unattached drifter Christmas,” aka Valentine’s Day. The prognosis ended up rather frightening, he was already dead inside. But the major zinger happened with Sam. The slow build of up Sam’s craving for demon blood was perfectly done and I really started freaking out for the guy. Hanging on the cusp of total, rabid, all out loss of control with his demon blood hunger, Sam ends up handcuffed to the bathroom sink??? Who didn’t find that positively delicious? Actually, it was the part after that got to me, him tearing into the neck of an unsuspecting demon, flinging the other across the room with his TK toss, and giving a very psychotic, “Wait your turn.” That still gives me chills!
It’s not all gut wrenching, edge of your seat worry for our heroes, though. Ben Edlund even said the opening he wrote, two star crossed lovers branded by cupid eating each other, was the most disgusting thing he ever did (ever notice the woman’s name was Alice?). The character of Famine is easily one of the most creepiest villians ever on Supernatural. Watching Castiel eat burger and burger was a riot, even if it turned rather disgusting by the end. And we got to meet cupid, who’s just a naked pasty white guy on the flamboyant (and huggy) side.
Favorite Quote: Besides “Wait your turn?” Well, strangely, its one of the more stomach churning scenes. It’s the coroner, giving Sam a report on the latest victim:
Favorite Scene: What kills me the most about this episode is the climactic showdown between Sam and Famine. Dean finally gets to see for himself the full force of Sam’s powers, and it shakes him to the core. He sees what can happen when demons take control of his brother and it’s catastrophic. This is the major setup for the episodes to come, when Dean admits defeat and decides to say yes to Michael. This was the incident that broke him.
As much as I LOVE this episode, I can’t believe it ranked only #15 on my list. Perhaps I should have had 15 ties for #1.
Oh Alice! “I’d say that it was a very peculiar thing to do.” Was absolutely one of the best lines from someone other than the regulars. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud! Love the humor of SPN 😀
How you guys can pick 15 top episodes is beyond me!
I’d have a much easier time picking 15 for the bottom. 😛
This is a fun article. Thanks. 😀
Kudos to all three of you.
Like Bevie said: How can you pick the top 15 eps? I already thought it hard back in season 4 to pick 10 eps. And now with so many more episodes to choose from you decided to do only 15. You girls are brave. I couldn’t do it.
And Alice My Bloddy Valintine is one of my favourites too. Even so I watched it the first time early saturday morning with only a few sips of coffee in my stomach and that little bit of coffee tried to make its way back up once that episode started. That was the only time ever a tv show or movie managed to get me to throw up (well nearly).
Yeah, when I rewatch that episode I fast forward through that first couple’s scene. It’s just to much for me. But love cupid!! Ha
Most of the gross-out stuff SPN doesn’t bother me. But the couple scene at the beginning of MBV and the Twinkie scene are both things I have to fast forward through – especially the Twinkies … even though there is nothing to see (imagination works way too well there)!
But I love this episode, and I find Dean’s praying at the end (which seems to me to be for himself and not for Sam – because Sam can dry out (Castiel) but Dean is dead inside (Famine)) very moving.
Slash Fiction is fun too and has some great scenes.
I want to like It’s a terrible life because it is funny seeing the guys in a corporate setting but I find I don’t want to think of the boys as cubicle dwellers for even 3 weeks (shudder) …
Same, here eilf, most of the gross scenes don’t really gross me out either. I think I’ve watched enough horror that it’s desensitized somewhat. One thing that did bother me though was the little beating hearts in the cupcakes.
I use “My Bloody Valentine” as an example of what an amazing actor Jensen really is. My mother is 84. She hates the show, but only because she doesn’t like anything bloody or scary-which is pretty much the whole thing!! She still watches it sometimes, because I do. We came to that end scene, when Jensen is praying for help with tears in his eyes. As usual-he got me-so I reach for a tissue;but so was she. I said “You hate this show”; and she said, “Yeah, but you’re right. He GOOD…” And walks out of the room
Hi, all, I just want to say, great picks so far. It’s a Terrible Life was actually one that snuck up on me. I was slightly disappointed when I first watched it, then I rendomly rewatched one day much, much, later and I loved it!
I’m masochistic with the best of them, but I’m not even going to try pick my 15, so I’ll just enjoy yours.
Randomly, dammit, randomly. I shouldn’t be operating a PC on four hours’ sleep.
