Television used to be viewed exclusively through these little boxes you may have heard of called television sets.
Now any TV without an internet connection is likely to just sit there collecting dust.
Streaming services mean that TV is truly everywhere.
Whole seasons of shows get binged within a day or two via a laptop, phone, or tablet.
The difference between a Hollywood blockbuster and a season ofGame of Thronesis narrower than ever.
Probably not thanks to one often overlooked, underappreciated aspect of TV: episodes.
Sure, shows likeGame of Thronesmay look like movies now but they still consist ofepisodes.
Still, the humble episode is often unappreciated.
Note that weve limited the list toone episode per showand have ordered the listalphabetically.Beware of spoilers…. Now in its seventh season,Adventure Timecan look a bit long in the tooth.
But there are occasional highlights and for me they often come with BMO episodes.
Happy birthday, BMO.
Also, Im not grown up or Im too grown up now.
I think I just killed someone.
And then theres the capper of Jake telling BMO, Sorry your birthday was weird.
Then, Yvonne began reading Descent.
Then theres that awful, cringing scene with Robert getting a hard-on while Alison is massaging his leg.
This all comes to a head in Snafu, the seventh episode of the season.
I got away with it because no one looks at me.
Kayti Burt
The Americans Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?
Yet its in the shows quieter, more understated episodes that it truly shines.
In Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?
Philip and Elizabeth Jennings infiltrate a repair facility to hack into the eponymous mail robot for classified F.B.I.
[Related: The Best TV Episodes of 2014]
Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?
is about as bleak as it gets.
The whole series is at the risk of unspooling when Hood is kidnapped by Raymond Brantley.
And this isnt even touching on half of what happens here.
It creates an incredible feeling of not knowing how the rest of the season can possibly follow this.
And that leads to the series most heartbreaking moment in the series yet.
The series finale brought back that feeling.
He doesnt see it the way Matt or decades of comic book narratives see it.
When he does find her again, it is erase the two cant stay together.
After all, The Doctor was willing to fracture all of time and space to save her.
I am entitled to that.
The episode was full of intriguing, intensive conversations between the characters.
It almost felt hypnotic as the characters sucked you into this toxic and captivating world.
Lindsey McGhee
Fargo The Castle
Oh you betchya thatFargowas going to make this list!
My favorite episode of the bunch had to be the brutal penultimate hour The Castle.
The Castle is a great encapsulation ofFargo; violent, funny, engrossing, and odd.
However, it should have been called, Well Top The Walking Dead in 15 Minutes.
Weiss prove that differing from George R.R.
Martins A Song of Ice and Fire can sometimes be a good thing.
And winter finally came with a vengeance.
And the White Walkers havent even reached the Wall yet!
Bon Soir, indeed.
But as a social commentary its somehow even better.
Of course, it doesnt hurt that the whole thing is relentlessly hilarious.
Meanwhile, Officer Simpson goes in the opposite direction.
It was just an interesting and tense episode all around.
The Jinx Chapter 6: What The Hell Did I Do?
Before NetflixsMaking a Murdercame along, the best true crime saga on TV this year wasThe Jinx.
Durst may have been the best character on TV this year.
Thrills like these are tough to come by, especially when theyre non-fiction.
Seeing Sudeikis Mike Millers situation in space expertly handled is also very satisfying and his material is simply stunning.
The Leftovers Axis Mundi
So many episodes fromThe Leftoversseason two are worthy of making this list.
Man, this show is really emotionally devastating.
But Axis Mundi is the clear choice here because it represents everything that was great about this season.
Theres the ten-minute dialogue-less opening that adds a dose of religious mysticism.
Its technically a comedy but that classification is really just an excuse for Louis C.K.
to do whatever he wants with a camera tone, genre, or even reality be damned.
And to the shows credit, each nightmare is believably dream-like and horrifying.
But its the final episode itself that packed the most punch.
Call it cynical if you want or call it a mature acceptance of his own identity.
I call it a great finale.
Manhattan Fatherland
Every young web link needs a breakout hit.
Some come right away like AMC and its first original drama series,Mad Men.
Other networks take years of swings and misses before landing a winner.
Topping a critically acclaimed first season,Manhattanhad quite a few bombs to drop in season two.
Fatherland, the second episode of season two, finds Frank Winter isolated from Los Alamos and imprisoned.
Hes caught in a physically and mentally demanding mind game against guest star Justin Kirk.
If we learned anything, its that a womans needs should always come first and robots make poor lovers.
Abide by the former, and take solace in the latter, single men of the future!
The episode still relies on a sappy, positive ending, but its one that feels genuinely earned.
Robot locked in battle with drug dealer Fernando Vera.
victories through which we viewers love to live vicariously the hacker outsmarting the dealer.
Gonzo soon realizes how dire the stunt is and feels trapped in what will surely be his televised execution.
His interactions with Kermit as well as the climax are completely heartwarming and vindicate this shows existence.
However, in terms of pure entertainment value, Smokers Allowed is my episode of choice.
No other episode of TV this year elicited from me such a wide spectrum of feelings.
Its altogether uncomfortable, bizarre, and oddly a bit moving.
Season three was a lot like the third year of another show that I love Veronica Mars.
Hence the addition of a Piz character Stella to stir things up.
They were given a break, finally, right before things get crazier.
And it was spiritually refreshing.
Its all set to Foreigners I Want to Know What Love Is, and it cuts deep.
It doesnt usually take the time to linger too long on character-driven hallucinations.
Before this episode, Beth was a character it didnt seem necessary to revisit.
Before Certain Agony of the Battlefield, we never really knew where Pauls allegiances lay.
To be fair, seemingly neither did Paul.
But it took his death to find clarity.
Beth may be the clone whose death he carried with him, but Sarah was the clone he loved.
The best episode by far in this truly excellent season was the touching and hilarious Leslie and Ron.
Many episodes proved to be surprisingly emotionally affecting in the vein of other sad comedies like the aforementionedReviewandBoJack Horseman.
Total Rickall features aliens that reproduce by burrowing into your brain and creating false memories.
This episode also marked an obvious thickening in sexual tension that continues throughout the rest of the season.
That scene was flabbergasting, intense, and the teeniest bit hot… just like the show.
The Walking Dead Heres Not Here
The Walking Deadended its first half-season on a slightly down note.
And few hours of television this year were as exhilarating or affecting as the all-Morgan hour Heres Not Here.
There Is Not Currently A Problem shakes up the status quo forYoure The Worst.
Its masochistic entertainment at its best!
