Since we've hit a lull in the Best TV Show Contest, I thought we would continue in our Supernatural polls just to keep the discussion going. We already looked at all the amazing episodes Sera Gamble wrote and boy was that tough to choose only 2. Today we look at Supernatural's second most prolific writer - Ben Edlund. Edlund's episodes are sure to create quite a stir because he has quite a few love them or hate them episodes. For me, I prefer his earlier work but the season 7 episodes Hello Cruel World and How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters were awesome as well. The hardest thing will be narrowing down my vote to only 2. So what are your choices? Sound off in the comments below.
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I loved Ben Edlund at first but then he got hit or miss for me. Somewhere after The End he got to almost always being a miss for me. I'm excited that season 7 he went back to being hit or miss. Here's hoping that changes to all hits in season 8. Since Edlund has so many episodes, I'm dividing this comment into a few posts. Warning - my opinions are highly unpopular around these parts and I rarely pull punches about these episodes. Here's part 1:
ReplyDeleteSimon Said - It introduced Andy (definite plus) and skyrocketed the Special Children mytharc in a great way. Plus, it has some of the best lines in season 2.
Nightshifter - It introduced Ronald Resnik and Henriksen (definite pluses) and gave us the best song-to-scene moment of any TV show anywhere. One of my favorite standalones of all time.
Hollywood Babylon - This is an underrated gem of an episode. Clever lines and great snark.
Bad Day at Black Rock - One of the top 3 comedies of them all. Sam's "I lost my shoe" line and Dean's "I'm Batman" line became instant classics. The pacing in this episode is phenomenal. Plus it had Jesus Hunter (definite plus.)
Malleus Maleficarum - I like this episode. Not a favorite but not at the bottom either. Yes it is gross and features far too much Ruby but the plot is interesting.
Ghostfacers - One of the worst timed episodes in the history of TV. We just got back from the writers' strike and had only 4 episodes to resolve the Dean goes to hell plot. They give us this for one of them. Absolute failure! I wouldhave thought it was dumb in the middle of a different season, but in season 3 it was unconscionable.
I don't know how the hell I'm supposed to choose but I went with "Bad Day At Black Rock" because of the "I lost my shoe" line. It's the first thing that popped into my head.
ReplyDeleteMonster Movie - I adore this episode. Everything about it. The black and white was cool and the homage to classic horror movies was spot on. Jamie is one of my favorite PiP's and no one beats Shifter Dracula for making me laugh and feel sorry for him at the same time. Monster Movie remains in my top SPN episodes of all time list. Brilliant all the way around.
ReplyDeleteWishful Thinking - Another bizarre concept that paid off well for Edlund. Suicidal teddy bear is a classic. The rest of the episode was awesome too. Great lines, zippy plot, and fun characters. Edlund at his crazy best.
On the Head of a Pin marks Edlund's turn to serious drama episodes. Not my favorite look on him. However this episode has some very intense scenes. Not sure how much of the greatness is due to the acting versus the writing.
The End - One of the very best SPN episodes of them all. It has something for everything and I have to give it to Edlund. He wrote Chuck in a way I didn't want to stab my brain. It was a first. From dual Deans to hippie Cas to Lucifer Sam, this is a powerful testament to writing.
Abandon All Hope - This one is known for the Harvelle death scene and that's pretty powerful. The rest of the episode loses steam quickly.
My Bloody Valentine begins the end to my love affair with Edlund's writing. Things get murky from this gore fest on.
The Devil You Know had great Crowley and then they retconned Jess' death and left a sour taste in my mouth that colored the whole epsiode. Plus Pestilence sucks.
The Third Man - Oh how do I hate this episode. Absolutely boring with horrible pacing. I call it the "We're Walking…And We're Walking…and We're Torturing a Kid…And We're Walking" episode. One of my least favorite episodes of all.
ReplyDeleteClap Your Hands if You Believe - this is probably the second most divisive Edlund episode after Ghostfacers. I hated the fairies, thought it opened a huge plot hole that the whole show might sink into, and generally found the humor juvenile. On the other hand, they did microwave Tinkerbell and reference The X-Files so there are so saving graces.
French Mistake - Bloody good for a meta episode, but it's still meta. Fake Ruby and the alpaca crack me up.
The Man Who Would be King - In my opinion, the most overrated Supernatural episode of them all. Again it commits the sin of boring me to tears. The entire episode is one long monologue broken up by…well nothing for the most part. The most interesting part was over in 10 seconds. In my worst episodes list. And near the top.
Hello Cruel World - Brilliant, one of Edlund's best. The warehouse scene was simply stunning and possibly the best brother moment of the series.
How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters - Yet another underrated gem. I think this episode is the funniest of season 7 and "I think you p** off my sandwich." Is one of my favorite lines ever.
Repo Man - This one suffered from pacing a lot and most of the story was uninteresting to me.
Reading is Fundamental - A big example of what I hate most in Edlund's writing - being clever just to show how clever he is. The whole Sorry game ticks me off to no end and is one of the worst scenes in my opinion. This one is destined for my worst list too once I update it for season 7.
Jeez. To have them all lined up there like that, classic after classic after classic? Makes me want to weep with joy that Edlund is on the SPN team. <3 OTHOAP gets my vote, but only after SERIOUS competition from The End & TMWWBK. (And so many others.) Edlund Is Our King <3
ReplyDeleteI think either "I lost my shoe" or "I'm Batman" are the first things anyone thinks about with Bad Day at Black Rock. Classic lines.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say that the poll only lets me highlight one vote.: if I try to highlight a second it cancels the previous one. Is it just me or is that a problem for everyone?
ReplyDeleteI love so many of Edlund's episodes it's impossible to pick, especially since the poll would only let me pick one! He has a brilliant mind and I love his wild and wacky sense of humour.
ReplyDeleteEgads! That was my fault. Give it a minute to update and then refresh the page. It should work then. Sorry about that.
ReplyDeleteThe End will end up getting a vote from me. A brilliant piece of alter-characterization in which all characters felt real and made sense to me. That is all in the writing whereas I think OtHoaP owes a whole lot more to the acting, although it has some great written scenes too.
ReplyDeleteIt's a tie between Bad Day at Black Rock, On the Head of a Pin, and My Bloody Valentine.
ReplyDeleteWhat would your second choice have been? I will try to get that vote to count too since I messed up the poll.
ReplyDeleteAnyway I vote for Bad Day At Black Rock and Simon Says
ReplyDeleteBoth episodes that I really enjoy.
They are both so interesting and well paced and BDABR is just epic!
The End comes in a close third but it's so very tragic in its own way, and I loved The Devil You Know mainly for the closing scene in the alley.
Dean standing by and waiting for Sam to extract his revenge on Brady was awesome and the lines Dean utters too. I just love the brothers when they are tough-guys!
I'll jump the in-betweeners and name those I dislike the most. Ghostfacers, On The Head Of A Pin and the French Mistake are at the bottom of my list.
