The Best 100 Television Episodes of All Time

Written by Andreas Babiolakis

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No one watches television when they just get to one episode of a series, right? No. You try to watch a series in your own way: on a weekly basis, or a whole season in one day. Maybe you stop watching at a certain point. Perhaps you watch a few parts, not even in order, to get a feel of a show. You may have been given recommendations of where to start. Episodes are only parts of the experience of a series, and yet they can also carry their own weight. Terrible shows have had standout moments. Brilliant series have been bogged down by awful episodes. These snippets of bigger pictures have the power to keep you invested or alienate you enough to turn away.

As the first of the television-based lists I am making, these following one hundred episodes that are featured did the following: broke ground within their medium, reinvented what episodes could look like, or were dramatic and/or funny enough to resonate with audiences long term. Do these episodes work well on their own? Do they better the episodes around them? What makes these one hundred examples singular experiences? If you are a television junkie, then you may not be unfamiliar with the concept of marathoning through many entries, so strap on in and get ready for my selections of the best one hundred episodes in television history.

Some housekeeping before we continue. I haven't included any parts of miniseries, unless said miniseries is a part of a show that was already ongoing (like a continuation of an already existing series). I view most miniseries as their own pieces that are meant to be enjoyed in full. Furthermore, I’m not including any skits, since they aren’t episodes of their own but rather they are pieces of episodes; so no “Dead Parrot Sketch” or "Went with the Wind”, as much as I adore those (a quick shout out to Saturday Night Live’s “Celebrity Jeopardy" series which will always make me laugh, but, alas, this too doesn't qualify). Additionally, if an episode has multiple parts, all parts will be considered and included as one entry (specified where necessary). Otherwise, both comedies and dramas have been considered here, so you may find some sillier material right next to some of the heaviest episodes.

Finally, and I feel like this goes without saying, every single entry here can constitute as a spoiler of its respective series and episode. I have tried to be vague with most of these entries, excluding the top pick and a handful of others, but I still believe that any information at all can be labeled as a spoiler. Reader discretion is advised.

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Last Reminder That Every Entry Here Is A Potential Spoiler. Reader Discretion Is Advised.

100. “All in the Family”-ER

A lot of shows reveal their biggest hands during a Thanksgiving or Christmas episode. Well, ER wanted to drive the point of familial love home by slamming its card down on Valentine’s Day with “All in the Family”: a massive turning point well over one hundred episodes into the series. The sense of togetherness has been strongly established by now, and yet this revelatory hour still manages to make viewers feel extreme loss. These kinds of typical episodes are that set ER apart from similar episodic dramas of its time: the series knew how to handle both convention and sadness with the utmost sincerity.

99. “Homer’s Enemy”-The Simpsons

What happens when you place a regular American into the universe of The Simpsons? Frank Grimes happens, of course. “Homer’s Enemy” came at the perfect time: the final season of the series’ golden years, when the world was so in love with Homer and his family’s escapades that they felt untouchable. Would that really be the case if this were non-fiction? “Grimey” represents all of us, and was meant to be an actual callback to reality. Shortly after this iconic episode, The Simpsons would begin to outstay its prime (for decades, even). Maybe this should have been one of the final discussions of the matter; it would have been perfect.

98. “Barbershop”-Atlanta

All Paper Boi wanted was a haircut. Atlanta is fantastic at being able to create different vibes and universes within each episode, but “Barbershop” has to be its greatest joke, which takes up the length of an entire entry of its second season. With a half finished job, Alfred “Paper Boi” Miles is dragged across town from gig to gig, and each part of his unfortunate day gets more and more ridiculous. It’s a cauldron brimming with hysteria, and it feels completely unbelievable. It’s perfectly written comedy: we await the punchline, no matter what it could be, with open arms and dropped jaws. 

97. “Will Mary Richards Go to Jail?”-The Mary Tyler Moore Show

When one thinks of Mary Tyler Moore, they are reminded of wholesomeness and joy. Well, then there’s an episode where her character Mary Richards gets threatened to be tossed in the slammer. While not nearly as dark as it may seem (this is MTM Enterprises we’re talking about), “Will Mary Richards Go to Jail?” is less about the titular Mary Tyler Moore Show icon doing bad than it is about her sticking to her guns and for what’s right. Whether it’s how Richards represented women in the workplace, Tyler Moore embodied the warmth that the world needed, or how the “Go to Jail?” episode showcased the essential honesty in the newsroom, this half an hour can be labeled in this way: “a celebration of the truth”.

96. “The D.E.N.N.I.S. System”-It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

There may not be a more deplorable group than “the gang”, and one of the strongest cases of this is “The D.E.N.N.I.S. System”. Whether it’s Dennis Reynolds promoting gaslighting and the objectification of women, or the other members fighting for seconds and thirds, it’s not surprising how low the Philadelphia gang is willing to go. Everything converges into one of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s strongest climaxes: a series of unfortunate events that can only be described as “comeuppance”. While Reynolds was trying to pinpoint the human nature through male sexuality, the show reminded us that our species can be incredibly disgraceful when it devolves like this.

95. “The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice”-Moonlighting

When Moonlighting was in its prime, it became increasingly difficult to figure out which stand alone episodes were the series’ best. It may not hurt to go with the most obvious choice: “The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice”. It’s no secret that Maddie and David don’t always see eye-to-eye, and this episode is such a fun way to show that. Both of these detectives have their own versions of a truth revealed to them earlier that day, and thus they have conflicting dreams of what really happened (shot in black-and-white, of course). Many series have done the whole “different perspectives” shtick, but Moonlighting knew how to not take itself seriously with this, with enough winks to the audience that “The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice” is more of a riot than it is a beaten dead horse; the wheel feels reinvented here.

94. “Total Rickall”-Rick and Morty

Rick Sanchez manages to make the Smith family go through so many unthinkable scenarios, thanks to his ability to visit any parallel universe (or part of his own universe). In “Total Rickall”, we get a family bonding exercise unlike any other. Rick and Morty’s strongest episode is a realization that life isn’t all roses and daisies, and our fondest memories shine next to our worst recollections. It’s a dismal reality, but it’s one done hilariously well in the form of parasites that implant false histories into one’s mind: how can we kill those we remember lovingly? It’s a reminder that Rick and Morty is as much about the emotional part of one’s mind as it is the intellectual portion; it’s as existential as it can be.

93. “Mr. F”-Arrested Development

Arrested Development was always full of small gags hidden in the background of episodes, but “Mr. F” felt like a rare instance where the series shoved as much of its lunacy to the forefront as possible. We find out more about Rita — Michael Bluth’s new romantic interest — and that it may be a lot more information than anyone was prepared for. Meanwhile, the rest of the Bluth family and their idiocies collide in one of the series’ greatest payoffs (the top one is saved for later on in this list): it’s the kind of calamity that feels unbelievable (and yet there it is right in front of you). This one, truly, was for British eyes only.

92. “Home”-The X-Files

While the iconic sci-fi series was created to bring us to the outer limits of scientific capability (within our own reality, of course), The X-Files also highlighted the monstrosities of suburbia. “Home” is a highly disturbing affair, where The X-Files reminds you throughout the episode that this could only happen on Earth, and that there is a possibility that this was being carried out somewhere. It feels impossible. Surely there is no way. And yet our heads are shoved into the show’s most horrific storytelling. The truth is out there, but the darkest ideas are already amongst us.

91. “Chokin’ and Tokin’”-Freaks and Geeks

Only Freaks and Geeks can make a marijuana episode this meaningful. While Lindsay Weir is having a terrible trip, Bill Haverchuck is quite possibly on his deathbed after a terrible prank involving his peanut allergy. This is an interesting dichotomy, with Weir pondering how one could waste their life on drugs and a life on the verge of being wasted completely. The show goes the extra mile, with Haverchuck’s mom questioning her own substance usage whilst pregnant, and bully Alan White confessing how he always just wanted to fit in. This is a hell of a lot of substance in a tale that could have been preachy or thrown away.

90. “The Serenity Now”-Seinfeld

While Seinfeld was at its breaking point (a sitcom now into its ninth season, without Larry David around in any major capacity), they released one of the finest episodes about breaking points: “The Serenity Now”. No matter how many times you recite those two self-affirming words, there will always be thresholds. Kramer takes a while to crack. It takes George milliseconds in his parent’s house to burst. No matter how they snap, “The Serenity Now” has the show's fab four reach their limit in such unique ways. This was evidence that the show was still going strong, and that we had nothing to worry about in this final year (even if we never could compete with Lloyd Braun).

