The best and the worst episodes

[manche]

I got an interesting idea for the topic, we can find the most favorite episodes of different members and those episodes which are the least popular, for each part you can choose five episodes, if you want you can write more about it, why you like them or why you hate them. I am starting with it:

The best episodes:
1. The Village Vanishes
2. The Trickster
3. The Vengeance of Rumina
4. Hell House
5. The Beast of Dark

The worst episodes:
1. The Empress
2. The Book of Before
3. The Prince Who Wasn't
4. The Sacrifice
5. Stalkers

I will probably write more towards it, but not today, i must go now, i would be delighted when someone joins to this small exploration

[Doubar]

Ooooh, now that's actually a very cool idea. I like it. Now, let's see how I'd rank them.

My personal favourites:
1) The Trickster
2) The Eye of Kratos (Talya!!!! ;D )
3) Hell House
4) Vengeance of Rumina
5) A City under Plague

Honorary fav: The Return of Sinbad Part 2 (have to mention it because it used to be my absolute favourite when I was younger, just because I loved how Maeve gave Sinbad a piece of her mind right from the start x)



Eps I like the least:
1) Stalkers
2) The Empress
3) Castle Keep
4) Conundrum
5) The Beast Within

I actually feel bad for having S1 eps rule my fav list while having S2 eps be ontop my least favourites. But that's just it. I am more of a S1 one fan and although I really like many S2 eps as well, there just is this bias in everything.

And because of that, why not add a second listing - deviding S1 and S2?

favs
Season 1
1) The Trickster
2) Eye of Kratos
3) Vengeance of Rumina
3) The Bully (it's too close a tie between this and Vengeance, so I list them both as no. 3)
5) The Rescue

Season 2
1) Hell House
2) A City under Plague
3) Beast of the Dark
4) The Gryphon's Tale
5) Ali Rashid and the Thieves (Rongar's past!!!!)

least favourite
Season 1
1) Conundrum (though it's actually a good ep, but still I don't really like to watch it )
2) The Beast Within
3) Monument
4) Masked Marauders
5) The Ronin (though I do like Tetsu)


Season 2
1) Stalkers
2) The Empress
3) Kastle Keep
4) Curse of the Gorgons
5) The Invaders (just because, as much as I am a Sci-Fi fan for me aliens just don't belong into the AoS world...)

manche: Nice listing there. ;D

---

additional Wow, they actually were hard to choose. It's such a close tie between many eps - the fav and the personal worst ones. >.<

[Eric/Deamus]

aye, nice idea i'll make my lists too

[manche]

Oct 16, 2013 9:30:22 GMT -5 Doubar said:

I actually feel bad for having S1 eps rule my fav list while having S2 eps be ontop my least favourites. But that's just it. I am more of a S1 one fan and although I really like many S2 eps as well, there just is this bias in everything.

And because of that, why not add a second listing - deviding S1 and S2?

I watched this tv series with my sisters and they do not like The Village vanishes at all, it is clear that everyone has the different preferences and this topic is only about the taste of everyone. I simply love this episode from the beginning to the end most from the whole tv series (I like its atmosphere , the plot, the interesting characters in supporting roles, the emotions among the crew, it was also seen that they can be seriously threatened by something (five from six members dissapeared as the rest of people, Sinbad had the troubles with the fight with Milasco at the first also, it looked that nothing helps him at all), there is not everything so clear for a longer time, even a few funny scenes we can find there and of course i absolutely love the ending scene with the kiss, (i remember how I was pleasantly surprised with it when I saw that episode for the first time).


The good idea with the separation of the both seasons, my lists for this are:

The favorite episodes - S1:

1. The Village Vanishes (reasons are explained above)
2. The Trickster (the atmosphere, the interesting plot, Rumina was described there even more interestingly than in the rest of her episodes, the interesting and scary nightmares (The worst of course the nightmares of Doubar and Maeve, I remember how i was shocked this fight for the first time and i had fear that one of them could kill the second and i thought what situation would be worse for Sinbad: if his brother killed his love or if his love killed his brother), the unexpected ending)
3. The Vengeance of Rumina (the final encounter with Rumina, three great villians together, common struggle of villagers and crew, the relationship between Maeve and Sinbad reached the new level there)
4. The Ties That Bind (Maeve in the centre of the events, can i say more )
5. Double Trouble (the funny episode, the great Rumina, we found something more about our Celt, the great characters of Omar and Caipra)

