What is your favourite episode?

I'm not trying to flame an awesome show, but Someday In The Rain was without question the worst of the 14 episodes, even despite the sort of nice moment at the end. Anything that keeps Kyon out of the club room wasn't a good idea (now if he had asked for Yuki to come with him, which would've been obvious to me at least, but sadly no). The first episode was intentionally a parody of the series, although it's saved by Kyon's narration. Still, neither episode deserves to be among the best.

I'd have to say that the "main sequence" episodes (Suzumiya Haruhi no yuutsu I-VI) were more or less the best, especially in terms of drama. What stood out for me so far:

Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya II-III: Yuki "finally" opens up to Kyon, and the result not only redefines the direction of the series up to that point, but also hints at the much greater depth of the "quiet girl" that is subsequently explored. Also, when Kyon calls out Koizumi, and Kyon's incredulity that Haruhi is somehow the most important person in the world.

IV: Gotta admit I never thought Ryoko would turn from cute girl to killer alien. Even though Yuki's last second intervention almost seems cliched, I knew she was the only hope for Kyon, and her insistence that she is fine despite multiple swords sticking through her is classic. Plus, it's the only time that Yuki and Kyon get some physical contact. Although I'm not sure I buy the excuse about her losing her glasses, I didn't end up missing them as much as I thought I would. I'll forgive Kyon's youth for liking her better without them.

VI: The near end of the world turns out to be a much better choice for a final ep than Someday In The Rain would've been. Kyon and Haruhi get some quality time together, and the constantly brought up fairy tales finally make sense to Kyon for the famous and quite well-intentioned kiss. Yuki and Kyon's IMing also hinted at the show's inherent tragedy, even though nothing for the moment ended up coming out of the show's events (which we of course already saw).

Mystérique Sign: An otherwise "standard" ep, but Kyon's realization about Yuki at the end is as poignant as anything else in the series.

Day Of Sagittarius: First off, a phenomenal use of music in this episode. Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2 opening (as far away from a war song as any ever written, but yet magically wonderful) and Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony (there may be no better appropriate song for the events. I also loved how the tinny Nintendo version of the actual game gave way to the full orchestra version of the "fantasy" parts) were perfect choices. Also, this one turned out to be a Yuki episode to boot, which the camera often hinted at by focusing on her even though she wasn't doing anything at the beginning. Her absolutely going nuts on the computer is of course classic, as was her ability to find a way to win without cheating (for once). It's possible we might have forgotten that Yuki is a real person (even though she obviously isn't, both in the show (alien) and real life), and this show reminded us of that.

Live Alive: Am I the only one who noticed that Haruhi's song was about the events of her "dream" from episode VI? She claims that the missing members of the band had written it, but there's no way that was a coincidence. I do have to admit that Haruhi jumping into a band without the rest of the club's participation (or at least without her making a big deal about it beforehand) stretches believability a bit even for this show. However, I have little choice but to forgive it, since Haruhi is apparently God, and Yuki can pretty much do anything if she reads about it. Plus, Yuki shredding some killer guitar solos can't help but raise her appeal, even if she couldn't have done that earlier in the day.