My Top 20 favourite Episodes Of TV Drama
List activity
1.8K views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
21 titles
- DirectorRian JohnsonStarsBryan CranstonAnna GunnAaron PaulWalt goes on the run. Jesse is taken hostage. Marie forces Skyler to tell Junior the truth.Despite airing reasonably recently, it is almost already a cliché to place this as my favourite episode of drama ever, but how could I choose anything else? In this horrific hour of television, everything from the previous 59 episodes of this exceedingly taut, intricately paced & plotted drama collapses in a grim spectacle, under the direction of the extremely talented Rian Johnson and the brutally effective script of Moira Walley-Beckett. Fittingly named after Shelley's famous sonnet, never before has the collapse of a kingdom been depicted as harrowingly as it is in "Ozymandias", and while it isn't something I enjoy watching, or will easily rewatch in the future, it is fully deserving of its spot on my list.
"We're a family..." - Walter White - DirectorTimothy Van PattenStarsJames GandolfiniEdie FalcoMichael ImperioliTony makes a request to Johnny Sack on behalf of his cousin, and Adriana makes a request to the FBI, followed by one to Chris.*SPOILERS* The execution of Adriana La Cerva was among the hardest-to-watch scenes I've come across in television, directed beautifully by Tim Van Patten (as the camera pulls away from the crawling Adriana, focusing on the pleasant image of swaying trees as Silvio pulls the trigger), and acted extraordinarily well by Drea De Matteo. It would be impossible for me to single out any scene in this near-flawless episode of television to call my favourite, but if I had to, the superlative imagery of Christopher parking Adriana's car in the eponymous Long Term Parking section of the airport would be my choice. The Sopranos, along with TV itself, at its finest.
"That's the guy, Adriana. My uncle Tony. The guy I'm going to Hell for." - Christopher Moltisanti - DirectorJennifer GetzingerStarsJon HammElisabeth MossVincent KartheiserDon deliberately delays returning an important call from California, because he knows it's bad news about Anna. Instead, he keeps himself occupied by forcing Peggy to miss her birthday dinner to pull an all-nighter with him for a client.I have only seen this episode once (along with every other episode of Mad Men, a show which probably deserves a rewatch at this stage), during my binge-watching of the show in its entirety, which makes it even more remarkable that it stood out so starkly. A marvel in every regard, with stellar performances from both Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss, a script which evoked the widest range of emotions of probably any episode of TV I've ever seen, and, (like the seventh episode of each season of Mad Men) an incredibly effective experimental format which focuses almost exclusively on two characters, "The Suitcase" reaches a height which Mad Men had never reached until then and hasn't reached since then; the pinnacle of one of TV's greatest shows.
"Peggy, I'm glad that this is an environment where you feel free to fail." - Don Draper - DirectorJohn PattersonStarsJames GandolfiniLorraine BraccoEdie FalcoTony gets sick from food poisoning and blames Artie's restaurant. Pussy, meanwhile, reaches the end of the line.*SPOILERS* A diehard skeptic of dream sequences in any form of media, I was fittingly chastened by "Funhouse", the second season finale of The Sopranos. With almost half the episode taking place within the dreams of Tony Soprano, "Funhouse" expertly weaves a storyline which the show had (somewhat clumsily) momentarily removed focus from, Pussy Bonpensiero's status as FBI informant, into the season's endgame. As visually striking as the episode's dream sequences are (cryptically realised by director John Patterson), the most affecting scene of "Funhouse", and the entire season preceding it, is the shooting of Pussy by Tony, Paulie and Silvio. Watching his haunting progression from sudden realisation, to frantic reasoning, to finally resignation is striking in a way only The Sopranos could achieve. The show's unwillingness to shy away from the moments before a character's death give the events a gravitas unmatched by any show since then.
"Not in the face, OK?" - Pussy Bonpensiero - DirectorScott WinantStarsBryan CranstonAnna GunnAaron PaulHank asks Walt to drive him to the laundry where the meth lab is hidden. Ted still won't pay the IRS so Skyler asks Saul for help, and Saul sends in his A-Team. Gus and Jesse return from Mexico, and Walt fears he is in trouble with Gus.The ending of "Crawl Space", the 11th episode of the fourth season of Breaking Bad, remains the single-most dread-inducing scene of any TV show I have ever seen. Walt's descent from an expression of anguish to manic laughter once he realises his family's fate still resonates as a scene of pure unadulterated horror, with Bryan Cranston's preposterously good performance reaching new levels here. The rest of the episode is stellar, but that scene wins "Crawl Space"'s spot on this list.