I understand you it is hard to take the favourite episodes i like the most of them, especially in the first season

The least favorite episodes - S1:
1. The Prince Who Wasn't (i like the ending funny scene with Firouz and the crew tired by the long voyage and the lack of supplies, but the plot or the villian are not very interesting for me)
2. The Masked Marauders
3. Monument
4. The Ronin (i like Tetsu, but the scenes between him and Sinbad were a little long for me and not so much interesting, the second storyline with the crew was better)
5. Little Miss Magic (this is the weakest episode with Rumina for me, i like the scene with the final fight, but with the exception of this it is not the very interesting episode for me)

The favorite episodes - S2:
1. Hell House (Scratch, we can see that Maeve is still in Sinbad's heart, Mala, the memory of the people who Sinbad wished to save (Mustapha, Dim Dym), the return towards the old character of Sinbad)
2. The Beast of Dark
3. Castle Keep (I simply like the movies with pirates and these pirates were very symphatetic to me, especially Radue, the easy plot but great done)
4. The City under Plague (Firouz and his girlfriend, the interesting plot and the sympathetic ruler Borrell)
5. The Beast of Basra (or The Voyage to hell, i am not sure in this case)

The least favorite episodes - S2:
1. The Empress (boring, nothing had the sense here)
2. The Book of Before
3. The Sacrifice (I do not simply like the way how was maeve removed, the plot was uninteresting, the first "redshirts")
4. Stalkers (the plot was boring, the naivety of the crew that the stealing of the whistle prevented the villian in the convening of his army, the annoying girl of the week, the Sinbad's behaviour towards Bryn at the end)
5. Survival Run (the few illogical things, the annoying girl of the week, i do not understand what was so much fascinating in her person not even for Sinbad but for the rest of boys also).

I see that we have the similar taste in some episodes, in some different (for example for me the Invaders is not such a bad episode that i would give it to the worst five episodes of the second season, it does not fit with the spirit of the series, the annoying priest, a few strange things were there, but i know worse episodes in this season).

For me the first season also rules, although i like many episode from the second season as well

[Eric/Deamus]

my lists will be simpler ;D ;D

Favorites of S1:
ALL episodes except only one >>> Conundrum!! i don't like it at all.

however, i have a least favorites -i like them too so much but comparing to the others i'll choose the others!-
-Masked Marauders
-King Firouz
-The Siren Song


in the other hand, about S2, my favorites are only:
-Hell House
-The Gift *don't know why!!!* ;D
-Castle Keep

while I really, really don't like any of the other episodes of the whole S2 just watch them out of curiosity about the characters and the change that occured to them!
which explains why i don't watch this season at all
however, every now and then there is some few scenes that i like in the other episodes! and there are other scenes i don't favorite in my only 3 favorite episodes in S2.

[manche]

I must admit that i am surprised that both of you agreed on the episode Conundrum. I do not consider this episode as one of the best, but it is the good episode im my opinion, the only thing which i really do not like there is that maeve was excluded from this episode almost. But it is interesting to see the different preferences of the different members of this forum.

[Doubar]

Hah, yeah, it's pretty interesting to see how with some eps we totally agree and with others we don't share a POV. But that's just normal. We're different people and we each like certain things best and don't care much for others.

Now as for Conundrum: yeah, I cannot even tell you what it is exactly that made it be part of my worst-list. The ep is certainly well made, the plot interesting enough and the villain... oooh... Scratch for the very first time! ;D Back when I was younger I know I didn't care at all about this particular ep because Maeve and Dermott weren't in it. I was just too much of a fangirl then to be bothered. But now that I have grown and that my view on the show mellowed and changed... I would have expected to like that ep now, only that I still don't watch it. When I feel the wish to re-watch an ep Conundrum somehow never crosses my mind, which is also why I added it to this list. So it's not like I really hate that ep or anything. Instead it's more like when you're asked about a certain colour and you know you don't like it much, only you cannot even tell why that is. There's no particular reason to it, you just don't. If that makes any sense. x)

Ooh, I hear you on "The Sacrifice" though. But then again I guess we can even be thankful they dealt with Maeve's parting at all. Given the circumstances we must be glad they tweaked some old footage to at least give us a story about the how and why of her leaving. So instead of being angry about how Maeve vanished, I rather am a bit miffed about Bryn's introduction. She could have been so awesome, but the screen writers just had to mess up with the large M/S fanbase by making her be the Celt's substitute (and now I feel like being highly repetetive because I think I always say that when we talk about this ep xD).