Seems to ok now. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteVoted on Bad Day At Black Rock and Simon Said, 2 of my very all time faves! :D
ReplyDeleteI'm leaning towards Bad Day at Black Rock and The End myself. Very hard to choose though. Since I expect those two will have lots of votes, I might go to the underrated ones I love.
ReplyDeleteThe Man Who Would Be King and The End are my absolute favorites!
ReplyDeleteSimon Says was another greatly paced episode with enough humor/drama mix to please most fans. In the beginning of his time with Supernatural, Ben Edlund was the master at creating one or two shot characters that really stood out and made you root for them. I hope he goes back to that in season 8.
ReplyDeleteI adore ANYTHING Edlund ever wrote - so picking only 2 was just cruel. Such amazingly clever writing - always. He makes you work for it and that's the kind of writing that keeps me coming back to Supernatural again and again. I think he gets both brothers and ALL the characters in a way that I'm not sure any other writer on the show has - there aren't favorites - they all sound like themselves. Edlund is brilliant - and you don't have to take my word for it - I've seen him speak and enrapture every other writer there.
ReplyDeleteI voted for "The End" and "The Man Who Would Be King". But even though these are just two of the most flawless episodes on tv within writing, pretty much ALL of his episodes have something wonderful about them. :)
ReplyDeleteBen Edlund writes in a way that touches you, and makes you sit, with your mouth hanging open after his episodes. He stands for many of Supernatural's higest praised episodes, and he probably has the scripts with the most used quotes on tumblr as well.
Ugh, I just love Ben so muuuuch, and it's horrible to only choose two of episodes because 95 % of them are so well written and profound.
ONLY TWO???
ReplyDeleteWell season eight is all rather mysterious yet.
ReplyDeleteDean's in Purgatory but that's really all we know.
I hope Edlund doesn't decide to escalate his crazy side and give us weirder stuff than before. I would rather he went back to writing episodes in the manner of his earlier ones which were definitely his best, in my opinion:
hm I sense a bit of bias by this poll creator, but anyhow, The End and The Man Who Would Be King are my favorites. Especially TMWBK because you can tell how much Dean cares about his friend.
ReplyDeleteThey are both on my top SPN episodes list too.
ReplyDeleteHe certainly is entertaining and has a lot of fans in the SPN world.
ReplyDeleteAll opinions are biased, including mine.
ReplyDeleteThe Man Who Would Be King is amazing and refreshing to see someone else's side of the story. We got to see how much both Dean and Cas care about each other and why Cas did what he did. Love it!
ReplyDeleteSorry, but if we only got to choose 2 from Sera Gamble, we only get to choose 2 from Edlund. If it helps, Kripke will be the last writer where we get to choose 2. All others will be a one vote thing - including Jeremy Carver.
ReplyDeleteAlso based on the votes, looks like the majority disagree with your opinion on TMWWBK, Dahne :) You can stay mad and pressed though.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to SpoilerTV. So glad you joined us and shared your opinion.
ReplyDeleteVoted for Nightshifter and Monster Movie. Most of the others were excellent or better side of okay too, except for The Man Who Would Be King and Ghostfacers. Those two aren't going to make it onto my rewatch list. Overall though, the list did confirm that while Ben Edlund has written some brilliant episodes, Sera Gamble was my favorite writer by far. With the exception of the last two years, where I didn't really care much for any of the episodes she penned.
ReplyDeleteThe Man Who Would Be King and The End bring me to tears every time I watch them. IMHO both exhibited flawless storytelling and pacing. Plus, I'm a sucker for tragedy (obviously, I mean I do watch Supernatural). On the Head of a Pin is possibly my favorite episode of all time, and the French Mistake was pure brilliance.
ReplyDeleteEven with these four, I still had several in the running. I'm just in love with Edlund's writing, and particularly his characterization of Castiel. He's a vital part of the show and I don't want to think about SPN without him.
I will argue with you about Reading is Fundamental until I'm hoarse and my typing fingers have blisters. That's not to say that I don't disagree with some of your other opinions on Edlund but you're just dead wrong about this particular episode... in my opinion, of course.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to SpoilerTV. Just so you know, we respect everyone's opinions here even if we disagree. SpoilerTV is known for being a pleasant place where people do not get attacked for their opinions and we never make things personal. Discussion is of course encouraged. I know that my opinion of TMWWbK is not the majority, but that's okay since it is my opinion. I think it's utterly boring especially in the rewatch and I have rewatched it several times. More power to the people who love it. The best thing about Supernatural is that people come at from all kinds of angles. Things that I love about it may be things that others can't stand. Your favorite thing about SPN might be an aspect I can't stand. It's all good because we all find something to attach to that makes it our favorite show.
ReplyDeleteThe End, Head of a pin, and man who would be kind are the best. Also, the creator of this poll can kick rocks because she/he is too transparent. Good thing you are irrelevant tho.
ReplyDeleteSo many good episodes to choose from... this was incredibly difficult! I went with The Man Who Would Be King and On the Head of a Pin - two incredibly depressing choices really, but I thought his writing was particularly brilliant in these. My finger itched as it hovered over The French Mistake, but I don't think it's going to suffer from a lack of votes in this poll... it never does... so I figured I'd go with two of his other stand-outs.
ReplyDeleteBy "he" I meant Ben Edlund, but I suppose that comment applies to Cas as well :)
ReplyDeleteHa! If Reading is Fundamental is the only one we argue about til we're hoarse, we are doing very well on this poll. There are some things about that episode that I liked. Kevin Tran was a breathe of fresh air and Meg rocked every scene she was in.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. It should be interesting when we get more info about who is writing and directing which episodes. There's a lot of good potential coming into season 8.
ReplyDeleteSo hard, really only two?...he is awesome!!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to SpoilerTV. We are glad to have you and thanks for sharing your opinion.
ReplyDeleteThose have to be the majority of my favorite episodes, which says a lot about his talent. I voted for The French Mistake and Bad Day At Black Rock. Few things on this show are better than Sam and Dean trying to act and Sam losing his poor sneaker in the sewer
ReplyDeleteIMO Th Sorry Game was one of the best scenes in Reading Is Fundamental, just because it had this deeper meaning than jus a game. All those 'Would you like to start' and 'it's your move', 'go back to the start' really made me love Ben Edlund - he truly understand Castiel as a character. Also Repo Man - one of the best episodes in S7, again those hints they try to give us with Jeffrey/Demon love - amazing writing. I enjoy finding deeper meanings in episodes, that try to tell you something without revealing everything. But then again - maybe I just read too much into the tv-series.
ReplyDeleteAnd I absolutely love The Man Who Would Be king!
I agree with you on How To Win Friends and Influence Monsters - it showed us what Leviathans plan to do with food, too, really interesting!
It's really hard to choose only two. But TMWWBK is my fave.