89. “Job Switching”-I Love Lucy

Lucy Ricardo may have been a little naive, but Lucille Ball was one of the sharpest minds in television. One season in and I Love Lucy was already breaking ground in a medium (television) that was only still finding its footing. The series kicked off its second year with a swapping of gender roles: the wives went to go work, while the husbands had to tend to the housework and cooking. Lucy gets into some more bonkers antics (particularly the iconic assembly line sequence), but it is her husband Ricky that comes off looking worse for not knowing basic fundamentals. Either way, “Job Switching” is a parade of laughs from start to finish.

88. “Pilot” Part 1 & 2-Lost

One of the strongest introductions to any series ever is the unforgettable opening to Lost: one of the rare times when the show (mostly) made sense on the first watch. This is a supreme episode of humans helping each other during the worst moment of their lives, with the then-largest set for any pilot in television history. Carnage and wreckage are everywhere. No one knew what was happening. When Lost first dropped and no one could predict what would come next, this placed every household in a space of vulnerability and devastation. With what we know now, the pilot remains a major highlight of this series: a kick off to one of TV’s craziest rides, and it all starts with perseverance.

87. “Point of View”-M*A*S*H

One of the reasons why M*A*S*H is such an untouchable comedy series is because of the countless risks it was willing to take, and “Point of View” is one of its finest gambles. Placing the viewer in the shoes of a fallen soldier during the Korean War provides a proper soul to a series that was often times goofy (but never insulting). We get to re-familiarize ourselves with characters we thought we knew like the backs of our hands by now: here was a new side of pop culture mainstays. It’s a tender half hour with jokes that were made out of love and care as opposed to the series’ typical buffoonery, and it all feels directed to you personally.

86. “eps3.4_runtime-error.r00”-Mr. Robot

If Mr. Robot was devoted towards hacking the way your mind works, then an episode like “eps3.4_runtime-error.r00” is one of the times this objective was more than fulfilled. This “one-shot” take plants us right in the middle of a city’s rebellious turmoil, and we somehow course through the many floors of this particular E Corp building. We hop from Elliot to Angela's points of view as Rome is burning. It's a technical achievement in one way, but Mr. Robot manages to go the distance with how much it tries to balance during this gimmick; this includes some of the most harrowing storytelling the series had to offer up to this point.

85. “Better Living Through TV”-The Honeymooners

While television was still in its infant stages, there was still room to comment on its idiosyncrasies. The Honeymooners does just that with “Better Living Through TV”: an opportunity to mock those that grace the small screen whilst showing ‘50s audiences a little bit of a peak behind the big curtain. When Ralph Kramden spends half an episode tooting his own horn, we know that this only spells disaster, and yet we are Ed: we still sit alongside him and want to see how this turns. This leads up to a lengthy payoff: an embarrassing case of the jitters that results in hilarious hysteria on live television.

84. “You’re Getting Old”-South Park

It’s extremely easy to pick and choose so many South Park episodes that I love personally (shout outs to “The Losing Edge” and the “Imaginationland” trilogy), but there is one episode I will fight for: a half-hour that I think deserves to be discussed amongst the all time great cases of television. As immature as “You're Getting Old" is (there are literally feces all over the screen at times), it is also a startling depiction of depression in the mind of a ten year old Stan (that anyone with mental health issues can identify with). Somehow, Trey Parker and Matt Stone capture the alienation that comes from sadness that so many other shows wouldn't dare touch, and suddenly South Park feels like one of the more cathartic animated series out there.

83. “A Spy for a Spy”-Get Smart

Of course Get Smart was always going to be fun, but “A Spy for a Spy” is so ridiculous that it almost feels like a Monty Python gig at times. How is it possible that a back-and-forth of kidnapped agents could result in an actual drought of people to steal? It's the kind of stupidity that only Maxwell Smart and Agent 99 would face, but in reality it was us too: how many espionage shows were being plastered onto stations and boiled down to mediocrity? How many shows — in recent years — have hopped from service to service (and channel to channel)? There is such a thing as over-saturation, and Get Smart figured out how to make it a riot.

82. “Crawl Space”-Breaking Bad

So much of Breaking Bad is built on the heels of anxiety, including characters almost being slain (or not being so lucky), plans failing, and other constant causes for panic. “Crawl Space” has to be one of the most suffocating experiences I've ever had watching a show. It’s bad enough that Hank Schrader has never seemed closer to discovering Walter White’s underworld second life, White feels like he is going to be murdered, and other close-calls are happening. Once White takes his plan B (the ability to go into hiding and start a new life elsewhere) and just needs to rescue the money stashed in the titular spot, only to discover that wife Skyler has actually given this money to help Ted (the same man that she cheated on Walt with), I don’t think I even breathed during this sequence. As Walt's brain finally cracks and we're staring at his corpse in the coffin of his own suburban home, there is no turning back.

81. “Sozin’s Comet” Parts 1-4-Avatar: The Last Airbender

Let people convince you that Avatar: The Last Airbender is a kid’s show. You won’t see much of the show’s glorious moments, especially the monumental four-part, hour-and-a-half opus of an episode. “Sozin’s Comet” is four equal parts of brilliance, much like its elements: part-shocking, part-triumphant, part-gorgeous, and part-philosophical. It's as natural of a resolution as it is an epic for animated television that may never be reached again (not in North America, anyway). Not often are realizations and turning points this breathtaking; the entire series builds up to this overwhelming final chapter that is guaranteed to bring tears to your eyes.

80. “Remedial Chaos Theory”-Community

I feel like Community was relatively hit or miss throughout its entire duration, but some select episodes stand out as the series’ strongest achievements. Without question, the show’s magnum opus is “Remedial Chaos Theory”, which includes all of the token oddities and metaphysical comedy that the series is known for (even with this in mind, this episode has the show’s style at its very best and wittiest). The hopping between different realities is crafted so perfectly that every single portion of the episode holds up as well as the other, and all of the little details make you want to revisit “Remedial Chaos Theory” to see how this narrative Rube Goldberg machine works. It’s Abed’s final realization that drives this story home: the ticks of all of us that are overlooked by the drives of others. It humanizes an otherwise postmodern experience.

79. “START”-The Americans

It feels almost sinful to chop up The Americans into any of its individual parts, since each and every portion of this Cold War series feels as important as the next. However, the finale “START” is more than just a fitting conclusion to one of the 2010’s greatest dramatic series. It sections itself off as a restart for the Jennings parents after their time in the United States was forced to come to a close. All of their work as spies was for nothing: they return no less important to their homeland than when they left and were promised to be heroes. Their daughter, Paige, faces the biggest identity crises of them all, and is also put in a difficult position: one that doesn’t feel shocking as a twist, but as an inevitable bullet having being bitten.

78. “The House on Willis Avenue”-The Rockford Files

To justify this two-parter, The Rockford Files went about making this two-partner storyline. Jim Rockford is joined by Richie Brockelman: a younger detective that treats this opportunity like any of us would (we’d likely pester Rockford to death to find out how he works). It's needed for this mega episode, especially to add a bit of a dichotomy to a show that was nearing the end of its fourth season by this point. We get what feels like a Rockford film: an hour and a half of crime solving, tire squealing, climax reaching goodness. Even if you have never seen an episode of this iconic series before, you can’t go wrong starting off with “The House on Willis Avenue”: a golden episode that stands on its own two feet.

77. “The Laws of Gods and Men”-Game of Thrones

By this point Game of Thrones was known for its violence, its sex, and its shocking deaths (any of our beloved characters could die). Most of us were expecting Tyrion Lannister to get his during “The Laws of Gods and Men”, as he was blamed for the death of King Joffrey. If anything, we got an even bigger surprise this late into the series’ run: an ending monologue for the annals of television history. The entire episode builds up to this eruption from a character that served as comedic relief and a source of charm amidst ugliness: a lone wolf who wouldn't take it anymore. Once our jaws were off of the floor, I think all of us could admit that Game of Thrones was as brilliant of a drama as it was a fantasy epic.

