The WFB Admins’ Top 15 “Supernatural” Episodes List: #2
Alice’s #2
“Swan Song”
Why?: Why don’t I start with something funny? Just yesterday, sweetondean emailed Ardeospina and I that she’s amazed that none of our lists have had an identical pick so far. Only two more to go. She jinxed it!
What can I say about “Swan Song?” After watching this, I was emotionally despondent for weeks. Come the end of the summer, it still had a major sting, Yet I watched it again, and again and…you get the point. I still love watching it numerous times. It’s a major thing of beauty, and the closest thing I’ve seen to perfection.
I’m a sucker for classic cars, and the sequences with the Impala were like me growing up in Detroit watching those old educational films about the local auto industry. It took me back and I smiled. There’s a lot of great stories behind those cars. The score was Jay Gruska’s masterpiece and rang in my head for months. The fact that the fate of the entire world rested on these four guys, all backing one another like family, the setup couldn’t have been more perfect.
You may have noticed, but I do lean Sam a bit in my character preferences. As soon as Sam told Bobby in “The Devil You Know” his idea of saying yes and jumping into the pit, I died inside. Oh my God, that’s where Kripke was going! The preview after “Two Minutes to Midnight” really freaked me out, the clip of Sam!Lucifer staring down Sam in the cracked mirror. I was a nervous wreck that week leading up to the episode. I…couldn’t…function.
I had that deep pit in my stomach (and shed a few tears) all the way until poor Sammy went down that hole, locked forever in the cage with Lucifer. I sobbed myself silly. A half hour later after gaining my composure, I went onto the next scene, a devastated Dean on his knees looking down in the graveyard, the last man standing. Yep, I lost it again. Then Castiel showed up, that beautiful piano score in the background, the benevolent angel healing Dean and Bobby, and crap, I don’t know how long it took me to gain my composure after that.
Funny how a few scenes later I was screaming my fool head off. First, it happened after Chuck’s touching conclusion to this amazing journey of Sam and Dean Winchester. He disappeared in a flash of light! “CHUCK IS GOD!!!!” I shouted, scaring my family a bit (they were already pretty worried about me). I remember Kripke at that Comic Con before telling us in the press room that God would be a character in “Supernatural.” It was Chuck! Oh man, how freaking amazing. Then, the bittersweet ending. Dean had his family and his new life. The camera fades out and…wait a second…who is that? SAMMY!! He’s back! He’s…looking mighty strange. Roll credits??? ARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!
I’m going to tell you what was sadder to me than going through such an emotionally devastating episode, one that for me was three years in the making. Comic Con the summer after. Poor Eric Kripke was in that press room to pass on the torch to Sera Gamble, positively deflated that he had to defend “Swan Song” to people, especially when I thought it was the most perfect episode ever and a genuine, heartfelt, love letter to fans. He said how proud he was of that episode and how much he thought the fans would love it, but the backlash was pretty harsh from what was essentially a vocal minority. He walked away from this show after that. It was too much. That makes me just as weepy as this episode.
Thank you Eric Kripke. This is the greatest gift you gave me as a “Supernatural” fan.
Favorite Quote: It’s strange, but I actually do have one. It’s from Chuck:
“It never occurred to them that, sure, maybe they never really had a roof and four walls, but they were never, in fact, homeless.”
I laughed at his, “That’s a good line,” comment after typing that. I do wonder if Eric Kripke did the same thing when writing this script.
Favorite Scene: As if I’m picking! My Chuck, this episode might as well be considered one long scene. The pace, the seamless flow from one bit to another, you can’t differentiate one bit from another.
However, I’ll pick the one part I could have done without. That was the conversation between Sam!Lucifer and Adam!Michael. The words were a bit too heavy handed in their parallel to Sam and Dean (“You’re a monster Lucifer”) and I didn’t think Jake Abel made a great Michael. They should have worked it so Matt Cohen could have done it again. However, that quibble is so slight compared to everything else we got.