Oh, Ben Edlund. In general (in my view, of course) Edlund is a writer who often writes brilliant scenes or memorable lines but can struggle to put together an entire episode that is solid from beginning to end. So, the difficulty in choosing two Edlund episodes is weeding out the episodes with the flashes of brilliance for episodes that display an excellent overall quality. To that end, my choices are:
ReplyDeleteBad Day at Black Rock and Reading is Fundamental.
So difficult to choose just two. I went with On the Head of a Pin and The End for the great Dean-Cas moments. If I'd had three, I definitely would have chosen The Man Who Would Be King too, for Misha's great performance.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to SpoilerTV. Just so you know this site is unlike most other Supernatural sites. We are all about discussion but not at all about personal attacks or flaming. Other sites might encourage that but here we pride ourselves on everyone's opinions being validated. You may not like my opinion but we can always agree to disagree. And let's face it, all internet polls are irrelevant and the only people (not associated with the show) whose opinions are relevant are those with a Nielsen box attached to their TVs.
ReplyDeleteThe Man Who Would Be King is my favorite of these. Although On The Head Of A Pin comes second. Are you excited for Season 8 Dahne? I bet there's going to be a lot of Castiel episodes, I bet you're thrilled about that just like us right? You are ridiculous and clearly biased. Good thing the votes speak for themselves.
ReplyDeleteLooking at their respective lists, I liked more of Sera Gamble's episodes than Ben Edlund's too. However they both have some incredibly excellent episodes to their credit. Monster Movie and Nightshifter being two of Edlund's best in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteSo many good episodes to choose from... Had to go with OTHOAP though, because it did so much for the angel mythology on the show, and to develop Cas' character and his relationship with Dean.
ReplyDeleteI've thought about going and commenting on each of the episodes, but I realized that then my comment would be, like, ten pages long. So I'll try to keep short.
ReplyDeleteBen Edlund is my favourite Spn writer. there are some episodes of his that I like less than the others, but there isn't a single one that I hate. I became more interested in his writing after On The Head Of The Pin, which was my first favourite episode of Spn. It might be an unpopular opinion, but I love Edlund's more dramatic episodes. Don't get me wrong, he's GREAT with crack episodes, but he can kill you with his drama. He can. Well, at least he can kill me.
This is the toughest poll yet because almot ALL of my favourite episodes are here. OTHOTP, Abandon All Hope, The End, The French Mistake (I love meta, I LOVE meta). It's difficult to pick one to vote on as they are all different and brilliant because of different reasons. I think, in the end, The End will get my vote because it's a thrilling episode that's brilliantly written and brilliantly acted. It's important for the mytharc of s5 and it shows interesting character dynamics. Not to mention, it includes time travel, and I'm a sucker for that.
We disagree on other stuff like we always do (Monster Movie) but RiF is a biggie for me. For me, that episode redeems Edlund for what turned out to be a large pile of stinkers he was racking up the last few seasons.
ReplyDeleteHa! Thanks for clarifying. Supernatural does have its fair share of eye-gushing tragedy. Welcome to SpoilerTV. Thanks for sharing your opinion.
ReplyDeleteLove, love, LOVE Ben Edlund. I voted for On the Head of a Pin and The Man Who Would Be King!
ReplyDeleteIt seems this poll has made its way to Tumblr so the results will likely be skewed from our usual results here. It should be fun to see how things go. I would say French Mistake will still have a good number of votes but my guess is that it won't be the overall winner like it would normally be.
ReplyDeleteToo Dahne! But if we're talking 'best' I went for The End and TMWWBK. The complexity of these episodes, not only in character development and revelation but construction, pushed them to the top, but it was a tough call. If I could have had 3 OTHOAP would have been there too. I'm also a passionate fan of Wishful Thinking, I love the idea behind that, the anarchy that would ensure if all our wishes came true. And the giant depressed, girl-drink-drunk Teddy with the meaningless life. Ben Edlund is a brilliant writer. A brilliant creative mind. I love him so much I have "We keep each other human" tattooed on my arm! Partly because it defines the brothers relationship for me, and partly because it's from a Ben ep and he makes me want to be more creative and write better. The dude's a huge inspiration.
ReplyDeleteAs for the second episode... It's a tie between The Man Who Would Be King - Castiels' POV! another thing I'm a sucker for is showing the other side of the known story - and On The Head Of The Pin. In the end, I'm voting for the second one as it pushed the angel storyline further (man do I love angels!) and started shaping Dean anc Cas' relationship into what it is today.
ReplyDeleteThere's a strange atmosphere on this poll today or maybe I'm just hyper sensitive, but taking pot-shops at the person who set the poll up isn't very nice.
ReplyDeleteBwah! We'll agree about his season 6 writing then. For me the big make-up for s6 episode was Hello, Cruel World. I agree that it may be mostly for the warehouse scene but oh what a scene.
ReplyDeletethen maybe she shouldn't be biases and should actually act professional :) just food for thought
ReplyDeleteSeriously? Just two? I don't know how to do that. lol
ReplyDeleteI didn't think it was against any universal law that one cannot state their preferences but then again I could be mistaken!
ReplyDeleteYeah, we're definitely in agreement about the season 6 writing.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to SpoilerTV. Thanks for giving your reasons for liking episodes. It's great to discuss with new people. I agree that the Sorry scene had a lot more layers than just playing the game. For me, that is the reason I dislike the scene so much. I really hated the fact that they brought Cas back first as an amnesiac and then mentally incapacitated. I would have much preferred for there to be a big blowout about the consequences of Cas' decisions in season 6 and then for all parties to move on, especially with Cas being able to then make up for those choices. I don't think they did any character a favor by going this routine.
ReplyDeletelove! love! love! sobrenatural!
ReplyDeleteOkay. I will vote for these and probably change my mind after it's too late.
ReplyDeleteOn the Head of a Pin was some of the more fantastic acting ever done. It was Emmy worthy. To have that kind of acting requires that kind of story. Edlund was superb.
I chose one serious and one comedy although How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters was hard to turn down.
I loved the French Mistake. Jensen, Jared, and Misha had so much great material to work off of and Jensen's comedy was superb as always. The story was hilarious.
So this poll person says the man who would be king is the worst and chooses hello cruel world(the ep where cas dies) as the best? that's not suspicious at all lol. gtfo out with your in disguise cas hate, dude. so obvious.
ReplyDeleteJared, Jensen and misha love them too are the best actors in the world!
ReplyDeleteSorry. All writer polls will be 2 or 1 vote polls based on how many episodes they have written. Gamble, Edlund, and Kripke will all get 2 votes. Everyone else will get one.
ReplyDeleteSam losing his sneaker in the sewer and then Dean's reaction will always be high up in my list of great scenes. It was such a brother moment.
ReplyDeletekisses to all hunters and friends sam and dean winchester!
