Few things are more satisfying than watching a show pull off a brilliant and rewarding episode. In the Sunday Daily, our writers and editors answer the question: What do you think is a perfect episode of TV?
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I appreciate the gift link, but that’s kind of what I’m talking about. I can’t afford a subscription to every publication I’d like to skim a few articles from. But I guess the economics shake out such that they’d rather get no ad revenue from me vs no subscription revenue. /shrug
Sure doesn’t. But it’s also hella discouraging when the outlets I actually do pay to subscribe to end up doing rounds of layoffs and putting out lower quality reporting anyway. I did my part to help pay for journalism and now I’m prepaid for a year to a newspaper that’s doing less journalism.
The series finales of 6 feet under. I’m pretty sure reality tv isn’t part of this discussion but if it were Rupauls Drag Race Allstars 7 “Snatch Game”. It is a masterclass.
There’s an episode of Bojack Horseman that is just a monologue from a cartoon character at a funeral and it’s somehow one of the most enthralling 20 minutes of TV I’ve ever seen
Series finale of Picard. Perfect blend of action, humor, nostalgia, and tying up all loose ends. The final scene with the overhead crane shot of the poker game is reminiscent of the final scene in TNG, and the music is a variation of TNG’s theme.
Mythic Quest: Dark Quiet Death (s.1, ep. 5) and Backstory! (s.2,ep.6). Both are flashback episodes w/o the main characters but perfectly sum up the themes of the show on tight, efficient stories.
And almost any episode of The Wire. Too many to list.
Rick and Morty, “Vindicators 3 Return of Worldender,” Season 3, Episode 4. Classic skewering of super hero movie tropes while never letting the viewer forget that Rick is the real villain.
I recently rewatched the whole season and it’s very good-better than I remembered, actually. But that episode is the best Star Wars drama since Luke persuaded Anakin to turn on the Emperor.
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They should have a day pass subscription for some modest fee that you could apply against a longer subscription. Anyway, enjoy the article.
https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2025/01/eight-perfect-episodes-of-tv/681278/?gift=lEjB4FTxRFUiX1hoytc94JW3szkhzTs3vnx2MOt-3Bc&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
And almost any episode of The Wire. Too many to list.