[manche]

Do you think the possibility that Maeve would leave off-screen? I did not think about this possibility until this time but you are right, it would be much worse. And the good point about Bryn, she could have been really introduced a different way.

Yes you are right with the thought of Bryn being the Celt's substitute, many fans probably looked at her from this angle (i was also one of them, it took some years to me than i started to like Bryn and think about her as a separate character).

[Doubar]

Well yeah, if they'd not bothered at all they could have just told a story like:

*new ep starts, the guys are onboard*
Doubar: So, Sinbad. You think Maeve will get along with Caipra?
Sinbad: Sure why not. She can learn so many things from her...

There really are so many ways you could have just skipped her leaving, although I do admit that just having the guys talk about her having joined Caipra or someone else would have created the problem of audiences wondering why they never visit her. But then again they didn't visit Caipra either, even when they were in Basra, so... *shrugs*

Yes you are right with the thought of Bryn being the Celt's substitute, many fans probably looked at her from this angle (i was also one of them, it took some years to me than i started to like Bryn and think about her as a separate character).

And same here! It took me years to overcome the antipathy I felt towards her, simply because she replaced Maeve in almost each and every aspect:

1) The scene of her introduction alone. Sinbad seeing Maeve's image but then it clears up and you see Bryn. That's a very visual way of saying: "Hey, before you had Maeve, now you have Bryn."

2) Sinbad eyeing Bryn up and down and being instantly intrigued by her.

3) Of course Bryn is a sorceress, too.

4) Of course Dermott chooses her as his new mistress.

5) Of course all the crew instantly love her.

It's just so many details that suggest she really is Maeve's replacement and such things never sit well with fans of the original character. Bryn was doomed to be hated by the majority of S1 fans (who, matter of factly were mostly also M/S fans), and that's such a shame! I have never been active in the old fandom, but even I remember the ship-wars that went on. And that's just unfair towards Bryn who, if you look at her as an independent character, really is a great addition to the crew.

[manche]

Oct 19, 2013 4:25:36 GMT -5 Doubar said:

There really are so many ways you could have just skipped her leaving, although I do admit that just having the guys talk about her having joined Caipra or someone else would have created the problem of audiences wondering why they never visit her. But then again they didn't visit Caipra either, even when they were in Basra, so... *shrugs*

Yes you are right with the thought of Bryn being the Celt's substitute, many fans probably looked at her from this angle (i was also one of them, it took some years to me than i started to like Bryn and think about her as a separate character).

And same here! It took me years to overcome the antipathy I felt towards her, simply because she replaced Maeve in almost each and every aspect:

1) The scene of her introduction alone. Sinbad seeing Maeve's image but then it clears up and you see Bryn. That's a very visual way of saying: "Hey, before you had Maeve, now you have Bryn."

2) Sinbad eyeing Bryn up and down and being instantly intrigued by her.

3) Of course Bryn is a sorceress, too.

4) Of course Dermott chooses her as his new mistress.

5) Of course all the crew instantly love her.

And that's just unfair towards Bryn who, if you look at her as an independent character, really is a great addition to the crew.

Yes, it was a little strange that the crew did not ask for the help of Caipra during the situation in Basra. She was the good magician definitely, so is there someone better who could help in the fight with the similar creature? (Omar's absence was explained in a way at least, although not very cleverly or with dignity). Maybe Caipra also fled from the town?

If the first episode started something like that it would be the heavy blow for me. Everything would happen off screen, a short mention of her and we can hurry towards the next adventures. (Something similar happened in one of my quite favorite series (MASH) where two of the leading characters were removed the similar way during the airing)

Yes the similarities were obvious there. A small difference was the approach of her towards them, she was friendly towards them since the beginning (Maeve had a certain distance to Sinbad and Doubar during her first episode) and I think that at this time Doubar had not anymore his prejudices towards women on the board which he had when Maeve started to be the part of the crew (but it is probable that if the women were in the crew in the opposite order, he would have these prejudices towards Bryn and he would be without doubts in the case of Maeve.)

But when you start to think about Bryn as an independent character, you will find how great she is.

[Firouz]

As a neutral in the M/S & B/S shippers' war, I can tell you that S1 shippers' were mean as all get out to Bryn. Let's just say that Scratch would have been admiring some of them with how bad they were. They called B/S shippers' the (*)ull(*)shit shippers.