ReplyDeleteI think that is a fair assessment about Edlund. I tend to remember pieces of his episodes better than the whole episode itself even after copious rewatches.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to SpoilerTV. Thanks for sharing your opinion. It's always hard to choose just two episodes when a writer has written so many.
ReplyDeleteI am excited about season 8. I think Purgatory is a great angle and there are many stories that could be told about it if the show had the budget. I hope we get some stories told about Purgatory before Sam comes through with the rescue. I'm sorry that my opinion has upset you but we do not attack people here at SpoilerTV. There are plenty of SPN sites out there where that is encouraged. This is more of a safe haven for diverse opinions. For instance, I don't like TMWWbK but I feel no need to insult you because you like it. It's simply a difference of opinion.
ReplyDeleteI think you will find many people here who prefer Edlund's dramatic episode to his comedy ones. OtHoaP is always a popular episode when we do polls and you are right, it certainly did change things. Of all the episodes, I think The End is the hardest to write so it gets a nod from me. To create characters that are altered by experience but still seem true to the characters we know is difficult to pull off but Edlund did it like a master.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I wasn't really fond to that how they brought Cas back either. It didn't make sense much - especially the marriage. And the fact that he remembered everything so quickly, but then again, it's hard for me to complain, beacuse I'm just so happy they brought him back. :)
ReplyDeleteFor me the only thing Castiel needed to make up was breaking Sams wall (which BTW for me was from Cas so OOC, 'cause I could have never thought he'd do that to Sam nor Dean), and he repaired him.
Welcome to SpoilerTV. Thanks for voting and commenting.
ReplyDeleteYou're a little bit evil, aren't you?
ReplyDeleteWow! You have an Edlund quote tattoo! That's dedication. It's awesome that he inspires you so much.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure why you have an issue with me having an opinion in this poll. I create polls on this site all the time and just like everyone else, I give my opinion. I understand that you don't like my opinion but that doesn't mean I cannot have one.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to SpoilerTV. There's a big population of Supernatural lovers here.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to SpoilerTV. Just to reiterate, we respect everyone's opinion here and avoid personal attacks. Personal attacks will lead to people flagging those comments as being inappropriate and will result in the comment being removed. However, you are more than welcome to read my entire recap of Hello, Cruel World. It is located here:
ReplyDeletehttp://dahne1.blogspot.com/2011/10/supernatural-episode-702-hello-cruel.html
In it you can clearly see that I did not buy this episode as Cas' death scene. In fact, I was surprised that anyone would think that such a major character would get such a lame death. I knew he was coming back so I never considered Hello, Cruel World to be the end of Cas. I was however unhappy that they brought Cas back as an amnesiac and then a mentally ill angel. I feel both are a cop-out and would rather the writers have given all characters a chance to voice their opinions about the events in season 6 and then move on. It would have been cathartic in my opinion, not only for the characters but for me as a SPN fan.
I agree that OtHoaP is one of THE best acted episodes of all. I'm 10 episodes away from it on my rewatch and this time I'm going to watch it to specifically determine how much of its glory lies in the acting versus the writing. It will be an interesting way to watch an episode I've watched probably 100 times.
ReplyDeleteBwah!!! Maybe a little but it wouldn't be as much fun if everyone gets to vote for as many as they want. A little challenge for the hellatus.
ReplyDeleteI voted "The End" and "The Man Who Would Be King", Those Episodes ripped out my heart and stomped on it then handed me it back. These episodes shake me to my core. They are my favorite episodes, Flawless and well done. Those episodes were the best episodes out of EVERY TV show I have ever seen. Ben Edlund, you are amazing and your work is the best I have ever seen. I applaud you.
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding me??? How am I suppose to choose only 2???
ReplyDeleteow.... i can't choose, i love ALL OF HIS EPISODES! :'D Ben is amazing!
ReplyDeleteJeez this is hard!! There are a lot of really strong episodes listed here. Nightshifter, On the Head of a Pin, The End, The Man Who Would Be King, and Repo Man are all damned fine ones, and they all share something in common: a strong emphasis on the consequences of series of actions, and how the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. They show just how difficult it is to truly make the right decision in the world of SPN – and cast doubt on whether or not there IS a right decision to be made in many cases, because one way or another, there will be pain, especially to bystanders.
ReplyDeleteWith great reluctance at having to only choose two I went with On the Head of a Pin and Repo Man (or was one of them The End? blast it now I can't remember).
2!!! Just 2!!! That's just cruel. It was really hard to decide whether I was going to go with funny or serious. I think Edlund's serious dramatic ones were pretty good, but I'm a sucker for the funny. Bad Dad and Ghostfacers. I know, I like puns too, really no taste at all.
ReplyDeletePS. Thanks for the poll.
To be honest, I've mostly seen people complain about his dramatic episodes. Or maybe I'm not paying enough attention. The End is a great episode; it shows how it can be done and how it should be done. The two Deans were the same person ultimately, but you could see the differences. There was no way of mistaking 2009!Dean with 2014!Dean. Or future!Cas. He was funny, in a very heartbreking way. And the end killed me. It showed that, no matter what happened and how many things changed, some things DIDN'T. Dean would never kill Sam and Cas would always follow Dean. I LOVED that.
ReplyDeleteI love Edlund's work in general. He's also written some of my absolute favorite SPN episodes.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could have picked more than two but I went with 'the man who would be king' and 'on the head of a pin.'
Lot of great choices. I went with TMWWBK and The End, but I really wanted to slip in votes for OtHoaP and AAH too.
ReplyDeletei chose The End and The Man Who Would be King. they were especially exceptional and really touched my heart. if i had more choices though i would probably chose every single one on the list
ReplyDeleteIt's weird!
ReplyDeleteI am very surprised (and pleased) to see all the love On the Head of a Pin is getting.
ReplyDelete.. i am agree of the four highest score episode so far it was a tough chosen but very accurate and ok.
ReplyDeleteMy short list was way longer than 2. Ghostfacers and The End...though I don't think I'll begrudge any winners in my short list. Though one of the high count eps is one of my least favorite eps.
ReplyDeleteAh, poor Daphne. She's a plot hole destined to never be heard about again. Perhaps she's surfing in Australia with Jesse the Anti-Christ. I too was shocked when Cas broke Sam's wall. I was physically stunned, especially when he could have just zapped them to Australia too. That was a place I never thought the writers would go. While I do think that Cas has more to make up for than just the wall, that is the big one for me. Unfortunately by having Castiel up and walking and talking so soon after taking on Sam's crazy, it somewhat mitigated that act for me. I was expecting the aftermath of Sam's wall falling to be so much bigger.
ReplyDeleteLove or hate episodes? Are you insane?
ReplyDeleteThe only episode i hate from Edlund is Ghostfacers. The other episodes are all good.
My favorite Ben Edlund episodes are The Man Who Would Be King, The French Mistake, On The Head of the Pin and The End.
