15. The Mandalorian: “Chapter 16”
Look, I know we’re all going to get lost in the weeds discussing the inter-series mythological implications of The Mandalorian‘s second season finale and rightfully questioning the capitalist intentions of the Disney-industrial complex. But before we do that, can we appreciate the sweet, heartbreaking moment in “Chapter 16” when Grogu (a.k.a. Baby Yoda) reaches out for Pedro Pascal’s unguarded face? Or how about when CGI Luke Skywalker appears in a cloud of mysterious fog after going full John Wick on a few dozen droids? The Mandalorian abandoned its premise as a standalone series this season, but it also dug into franchise lore to come up with crowd-pleasing surprises like these ones, which are perfectly manufactured to make you cheer or shed a tear no matter your investment level.
14. I May Destroy You: “Ego Death”
There’s plenty to unpack in the finale of Michaela Coel’s daring and beautifully chaotic take on trauma. The episode, which like the rest of the series is confident and surprising, splits Arabella’s narrative journey into a forked path. In one variation of Arabella’s story, she goes undercover to catch her rapist at a bar and ends up killing him. In another, she has a heart-to-heart with the man before the police arrest him. In a third, the two make love. Finally, in a scene that’s heavy with meaning, two versions of the man — one bloodied, one naked — get up from their spot in her room and leave.
She takes an index card off her wall, scrambling the storyline she’s written yet again. She goes to the garden, where her flatmate Ben (Stephen Wright) asks her if she’s going to keep looking for her rapist. She says she’s staying in. The two hug and make plans for the evening. Potted plants appear on the patio — had she not noticed the new life before, or did she just write it in? It’s a deceptively simple scene that signifies a hard-earned semblance of peace and control. No ending involving her rapist would make Arabella any happier, so she stops giving him space in her brain and writes herself a better ending.
13. Mrs. America: “Gloria”
A short scene at the end of Mrs. America’s second episode puts the importance of the fight for ERA ratification into personal and absolute focus. In a flashback, Gloria Steinem (Rose Byrne) sits in a doctor’s office in the UK. It’s a scene inspired by Steinem’s real life, and in it, she’s about to get a then-illegal abortion. The doctor asks her a few questions. A woman in the room lets her know about side effects and encourages her to use birth control. Then the doctor makes a simple but resonant statement: “You must promise me two things: you will never tell anyone my name and you will do what you want to do with your life.” Suddenly, the portrait that’s been painted of Steinem in this episode — self-assured, stubborn, dancing alone in her apartment — feels complete. Everything we’ve seen so far is her keeping the promise: doing what she wants with her life but also fighting a complicated, exhausting battle in hopes that one day doctors like hers won’t have to be anonymous. Steinem herself has commented on inaccuracies in the series, but this doctor’s words, pulled from one of her memoirs, ring true and hit hard.
12. The Good Place: “Whenever You’re Ready”
The first of two emotionally gutting scenes on this list that revolves around explaining Buddhist principles, this quiet moment from The Good Place’s finale resonates on a soul-deep level. When Chidi (William Jackson Harper) decides to move past the Good Place and go into the light, he and Eleanor (Kristen Bell) decide to do one last thing they always wanted to do. They visit the Athenian Acropolis and Paris, and on their last night together, sitting on a couch overlooking an incredibly gorgeous view, Eleanor admits, “I was never good at being sad…but this is sad, man.” She asks for some wisdom from a great philosopher, and Chidi responds with an aching and lovely short monologue. “Picture a wave in the ocean,” he starts, sounding utterly at peace. He explains that when the wave crashes into the shore and disappears, the ocean is still there. “The wave was just a different way for the water to be, for a little while,” he says. Harper’s controlled emotion here is brilliant; he’s so reassuring, so clear in his explanation of an impossibly poignant concept, that it’s impossible not to fall to pieces while listening.
11. Better Call Saul: “Bagman”
Better Call Saul has always been a show about the buildup, but its best episode to date, “Bagman,” has one hell of a payoff, too. After a cash pick-up gone wrong, Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) and Mike (Jonathan Banks) end up trudging through the desert for more than a day. Their pain is palpable, from Jimmy’s deep sunburn and peeling lips to Mike’s weary gait. Jimmy ran out of water ages ago and carries a bottle of urine he refuses to drink. Then, a miracle on the horizon. The lone surviving member of a cartel group that ambushed Jimmy early in the episode returns in a speeding vehicle.
Wordlessly, the two men come up with a plan. Jimmy stands in the road, with bags containing millions of dollars on his arms. Mike sets up his sniper rifle at a distance. As the car approaches full-tilt, Jimmy doesn’t even look behind him; if this doesn’t work, the man is fine being flattened like a pancake. In a moment of fantastic visual composition, Mike lands some bullets and the vehicle flips dramatically, flying offroad over Jimmy’s shoulder and landing in a crumpled heap. The driver is dead, but the car’s not usable and the water jug within is broken. Resigned, Jimmy takes a deep swig of a bottle containing his own urine. With that, the two men walk on, their traumatic pilgrimage continuing as the sun beats down.
Related Topics: 2020 Rewind
