Top Fifteen Kim Manners Moments

Because Kim Manners directed so many great episodes, naturally there are a ton of amazing moments to be found within them.  I wanted to make a Top Ten list of moments in Kim Manners episodes, but I had such a hard time cutting it down to ten, I just decided instead to expand it to fifteen.  Even that was crazy difficult.  My first off-the-top-of-my-head draft had like 25 things on it.  Making this list was like trying to pick the winner of a cute puppy contest: they’re all cute!  It can’t be done!  Instead, here are my favorite fifteen moments or scenes from Kim Manners episodes.

Honorable Mention – Best use of a Kim Manners photo – Jump the Shark

This was a fun little tribute to Kim Manners.  There he is on the Sunny Buono Lounge ad!  And the giant K and M are a nice touch.

#15 – Father/sons reunion – Shadow

 

Sam and Dean have been searching for their father all season, and they finally meet up with him in Shadow.  Of course Dean was happy to see his father, but the highlight of the scene was Sam and John.  There was a sort of tension there where you knew they were glad to see each other, but at the same time, you weren’t sure if they might start fighting again.

#14 – “I hope your apple pie is freaking worth it!” – Scarecrow

Dean’s been tied up by townspeople as a sacrifice to the vanir, and that is what he has to say for himself?  Brilliant!  I will always laugh at ridiculous things like this.  It’s just so outlandish and amusing and so Dean!

#13 – Gordon loses his head – Fresh Blood

Gordon was a pretty intimidating foe, and I’m glad he got an appropriately awesome death.  Sam decapitates him with razor wire.  Razor wire, people!  The whole thing was gruesome, what with the blood spurting and Gordon’s lips moving when they pan down to his severed head on the ground.

#12 – Sam prays – Houses of the Holy

These two have seen horrific things in their lives, and how they have interpreted those events is so fitting to their characters.  Sam still believes in God and angels and everything, despite what he’s seen.  Dean doesn’t because of what he’s seen.  That disconnect is summed up perfectly in this little moment when Sam tells Dean that he prays every day.  Dean had no idea, and he was pretty surprised by that revelation.

#11 – The secret – In My Time of Dying

 

John and Dean have just had probably the best father/son moment in Dean’s life, and John has to go ruin it by telling him…something.  We don’t know what it is until Hunted, but judging by Dean’s horrified reaction, it’s not good.  And that’s the last thing John ever says to Dean.

#10 – Devastation around Dean’s grave – Lazarus Rising

Dean’s just pulled his way out of his grave.  We see his huh? face but not what he’s seeing.  Until they pan out.  Then we see that dozens of trees have been felled in a concentric circle around Dean’s grave.  What the heck is powerful enough to do that?  This shot was amazing, and set us up for the great reveal at the end.

#9 – Rock, Paper, Scissors – Heart

This was such a great brother moment.  Dean always throws scissors!  Sam knows and exploits this!  And even when Sam tells Dean about his propensity for scissors, he still throws it!

#8 – Ouija board conversation – In My Time of Dying

Due to Dean’s coma, the boys have to find alternate means of communication.  Enter the Ouija board.  Though Dean is skeptical, it works, and he’s able to tell Sam about the reaper that’s after him.  I love how this scene was shot.  The way the camera circles around the brothers, with Dean being there and then not being there, really adds an ethereal quality to the whole conversation.  Not even a coma can keep those two apart.

#7 – The car crash – Devil’s Trap

The Yellow-eyed demon has just possessed John, almost killed Dean, took a Colt shot to the leg, and evacuated John’s body.  That has to be the worst of the episode, right?  Not so fast.  Enter one possessed truck driver and a speeding semi, and you get one massive and amazing car crash.  That scene was just brutal.  It was a great cliffhanger and an excellent way to end season 1.

#6 – Enter Castiel – Lazarus Rising

Castiel made two attempts to contact Dean before he realized he needed a vessel.  He finds Jimmy, a “holy tax accountant,” and meets up with Dean in an abandoned barn covered with occult symbols.  He pops light bulbs, he puts Bobby to sleep, he’s fairly menacing towards Dean, even though he’s the one who pulled him from hell.  And then wings!  Best introduction ever.

 

#5 – Dean’s last words – No Rest for the Wicked

“Keep fighting. Take care of my wheels.  Sam, remember what Dad taught you, okay?  And remember what I taught you.”  Oh.  Oh, Dean.  His final words to his brother were heartbreaking without being sappy and held so much more meaning: “Remember what Dad taught you,” meaning hunting and survival skills; “remember what I taught you,” meaning how to live and how to love and how to take care of himself.

#4 – The ending – Heart

This is just devastating.  Sam is just so upset, and Jared really kills it in this scene.  But what I think I loved the most about the whole thing is that after we see Sam take one more reassuring look at Dean, he steels his nerves and walks out of frame.  We’re left with Dean’s reaction and how the killing affects him, not Sam.  We know this is breaking Sam, and so does Dean.  Hearing the killing instead of seeing it makes it that much worse, too.

#3 – Dean’s many deaths – Mystery Spot

 

If it’s wrong to laugh at Dean dying so many times, I don’t want to be right.  He’s survived so many things that would kill an average person, but he’s felled by: tacos, a sausage, the shower, axe-wielding Sam, his razor, etc.  And though the deaths themselves are played for comedy, clearly they are causing Sam enormous amounts of pain.  Which leads us to…

 

#2 – OCD Sam – Mystery Spot

When Dean dies on Wednesday, he’s gone for good.  And Sam becomes something entirely unrecognizable.  He goes so far over the edge, and it’s terrifying.  The part that hurts the most for me is that he lays out a plate of food for Dean at mealtime.

#1 – Dean breaks down over his brother’s corpse – All Hell Breaks Loose Part II