I guess it depends on which sites you are on. Things are very different in various parts of the fandom. I also loved the consistency of character in The End. While all the characters were different (I agree that you couldn't mistake present Dean and future Dean), they all still made sense to me. I could see how each character could change into what they were. I think that spot-on characterization makes it such a fan favorite.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to SpoilerTV. I appreciate your commenting. Supernatural does love to toy with our emotions.
ReplyDeleteSorry. Think of it as a way to relive all your favorite Edlund episodes before making that final choice.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to SpoilerTV. This poll does seem to be very difficult for most people.
ReplyDeleteBesides Death's Door, what other episode from Gamble won the poll?
ReplyDeleteYou make a very good point about how grey area Supernatural really is. Sometimes it is painful to see how even the best decisions can come with lousy consequences. It's this depth that takes Supernatural beyond the realm of what most people think of when they think CW show. Welcome to SpoilerTV. I really enjoyed your comment.
ReplyDeleteOne short glance at the list was enough for me to realize this is gonna be a torture. It includes some of the best episodes of the series. My favourites out of these are:
ReplyDeleteNightshifter - I always loved the episodes where the boys had to deal with police and law aside dealing with monsters and ghosts. It introduced Henricksen. Its ending scene is pure SPN perfection.
Bad Day at Black Rock - the best comedy in SPN history, a comedy genius. No need to say why, cause everyone knows it anyway. One of Supernatural's most classic episodes.
On the Head of a Pin - I used to be kind of obsessed about this episode and I'm still a huge fan of it. The Dean-Alastair scenes were made of win, as well as the reveal about the first seal and the scene where Sam kills Alastair. Cas's growing sympathy towards Dean and his growing doubts were great stuff as well. It is probably when I fell for Dean/Cas friendship entirely.
The End - probably the best episode of season 5. Love double Dean, the Croatoan virus and Sam as Lucifer (the scariest of Lucifer we've ever got btw and the most angelic). Just incredible acting from both Jared and Jensen.
The French Mistake - another comedy gold and a proud second on my list. Meta can be risky but they pulled it off brilliantly.
The Man Who Would Be King - loved it especially for its sad atmosphere and the broken friendship of Dean and Cas. Watching it fall apart was painful, but the episode delivered the stuff in a great way.
Hello, Cruel World - brilliant, brilliant, brilliant and my favourite of season 7. Leviathans using water to possess people, Sam vs Lucifer and Dean helping him overcome it, Bobby's house burnt down and the last scene in the ambulance, all great stuff. Perfection.
I have no idea how to choose two out of these...
Hey, there's nothing wrong with puns. :-P One of my choices is bound to be a comedy too. Oh and you're welcome although now I doubly wish the Best Show Contest were continuing. (snickers)
ReplyDeleteWelcome to SpoilerTV. It sounds like next time we do these kinds of polls I need to open it up to 3 votes instead of 2.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised AAH doesn't have as many votes as I expected. It's usually fairly popular here.
ReplyDeleteI would have settled for 3! Making me choose between "The End" and "The French Mistake". Ultimately went with "The End" though, with "On the Head of a Pin". They break my heart, but that's kinda why I love them.
ReplyDeleteI tend to be hit or miss about police episodes but Nightshifter and Jus in Bello are definitely hits. Basically anything with Henriksen in it is a plus. I do agree that The End is the best episode in season 5. The only one that comes even close for me is Changing Channels and they are such different episodes. I still miss Bobby's house but I guess it wouldn't be the same without Bobby anyway. Have fun making the final choice.
ReplyDeleteMonster Movie. (But it's still hard to pick!) Don't worry about getting my second pick in there if it's causing you trouble. It's not a big deal. :)
ReplyDeleteActually Ben Edlund episodes tend to get the biggest debate around here. The biggest love it or hate it episodes are usually Ghostfacers and Clap Your Hands if You Believe. Those episodes have plenty of people on both sides. To a lesser degree but still passionate would be Third Man. Monster Movie, French Mistake, and My Bloody Valentine. There's also been good discussion from both sides about Hollywood Babylon, Malleus Maleficarum, and Repo Man too although those tend to be more moderate.
ReplyDeleteActually Death's Door came in fourth. Jus in Bello and Faith were by far the most popular. All Hell Breaks Loose Part 1 came in third. Meet the New Boss was 5th and Heart was 6th.
ReplyDeleteAhhhhhh, same as mine! :D
ReplyDeleteWell then Monster Movie will be one of my two choices. I love that episode anyway and it makes things easier for me to pick. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThe next time we do a Ben Edlund poll (in season 10), I will be sure to make it a 3 vote poll. :-)
ReplyDeleteThat's been a common sentiment with both the Sera Gamble poll and this one. It's good to see that the most prolific SPN writers also have penned so many beloved episodes. It's going to be interesting to see what kind of response Kripke gets next since he wrote so many of the pivotal episodes, including premieres and finales. That's going to be my hardest choice.
ReplyDeleteI'm not as surprised at OtHoaP. It usually gets a decent response. I am surprised that Abandon All Hope has so few votes. That's usually a knock it out of the park winner until it comes against a premiere or finale.
ReplyDeleteSo which ones did you choose?
ReplyDeleteYes, exactly, I thought exactly the same thing that Cass could have zapped them to Australia, haha, so weird. And to be honest it seemed that writers didn't know what to do with Sams hallucinations anymore, so it was kind of pointless from the start anyway, even though I really liked Lucifer/Mark Pellegrino. Maybe it wasn't that bad to him, 'cause he don't have soul?
ReplyDeleteMy short list was pretty long to. I'm glad to see one of my favorites doing so well in the poll because these things tend to go to big drama episodes.
ReplyDeleteThat's a seriously tough vote..thanks for letting us choose two. I voted On The Head Of A Pin and The End, and TMWWBK was a very very close third - it still pains me to watch the break up of Dean and Cas though, so maybe in a year or so when its less raw I will vote that as a fave.
ReplyDeleteWhy would the results be skewed?
ReplyDeleteIt was very hard for me to decide but in the end I voted for Nightshifter and Bad Day At Black Rock. Ha! I bet you thought I was going to make a pun and vote for The End didn't you? :P I really enjoyed Nightshifter with Sam and Dean having to try to think on their feet when their plan got hijacked trying to figure out who the shapeshifter was at the bank. Also I love Ronald Resnik! The mandroids are coming after us with the laser eyes! XD I voted for Bad Day At Black Rock becuase this is just Supernatural comedy at it's best. I lost my shoe! I'm Batman! This episode is just so awesome! :D
ReplyDeleteI both love and hate Abandon All Hope and how I feel about it depends on the day of the week and today, I must have loved it because I voted for it, and to my dismay it had very little votes. But one of my most favorite screen caps (the picture they all take before the set off on the misadventure) from SPN comes from this episode and spent a very long time as my screen saver.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I didn't make myself clear. The poll is not being hacked or anything. It's just that we have a core group of about 300 people who usually vote in these polls. Therefore for people who have been on the site a lot, it can be kind of predictable as to how the vote will turn out. With so many people new to SpoilerTV, the poll results will not go how it typically would. Therefore people who would normally vote for an episode they know won't usually win may see the episode they expect to win falter like French Mistake.