Maeve leaving was quick, they needed someone to jump in and they got Bryn. It could have possibly been handled a WHOLE lot better IMHO b/c Bryn not only seemed to replace Maeve, S2 was so disconnected from S1 people who started watching S2 couldn't relate it back to S1 at all. Case in point, my friend Cassie, she thought S2 Sinbad was S1's evil twin! Lastly, Bryn while took on Bryn's job, was visually bland and blank, had amnesia (convenient), AND she wore a rainbow bracelet instantly giving her a connection to Sinbad. Also, Sinbad was drawn to Tetsu immediately b/c of the bracelet; a beautiful, mysterious, damsel in distress (a bit one who can take care of herself), and wears a bracelet...OF COURSE he's going to be attracted to her.....

[Doubar]

Oct 19, 2013 21:37:30 GMT -5 Firouz said:

Also, Sinbad was drawn to Tetsu immediately b/c of the bracelet; a beautiful, mysterious, damsel in distress .

;D ;D ;D Firouz, I think you must made the most hilarious typo in the history of this board!!!!!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

But fun aside, I agree with you in everything you said. Although I was far from being neutral back then (since I was and still am a M/S shipper) I was rather shocked by how verbally violent this war was. But I guess modern shipwars aren't much different. And it's simply best to stay out of them.

And concerning Bryn's introduction to the show: you summed that up perfectly. Because that's all the things which could have been handled differently and so much better.

manche: Caipra having left as well? Ah, I can imagine the script-writers claim that, yes, but it would be completely and utterly out of character for Caipra. She was only present in one ep, but even from that little screen-time we can tell that she would never just leave because of a curse like that!

Oh, and I hear you there! Something like this happening off-screen would have been even worse! And I'm sorry to hear that it happened in of the shows you liked.

A small difference was the approach of her towards them, she was friendly towards them since the beginning (Maeve had a certain distance to Sinbad and Doubar during her first episode) and I think that at this time Doubar had not anymore his prejudices towards women on the board which he had when Maeve started to be the part of the crew (but it is probable that if the women were in the crew in the opposite order, he would have these prejudices towards Bryn and he would be without doubts in the case of Maeve.)

Oh, now that's true. Though for the guys' part I would indeed think that, yes, Maeve's the reason for the change. And had it been the other way round, and Bryn had been first, then you could give her the credits for changing teh sailors' minds about women onboard. ;D
But yeah, that was indeed the biggest difference between the two. While Maeve automatically 'faught' for her position and for acceptance, Bryn with her sweet nature fit in easily.

But when you start to think about Bryn as an independent character, you will find how great she is.

Aya, exactly.

[manche]

Oct 20, 2013 9:18:39 GMT -5 Doubar said:

Oct 19, 2013 21:37:30 GMT -5 Firouz said:

Also, Sinbad was drawn to Tetsu immediately b/c of the bracelet; a beautiful, mysterious, damsel in distress .

;D ;D ;D Firouz, I think you must made the most hilarious typo in the history of this board!!!!!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

But fun aside, I agree with you in everything you said. Although I was far from being neutral back then (since I was and still am a M/S shipper) I was rather shocked by how verbally violent this war was. But I guess modern shipwars aren't much different. And it's simply best to stay out of them.

manche: Caipra having left as well? Ah, I can imagine the script-writers claim that, yes, but it would be completely and utterly out of character for Caipra. She was only present in one ep, but even from that little screen-time we can tell that she would never just leave because of a curse like that!

But yeah, that was indeed the biggest difference between the two. While Maeve automatically 'faught' for her position and for acceptance, Bryn with her sweet nature fit in easily.

I did not also know about the violent war among fans in this case, (after the first watching of season two the tv series stopped being aired in our country, so i had the long break in the next watching) and i would have consider as the unnecessary thing to attack the people who like this couple, one thing is having the different opinion but the more important thing is ability to express this opinion in a decent form and being able to respect a different opinion.

And I thought in what connection was the name of Tetsu in the Firouz's comment and I did not get the idea that it only was the typo.

Yes, in Caipra's case it would have been out of character but for Omar as well and the screenwriters also did it to him.

And the different beginnings of our ladies in the crew can have the roots in their characters partially. Maeve was more temperament and for this reason she sometimes had disputes with the people around her, Bryn was more calm and she had not similar problems very much.