Mid-Year Top Ten Episodes of 2014 (Drama)

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.

“Closer than Sisters” | Penny Dreadful | Season 1, Episode 5
It's hard to explain what Penny Dreadful really is as a show. A gothic tale or a campy horror. I think that the beauty of the show is that it holds its cards so close to its chest that we're straining to know more. Well, this episode gave us more and it was rightfully dreadful. The entire episode tracked the history of Vanessa and this entity that has been tormenting her since the season's beginning, but the episode also reveals the horrors of Victorian medicine and how the “mad” were treated in the time period. While much of it shocked, it was this constant darkness that made the episode brilliant. Check out our review here!

“The Strategy” | Mad Men | Season 7, Episode 6
Mad Men is a show that so rarely offers sincerity. However, for the first time we see three characters battered by life come together to eat at a burger joint. Pete has been floating on a cloud since he moved to California, but with Trudy MIA when he visits and Bonnie leaving him to go back west, he realizes that life isn't just easy. The centerpiece of the episode saw the relationship that offered so much forward momentum on the show come to a head. Much of the episode focused on Peggy's shortcomings as a woman, but Don reassures her that she's doing just fine. Then, they danced. It solidified their relationship as friends, as a protege and her teacher, and as a father and his daughter. Check out our review here!

“Echo” | The Americans | Season 2, Episode 13
That is how you end a season. I can't go any further than that without giving too much away, but I will say that The Americans is one of the most underrated shows on TV right now. It's so stylishly done, masterfully acted, and allows you enough shock to keep watching. However, the real meat is in the lightly done character study that doesn't make you have to watch, it makes you want to watch.

“The Crocodile's Dilemma” | Fargo | Season 1, Episode 1
It was nearly impossible for me to pick one episode of this series to represent it on this list. Honestly, if I didn't enact the one episode per show rule most of this list would be Fargo. This episode so beautifully sets up the world that is so familiar, but at the same time so refreshing. If you did some slight editing on this episode and told me it was Fargo 2, I'd totally buy into it and say Oscars for everyone.

“Mizumono” | Hannibal | Season 2, Episode 13
I'm not even going to say why, because you should be watching Hannibal and this episode will make your viewing completely worth it.

“The Lord's Prayer” | Vikings | Season 2, Episode 10
Vikings is basically Game of Thrones for history buffs. It gives you the same gnawing action mixed with character drama and wonderful visuals that gives you a sense of wonder. However, it's also a series that will get down and dirty, and it got downright filthy in “The Lord's Prayer.” With exquisite battle sequences and heartbreaking decisions, this episode was one emotional blow after another. However, in the end we keep watching because the writers so brilliantly humanized what we would come to call barbarians.