1x08 - Sam's not actually in this, and yes, it's quite dark, but it's a really, really strong Kara (the girl in question) episode that also gives a strong grounding in the human-cylon conflict and its complexities.
2x04 - 2x05 - these are Sam's first episodes. To be honest, 2x05 is one of my less favourite episodes in the scheme of things, but it is the episode where Sam gets Nobly Left Behind.
2x18 - the episode where Sam makes an unexpected return to the Plot.
2x19 - 2x20 - the episodes where Kara goes BACK for Sam plus further developments in their relationship.
3x01 - 3x05 - a big arc that's emotionally important for Kara and Sam even though they spend most of it apart.
3x09 & 3x11 - 3x13 - I'm iffy on recommending these. They do feature Sam, which is no small thing since he's not a regular yet, but they're also kind of preoccupied with the love triangle/quadrangle which I kind of hated and more than that thought the show handled really badly. On the plus side, there's EPIC SHOW MYTHOLOGY going on in some of these episodes, including some stuff about Kara's Special Destiny and things and Sam being all super supportive about that, but eh, it's just not...that great a run of episodes in my opinion.
3x17 - super important Kara-centric mythology episode with a fair amount of Sam. Basically this is where Kara "dies".
3x18 - Skippable because there's not actually that much Sam, but it does have some powerful scenes about him dealing with Kara's "death".
3x19 - 3x20 - SUPER IMPORTANT SAM STUFF.
4x01 - Kara returns, more important Sam stuff. It's worth noting at this point that Sam is in every S4 episode, so if you really love him, just watch the whole run, but if you're still interested in skipping to the big moments, I'll try to outline them.
4x05 - Not essential but some nice Kara/Sam stuff.
4x10 - 4x11 - Important Kara/Sam stuff as well as important mythology stuff. It's pretty much as bleak as the show ever gets in the second ep here, though.
4x13 - 4x14 - again, most of this two-parter (which is actually pretty good), isn't really to do with Sam specifically, though there's something quite important that happens to him near the end, though nothing you couldn't pick up from the next episode.
4x15 - okay this is like, one of my favourite episodes ever, which I know sounds weird since it's slap bang in the middle of my least favourite part of the show ever. However, I think it's just genius. That said, it's definitely one for the hardcore fans as it's basically a 45 minute explanation. Mostly delivered by Sam. ;) And there's some awesome Kara/Sam stuff too. So basically, watch it, but if you've been skipping all over the place, I apologise, you may end up a bit confused cus it's very continuity heavy.
4x17 - This is where my personal canon kind of tails off and it's actually much more about Kara than it is about Sam, but it does heavily deal with her feelings for him.
4x18 - 4x20 - I feel very ambivalent about reccing these episodes. Basically because they were the episodes that took me from "Wow, 4.5 has been uneven and I really hate the implications of some of those eps," to "WTF SHOW, WTF, WTF, WTF". However, one of the few things I did like about them was what they did with Sam and that they very strongly stuck with Kara/Sam through to the end. And a lot of the stuff I hated (assassination of characters and themes I thought they were going for, a real "shut up, stop asking questions, and just be happy!" mentality) are things that, if you've been going for the Kara/Sam-centric version of the show, may not bother you in the slightest. So...I guess I'd say, make your own choice about these based on how you feel at the time.
I will say that they don't exactly walk off into the sunset together, but they do both stay committed to each other and experience endings that, while I think unfortunately fall into wider problematic patterns with the show's final season, taken alone can comfortably be described as transcendent.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-10-13 07:50 pm (UTC)2x04 - 2x05 - these are Sam's first episodes. To be honest, 2x05 is one of my less favourite episodes in the scheme of things, but it is the episode where Sam gets Nobly Left Behind.
2x18 - the episode where Sam makes an unexpected return to the Plot.
2x19 - 2x20 - the episodes where Kara goes BACK for Sam plus further developments in their relationship.
3x01 - 3x05 - a big arc that's emotionally important for Kara and Sam even though they spend most of it apart.
3x09 & 3x11 - 3x13 - I'm iffy on recommending these. They do feature Sam, which is no small thing since he's not a regular yet, but they're also kind of preoccupied with the love triangle/quadrangle which I kind of hated and more than that thought the show handled really badly. On the plus side, there's EPIC SHOW MYTHOLOGY going on in some of these episodes, including some stuff about Kara's Special Destiny and things and Sam being all super supportive about that, but eh, it's just not...that great a run of episodes in my opinion.
3x17 - super important Kara-centric mythology episode with a fair amount of Sam. Basically this is where Kara "dies".
3x18 - Skippable because there's not actually that much Sam, but it does have some powerful scenes about him dealing with Kara's "death".
3x19 - 3x20 - SUPER IMPORTANT SAM STUFF.
4x01 - Kara returns, more important Sam stuff. It's worth noting at this point that Sam is in every S4 episode, so if you really love him, just watch the whole run, but if you're still interested in skipping to the big moments, I'll try to outline them.
4x05 - Not essential but some nice Kara/Sam stuff.
4x10 - 4x11 - Important Kara/Sam stuff as well as important mythology stuff. It's pretty much as bleak as the show ever gets in the second ep here, though.
4x13 - 4x14 - again, most of this two-parter (which is actually pretty good), isn't really to do with Sam specifically, though there's something quite important that happens to him near the end, though nothing you couldn't pick up from the next episode.
4x15 - okay this is like, one of my favourite episodes ever, which I know sounds weird since it's slap bang in the middle of my least favourite part of the show ever. However, I think it's just genius. That said, it's definitely one for the hardcore fans as it's basically a 45 minute explanation. Mostly delivered by Sam. ;) And there's some awesome Kara/Sam stuff too. So basically, watch it, but if you've been skipping all over the place, I apologise, you may end up a bit confused cus it's very continuity heavy.
4x17 - This is where my personal canon kind of tails off and it's actually much more about Kara than it is about Sam, but it does heavily deal with her feelings for him.
4x18 - 4x20 - I feel very ambivalent about reccing these episodes. Basically because they were the episodes that took me from "Wow, 4.5 has been uneven and I really hate the implications of some of those eps," to "WTF SHOW, WTF, WTF, WTF". However, one of the few things I did like about them was what they did with Sam and that they very strongly stuck with Kara/Sam through to the end. And a lot of the stuff I hated (assassination of characters and themes I thought they were going for, a real "shut up, stop asking questions, and just be happy!" mentality) are things that, if you've been going for the Kara/Sam-centric version of the show, may not bother you in the slightest. So...I guess I'd say, make your own choice about these based on how you feel at the time.
I will say that they don't exactly walk off into the sunset together, but they do both stay committed to each other and experience endings that, while I think unfortunately fall into wider problematic patterns with the show's final season, taken alone can comfortably be described as transcendent.