Here are my S2 episodes, and man, was that hard. There were eps I wanted to choose, but a lot of them would have been chosen for one or two key scenes rather than the episode as a whole.
In My Time of Dying: Dean is DYING. I still can’t wrap my brain around it. Loads of family!Winchester here, and the Ouija board scene is one of my favorite things ever. Plus, Dean’s conversation with Tessa, which is just gutting. (And, you know, the bare feet. And the tee and hospital pants. And the wounds.)
Crossroad Blues: This is a gorgeous stand-alone episode; the flashback scenes are filmed beautifully. And Dean knows who Robert Johnson was! He’s so adamant about how wrong these deals are, how selfish, and then the discussion with the demon is so telling when she mentions his dad. Love how this foreshadows SO much.
Nightshifter: Ronald! The mandroid! Okey-dokey! Plus Hendricksen, and Dean on the phone, frozen and furious when Hendricksen starts badmouthing John. No better end to an episode, ever, between the switch with the SWAT team and the song and their faaaaaaces in the car.
Heart: There’s so much here about Sam facing his possible future as monster that’s really hurty. But there are a lot of excellent brother moments in this episode, too, and then the look at Sam letting loose, after all those months without contact of any kind, and wow. Passionate Sammy is awe-inspiring. The end of this episode also breaks me, with the tears and the brotherly compassion and the off-screen shot.
What Is and What Should Never Be: This episode hurts like hell. Even the funny moments, like when Dean is mowing the lawn with that ridiculous shit-eating grin is entirely bittersweet. And the performances are so good, all the way around, from Mary to Sam the Future Lawyer. The ending absolutely kills me.