From frozen Eggos to court cases and monsters-of-the-week, these are the best TV episodes of the year!
Figuring out the best TV shows of 2016 is damn near impossible.
Everything is just so good!
Were going to pick the best TV episodes of 2016just like we did in 2015.
Why are we doing this?
Because there are episodes of television that deserve it.
Great TV shows are made up of great episodes and you cant appreciate the whole without appreciating its parts.
Alec Bojalad
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Atlanta: Juneteenth
Each episode ofAtlantas first season was a treasure.
Juneteenth was a particularly good distillation of this technique.
Atlanta: Value
Atlantacame out hot in 2016.
The first five of its 10 episodes all ranged from good to superb.
Still, there was a lingering question throughout them.
When are we gonna to do something with this Donald Glovers girlfriend character, Van?
Episode six Value answers that question and then some, ultimately becoming the best ofAtlantas freshman offerings.
The ensuing madcap struggle to beat the test is hilarious, heartwarming and bizarre.
Value is the best distillation of Glovers elevator pitch forAtlanta:Twin Peakswith rappers.
Baskets: Easter in Bakersfield
Basketswas a tough egg to crack in its first season.
What is it making fun of?
What is it taking seriously?
And what are we supposed to be getting out of all of this?
All of those questions are answered in the excellent Easter in Bakersfield.
Easter in Bakersfield perfectly captures the tone that Baskets strives for in season one: weird, yet touching.
Of course valuing Easter brunch at a Bakersfield casino is ridiculous.
Still, getting to see Chip respect his mothers strange wishes anyway is heartwarming.
But the tragic, purposeful method with which The Beach lets those series of unfortunate events unfold is devastating.
But as depicted by The Beach, they seem inevitable like young Naz is cosmically predisposed for suffering.
It perfectly sets the tone for all the subsequent suffering to come.
Lady Dynamite: Loaf Coach
Lady Dynamites first season was reminiscent of peakArrested Development.
The best example of the showsArrested Developmentambitions and success comes in midseason episode Loaf Coach.
Weiss are telling more of their own story than an adaptation of George R.R.
We follow Cersei Lannister as prepares one, final, explosive plot to assert her familys dominance.
The second part of Ex where we finally get a glimpse into The Guys home life.
Theres a sadness there too which is not entirely unlike Patricks efforts to connect with others.
And yet the answer to do we need another Jack Torrance-style mental breakdown parody?
season; but it was the absolute funniest.
American Crime Story: The People v. O.J.
Simpson: Manna from Heaven
The real trial of O.J.
Simpsonsmartly boils them all done to one: the uncovering of the Mark Fuhrman tapes.
trial: O.J., Marcia Clark, Chrs Darden, Robert Shapiro, Johnnie Cochran, et.
all listen to a tape of Mark Fuhrmans virulent racism in a completely silent courtroom.
Its a huge, impossibly larger-than-life moment captured perfectly.
Darden is sadly correct.
One of the best things aboutThe People v. O.J.
Simpsonis how successfully it depicts (without directly arguing) that the O.J.
Simpson trial was everything to everyone.
American Crime Story: The People v. O.J.
Simpson: Marcia, Marcia, Marcia
The appeal ofThe People v. O.J.
No one onThe People v. O.J.
There is no better example of that then the season finale, Only Women Bleed.
The episode, whose title is the illustration of what Pamela Adlon and Louis C.K.
The main focus here seems to be pointed at Frankies gender identity.
However, what the episode does so perfectly is not make a show of it.
Its not a theme to show how progressive the show is.
Better Thingsis about how people live.
Its about womanhood and motherhood.
The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears is the best example yet.
This isThe Americans, of course, so there is an undercurrent of distrust and unease throughout the proceedings.
This could be their lives all the time.
They could be Americans once and for all.
Philip and Elizabeth, however, know theyre too far gone for that to be true.
Its creative high would come some weeks later, however, in the Dave Chappelle/A Tribe Called Quest episode.
The scene was set for an interesting, if not classic episode of live television.
Surely the finale, The House of Uncanny Truths could only disappoint.
And beyond the satisfaction of a resolution to the mysterySearch Partypulls off a narrative miracle.
Things like the first act of Wall-E or the Hush episode ofBuffy the Vampire Slayerand so on.
He tries to reach out to the fired director of his movie to apologize, but cant.
This isnt unusual for BoJack.
There was one episode of the six, however, that stood out.
As we said before, one episode cant make a season.
This one comes awfully close, though.
With over 50 episodes under its belt,The Flashrarely gets better than this.
Meanwhile Julia saw her first bit of real hope when a prayer to a fertility goddess yielded unexpected success.
The Expanse: CQB
What makesThe Expanseunique among space dramas is its gritty realism.
Fleabag: Episode 4
Every episode of Phoebe Waller-Bridges Amazon seriesFleabagis worth watching.
Nowhere is this theme as literally depicted than in the space of a silent retreat.
Alex comes out to her mom.
This has a lot to do with the diversity of voices Bee has behind-the-scenes.
ThoughLondon Spymight inevitably fail at its spycraft, it succeeds in infusing queerness into a spy story.
When Evan Rachel Woods Dolores finally makes her first choice for herself, it is one of chilling transcendence.
The beginning of a glorious revolution or a grim apocalypse?
The episode explores deep terrors as Vanessa screams for the relief of shock treatment.
The monster also gets to show off his sense of humor.
It is beautifully shot and acted.
A Blade of Grass was directed by Toa Fraser and written by John Logan.
It wasnt until its season finale that the pieces came together.
Their duel is emotional and satisfying, and its conclusion is undoubtedly the most tragic ending thatRebelshas ever attempted.
But Twilight of the Apprentice doesnt just give us an ill-fated reunion.