I’m so glad you three wonderful ladies are doing this, because I would never be able to! I agree with all three picks. “It’s a Terrible Life” for the montage at the beginning. When Dean first gets into the car and starts the motor, it’s rock’n’roll playing, he hesitates and then switches to NPR! Goes to prove the angels didn’t manage to wipe everything clean. 😀 And I love just about everything about “Slash Fiction”. I do love when these guys get to play another version of themselves. And the scene at the end of “My Bloody Valentine” when Dean sees Sam in full demon annihilation role, it makes me so sad. 😥
Its a terrible Life is when i started wishing the boys were no longer brothers because then they could be friends. I loved them as friends and I’ll never stop wishing to see them as such.
they cant be both?
This is one of my favorite of the alternate timeline episodes, I loved that Sam was in tech support. It is always interesting to see what they brothers could have been had they not been involved with the supernatural. This was definitely one of the best introductions for a villain; this brought back the memories. These articles have inspired me to re-watch the seasons during the break, to try and make the time go quicker. Watching the seasons again, it’s amazing to see all that the brothers have been through. It’s amazing that this was one of the tamer things the angels have done to the Winchesters.
(Edited by Alice. Hey, if DISH and Blockbuster want to pay us for their advertising on this site, I’m all for it.)
I dont think they were trying to imply that Sam would only have been a techie while Dean would have been amanagement if they’d never been hunters. I thought they put both brothers in their most nightmarish roles in that environment. Dean as the manager, eating healthy, uptight, boring, a conformist is probably Dean’s idea of a nightmare, the Dean we know was still underneath all that would have been fighting to get out and therefore proving the point Zachariah was trying to make and also making his job a bit easier.
With Sam stuck in that mundane, mind numbing job there was no doubt he was going to break free of the nightmare quick sharpe. The Sam we know was fighting to get out from the get go, too smart, to inquisitive etc to just sit in a job like that for any period of time.
There is no way either of these two guys would have been doing jobs like these had they not lived the lives they have. Not to mention it was funny and so un Sam and Dean like to see them like that. It would have been less amusing and effective had Sam been management and Dean the tech guy imo.
I wouldn’t have picked Exile on Main Street for anything, and certainly not in the top 15 episodes of SPN. I thought it was an average episode and a very weak premiere. Episodes not normally picked for top anything, like Nightshifter, Crossroads Blues, The Usual Suspects, Houses of the Holy, Dark Side of the Moon, Point of No Return, and many other, were much more solid episodes than that one, IMO.
The other two I commented on yesterday and agreed with their choices.
What a fun challenge for Hellatus! I certainly enjoy reading what you and the commenters consider the best episodes; you’ve already reminded me of a few great moments that I had forgotten about. So I decided I should try this too – I must be a touch masochistic as well, but then, don’t you have to be to love Supernatural this much?
Although your #15 episodes didn’t quite make it onto my list, I have to say that they were close, especially “It’s a Terrible Life”, which was on my list, then off, then on, now off, but might have been back on again had I waited another day. I love the humor, especially the look on Sam’s face after the elevator fatality – “Call you back.”
My #15 episode is probably a controversial one, as it’s so recent, but I loved “Blood Brother”. The transitions into the flashbacks were so well done for both Dean and Sam. I got to see Benny save Castiel in Purgatory, and Castiel make a note about monster metaphysics. Sam named his dog “Dog” and told him not to bother “Angry Lady”. Dean used talkative Sam on the phone as vamp-bait and looked perfectly badass beheading some vampirates. But the scene that cemented this episode as one of my all time favorites was the one that ended the episode – Sam meets Benny, Sam realizes Benny is a vampire, Sam wants to kill Benny, and Dean stops him with a look. Great writing to let that all happen silently, and great acting to make it work.
“That’s not what I called to talk about!” – Dean
Great pick ladies. These three episodes are all on my recurring watch list. I love IATL, I particularly like the way the boys find the answers to their ghost hunting questions from the Ghostfacers who mention those douchbag Winchesters in their video. Hilarious.
MBV is one of my all time favourites, it breaks my heart watching Dean spiral down into depression, and then Famine tells him he is already dead inside and Dean wonders if he is right.
Slash Fiction is brilliant. If these are at the bottom of your list I can’t wait to see what is on top of them.