ReplyDeleteWow, well hey, I'm glad we're getting some fresh votes! It'll be interesting to see how things turn out in the end since we've added to the voting base.
ReplyDeleteI voted for The End and Abandon All Hope. Love On The Head Of A Pin so much too, so it was a very tough choice for second and if OTHOAP beats AAH I will not be disappointed.
ReplyDeleteThe End was a great episode, lots of action, 2 Deans, and shocks over how Dean and Cas would have ended up if Dean and Sam had not reconciled. It was funny at times, but I mostly felt bad for both Dean and Cas in the future because they went through a lot to end up the way they were-they had a lot of issues, and future Dean had a lot on his shoulders. Lucifer!Sam was pretty great too. And of course, I loved Dean realizing he and Sam needed to stick together.
AAH- Such a sad episode with Ellen and Jo's deaths, I cried. Lucifer trapping Cas in a ring of fire was one of those moments Lucifer was scary, and when the Colt failed to kill him. On a lighter note, I loved the "family" photo taken the night before, and the partying. There was some funny things.
OTHOAP- Loved the insight to how Cas was thinking in this episode. I consider it the tipping point in where he really began to see his role and his superior's orders in a different light between Uriel's betrayal and Dean being forced to torture Alastair and the end results putting Dean in the hospital.
He took some steps back after he was dragged to Heaven in 4x20, but I'm sure deep down his questions never went away-he just didn't want to get dragged back to Heaven again. (I wish we could have seen what they do to the angels-both Cas and Anna were dragged to Heaven and they came back thinking differently).
Also, Alastair was super creepy in this one- the torture scene was so tense. When Alastair was singing I got really creeped out.
Edlund's episode always work for me(with a few misses).I had managed to forget that he wrote Ghostfacers.Wow,ignorance truly is bliss sometimes. ; )
ReplyDeleteThe End is my first choice,as it currently ranks 1 in my favorite episodes list.
Second choice was a lot harder but I went with Abandon All Hope because I didn't expect it to be so behind.That was a surprise.
A lot of excellent episodes:On the Head of a Pin and The Man Who Would Be King are in my Top 10.And then there's Bad Day at Black Rock,The French Mistake,Hello Cruel World,How to Win Friends... .Lots of good stuff.
I loved those things about The End too!
ReplyDeleteFair share of tragedy? If I didn't love sad stuff, I wouldn't be able to handle this show. lol
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit surprised by that too. I'd figure it would at least get more than The French Mistake, which seems to be quite popular on the poll today.
ReplyDeleteDaphne really wasn't necessary to the story and I hate the plot-hole it created. Probably the downside part in otherwise a great episode to me. If I wasn't a Cas fan though, I can see why others wouldn't like it.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why so many people are attacking you today. WTH?
ReplyDelete..French mistake and On the head of the pin they got higher points to finish may be on the top ten.
ReplyDeleteThere are just too many good ones to chose, although I went with my first choices.
ReplyDeleteBad day at black rock - Sorry, but I love this one for a multitude of reasons. Of course I lost my shoe, but that's not the only reason. It had a wonderful mix of humor and seriousness. And Bela shooting Sam showed the boys that not everyone has qualms about hurting people for no reason. I think it was a very poignant lesson for them.
My Bloody Valentine - I'm not sure if it's finding out that Dean is basically empty inside, watching Cas affected by Famine like everyone else, or the fact that Sam looked totally deranged, and hot, when he was on the demon blood that captures this one for me. It's just a very good episode that I enjoy watching over and over. Although, I could pass on the two people eating each other to death. That's pretty gross lol
My Bloody Valentine wins for most awesome opening ever for a horror show.
ReplyDeleteMy first choice was easy - 'On The Head of a Pin' is probably my very favorite episode. But choosing just one other? That was HARD! 'The End,' 'Abandon All Hope,' 'My Bloody Valentine' and 'The Man Who Would Be King' are all classics.
ReplyDeleteI had to vote for 'Abandon All Hope,' though, because of that iconic black-and-white family photo and Castiel's scene with Lucifer and Meg, even though we lost Jo and Ellen.
There are so many good episodes The French Mistake and Bad Day At Black Rock
ReplyDeleteAgreed. It seemed like the writers backed themselves into a corner and said hey, this might work. I have to say that as disappointed as I was in Lucifer in season 5, he certainly rocked season 7. Downright diabolical, she sent shivers down my spine a few times. Now that's what Lucifer should be like.
ReplyDeleteI still don't understand why they needed Daphne. They could of had the demon attack Dean and still have that opening scene between Dean and Cas.
ReplyDeleteI felt it was one of those over hyped episodes like The French Mistake. I thought they were ok episodes for sure. But they don't hold a candle to The End, On Head of Pen and Abandon All Hope.
ReplyDeleteYeah that was probably an understatement. Perhaps I should have said Supernatural is the reigning king of eye-gushing tragedy. You really can't go a season without hitting a three-hanky sobfest or two somewhere.
ReplyDeleteOtHoaP is definitely a turning point in the show and it established Alastair as the all-time scariest villain.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that and I of course respect yours too. Sometimes people are so used to the way that other Supernatural sites work that they think the same applies here. I am confident that things will go back to discourse instead of attack. Every once in awhile something will get picked up on an outside site and it causes a flood of people to come to SpoilerTV. That's a great thing because heck many of us wouldn't be here if it didn't happen. I know I came 2 years ago because of the Best Show contest and never left. It's just sometimes an adjustment to find a safe haven for all ideas when the fandom as a whole can be so cantankerous. I liken it to being in that safe zone after life in a war zone. Once people get used to it, they can stop being defensive and assuming people are about to attack them and simply be at peace.
ReplyDeleteDamn, this was hard. Had to choose The End for one of them, but tough deciding between OtHoaP and TMWWBK. Went with TMWWBK. Ben Edlund, I <3 all his episodes so much!
ReplyDeleteThat picture is awesome. There's such camaraderie and even a bit of hope before things go terribly wrong. I think of Abandon All Hope as 2 different episodes (before the deaths and after) so I can definitely appreciate your love/hate attitude towards it.
ReplyDeleteI like that voting strategy. I often vote for the ones that need that extra little nudge.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how some episodes get better with a little break and other ones get worse. Sometimes I am surprised by an episode all over again in the summer rewatch, especially if it's been half a year since I last saw it.
ReplyDeleteHa! I too love it when Dean and Sam think on their feet to get themselves out of a scrape. Sometimes I think writers in the latter years have forgotten how smart and capable these two really are. I agree with you about the Mandroid. How awesome was the laser eyes thing! I was devastated when Ronald died and I had only known that character for 30 minutes - a great example of Edlund characterization at its best. As for BDaBR, I think it's impossible not to love this episode, especially the "I lost my shoe" moment. Sam's woeful puppy dog face looked so much like a 6 year old that dropped his lollipop. Add Dean's affectionately exasperated head shake and I can't help but wonder how many moments like that they had growing up. It is such an aaawwwww moment for me.