76. “The $99,000 Answer”-The Honeymooners

Ralph Kramden can’t get any respect (we can see why throughout The Honeymooners, to be fair), so he feels that being a huge winner on a game show is the way to go; now everyone will see him as the brilliant person that he feels he is. He prepares and prepares, but nothing could prepare us for his now-iconic final answer: a slip up that is teased throughout the episode and actually happens. “The $99,000 Answer” married the rise of game shows with the foolishness of everyone's then-new favourite family; let's just hope other dreamy-eyed viewers haven't followed suit in getting their television ambitions this squashed.

75. “Hello, Elliot”-Mr. Robot

In a series with such an unreliable narrator (no perspective is as skewed as Elliot Alderson’s), you can't even trust Mr. Robot until the final ten minutes, but what a glorious ten minutes those were: a mind-and-eye-opening spectacle that will make you spill your heart and gush with tears. After four seasons of sectioned-off trauma and unorthodox coping mechanisms, “Hello, Elliot" was as cathartic as can be. With an abstract first half and an even-more-unbelievable final portion, “Hello, Elliot" is as emotional as Mr. Robot was ever capable of; luckily the show went the complete distance.

74. “Chasing Ghosts”-The Shield

If “Family Meeting” was the coup de grâce of The Shield and all of the relationships within it, then “Chasing Ghosts” was one of the series’ finest moments of confrontation beforehand. Six seasons into this gritty show containing corruption of the highest order, and we finally get these bouts of comeuppance and guilt. As distanced viewers that can’t find anything redeemable in the majority of the Barn’s main squad, this is a thrilling hour of television that leave us in pure amazement. From this episode onward, no one is untouchable, and there is far more danger in The Shield — already a vicious show — than ever before.

73. “A Most Powerful Adversary”-The Leftovers

By now, Kevin Garvey is beyond his threshold of being able to deal with his visions of Patti Levin, and he is being led down a road of being irreparable. His decisions are dire, but we can see where he’s coming from. We follow “A Most Powerful Adversary” towards its end with complete faith and hope that things will finally resolve, when we reach the cliffhanger of all cliffhangers: an image you’ll never be able to get out of your head. What did this mean in the moment? Now we really haven’t a clue as to where The Leftovers would go from here. To set up an episode as breathtaking as “International Assassin”, you needed that justification, and “A Most Powerful Adversary” was the biggest leap The Leftovers had at that point (it was the first of many to come).

72. “Over the River and Through the Woods”-The Bob Newhart Show

It’s a guy’s night out in this Bob Newhart Show classic, as Dr. Hartley has all of his male buds over for a Thanksgiving without Emily. Of course, we can only assume that “Over the River and Through the Woods” will result in some sort of a disaster, but the episode goes through various avenues of drunken calamity to get to its messy conclusion: an event that was destined to collapse. What we didn’t know, maybe, was how much this episode would stick out amidst the Bob Newhart Show canon: it’s an opus half hour that even non-seasoned TV fans are highly aware of, as it set the bar whilst distancing itself.

71. “That’s My Dog”-Six Feet Under

Typically, polarizing things will have people that love them as much as people despise them; you won’t find much grey area here. So, when it comes to “That’s My Dog”, I’m definitely in the “love” section. To me, this episode stood out: the first time that we really separate from the majority of the Fisher family and focus on one member (David) during his worst moments. In a show that focuses on death, we feel like we are out of control in this one-off vehicle, and anything can happen. Clean, orthodox David receives a tour through hell that highlights the themes of Six Feet Under in our faces as much as possible. “That’s My Dog” helps elevate the show’s weakest season by giving it a major reason to exist.

70. “It May Look Like a Walnut”-The Dick Van Dyke Show

A man wakes up to find that the only foods left on Earth are walnuts. He begins to lose his thumbs, and he will soon have to rely on glasses of air to keep going. Yes. You read this correctly. This isn’t The Twilight Zone, but The Dick Van Dyke Show instead. This sci-fi excursion features some of the most fun moments this sitcom ever had, especially considering how far the gang were willing to go as these hyperboles of themselves in “It May Look Like a Walnut”: the oddest half hour in an otherwise down-to-earth comedy classic.

69. “Love’s Labor Lost”-ER

When handling the biological machines that make up human beings, you can be presented with something as poignant as it is devastating. The greatest ER hour is “Love’s Labor Lost”, when the circle of life is met in the only way it can be within the titular emergency room: one soul dies, and another is born. Even if you can expect that this will happen, ER goes about its twists of fate really poetically as a reminder that it's the kind of episodic drama that didn’t forgo any of its spirit for quantity and viewership; what could have been gimmicky instead feels raw and unforgettable, even if you were to never watch another episode of ER again.

68. “Waterloo”-Mad Men

Halfway through the final season of Mad Men came “Waterloo”. As much as I love the finale “Person to Person” and how it works as an epilogue for Don Draper’s legacy (as well as the final twist that changes the tone of the entire series in hindsight), “Waterloo” is the strongest achievement in this last hurrah of a season, especially with the highlighting of the show’s strength in historical accuracy and linearity. When the lives of the souls in Man Men get wrapped up in the Apollo lunar landing, we say farewell to the series’ timeline in the ‘60s. We say goodbye to Bertram Cooper in his own interesting way. This is a finale before a finale and the kind of kick to the gut that we weren’t expecting; it was also one hell of a note to be left with while we waited a year for the rest of the seventh season.

67. “Grace Under Pressure”-Hill Street Blues

Dealing with death is a difficult thing to do in general. When a performer of a show passes, there are many obstacles that a series and its cast and crew face: coping with this loss of a family member, having to reconfigure everything around this unfortunate event, and more. “Grace Under Pressure” was a tribute to Sergeant Esterhaus (played by the late Michael Conrad) in the kind of way that only Hill Street Blues could. Crime goes on, just like life. The spirit of Esterhaus lingers on amidst those within the precinct throughout this episode, and it’s a gorgeous memorial as well as a flat out powerful episode overall.

66. “That Day”-Attack on Titan

As covered in the introduction, some series are nearly impossible to dissect into individual parts. Attack on Titan feels like a major example, where nearly every episode is monumental (especially because of how they feed off of each other); even the recent episode “Two Brothers” left me speechless. One episode that stands out and can serve as at least a major highlight of the show is “That Day”: a flashback episode (of sorts) that helps a show of gargantuan proportions become a modern slice of mythology. It feels like its its own miniature film: a prologue of the decades of misery to come. It's equal parts beautiful and harrowing.

65. “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street”-The Twilight Zone

So many horror stories that rely on revelatory endings fall into the deus ex machina trap: nonsensical conclusions that spoil everything that came before. What makes “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” special is that everything before its twist still matters. Here is an observation of how humans deal with mass hysteria during times of confusion, and it didn’t really matter what came last. This alone was fascinating to watch. What would happen? Would everything be okay? The big reveal in this Twilight Zone classic matters, yes, but it wouldn’t make as big of a splash if the rest of the episode was botched. This is a masterclass in writing, and this is how you build up to a surprise.

64. “Exodus” Parts I & II-Battlestar Galactica

The first part of this Battlestar Galactica double feature is a strong build up; while it is the second episode that truly shines, it needed to get there with the necessary exposition. At this point, things are getting really dire on the Galactica, especially since New Caprica didn’t work out as planned. That's the key: these two parts work in tandem, with “Exodus Part I” being the rise in disappointment and “Part II” being the quest for glory and triumph. With a show that already deals with actual filmic parts (especially how the entire series kicks off), “Exodus" may actually have these flicks beat. 

63. “The Judgment” Parts 1 & 2-The Fugitive

Let's argue that you didn't have time to watch all of the classic ‘60s classic series. Let’s also toss in a variable: you don't have access for the great Harrison Ford adapted film either. I honestly feel like getting by with just the two part finale — “The Judgment” — works “although I can’t recommend the entire show enough. In this hour and a half, we finally get to see Dr. Kimble get some sort of a break, even in the middle of some cinematic dread and thrills. You may be able to see where this goes from a mile away, but that doesn't matter. “The Judgement" is comeuppance, justice, and elation on top of double takes: are we finally safe? 

62. “All the Bells Say”-Succession

The most recent episode on this list is only a couple of months old, but it’s hard to shake off “All the Bells Say” as much as it is to ignore Succession (which is not only one of the best shows of our time but is currently on route to being one of the best of all time). We’ve been blindsided by the series before, especially during season finales (as you’ll see later on in this list), but this one felt especially spiteful. Now, Kendall Roy isn’t the only descendant being decimated by his power-hungry tyrant of a father, with Siobhan and Roman having been burned just as badly (with Kendall having to say “I told you so”). Season three was supposed to be his. Instead, we’re reminded that Logan will always win, and his children will forever face death and inevitable debts (of many sorts).

