10. “The Day We Died” (Fringe)
Like the season one finale “There Is More Than One of Everything,” the final episode of season three manages to take the show’s sci-fi elements and bring them and the plot up a notch – a notch much higher than expected. For one thing, you have the episode itself which brings everything to a head, from the two worlds linking to Walternate getting his revenge. It’s amazing. But, it’s the final sentence spoken by an Observer at episode’s end that pushes everything over the top. Peter served his purpose? And, he’s been wiped from existence? This ending took balls.
9. “Threat Level Midnight” (The Office)
Michael Scott spent years making a movie. And, not just any movie. Threat Level Midnight is a work of pure cheese, made all the more enduring because Michael truly believed he was making something great. Terrible as the movie may be, it’s hilarious to watch. And, hilarious to watch others watching. Bonus Points: for bringing back former cast members, who acted in the film when they worked with/for Michael during the years he spent making it.
8. “iGet Pranky” (iCarly)
I’ve known about Nickelodeon’s second best show (after Victorious) since before the series premiere four years ago. I just never gave it a chance until last summer. I’ve been watching ever since, and this season’s best episode was the Spencer-centric adventure that has the loveable older bro of title character falling into his old habit of pulling pranks on people. Every moment in this episode is perfect.
7. “A Fistful of Paintballs” (Community)
Last year, I had “Modern Warfare” on this list. It was about paintball. Funny how this year’s list features another episode concerning paintball. Annie takes over, becoming a badass “gunslinger” and the driving force of the episode. Alison Brie has never been better, and the show is all the more better for it.
6. “Pilot” (Boardwalk Empire)
Martin Scorsese directed this first episode to HBO’s epic about prohibition and the individuals involved in taking the country in the direction it currently resides. Kelly McDonald, as the light in the life of main character Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) deserves an Emmy for her work. Masterful.
5. “TGS Hates Women” (30 Rock)
A brilliant satire on how we treat women in comedy. Also, this episode introduces a worthy nemesis for Alec Baldwin’s Jack Rudolph in the form of Chloe Moretz. Her performance is as great as you’d think it’d be. Emmy for guest appearance? Possibly a nomination, I’d like to think.
4. “Alexandra” (Nikita)
The first season of this show told the story of Alexandra Udinov. It’s no surprise then that several episodes were dedicated to this character. “Alexandra” was the best among them. Sure, other episodes pushed the story along by leaps and bounds. Other episodes may have had more character development. This one though is a perfect 40+ minutes, focusing on the past and present of the character. It also helps that Lyndsy Fonseca brings the character to life in this episode in such a way that I believed every moment with her. If there’s any justice in the awards world (and there isn’t) Lyndsy will get nominated for Supporting Actress.
3. “Wherever I Go” (Hannah Montana)
Shows end. Most never get the chance to say goodbye. Some never get a proper goodbye. Over the last decade, a handful of shows have been given the opportunity to end on their own terms. Most of these ended well enough. But, only a few ended in a way that gave tribute to the show; that gave closure; that gave finality. Lost was one of these. Six Feet Under was another. Angel, The Shield, and Dawson’s Creek were others.
This season Smallville ended. After ten seasons. It’s last episode, aptly titled “Final” was good – at times great – but it was never going to feel like a last episode, because this show was never about the ending, even though it was. We wanted to see Clark fly and whatnot, but in the end, it was always going to lead up to something else. It was always going to simply be a beginning.
Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana had a final, truncated season. It had its ups-and-downs. The show’s finale, “Wherever I Go,” manages the proper tasks mentioned above and saves the show from the uneven final season.
Here’s the thing. It turns out the show was about two girls. One was named Miley Stewart, and she had a secret. She was a pop star named Hannah Montana. This was driving force behind the show. Most of the plots revolved around this.
The show was also about another girl: Lily Trescott. She was the best friend of Miley, and she was always a part of these crazy adventures. She was also a part of the stuff that didn’t involve Hannah Montana, like dating and family problems. And this, as it turns out, is what the show was all about.
Four episodes before the show’s end, Miley revealed her secret to the world. The following three episodes addressed the fallout. The one-hour series finale involved one thing: two friends going their separate ways. And, make no mistake about it. Things don’t end happily ever after. This is Disney, so things were made to look that way, but re-watch that final scene. Get this: it never happened.
After an emotional goodbye at the airport (featuring an Emmy-worthy performance from Emily Osment), a montage shows the two girls on their own journeys. Miley is shooting a movie in France. Lily is getting situated at Stanford. The end of the montage has Miley on her balcony, deep in thought. We dissolve to the Stanford campus, where Miley shows up and tells Lily that she’s left her movie to go to college with her – her best friend. And, it’s this scene that never happened. It’s Miley’s wishful thinking. It’s what she wants to do but will never do. The two friends will always be friends but their lives have taken them to different places.
And, it’s this that makes the episode great for me. Instead of having the show’s final hour be about “the secret,” the showrunners decided to focus on the girls and their lives. We all had friends in high school. Some of us got to stay in touch with them. Most of us, though, had to say goodbye. “Wherever I Go” made the Disney Channel’s most ridiculous show real in the end, and that is quite the accomplishment.
2. “Entrada” (Fringe)
There has never been a more suspenseful opening to show. Peter finds out that the Olivia he’s been sharing a bed with for months is not the real Olivia. At first, he doesn’t know what to do. Then, he makes sure. Then, he tries to kill the imposter. But, she gets one over on him and escapes. This all happens before the first break. Amazing. Emmys for writing and directing, please.
1. “Homecoming” (Smallville)
“Finale” didn’t end up delivering the goods in the way this 200th episode did, but that’s fine. In fact, the series finale is still good and completely watchable, but it’s this episode in which Brainiac 5 takes Clark on a journey of self-discovery that reminded me why I watched the episode in the first place. It managed to do what older episodes used to do so well – tell human stories while taking the Superman-mythos a step further. Seeing the future in this episode paid off great in “Finale.” Clark and Lois slow-dancing in the barn was pitch-perfect. Bringing back the first villain from the first episode was masterful. Seeing Lois wanting so badly to fit in was enduring and made me love her even more. Throwbacks to the Torch and the Wall of Weird was awesome. And, explaining Clark’s state-of-mind over the show’s past few seasons made sense and took the character to his final passage. “Homecoming” compliments “Finale” but because it was not given the task of wrapping things up the way finales do, it had no real reason to fail. Unless it was poorly written and directed. Thankfully, it wasn’t. This was the finest episode of Smallville since season seven’s Lex-centric “Descent.” For that alone it belongs here. In other words, it made me the fan I was years ago and prepared me for the end.
Achieving that makes it great enough to top my list of the best episodes of the 2010/2011 TV season.