You know what’s most amazing. This episode affecting me the way it did, being one of the most perfect things I’ve ever seen, and it’s only number two on my list. No, number one actually changed my life forever. That’s coming tomorrow!
(Ardeospina’s #2 is on page 3)
Swan Song is my number 3. Love that episode so much! Thanks for such great tributes to it! I have not been aware of things like the conventions, etc. until the last year or so. Before that, I just watched, and loved, the show. Anyway, I guess that is why I had no idea there were fans that did not like that episode. I cannot wrap my brain around that – just does not compute! Looking forward to your number 1s. My 2 is Point of No Return and 1 is the Pilot. I could watch my 1, 2, and 3 episodes every night and never get bored!
Thanks again – you have made the last part of the hiatus easier to handle.
So far the episodes that you guys have picked are in my all time favorites category. However, I don’t envy this assignment that you’ve had…I would be at a loss to pick my all time favorite. It would be a tie between several episodes!
I agree about “Swan Song”. I think that it was a masterpiece of writing by Kripke. It was such a love letter about the show which was also his “baby”. Oh…I also agree that Chuck is God! IMO That’s why Kevin is a prophet because God doesn’t want to have the “cat out of the bag”..just yet! He’s still roaming the earth, but no longer needs his earthly disguise for direct interaction with the Winchesters. Also I seem to remember a certain leviathan (Chet) having access to bankcard records for a customer (David Righton) who did business with Mistress Magda. So that seems to back up that theory. Some habits die hard! Hmmm… 😉
Being a late comer to Supernatural season 5 was my first full watching weekly season. Swan Song was my first real season finale.
Fav scenes: the entire narration by Chuck is just fantastic.
The discussion between Sam and Dean in the car, just heart breaking. Dean: “Then what am I suppose to do.” Remember AHBL2?
When Sam is getting ready to drink the demon blood and says to Dean ” Ya mind not watching this?” Omg !
Deans look of absolute despair when he realizes Lucifer has Sam.
I still can’t watch the cemetery scene with Lucifer beating Dean with out cringing.
The look between the brothers when Sam has taken control of Lucifer and is ready to jump into the pit just breaks your heart. . ( again)
Let me just say this was some of the best acting by Jared ever.
I hate spoilers and will avoid them at every turn. I actually screamed at the end when the street light flickers, camera pans down and there Sam is staring at Deans “apple pie life”. You just knew season 6 was going to be amazing.
It was also the beginning of my first Hellatus 😮
Oh sweetondean, I could give you the hugest hug right now. You expressed so beautifully the exact same reasons I love this episode so much. I adore it. I was tearing up from the very first scene in the junkyard and sobbing by the end. I also have to remind myself to breathe. What a beautiful, beautiful ending. I too felt the affection for this show and these characters just dripping off every word of Kripke’s script. I’m pretty sure by now I can quote every line Chuck wrote for his final installment, too. Oh, and you said that you had a tattoo that said “We keep each other humanâ€. I’m actually still planning one day to have “Choose family†tattooed, just because of this episode.
Alice, I was just a wreck, too. The first time I watched, I did manage to maintain some modicum of self-control since I was watching with my family. At the time though the broadcasting channel aired a late repeat on the same night so I stayed up and watched, and yes, wrecked again. I have no idea what time I finally crawled into bed, but it was certainly some unearthly hour. This episode was so heartfelt, I still don’t understand to this day how some fans disliked it so much. Yes, maybe the story didn’t exactly pan out the way they might have wanted, but Kripke was just so earnest in the script, I can’t see how they couldn’t put that aside to enjoy the very visible love for his show apparent in this episode.
Ardeospina- I’m sure The Man Who Would Be King could very well be classified as a masterpiece. Wonderful from beginning to end. Oh, and thanks for breaking the fourth wall. 😉
btw, am I the only one, that finds it extremely funny, that God works as Mistress Magda?