61. “The Germans”-Fawlty Towers

Fawlty Towers wasn’t known for its subtlety, right? In its finest episode, Basil Fawlty is all on his own and trying to keep his loopy hotel business up and running. Easily the most audacious and offensive snippet of the series, “The Germans” is a parade of gasps and laughs in a linear fashion; turn your head away, and you’ll miss something equally as shocking. I feel that any of these moments would serve as the final punchlines of episodes of other shows. Not here, when Basil Fawlty leads a miasma of a life full of misery. Sit back and enjoy his woes.

60. “Discos and Dragons”-Freaks and Geeks

It’s sad that Freaks and Geeks ended so prematurely, but "Discos and Dragons” was likely the best way it could have concluded. So many futures are up in the air, but not in any worrisome way. Who will be deemed “cool” after this? What fates lay before these younglings after the destruction of their comfort zones? Is someone who ditches an academic summit to go tour with the Dead enjoying life any more than someone who is hanging on to the last dregs of disco? Or those that discover the endlessness of Dungeons & Dragons? We don’t get complete closure with this finale, but enough to feel satisfied; furthermore, the eternity of life is felt here, as the sky is the limit and people drift apart.

59. “Beyond Life and Death”-Twin Peaks

Before Twin Peaks came back in its masterful third season, audiences were left with a cliffhanger for the ages at the tail end of “Beyond Life and Death”: an Agent Cooper doppelgänger smashing his had against a mirror and laughing hysterically with blood cascading down his face. What came before made even less sense on the first watch: the largest connection we made with The Black Lodge. David Lynch and Mark Frost were forced to abide by network stipulations before, and their vision felt squashed (especially considering that the majority of the second half of season two of Twin Peaks is easily its low point), but this was their way of making their declaration. Should Twin Peaks get cancelled, they could at least go out with a bang. Nothing here was wrapped up. Twin Peaks was as mind boggling as it ever was (if not more).

58. “Lamb to the Slaughter”-Alfred Hitchcock Presents

If you are unfamiliar with this iconic episode, being told that Alfred Hitchcock and Roald Dahl are a match made in heaven would likely throw you in for a loop. Dahl’s famous murderous short story is the perfect tale to adapt for Alfred Hitchcock Presents, especially because both men love having a twist of slyness amidst their thrills and chills. There isn't really much of a twist here, since we are in on the crime, but seeing the aftermath unfurl is quite a treat; consider that the dessert to one of TV’s most fascinating dinners, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents’ greatest triumph.

57. “Free Churro”-Bojack Horseman

Don’t partake in a schtick if you can’t make it land. Then again, going the distance can also set the bar at a whole new level. The vast majority of “Free Churro” is Bojack Horseman eulogizing his dead mother in his own way: disastrously, yet with some accidental existential poeticism. For twenty or so minutes — sans the opening — we see Horseman at the biggest stage he’s been granted (arguably for the whole series), at the foot of the casket of a parent he didn't love but couldn’t shake off. It’s a powerful episode that may have you fighting back tears. This is when Bojack Horseman reminds you that it is also capable of comedy gold, with one of the strongest punchlines in recent memory; you can’t have darkness without light, right?

56. “Felina”-Breaking Bad

How could any show follow up after an episode like “Ozymandias”? Well, Breaking Bad was somehow able to come back for more in its series finale “Felina”: an epilogue that concludes one of television’s greatest series with as much oomph as it began. Walter White is so detached from the double life he once led (as a teacher and father with cancer, and as drug mastermind Heisenberg). All of that is gone. He is only a ghost walking amongst us. Death is all he knows. He revisits his former stomping grounds to give all (that he can) a final farewell. This includes a proper admission of his obsessions, and a sacrifice to help Jesse: the one life he ruined the most. Many viewers thought this was all a vision; they couldn’t accept Breaking Bad at its most poetic.

55. “Long Term Parking”-The Sopranos

Who would have suspected that a show about gangsters would deal with midlife crises (especially this well)? Towards the end of its fifth season, The Sopranos delivers “Long Term Parking”: a series of personal and confrontational revelations, and it contains some of the show’s greatest connections of heart and mind. The Sopranos was groundbreaking for how many barriers it broke on television: what taboos can be shown, how cinematic TV can be, and more. However, episodes like “Long Term Parking” also showcase how deep it was willing to go: another attribute that many shows have tried to mimic since. There is no excitement, danger, or freshness without strong fundamentals.

54. ”What is…Cliff Clavin?”-Cheers

Jeopardy! is one of the toughest game shows out there, so anyone like Cliff Clavin winding up on it should be counting their blessings when every category is a part of their wheelhouse. Of course Cheers is the kind of show that celebrates failure as much as it does success (it kind of makes its name ironic in that way), and “What is… Cliff Clavin?” is one of the finest hours of the ball being dropped. The episode isn't finished when the famous postal worker completely bombs during Final Jeopardy, so it’s not quite a pessimistic episode. Instead, it wraps up at the stalemate: a celebration of the mundane and unaffected. That’s as Cliff Clavin as television — game show or sitcom — can be.

53. “Life Time”-M*A*S*H

The 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital know how to goof around quite well, but they also recognize when time is of the essence, and that every second is pertinent. “Life Time” is an early case of a television episode that involves its audience in a shared experience pertaining to the usage of real time. Two lives are on the line in these harrowing twenty minutes, and our favourite medical team don’t have much room to spare to make their important decisions. The episode actually features a ticking clock to remind us of what exactly is going on; it’s one of the only good instances of clock-watching during a fantastic episode of television.

52. “30”-The Wire

For years, I felt like The Wire concluded well enough to have ended on a high note, but that’s about it. “30” is the kind of finale that really reveals its true impact when it lingers within your soul. This is it, and yet crime will forever keep going. We've seen the horizon ahead (quite literally with a fantastic shot towards the end of the episode), but the line is drawn here for us. We know that only so much was resolved with Detective McNulty and friends, and we can only imagine what comes next. Without having to cut to black and separate us from the story completely (sorry to point fingers here), The Wire still lets us know that we are no longer a part of the ride, but it does so elegantly: with a final breath, and a divergence that acknowledges that we will never meet again in any capacity (except the permanence of the evils in the show that will long outlive us all).

51. “The Doll”-Curb Your Enthusiasm

There are far too many awful things that Larry David has done in Curb Your Enthusiasm (unless you condone his alienating behaviour), so trying to pick his worst deed is futile. In terms of the best Curb episode overall, I have to go with “The Doll”: an example of the show at its very peak, regarding its amalgamation of every storyline before it crescendos into an anxious nightmare of comedy. Why David would be getting in trouble with a child's doll (at least not for "some voodoo shit”, at least) just seems so silly to think about, and yet here we are. The hysteria in Curb Your Enthusiasm has never been better, and David’s shenanigans feel extra stupid here.

50. “Everybody Tells The Truth”-All in the Family

What on Earth is Archie Bunker thinking? That’s often the question I have when I watch All in the Family. Well, here is an opportunity to get that answer with “Everybody Tells The Truth”, when we have a dysfunctional dinner with the titular gang. Archie swears he was an angel during an earlier series of confrontations, but son-in-law Mike and wife Edith tell a different story. This is a roulette of perspectives, without any real certainty of the truth (outside of the worst overreaction to a Swiss army knife ever). Luckily we’re not in Archie’s head for long in “Everybody Tells the Truth”, as we dip our toes in each testimony for long enough to experience the lunacies of the Bunkers and Stivics.

49. “Silence”-Death Note

Death Note would take a slight tumble after “Silence”, but this risk pays off greatly in one of the greatest episodes in anime history. By now, Light is beyond public enemy number one. It's crunch time, and we don’t know what’s going to happen during “Silence”, especially since there is still a number of episodes left in the series. Will there be a copout of a confrontation? Not exactly. With the biggest sacrifice of the whole show — a jaw dropping loss that makes Death Note feel entirely hopeless with how evil has won — “Silence” provides the largest shock in a series that took pleasure in cliffhangers, twists, and tricks.