ReplyDeleteYou know how I love a good action-packed episode, so The End worked well for me. As for OtHoaP, there's a lot in there that is too much emoangsting for me but I came out of that episode thinking that Alastair needed to be the Big Bad. Season 5 proved me right on that point.
ReplyDeleteEvery writer has that one episode you wish got tossed in the discarded ideas pile. For a lot of people, Ben Edlund's was Ghostfacers.
ReplyDelete..ALL episode are good in one way or another.some of them are little off from my taste because how there storylines were develop but those 4 ranking episodes define the direction of the next season and the way Edlund make his point.From: Disqus Sent: Wednesday, July 04, 2012 9:52 PM
ReplyDeleteTo: nellydelcarmen77@hotmail.com
Subject: [spoilertvhome] Re: Supernatural - Best Ben Edlund Episode - Poll (Spoilers)
Dahne wrote, in response to nellymendezcolon:
I like that voting strategy. I often vote for the ones that need that extra little nudge.
Link to comment
Huh? Why can't she have her opinion like everyone else?
ReplyDeleteYour description of My Bloody Valentine made me laugh. Thanks! I have to say that I liked Bela best in Bad Day at Black Rock. I was as shocked as Dean when she shot Sam.
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely unforgettable to say the least. Welcome to SpoilerTV. Thanks for commenting.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting and welcome to SpoilerTV. I'm glad Abandon All Hope is getting some love.
ReplyDeleteEdlund does have a knack for comedy. My third vote would have gone to Bad Day at Black Rock because that one made me laugh the whole way through. A good episode on a bad day.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful, thought out response. I found myself vigorously head nodding in some parts and disagreeing in others. The number one thing I think you were spot-on with was the lack of a continuous Castiel story in season 6. Instead they kept stuffing him in to places just so he would get screen time. It did no one and nothing any good and made the theory that they were using him just to make fans happy instead of for any plot point seem valid. If they had not gone the whole film noir route, I think the story would have flowed better. I liked season 6 better than you, mostly because seasons 4 and 5 are my least favorite, but there were definite flaws there and the handling of Castiel was the biggest one.
ReplyDeleteI also agree about Cas was handled this season. The lame psuedo-death was dumb and could have easily been avoided, but when they brought him back they completely lost my confidence. To bring him back in a way where no one could deal with the main issues was the biggest cop-out. I understand why Sam would be sympathetic to Castiel's plight, but Cas' actions caused Sam months of torture. Surely Sam had the right to be upset or even to call Cas on his actions. Instead we get a Cas that has to be handled with kid gloves so Sam only has one recourse, insta-forgiveness, or else he looks like a complete jerk. The same goes for Dean. By not having a massive blow out over the season 6 debacle where everything is out on the table, we have to believe that things are still simmering and then we have to deal with it for multiple seasons or everything is okie dokie and we're supposed to buy that things are magically better. I can't attach to either of those responses. There should be fists flying, voices raised, and hard truths yelled. Then I as a viewer have a visceral release and can start on my own journey of figuring out how I feel about Cas. I was able to do that in season 5 after the blood addiction issue and so I could move on from it. I feel absolutely cheated that the writers did not allow me the same time here. In the end, it actually hurts the Cas character for me because he has no chance to redeem himself while he's playing Switzerland and hide-and-go-seek. And no, for me taking Sam's crazy isn't his redemption. By talking about how bad it was but then having Castiel up and chasing bees just a few short weeks later, they minimalised the impact of that being a huge sacrifice too. Instead it feels like Cas took a long nap and woke up on Prozac. Any way you look at it, the writers shortchanged the road to redemption and in my opinion, shortchanged me in the process.
But all the sobbing saves me money on eye drops. lol
ReplyDeleteInteresting thought - picking the two you like the least. I would have had a hard time with that poll too but for opposite reasons than you. I know how much you love
ReplyDeleteChristopher Heyerdahl so I'm not at all shocked that you picked OtHoaP. In my opinion, that is his best episode. I also liked French Mistake a whole lot more than I thought I would. So many great one-liners in that one.
Wow! That is high praise for The End indeed. Welcome to SpoilerTV. Glad you are here.
ReplyDeletePlus The End brought the brothers back together again and that's always a good thing.
ReplyDeleteBwah! I don't cry at TV but I do admit to occasionally getting a bit misty-eyed during Supernatural.
ReplyDeleteJensen did an incredible acting job in The End. Loved Hippie Cas.
ReplyDeleteBy then we will need at least 4 votes.
ReplyDeleteHa! There's just no pleasing Supernatural fans.
ReplyDeleteI've actually been desensitized when it comes to Supernatural, or maybe I'm too shocked or something, but I don't cry often with this show. (And I'm an extremely emotional person - there are a few movies I have that I have seen several times and still cry at parts).
ReplyDeleteOnly times I remember crying was Sam's talk to Dean about wanting his brother again in "Fresh Blood", Sam's reaction to Dean's Wednesday death in "Mystery Spot" and Ellen and Jo's deaths (probably because the scene was so long! The tears had time to build with that one.)
I was so shocked the 1st time Dean died (I was 14 or 15) I was shaking.
Otherwise, I am upset when people died but didn't cry that I remember (though I wanted to no tears came out- like when .
Wait no, I think I also cried when Dean was talking to dead Sam in "All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2" (I know I cried watching a youtube vid called "Bittersweet" about it) and when the boys were just sitting around after Bobby's death. Mmm pretty darn sure.
Why I can't remember them all, I don't know. lol Must be losing my mind. :P
ha, you picked the same ones I did and for the same reasons. I loved Chris as Alastair and hated they killed him, he was my favorite scary demon.
ReplyDeleteThe only time I came remember literally crying in a TV show was in Buffy's Becoming Part 2 where Buffy killed Angel. Other than that I may tear up, but I don't remember crying at TV, movies, or books. I'm not a big crier by nature
ReplyDeleteHow can a poll be bias, the eps are put up and you vote. Everyone can have an opinion.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember all the times I've cried. lol
ReplyDeleteBut the only hardcore crying I've had was Ellen and Jo's deaths as I said, and that was because the scenes with Dean saying goodbye to Jo and then Ellen realizing Jo was dead was so LONG.
I agree, if this is the way the other sites carry on, I am very glad to just be here.
ReplyDeleteHaha me too. If I have dry eyes I watch something i know will make me cry.
ReplyDeleteUsually this means a movie though. It seems with TV shows and books I desensitize and after watching/reading the scenes 2 or 3 times I don't cry anymore.
The movies however, are an absolute thing. Why? I have no idea.
