Below, find my top ten episodes for the 2016-2017 television season, in no particular order. And good grief, there was a lot of good television.
The Good Place, "Jason Mendoza" - The finale episode is definitely more popular because of the famous twist, but my favorite surprise of the first season of "The Good Place" comes very early on, when we learn that Jianyu the silent monk is actually a Jacksonville bum named Jason Mendoza in disguise. Manny Jacinto's sweet, dopey performance is priceless, and Jason instantly became one of my favorite sitcom dumbbells of all time.
Legion, "Chapter 1" - What does a superhero show made by Noah Hawley look like? Absolutely nothing else on television. It takes a while to figure out what's going on in "Legion," specifically how to decode all the wild images we see representing David Haller's complicated psyche. It's the stuff of nightmares, and it's absolutely beautiful to take in. I chose the premiere for this because it does a fantastic job of setting the tone for the rest of the season.
Black Mirror, "San Junipero" - I'm glad "Black Mirror" has changed over time, exploring not just the bleak and horrific parts of humanity's relationship with modern technology, but some of the good bits too. "San Junipero" creates a chance for two women, played by Mackenzie Davis and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, to have the kind of relationship that they never had the chance to in real life, only to discover that love is a complex thing in any era and any circumstance.
The Handmaid's Tale, "Late" - The ins and outs of life in Gilead are revealed gradually over the course of the season. "Late" reveals how women's freedoms were eroded in the past, while June suffers a pregnancy scare in the present. We also learn how resistance in the Handmaids is brutally curbed when June and Emily transgress. The final moments of the episode, revealing the most extreme measures, are some of the most gutting of the entire series.
Fleabag, "Episode 6" - It was tough picking a standout episode for "Fleabag," but I couldn't pass up Godmother's "Sex-hibition" and its fallout. Fleabag has to confront everything she's been hiding from the audience for the past five episodes, revealing the pain that's been underneath her bad girl behavior the entire time. Phoebe Waller-Bridge excels here as both a writer and an actress, while giving everyone else around her their moments to shine.
Halt and Catch Fire, "The Threshold" - This is really Mackenzie Davis's year. The Mutiny storyline hits its climax after two years of buildup, and Davis is right at the center of it. Cameron and Donna's relationship has always had its ups and downs, but this time their goals have diverged to the point that the partnership - and the company - are no longer sustainable. And the speed at which things fall apart at Mutiny is heartbreaking to witness.
Westworld, "The Original" - I had a tougher time with the first season of "Westworld" than most, but I did unreservedly love the pilot, which sets out the tantalizing premise for the show. With only a hint at the very end about robot sentience, we're already in a very dark and dangerous place. The Westword park experience, even before things start to go wrong, reflects the darkest parts of human nature in such fascinating and prescient ways.
Better Call Saul, "Lantern" - I don't think that the show ever really recovered from the loss of Chuck, but he sure went out on a high. The end of the third season sees a lot of Jimmy's various schemes wrap up in ways that he didn't anticipate and can't fix. I also strongly considered "Chicanery" for the best episode of this season, since it has Chuck and Jimmy's big courtroom showdown, but "Lantern" feels more fitting for hammering home the tragedy.
Mr. Robot, "eps3.4_runtime-error.r00" - There were a string of excellent "Mr. Robot" episodes this year, the most ambitious being this one-take episode that watches a riot unfold at E Corp from the POVs of Elliot and Angela. There's some breathtaking editing and cinematography that rivals just about anything you could find in a theatrical feature, and the original broadcast on the USA Network even let it run without commercial interruption.
The Leftovers, "The Book of Nora" - If you want an explanation for the show's mysteries, one is provided. If you want a satisfying ending for the show's most memorable character, that's here too. And if you just want to spend more time in the inscrutable, unknowable world of "The Leftovers," where the point is that there will never be any concrete answers, somehow that's on the table too. And I couldn't think of a better finale for this unlikely show.
Honorable Mentions:
Stranger Things, "The Bathtub" - It didn't quite make the list, but the first season of "Stranger Things" was a whole lot of fun. "The Bathtub" stood out for showing how resourceful kids in the 80s got things done long before there was an internet.
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