48. “Chicanery”-Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul has gotten hideous by now, with Jimmy McGill doing as much as possible to save his own skin (while brother Chuck feels like he is doing God’s work by destroying Jimmy’s legal career). The rising point of this feud is reached in “Chicanery”, when the climax is Jimmy and Chuck stabbing each others backs with the utmost deception (you can tell this comes from a deep place of corrupted love). For me, Better Call Saul is more of a fluid, unified experience than Breaking Bad, so picking out specific episodes feels a bit wrong, but “Chicanery” is so explosive and so massive that it can hang out with some of the finer moments of the latter masterwork.

47. “Sold Under Sin”-Deadwood

I will forever be bothered that Deadwood couldn’t conclude as nicely as it should have (one of the rare HBO masterpieces to be cut off early), as nice as season three was (I’m aware of the film as well, but am discussing its initial run). If there was any strong sense of closure, it was in “Sold Under Sin”: the bombastic season one finale. From the opening episode, you know that there is a storm brewing that is waiting to crack. There are too many bubbling resentments and dagger-eyed glances for there to be neutrality. “Sold Under Sin” explodes in the only reasonable way that these tensions can, and it feels like the kind of dangerous episode you signed up for with a western show named Deadwood. It’s the best ending (of any sort) the show ever served up.

46. “The Outing”-Seinfeld

When Seinfeld was at its peak, it felt unstoppable, no matter what Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld wanted to comment on. In “The Outing”, they tackled the backward ways that society was then still dealing with personal and private matters like sexual preference. After a joke backfires, Jerry and George are suddenly the new gay couple of New York (not that there’s anything wrong with that), and this revelation is spreading faster than the hysterical laughter can follow behind. It’s an episode that feels like it is firing on all cylinders for the entire duration, and it handles its touchy subject matter incredibly well (when other heavy handed series would feign sincerity and only be even more tone deaf).

45. “Shut the Door. Have a Seat.”-Mad Men

One of the first major shifts in Mad Men’s story is the conception of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, and everything looks like it’s going up for old Don Draper. This is the American Dream. This is success. Things always turn out okay. On the contrary, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Back home, Don has learned that things are going to also change between him and his wife Betty, and the Draper household is going to be divided for good amidst this solidified divorce. Don lives elsewhere now. His kids will be taken care by hired housekeepers. In a show that highlights the superficialities of appearances (particularly through the dishonesty of advertisements), “Shut the Door. Have a Seat.” grants us a peek behind success; oftentimes, life is just as hard as it ever was.

44. “Cape Feare”-The Simpsons

Of the classic Simpsons episodes that often get brought up, I have to go with “Cape Feare" as the winner. It somehow predicted meme culture and online absurdity well before any of that was even a remote possibility (unless it was episodes like this that influenced the computer dwellers that would then shape the internet, which is entirely possible). It’s evidence that the writing team for The Simpsons could get away with anything during their prime, including — and not limited to — a musical number that completely derails evil plans for the stupidest of reasons. Reason didn't matter when The Simpsons could rally countless jokes at once and introduce a new level of comedy to you on a weekly basis; “Cape Feare” happens to be one of the strongest parade of jokes in the show's history.

43. “Revelations”-Battlestar Galactica

During Battlestar Galactica’s final season, there was a pause that halted what was to come. Though initially unintended, “Revelations” serves as a fantastic midway finale spectacle, and is easily one of the most harrowing episodes of the entire series (hell, of television period). If “Exodus” was the uncovering of a failed plan, then “Revelations” is that in spades, especially if Earth itself is an abandoned wasteland of a planet (this was the main objective of the entire series, after all). To be left with such hopelessness before the series continued months later feels painful, but it made that quest for the last shreds of preservation all the more sweeter. In “Revelations”, Battlestar Galactica finally brought its tales to familiar territories, only to foretell our own dismal fates.

42. “Stress Relief” Part 1 & 2-The Office (U.S.)

The American version of The Office is full of emotional resonance, but it’s good to give a shoutout to its funniest episode(s): “Stress Relief”. The cold open is by far the greatest joke that the show (and Dwight Schrute, I suppose) pulled: pure manic lunacy to the point of accidental near fatality). This obviously leads to a necessary look at the handling of crises and stress, but you can only assume that the Dunder Mifflin troupe is going to go about this poorly under Michael Scott’s management (spoiler alert: it's a disaster). I firmly believe that there are two parts because “Stress Relief” was guaranteed to be a smash hit that could have gone on forever, and twenty minutes for this comedic genius just wasn’t enough; Dunder Mifflin’s anguish is our life-force.

41. “Subway”-Homicide: Life on the Street

Homicide: Life on the Street felt like the voices of those that were never heard before in other crime shows (outside of maybe Hill Street Blues). Then, there's the peak episode “Subway", where a man is literally hanging on for dear life while wedged between a track and a subway train (the worst position to be grilled in). As Detective Frank Pembleton opens up to this unfortunate soul and offers to hear him out amidst his grievances and rage, it's as if a whole new side of the crime drama was exposed to us: the ability to experience entire lifetimes within characters who were usually crafted for narrative fodder. “Subway" is candid yet dangerous, and it’s like feeling all of life happen at once.

40. “That’s My Boy??”-The Dick Van Dyke Show

There’s something about a show involving entertainment writers that places this expectation on the show’s storytelling capabilities itself. Well, “That’s My Boy??” is the magnum opus of The Dick Van Dyke Show, as if this was the end result of a long night writing session by Rob Petrie and company. As Rob discusses the day his wife, Laura, gave birth and how he read enough signs that their baby was swapped with another couple’s upon delivery, we already know that this is hogwash, given the warning at the beginning of this flashback. However, there's something about Rob’s insistence that tugs you along until you reach one of sitcom history's finest punchlines: a point of no return in Rob’s conspiracies.

39. “Charlie Work”-It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is a comedy that relishes in taboos and crossing comfort zones, but the gang can also create incredible one off episodes; the moving “Mac Finds His Pride”; the uproarious rounds of Chardee MacDennis; the stupid creative touches in the Lethal Weapon remakes. “Charlie Work" is a single-take stroke of genius that has subplots and intricately timed steps towards pending payoffs lingering in the background of Charlie’s anxious pleasing of the health inspector (during one of the most disastrous "schemes" in Paddy's history). “Charlie Work" is a technical achievement, yes, but it is also a thoroughly engaging episode, and a great opportunity to see Charlie finally kicking some ass at what he does best.

38. “Two Cathedrals”-The West Wing

While I do think The West Wing has aged decently but perhaps not quite as well as other similar dramas of the ‘90s and the aughts, there's no denying that “Two Cathedrals" is one of the most ferociously captivating episodes ever shown. While President Bartlet has to make a conscious decision about an upcoming term whilst staring death in the face (and his own developing multiple sclerosis), we’re spotting other qualms in the present and looking backward simultaneously; life is so finicky that we can never appreciate what we have now because of our constant battles, and the tiny shreds of joy and reason become the foundations of our memories. Bartlet learns this, and wraps up the episode with some of Aaron Sorkin’s most overwhelming pacing: a triumphant nod that speaks volumes more than any monologue ever could.

37. “Teddy Perkins”-Atlanta

Atlanta is untouchable with how idiosyncratic each episode feels; each entry is of the Atlanta universe, and yet they can exist entirely on their own tonally, aesthetically, and thematically. Knowing this, “Teddy Perkins” still stands out so much as the greatest episode of the series, and the one that holds its own stature by far. It feels like a modern-day Twilight Episode classic or something Alfred Hitchcock would have approved of. If I tried to break the rules a little bit and considered “Teddy Perkins” a horror short, it would be one of the best of its decade. As an episode, it’s just as strong: a shocking conclusion after heartbreaking commentary and some brilliant tension.

36. “Pier Pressure”-Arrested Development

When I make these lists, I try to be as objective as possible. I want to discuss some subjectivity here. I will likely forever find “Pier Pressure" to be the funniest episode I’ve ever seen. There's something about the involvement of Walter Weatherman to permanently scar the Bluth children into performing small lifestyle changes that sends me rolling already, but then the build up to the bonkers dock sequence that will never get old for me. Objectively, I still think this is Arrested Development at its finest, particularly the opportunities to see the uncomfortable dynamics between characters (like GOB trying to get George Michael to help him score some marijuana) and the many misunderstandings that only this show could pull off as effortlessly as it did in its prime.