I mean SERIOUSLY?!
Sweetondean,
You, I like.
Your take one of my most emotional, heart-wrenching episodes ever and make me giggle while teary-eyed reading your take on it. (still sniffing here!)
Ar
I’m glad “Swan Song” is way up there in your choices. I agree with you Alice, it was the most perfect love letter to the fans, I’m always shocked when I hear some people hated it. My favourite scene is pretty much at the end, just the look between Sam & Dean just before Sam jumps in the hole, Dean gives this imperceptible nod letting his brother know that’s it’s okay to let go. 😥 And then when Sam shows up outside of Lisa’s house and the light explodes above his head, I was so convinced he had come back as Lucifer. That was a long hiatus!
Wait, back up… “Swan Song” was not well received? Kripke had to defend it? Wow! I didn’t start watching until a year ago when it came out on Netflix, so I was unaware of the reception it got. It floors me to hear that, because I thought it was a fantastic finale! I’m with you on this.
My #2 episode is “Changing Channels”. From Dr Sexy MD to the VD commercial, Sam as the Impala, the CSI sunglasses showdown, this one had me in stitches! The boys figured out the Trickster was actually an angel, and I loved Dean’s speech at the end about standing up to his family. I also enjoyed he nod to Jeffery Dean Morgan’s character in Grey’s Anatomy. This show has ghosts? Why?! Indeed.
“Well I say… no guts, no glory!” – Dean
Sweatondean (and Alice)you nailed it with swag song. Just reading your review makes me tear up. Love the flow of the show and how it centered around the car. The parts of the boys just sitting on the hood reminds me that the guys are just humans. Also, I am a huge Def Leppard fan (seen them 8 times in concert) so I was totally rocked to hear the song.Do you think they plan to bring Chuck back this year since they mention him a couple of eposides ago?
I remember reading a lot of posts from folks hating “Swan Song” and for most of them, it seemed to be their disappointment that Jensen would not get to play ‘Michael’.
They so wanted a battle between “Michael” and “Lucifer”.
Couldn’t understand it myself, as this show for me has always been Dean and Sam, Sam and Dean, and I didn’t want them to disappear into the woodwork while I watched two archangels battling it out. That you can get in video games where the battle is 99% and character 1%.
I was so relieved where Kripke went with this script and the love he poured into those characters and delighted when “Chuck” became God! Bravo! 😛 What a swan song for Eric! So sorry he had to hear gripes about his perfect script. 🙁
I have loved all of your choices thus far. Only since getting into your top 3 have I had a little different view. :0) Swan Song is my favorite episode to date. I was also a late comer to Supernatural (season 8 will be my first live season) and I watched seasons 1-7 in just over a month on Netflix. When I finished season 7, season 8 was only 3 episodes in. Anyway I remember watching Swan Song and balling my eyes out. That was the first and only episode so far to do that. Now don’t get me wrong I cried my fair share during Death’s Door and even other episodes before Swan Song. But there was something about that episode that just hit home what this show us really all about for me. It’s not really about the supernatural at all…..it’s about family. When we started it was Sam and Dean and John. Now it’s those 3 plus Bobby, Cas, Ellen, Jo, I could go on.
I would say my top 3 would be 1: Swan Song. 2: Lazurus Rising. 3: Dark Side Of The Moon. Now picking those was hard so I do not envy you 3 for picking 15!! But I do want to thank you for doing it, it has been really interesting seeing others perspectives on their favorite episodes. :0)
Oh my WORD Sweetondean but I have got a lump in my throat the size of the moon at the mo. My favourite part in ALLLL of SPN is how chuck narrates the story through the ‘journey’ of the Impala. WEEP AMD WAIL I cannot tell you how this affects me. Then I read that you watched this at work and then I just HOWLED with laughter. You must have been one blotchy wet mess. I just cannot imagine whether ordinary folk could get this but I do Sweetondean I do.