It’s just about halfway through the year, so it seems appropriate to star bringing out the best of lists. First, we’re going to start off with the Top 5 Drama Episodes of 2014. All the episodes on this list aired in the 2014 calendar year, not the 2013-14 television series. My one rule for this list was that a show cannot appear on this list more than once. I did it last year for my top 10 episodes of 2013 mostly because of Breaking Bad, but either way it makes for an even playing field. Also, these are in no particular order. So, enjoy!
NOTE: Considering these all aired relatively recently, all the comments are SPOILER FREE!
“Chapter 14” | House of Cards | Season 2, Episode 1
I think House of Cards is great entertaining television. It doesn’t make us think or feel deeply, it simply is meant to hold our attention and make us beg for more. Well, that’s exactly what “Chapter 14” did. The world that the show inhabits isn’t one that exists. I think politicians tread more closely to the characters on Veep rather than the ones here, but this episode so adroitly reintroduces the world we’re in and the lengths each character will go to assist their own mischievous ends. Frank sums up the episode in two words: “welcome back.”
“Who Goes There” | True Detective | Season 1, Episode 4
True Detective caused quite a ruckus when it first premiered. It almost seemed like it was the second coming of Christ. I was a bit underwhelmed, but the craft involved in “Who Goes There” cannot go unmentioned. While so many people focus on the magnificent 10-minute single shot finale to the episode, some forget that preceding is a carefully written build that gives Matthew McConaughey and Woodey Harrelson great material to work with before letting the sh!t hit the fan.
“The Last Call” | The Good Wife | Season 5, Episode 16
I don’t think the second half of this season reached the heights that the first half achieved, but it had its bright spots like “The Last Call.” It may not have been as good as previous “grief” episodes like Friday Night Lights’ “The Son” and Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s “The Body”, but it was able to allow each character their room to grieve and progress the story as they try to recover from this huge loss. The entire cast is at the top of their game and the entire episode is a testament to The Good Wife‘s marvelous storytelling.
“The Watchers on the Wall” | Game of Thrones | Season 4, Episode 9
We haven’t had a huge battle on the show since “Blackwater,” so as the wildlings marched on the wall there was so much anticipation for what was to come. Well, it came and it delivered. The episode offered beautiful visuals, heart pounding action and heartbreaking emotion that gave the episode both an epic and human look at the realizations of battle.