35. “Pilot”-Twin Peaks

I find it very difficult to not fall in love with great series finales (as you can tell, there are many on this list). However, I think an iconic (not good, but specifically iconic) pilot is even more difficult to pull off; how do you start off so well that this introduction holds up with the rest of a series? I’ll go as far to say that Twin Peaks’ pilot episode may be the very best there ever was. It felt like another masterful David Lynch feature film, only this time there was the promise that more would come. The handling of Laura Palmer's death is graceful, affecting, eerie, and haunting. The introduction to the titular town rendered this fictional space instantly unforgettable. From the high angled shot of the ceiling fan in the Palmer household, to the nightmarish final images, you just knew that television was going to be changed forever.

34. “Crossroads” Part 1 & 2-Battlestar Galactica

For those that haven’t seen the iconic series, they may assume that Battlestar Galactica is bird-feeder science fiction. Even if they're dead wrong in this respect, there's something fascinating about how the best episode of the series is a straight up courtroom drama: the incriminating trial of Dr. Balta and all of those who will get hit with the shrapnel on the sidelines. The two parter “Crossroads" really does feel like the culmination of every devious detail and hidden secret that we have learned so far in the series, and all of the debates and revelations that spill all over the floor feel like a list of reasons why Battlestar Galactica is a legitimately noteworthy television show even outside of its science fiction label.

33. “Goodbye, Michael”-The Office (U.S.)

It goes without saying, but I think that most of us can agree that The Office should have ended with this gorgeous episode: one that transcends the comedy label and has entered the great episodes conversation. “Goodbye, Michael” is a tremendous love letter to one of television’s loveliest misfits. Seeing everyone’s warmth for the delightfully-idiotic Michael Scott is one thing, but noticing that he has grown as a human being and no longer loves himself more than everything is the real high point. His final exchanges with each fellow employee are unforgettable, and the series has one more nod to its British counterpart: a moment where the mics are gone, and a conversation is had in silent, without us to ever find out its contents (as the coup de grâce, the American Office made a magical moment even better).

32. “This is Not for Tears”-Succession

I don't like cutting up Succession, especially since nearly every single episode is as great as the last; the series is predominantly driven by how it misleads its audience, and it needs every piece to do this again and again (I’m still recovering from “All the Bells Say”). However, I must shout out at least one episode, and it has to be "This is Not for Tears”, maybe especially because Kendall Roy’s masterplan was a complete failure. I feel like the slow burn calculations to make Kendall the sacrificial lamb for Waystar is so riveting alone, but it's the final trick that knocked me out of my chair, impossible to fathom what I had just witnessed; even an entire season later, and I still can’t believe how well “This is Not for Tears” was pulled off.

31. “Who Shot Mr. Burns?” Part 1 & 2-The Simpsons

While many may not agree (it's hard when The Simpsons have literally hundreds of episodes and eight years of pure gold), I have to crown "Who Shot Mr. Burns?” the best Simpsons hour. It wrapped up one season with a study on the numerous suspects in the assassination attempt of Montgomery Burns (who desired to block out the sun, may I remind you), and this was before the beloved members of Springfield were reduced to stereotypical rehashing. The second part is the aftermath, with everyone trying to figure out who literally tried to kill Mr. Burns; audiences were asked to take part in a guessing contest during the show's downtime. This season premiere was so unpredictable that no one guessed correctly (I dare not spoil it, even decades later).

30. “An Old-Fashioned Wedding”-Cheers

As great as the Cheers super finale is (and it is great), my personal favourite of the mega episodes is the one with Woody Boyd and Kelly Gaines’ wedding. Carla feistily refers to the daily horoscope and declares that this is the wrong day to get married, and all will fail. Cheers hangs on by mere threads during “An Old-Fashioned Wedding”, and it is some of the most unhinged comedy the sitcom ever had to offer. With mess after mess, Sam Malone and company create their own fires when trying to put out other embers. Carla was wrong: this was the perfect day for a Cheers wedding.

29. “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen”-M*A*S*H

While not the best finale of all time, M*A*S*H’s “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” set the standard for what a best finale could look like (and it held this title for years). Before it, shows wrapped up on emotional notes, bangs, or unresolved (due to cancellations). M*A*S*H ended how it all began: a feature film that toyed between comedy and drama. However, this two hour finale is actually better than its source material, with a tragic storyline involving Hawkeye’s trauma, Father Mulcahy's developing deafness, BJ erroneously being told he is receiving an early discharge, and much more; all amidst the eventual end of the Korean War. Before we have a lengthy goodbye, we see these sitcom legends going through their worst hells, and it was the final risk the legendary M*A*S*H accomplished.

28. “Lonely Souls”-Twin Peaks

“It’s happening again”. No one wanted to hear these words in Twin Peaks, especially since we’ve seen the downward spiral that has happened after Laura Palmer’s death, and yet here we are. Considering that David Lynch and Mark Frost were pressured into revealing who killed Laura Palmer this early on, I have to say that they handled this adversity so well, considering “Lonely Souls” wound up one of the best episodes of the series (as opposed to the one that would drive it into the ground). The murder is heartbreaking to witness, but finding out who actually is responsible for these deaths (outside of BOB, of course) is even more devastating. If the pilot episode hit us with the shock of a mysterious death, “Lonely Souls” let us know what the town experienced when familiar faces are murdered and those we love the most are responsible.

27. “The Rains of Castamere”-Game of Thrones

If there was an episode that placed Game of Thrones on the map as the show to watch right then and there, it would be “The Rains of Castamere” (also known as “the one with The Red Wedding”). It didn’t matter if you were caught up or even know that the show existed: you found out about the mass slaughtering of the Stark family. The world of television honestly stopped, and everyone had to find out if this was a common occurrence (the faithful viewers knew it was). Suddenly, a new water cooler show was born. Even after this episode, no twist in Game of Thrones felt quite as good as the one in “The Rains of Castamere”: a major turning point for this HBO classic.

26. “All Alone”-Six Feet Under

A quick shoutout to “Ecotone”: the revelatory Six Feet Under episode that sets up the series’ biggest blow with Nate Fisher’s eventual passing. “All Alone” is a followup, and it feels like we should have expected it from the very first episode of the series: death can come at any moment. Even still, we don’t feel prepared for it, and neither do the Fishers, who don’t have Nate’s yang to balance out with David’s yin this time around. While Nate was the outlier who left the funeral home business before his father’s own death, it now feels like he was the glue that kept the family together, as each Fisher and loved one reevaluate their own places in the world after one of television history’s hardest losses.

25. “Through the Looking Glass” Part 1 & 2-Lost

There was a moment where Lost was just about to make sense, and it was towards the end of its third season. At a time when the series was going to forgo having too many episodes per season immediately afterward, audiences needn’t fear when this concern of quantity-over-quality was put to rest with the double episode “Through the Looking Glass”: a resolution whose only sense of true finality is how swiftly it can rip the rug from underneath you. With one of the biggest twists in television history, “Through the Looking Glass” is a huge dose of devastation, anxiety, and tension in a series that usually took pride in its uncertainty.

24. “College”-The Sopranos

The Sopranos was always going to be the next big show, and everyone knew that as soon as it began; its crossing of many boundaries ensured us that television was advancing at lightning speeds. However, it didn’t take long at all for us to know that the series was going to become one of the greatest; it was only five episodes in when “College" happened. A masterclass of juxtaposition (between both Tony and Carmela Soprano’s nerve-wracking storylines) and tension, “College” was immediate whiplash in the HBO series that was only just getting started. There's no way anything fatal could have happened to our stars this early in, and yet it feels like it could have anyway, thanks to the nauseatingly hectic pacing and storytelling here. No one could doubt The Sopranos after this episode.

23. “International Assassin”-The Leftovers

Even though we knew Damon Lindelof from Lost, his masterpiece The Leftovers never really went into unorthodox territory until “International Assassin”: the greatest David Lynch creation not by David Lynch. We don’t even know where Kevin Garvey is after “A Most Powerful Adversary” (I mean, he basically died, we think). Is this where the departed have gone? Is this all a dream? Are we in Kevin’s head as he is dying? It barely matters because of how mind-blowing this alternate universe (or mindset) is. This escape from reality is an astonishing accomplishment in television, and one whose legacy hasn’t been fully met yet; I can only foresee “International Assassin” growing in stature in years time.