I am not afraid to admit I'm basically a cry baby lol
ReplyDeleteLOL, I have been known to cry during commercials. At least I don't cry alone, my African Grey parrots cries with me.
ReplyDeleteExactly. No saving girl scene was necessary.
ReplyDeleteWow, this was a lot harder than expected, I don't realize e had written so many amazing episodes.
ReplyDeleteI could have chosen most of these episodes, I love so many. In the end I wet with comedy because we all love something that can make us laugh. I chose bad day at black rock. Although my next choices would have been te end or abandon all hope or basically any other episode on this list
Happy we have more polls going, I've been feeling a little bit of withdrawal lately without the bet series competition or anything supernatural going on. At least I have comicon coming up to look forward to.
Would also like to add that I lied being here in America for fourth of July. It was an amazing day and I had heaps of fun :)
I still cry buckets in Swan Song, the beating Dean takes and he just keeps saying I'm here, not going to leave you and the part Baby plays. I can not watch that ep without waterworks. There are many others, but this one breaks my heart.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of crying there. I hope you laugh just as much if not more.
ReplyDeleteI came here because of spoilers. :) Fans on CW website got me addicted before I left the place (and moved onto a quieter website). This happened before CW Lounge closed.
ReplyDeleteI'm more likely to tear up when I see others I care about crying. That goes for real life and fictional worlds.
ReplyDeleteYou're in America now? Cool. What part? Did you go to a good fireworks display?
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see what spoilers we get out of Com-Con. We always get some good stuff and this time it looks like the WB is going full tilt. Are you going to be there? If so, you have to grab one of the Supernatural bags and take a picture for us.
Ha, I do. It's actually easier to make me laugh than cry.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, the CW Lounge. Now that was one hot mess. I actually started out being a spoiler-phobe but now I find it rare for a spoiler to detract from my enjoyment. There are still shows that i am completely spoiler-free for but if you avoid spoilers for SPN, you avoid a lot of great conversations. I couldn't miss that section of the fandom.
ReplyDeleteI usually only read SPN spoilers- besides watching sneak peeks for OUAT. Occasionally I'll read spoilers for other shows though. Usually it's when I'm bored or I have extra time. SPN is the only one that I NEED to read ALL the spoilers. lol
ReplyDeleteAnd I didn't know spoilers existed until after the Season 3 finale ( I first became a SPN watcher after Season 1 finale, a fan during Season 2, then an online fan during the middle of season 3 when I found the CW lounge. Didn't join the website until Season 5 though. During Season 5 I found friends on the lounge and we left the place. Then this year after 3 years of knowing about this site and reading spoilers I decided to comment here.
I've grown over the years fan wise.
So glad you stopped lurking and joined us here. It's been fun getting to know you and hearing your opinions. I watched for the day the pilot aired, got obsessed in episode 3 and went online during the season 1 hellatus because I was going out of my mind and none of my family/friends watched the show. I was in and out of the online fandom for years but SpoilerTV is my favorite site to park at and just enjoy the discussion.
ReplyDeleteI wish this poll was split into funny vs. serious episodes. I went with BDABR and French Mistake because they are in my all time top ten. If split into my two polls, the other two would be On the Head of a Pin and The End. He rarely goes wrong except for Ghostfacers.
ReplyDeleteWhile these weren't split up, we did do a huge best comedy episode poll over the winter hiatus and BDaBR and French Mistake made it to the final four. French Mistake came in second to Changing Channels.
ReplyDeleteA poll! Thank you! :)
ReplyDeleteI found this one hard. So many of Ben's episodes are among my Top 50...but instead of just going by my favorites, I tried to judge his episodes against each other, and based on plotting, character, and essentially the writing, I chose:
Bad Day at Black Rock - I would say this is among Supernatural's first real foray's into true comedy. There are some excellent character moments between Sam and Dean, and of course you have the wonderful supporting characters Kubrick and Creedy.
How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters - this one was THE game changer for season 7, and even though I find Edlund's earlier episodes, the majority of the time, to be stronger, this one had so many great things in it, and about it, and wonderful character moments, and all the stuff I love about the show. Plus, Dick Roman. I enjoyed that smarmy guy!
well, my opinions are so very coincidental with yours regarding Edlund's epsidoes. So your opinion is not at all that unpopular with me! I didn't bother to talk about the episodes I didn't chose, but I don't think I can argue with you about any of them (other than I really loved On The Head of a Pin, and think there are NO saving graces for Clap Your Hands If You Believe)
ReplyDeleteBen himself said in an interview he thought The End was his best, if I remember right. I agree whether he thinks so or not. A++
ReplyDeleteI love all of them. It was so hard to choose. I eventually picked "On the Head of a Pin" for all-around character development, but "Reading is Fundamental" actually came in as a surprise second choice, for me, because of how much I loved Kevin Tran. One of Ben's strengths is how quickly and cleverly he can make us love minor characters. I would give Ben every television writing award there is, if I had the power. All love to Ben.
ReplyDeleteHe's got good taste in his own episodes then.
ReplyDeleteLove your choices. Kubrick is one of my favorite minor characters and you know I think HtWFaIM is criminally underrated. I agree that it is the turning point of season 7 and funny as all get out.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautifully thought out reply! :)
ReplyDeleteDean's fist connected with Sam's face more than once for minor things, and he even threw away the symbol of their brotherly bond, the Samulet, just because Sam had different memories to him in Zachariah's heaven;
but Castie's two-faced treachery,
his pulling of Sam out soulless and not telling Dean he was out,
his pact with Crowley,
his killing of squads of angels,
his freeing of the Leviathans simply to have the power to beat Raphael,
and worst of all his personal, up-close hurting of Sam by tearing down his wall and in consequence hurting Dean too, doesn't even merit a shouting match let alone a punch! Amazing!
Could be the old saying that "we only hurt the one we love" works between Dean and Sam, but not towards Castiel. That's the explanation I give myself anyway. :)
Of course it could be that maybe Castiel has threatened the writers of SPN to throw them into Hell if they don't let him off scot-free!! That's the only reason I can come up with as to why Dean didn't tear him to shreds for what he did, especially to Sam.
Ha! Well they have proven very unpopular on this thread. You may want to find a table to crawl under. :-) I don't hate CYHiYB, but I do reserve the right to kick it straight to the bottom of the list if they ever revisit fairies.
ReplyDeleteI saw! I am kind of shocked at the treatment you got in some of the comments.
ReplyDeletelol-yeah, the more time goes by the more I grow to actively dislike Clap Your Hands...I just can't with that episode! :(
Kevin Tran was my favorite part of RiF too. I agree that Ben Edlund has a gift of making minor and one-shot characters come to life. One of my favorites was Ranger Rick in HtWFaIM. Man I was sorry he got ganked. Welcome to SpoilerTV by the way.
ReplyDeleteAw you have an African Grey? Cool. :D I've never been around one, but I hear they're very smart.
ReplyDelete