"Reasonably." - Huell Babineaux - DirectorNeil MarshallStarsPeter DinklageLena HeadeyCharles DanceStannis Baratheon's fleet and army arrive at King's Landing and the battle for the city begins. Cersei plans for her and her children's future.My biggest issues with HBO's Game of Thrones are the show's lumpy pacing and stuffed-to-the-gills episodes, which barely give the viewer a chance to breathe before whisking them off to another continent. So, going into "Blackwater", with these niggles (momentarily, at least) put to the side, I was expecting a solid, well-made, climactic episode of TV. However, "Blackwater" exceeded these expectations, producing a film-quality set-piece told uniquely and interestingly from the point-of-view of several characters - one of the few instances where I have found the show's multi-protagonistic approach to storytelling beneficial. At the helm of Neil Marshall, a director used to working under both time and budgetary pressure, "Blackwater" is a triumph of both production values and storytelling, portraying an epic battle while also featuring several otherwise unlikely character pairings and taking full advantage of these pairings, helped by a script as exciting as the action taking place on the screen. A wonderful episode of television all around.
"Those are brave men knocking at our door. Let's go kill them!" - Tyrion Lannister - DirectorMichelle MacLarenStarsBryan CranstonAnna GunnAaron PaulJesse and Hank come up with an idea to take Walt down. Walt hires Todd's uncle to kill Jesse.
- DirectorMichael W. WatkinsStarsTimothy OlyphantNick SearcyJoelle CarterDrew Thompson is now in custody of the marshals, but can Raylan get him out of Harlan before Theo Tonin and Boyd's men can get their hands on them?
- DirectorAdam BernsteinStarsBryan CranstonAnna GunnAaron PaulAgainst Walt's advice, Jesse lashes out. Fearing for Jesse's safety, Walt takes drastic action to intervene. Meanwhile a tragic event leads to a shocking confrontation.
- DirectorJack BenderStarsNaveen AndrewsEmilie de RavinMatthew FoxWhen the survivors run out of food, Locke, Kate, and Michael go out hunting for boar. Michael gets injured, so he and Kate go back. But Locke stays out hunting, and ends up running into the creature living in the jungle.
- DirectorToby HaynesStarsBenedict CumberbatchMartin FreemanUna StubbsJim Moriarty hatches a mad scheme to turn the whole city against Sherlock.
- DirectorMichael CuestaStarsClaire DanesDamian LewisMorena BaccarinWhile Carrie is near catatonic, Saul investigates her unsettling timeline; Brody makes final preparations for the Vice President's policy summit at the State Department.
- DirectorAdam BernsteinStarsBryan CranstonAnna GunnAaron PaulWalt and Jesse clean up after the bathtub incident before Walt decides what course of action to take with their prisoner Krazy-8.
- DirectorAlan TaylorStarsSean BeanMichelle FairleyNikolaj Coster-WaldauRobb goes to war against the Lannisters. Jon finds himself struggling on deciding if his place is with Robb or the Night's Watch. Drogo has fallen ill from a fresh battle wound. Daenerys is desperate to save him.
- DirectorDavid NutterStarsEmilia ClarkeKit HaringtonRichard MaddenRobb and Catelyn arrive at the Twins for the wedding. Jon is put to the test to see where his loyalties truly lie. Bran's group decides to split up. Daenerys plans an invasion of Yunkai.
- DirectorDavid ChaseStarsJames GandolfiniEdie FalcoMichael ImperioliTony and his family have to stay in hiding until Phil Leotardo is dealt with. His family doesn't like the lifestyle they have been forced to adopt. AJ and Meadow move onto the next step in their lives. Tony confronts Junior one last time.
- DirectorMichael UppendahlStarsJon HammElisabeth MossVincent KartheiserThe creative department has a wild, drug-influenced weekend as they work on the Chevy account, Don has trouble letting go of Sylvia, and Sally walks in on an unwelcome intruder.
- DirectorClement VirgoStarsDominic WestJohn DomanIdris ElbaKima slowly recovers in the hospital. Stringer changes operations in the pit and the towers, rendering the wiretaps and clones useless, and prompting Burrell to begin dismantling the detail. Avon and Stringer meet Levy to discuss where their organization is vulnerable. Unbeknownst to the detail, Wallace returns to the pit to resume work. When Prez starts pulling political campaign finance reports, Pearlman is called to a meeting with a worried State's Attorney, and an angry Clay Davis confronts Daniels. Meanwhile, Stringer issues a difficult order to Bodie and Poot. With Shardene's help, the detail are able to install a camera in the strip club.
- DirectorEd BianchiStarsJon HammElisabeth MossVincent KartheiserPete returns home from his honeymoon excited about his new marriage but conflicted about his past encounter with Peggy.
- DirectorJack BenderStarsNaveen AndrewsHenry Ian CusickEmilie de RavinJack and the survivors wait for Charlie to turn off The Others' signal-jamming device, not knowing that he has been captured at the Looking Glass station.
- DirectorCary Joji FukunagaStarsMatthew McConaugheyWoody HarrelsonMichelle MonaghanMartin is faced with marital problems. The search for Reggie Ledoux leads the detectives to a motorcycle gang called the Iron Crusaders, which Rust worked undercover in the past.