22. “Nightmare at 20’000 Feet”-The Twilight Zone

Often referenced and imitated but never bested, “Nightmare at 20’000 Feet” is a major highlight of The Twilight Zone, and quite possibly its most anxious episode. We feel all of Robert Wilson’s fears as he stares at this monster on the wing of the plane he is currently traveling in. No one else can tell that this antagonizer is here. Only Wilson senses this danger, and no one believes him. This is anxiety personified: a representation of a fruitless battle that no one will treat seriously as we suffer alone. Artistically mystifying and narratively sharp, “Nightmare at 20’000 Feet” feels like a horror staple of television that will forever be unmatched.

21. “Face Off”-Breaking Bad

One of the best decisions Vince Gilligan and Breaking Bad made was to have a few series finales: one that ended the show overall (“Felina”), one that wrapped up Walter White as he was (“Ozymandias”), and a premature conclusion of Breaking Bad as we knew it. That latter case is “Face Off”: the conclusion to season four that actually wraps up triumphantly (although we all know better with a show as dismal as Breaking Bad). There is a massive chess game that explodes cathartically, and even a bit of resolution. It won't last long, but it’s the kind of finality that would actually have been great for any show. Of course, this is Breaking Bad, and, in a way, this was only the beginning of something else: the final season.

20. “Abyssinia, Henry”-M*A*S*H

We’re all accustomed to the idea of the farewell episode, especially when sitcoms and other light-hearted series indulge in them. “Abyssinia, Henry" was looking rather typical, yet M*A*S*H was still doing a great job with Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake’s honourable discharge. We all get sad, especially Radar. Then, the conclusion happens: a reminder that there are no happy endings in war, especially with the possibility of death at any turn. The episode enraged many upon release, especially when television was too sanitary to get real with its audiences like this. Now “Abyssinia, Henry” is still imitated, but not nearly as sincere. M*A*S*H wasn't trying to trick or guilt-trip us, but remind us of the capabilities of the war zone. Shows could waver for comeback episodes. With “Abyssinia, Henry”, this time a goodbye was permanent.

19. “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose”-The X-Files

The X-Files was often a show that presented a tug-of-war between one's mind and their soul. What do they believe? What evidence is presented? A rare time where the heart had a say and won was “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose”, especially since the titular one-off character whose seemingly psychic abilities bring forth a discussion of life and death where we can all see eye-to-eye. Before these kinds of special one-off episodes really took off in the 2010’s, The X-Files implored this detour with a magical exposition of existential dread that we can all empathize with. The X-Files was meant to look at the beyond, but it never felt more human.

18. “Battle of the Bastards”-Game of Thrones

Well Game of Thrones sure ended poorly, didn’t it? I mean the final two seasons were bad enough to almost destroy the entire series. Luckily, the greatest episode of the HBO staple happens late enough into the run that it helps keep every episode that came before it intact. “Battle of the Bastards” is what “The Long Night" should have been: the greatest instance of war in television history. The entire hour is a rush, whether you look at the incredible long take sequence, Ramsay Bolton getting what was coming to him, or — gasp — the dragons. “Battle of the Bastards” is payoff after payoff for devoted Game of Thrones viewers, and a constant dose of exhilaration that will have you astonished forever; it cleanses every disaster that follows it.

17. “407 Proxy Authentication Required”-Mr. Robot

Mr. Robot is a purposefully cryptic experience, and Elliot Aldrson isn't particularly open to the people he narrates the series to (us viewers). You know “407 Proxy Authentication Required" is going to be a special episode when it divides itself into acts, and you get the sense that it will all take place in one setting, given the premise of this entry (Elliot and his therapist being trapped by a criminal that Elliot did wrong earlier in the series). We expect some tension, but none of us could predict what really comes next: extreme vulnerability, and the discovery that Elliot has been traumatized his entire life. Suddenly the entire series changes: Elliot hacked his own brain like it were a computer, to bypass the viruses of abuse. This surprise confession is followed with the coup de grâce release of vengeance: a final shock in one of television’s most unforeseen experiences.

16. “Final Grades”-The Wire

At the end of The Wire’s greatest season comes “Final Grades”, and we’re taught a lesson that we should have already known by now. You can't expect anything in this series, outside of the inevitability of all things. The underground hierarchies we’ve grown to know by now can collapse at any second. The futures we can prophesy can be destroyed in an instance. There is no proper way to live, whether you’re abused and neglected by the system, or privileged and helped by corrupted ways. We all get schooled in “Final Grades”; even though we’re alerted of all of these inner mechanisms of society and its hidden societies, there will never be an absolute truth as to how we can succeed.

15. “Sammy’s Visit”-All in the Family

There was a time where Archie Bunker (not Carroll O’Conner, but his character Archie Bunker) was the biggest celebrity in the world (a worrisome fact, considering that such a bigoted character shouldn't really be idolized). Maybe the best way that Norman Lear and company could get their points across as to why Bunker was in All in the Family (to highlight the idiocies of blind prejudice) was to feature someone even bigger. “Sammy’s Visit” pits the father figure against the legendary Sammy Davis Jr. to see the sparks fly. We gather that Bunker will quiver in his seat and will say something stupid, and yet “Sammy's Visit" still plants its biggest surprise on us to defy our expectations (just when we thought we had Archie Bunker and All in the Family all figured out).

14. “The View From Halfway Down”-Bojack Horseman

The penultimate episode of Bojack Horseman may be the most existentialistic and nihilistic tale in television, but every single second of it was warranted. Bojack winds up in a purple-clad reality with all of the dead figures of his life. Is he himself dead? Does it matter? “The View From Halfway Down” is to animation what the epilogue is to Berlin Alexanderplatz: a stare in the face of hell itself. As these lost souls get one last time to make their lives have a legacy, it all is futile when existence is just the prolonging of the nothingness that comes after. There’s no portal. There's no after. Live poorly or richly, and we all confront the same void. No one predicted this when they started watching the talking horse cartoon, did they?

13. “The Suitcase”-Mad Men

The finest Mad Men hour is this moment of downtime and revelation between Don Draper and Peggy Olson. Here is a pause where two advertising figures aren’t trying to sell themselves at all. Instead, they open up amidst their own personal heartbreaks. Of course, it wouldn’t be Mad Men without a little bit of a pitch going on, but this comes to Draper in the form of an apparition. Instead of trying to get others to buy into the good life, the titular suitcase of this episode reminds Draper of greener pastures and success elsewhere. It’s one hell of a coping mechanism in an episode full of justifications and confessions from two lost souls.

12. “Chuckles Bites the Dust”-The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Everyone thinks of a clean cut image when Mary Tyler Moore is brought up (this makes sense, considering she embodied wholesomeness in America). Then came “Chuckles Bites the Dust”, where a television clown’s bizarre death has everyone laughing. This incredibly dark episode has Mary Richards disgusted, with everyone justifying their guffaws at their discomfort surrounding loss (as well as the silly circumstances, of course). Not even Richards is immune in The Mary Tyler Moore Show when she erupts at the worst possible instance (although this is the best punchline for us); who is safe and clean cut now, America? Mary Tyler Moore and company were destined to be trailblazers, as “Chuckles Bites the Dust” feels more contemporary than ever.

11. “Pine Barrens”-The Sopranos

Not many bottle episodes — or episodes with limited settings and storylines for budgetary reasons — will get much acclaim, but, then again, The Sopranos is no normal show (I also personally don’t consider this episode to be a bottle one myself, but I’ve heard the label tossed onto it enough times to bring it up here). “Pine Barrens” — aka the one where Christopher Moltisanti and Paulie Gualtieri get lost in the forest for many hours — is a major highlight of the series, for this off-kilter series of banters between two freezing mobsters and the other relationship revelations going on. There’s just something about the way The Sopranos goes about survival that is so authentically David Chase, but its biggest quirks are all Steve Buscemi at his directorial best; it’s no wonder why “Pine Barrens” is such a beloved episode amongst fans, and arguably The Sopranos at its best.

10. “Part 8”-Twin Peaks

It may have felt premature to call “Part 8” of the most recent season of Twin Peaks the greatest episode of the series, but that was when it first dropped five years ago. I don’t have a problem championing it as one of the most magnificent hours of television ever. Its only bits of normalcy are its business-as-usual opening sequences, featuring “The” Nine Inch Nails and Evil Cooper. Then we get the origin story of origin stories in such a Lynchian way: the most artistically daring episode of television. Equal parts experimental and arthouse, “Part 8” may not be understandable at first, but it will leave you floored nonetheless. Once you dig a bit deeper and find some narrative substance, you’ll discover the destruction of civilization came from the evils we ourselves gestated, and hope is all but a miracle; drink full and descend.

9. “Family Meeting”-The Shield

Most other series finales want to provide closure of some sort. That was never the way to go with The Shield, who reveals its best cards for last. We’ve seen horrific case after horrific case throughout the series on an episodic basis, but what we didn’t bank on was the eighty-plus episode build up to the crescendo of The Shield’s most gut wrenching case of all. With the familiarity of these characters, the weight of the crime, and the juxtaposition of families and individuals all self destructing around this central tragedy, “Family Meeting” revolutionized how a series can conclude: not with tidiness, not with satisfaction, but with an unforgettable curse.

8. “Lucy Does a TV Commercial”-I Love Lucy

Lucille Ball was one of television’s biggest game changers, even in the medium’s infant stages. When it comes to her finest moment, a lot of people may say her grape squashing or chocolate scenes are her best. Once you see “Lucy Does a TV Commercial”, there is no contest. This exposition of a feisty Lucy Ricardo shoehorning her way into an advertisement spot for Vitameatavegamin (what a mouthful, both to say and to consume). The tonic is high in alcohol percentage, and Lucy slowly gets wasted throughout the commercial’s test runs. She is a complete mess by the end of the episode, and Lucille Ball got away with showing drunken behaviour on television: the entertainment landscape she quickly claimed as her own, with her own rules and guidelines to shatter.

7. “Everybody’s Waiting”-Six Feet Under

Towards the end of the final season of Six Feet Under, it seems like things can’t get any sadder. This is true. They don’t, luckily. However, what we may not bank for is how it is a culmination of every emotion under the sun. In its last sequence, “Everybody’s Waiting” contains nostalgia, warmth, rage, sadness, and even hilarity. Never will you experience such a palette of feelings at once in a series again, and it all boils down to the motto that Alan Ball and company have believed in this whole ride: life comes and goes, and we all lead up to death. With a strong-enough finale (one full of acknowledgement, acceptance, and the fear of what comes next), “Everybody’s Waiting” was already destined to be one of the great finales. With the final punctuation point, the entire series is changed forever: everything will always end, and we now know what leads up to these finalities for these characters.

6. “The Contest”-Seinfeld

If Lucille Ball pushed television to test the waters of what was possible, then Larry David’s influence on the medium was accidental and the result of him just doing Larry David things. A lot of work went into making “The Contest" even appropriate for TV (you know, with four friends having to be masters of their domain and all of that), but it all paid off in the episode giving Seinfeld a 180 reception: from under-seen gem to the instant water cooler must-see. We really don’t need to know this amount of detail when it comes to Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer, but there’s no turning back now. This is the side of sitcom characters that we’ve never seen before, and suddenly the sky was the limit: we knew them more than we knew ourselves.

5. “The Book of Nora”-The Leftovers

Season one of The Leftovers was pegged as too cynical and dark of a series that one can escape with. These parables were all necessary for the mythological third season of the series, especially the escalation to “The Book of Nora”: a La Jatée for a new age. Here is a romance hindered by the revelations of scientific discovery, apocalyptic damnation, and wandering minds that search for more when the world is right in front of them. “The Book of Nora” is the right amount of ambiguous, allowing viewers to leave their imprint whilst being bowled over by one of television’s most exquisite entries. If The Leftovers started off coldly, it’s because it savoured all of its heart for this grande finale.

4. “Middle Ground”-The Wire

In the strongest episode of The Wire, we see the clever juxtapositions between high profile politicians and the criminal underworld finally collide in the most large scaled ways. The corruption in both universes is as apparent as ever, and even the stakes of death (or career ending decisions) contrasts the necessary risks people take to keep going. All of this surrounds the central scene that catches everyone off guard the first time they get to “Middle Ground”: a climax where the title needn’t apply, as there will always be those with the high ground, and those left to rot or suffer below them. It’s a major pivot in a series known for its organic growth, but life itself contains shocking events, doesn't it?

3. “Eye of the Beholder”-The Twilight Zone

By now, I’d argue that most people on Earth know the twist in “Eye of the Beholder”, but that’s not why you watch this Twilight Zone magnum opus. You see how we get there: a mysterious figure whose facial reconstructive surgery has left her under wraps, with us wondering how she will look (meanwhile, we don’t see anyone’s faces throughout the majority of the episode). The big reveal happens, and “Eye of the Beholder” seals the deal with its beyond-eerie descent into a society of madness. The episode was cinematic in a time when television was still trying to find its own footing, and its writing is so strong that nothing about it feels gimmicky. This is how you create suspense, revelation, terror, and a chilling dissolve that instills itself within your core for the rest of your TV watching existence.

2. “The Constant”-Lost

“The Constant” feels so contradictory of its host show, Lost. It stands out as a singular experience in a series that demanded that you watch it from start to finish. It makes the most amount of sense, despite dealing with parallel realities and the possibility of time hopping. It is a rare excursion from the whole escape-the-island plot, but what a magical and gorgeous episode this is. In the twenty first century, “The Constant” feels like the ultimate love letter in TV, especially because it exposes what the medium is capable of (episodically, within the context of a larger series, as a short story shown amidst advertisements and other buffer shows); nothing else matters while you watch this miraculous episode, and most episodes may not ever be able to compete with it ever again.

1. “Ozymandias”-Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad got away with a few series finales when most other shows only get graced with one (if they even reach that far). “Felina” is the literal finale in the sense that it is the last episode, but I feel like it is a part of a two-part epilogue more than anything. “Face Off” is the ending of season four, but even then, I feel like it is the actual end of the story, had Walter White not continued forth down the path of pure monstrosity (also if he had tied up his loose ends better, but his ego got the best of him). Then, there is “Ozymandias”, where Heisenberg as an alter ego dies, and it is an unforgettable episode that astonished everyone nine years ago. Almost a decade later, none of its power has been diminished. How could that be? Let's have a brief look at the greatest episode of all time.

The entire series works its way up to this moment, including how much we are following Hank Schrader in his pursuit to capture Heisenberg (only to find out some few episodes before that this is actually his brother-in-law Walter White). White himself has become a massive drug king pin who has eliminated everyone before him, in an environment he had no business infiltrating (outside of his desperation to get money to leave his family while he battled with cancer). Most of his loved ones are afraid of him. Every other head honcho has died in his shadow. He feels unstoppable by now. However, “Ozymandias” is exactly what we all felt could happen from the beginning of Breaking Bad: White was out of his element, and now everyone he has ever cared about is trapped in his hell. Schrader is killed at the start of the episode (that's what a doozy this is). The credits come over a third of the way in, while White proceeds with his downward spiral (shown in the form of his literal descent down a path). His family — of whom he was trying to be the protector — is now in instant danger by him, literally at his own hand at times (a horrifying domestic showdown takes place), and then the mea culpa: the kidnapping of his own child that he wanted to make a better world for. The entire series leads to these moments, but this episode itself progresses towards the climax of climaxes: Walter White destroying his own life to save everyone else, with a magnificently tragic phone conversation where White tells his family he loves them by telling them he hates them; it remains one of TV’s most powerful moments.

“Ozymandias” is pure television mastery. It is the mass slaughtering of legacies, of family tree lineage, of all of the hard work that came before (all was for nothing), and a reminder that life is cruel (hell, Breaking Bad started off with this train of thought, but just in case we needed this reminder, here we are). Would “Ozymandias” have worked as a whole finale? Maybe not, because of how harrowing it is without a single shred of hope (say outside of the right decision being made at the last second), but Breaking Bad needed the two episode relief afterwards to really tie things up properly. Thus, “Ozymandias” is given a chance to shine as what it is: a parade of wakeup calls and television’s strongest stream of dread and vicissitude. Considering how it utilizes what came before it, what it does for the episodes after it, and simply how strongly it holds up on its own, “Ozymandias” is the greatest episode of television ever. It felt so right away back in 2013, but who knows what recency bias can do for one’s enjoyment. It has been nine years. It’s time to get real. “Ozymandias” is the best hour of television up until this point, and who knows when or if that will ever change.

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Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.