It’s been a strange year and it’s been an especially quiet year for TV that hasn’t looked the way it’s done in the past. But there have been surprising delights sprinkled throughout particularly where finales are concerned. This year sounded differently, too as we took Year-End Reviews to Marvelous Geeks Podcast in a two part compilation with Nerdy Girl Notes and TV Examined. We discussed our favorite characters, performers, and platonic relationships in Part I followed by romantic relationships and episodes in Part II. Both of these incredible women also have their own Best of 2020 lists going, so be sure to check those out as their recommendations are always top-notch.

1. “Whenever You’re Ready” The Good Place

Again, I’m ready for a lot of things but still not ready to talk about this episode and the exceptional balance Mike Schur achieved with this perfect finale. “Whenever You’re Ready” is an ode to starting a story and ending it precisely where the most growth has taken place. It’s a showcase of what it really means to tell a strong story that serves as a celebration of humanity. “Whenever You’re Ready” does an exemplary job with pace and it leads audiences to the type of conclusion that was both expected from this show, but also surprising. Starting from the Soul Squad learning that they have the option to move forward, to watching some characters delay it and sending everyone off in a way that would serve their character best worked so well in achieving a satisfying ending.

The Good Place never shoved emotions down our throats but somehow, it made us feel every ounce of the pain, uncertainty, and unbridled joy. It didn’t tell us how to feel but instead it broke down emotions so beautifully, famous Philosophers wish they’d accomplish it this well. (Yes, I said that.) The Good Place is a plot driven series, but it never once sidelined its characters or put them through careless situations solely for shock value. Every journey, every  breakup, every makeup, every bizarre decision made sense. It’s an undeniable glimmer of hope when TV writers care about their characters, their stories, and inadvertently, the audience. It then makes for the kind of community that media generates, which can easily spark tearful joy whenever, wherever.

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On this week’s episode of Marvelous Geeks, Gissane Sophia sits down with Katie from Nerdy Girl Notes and Heather from TV Examined to break down their Best of 2020 in TV romantic relationships and episodes. Part II of our Best of 2020 will go into series like Schitt’s Creek, Normal People, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, The Rookie, One Day at a Time, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Good Place, The Expanse and more. Be sure to give a listen and let us know what your choices for this year are. Be sure to check out Part I where we discuss characters, performances, and platonic relationships.

The final episode of a TV series doesn’t just wrap things up in a neat little bow, but it exposes the heart of the series. It could make the series absolutely perfect or completely horrifying. Something can be so good until it’s final moments where literally it could undo everything. We all know that one series, you know the one from last year. We all know it could have gone down in history as one of the best series to exist, but instead viewers were scarred and disappointed. But that’s not what this post is about, we’re here to talk about some of the most satisfying series finales we’ve ever seen and the fact that these have set the bar for what an ending should look like. (P.S. Pursue with caution if you’ve yet to see a series and plan to–this article isn’t spoilers free.)

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Social Distancing TV Recommendations

I bet this isn’t the first of these articles you darling readers will see and it certainly won’t be the last. We’re here to give you some of our current favorites, older favorites, and shows that’ll essentially keep you busy. We all make a list throughout the years, but never get through it right? Well, now’s the time! I’ve broken it down into two simple categories: dramas and comedies and some dark comedies, too. If there are any specific genre recommendations, feel free to reach out to us.

Sanditon has been a loud presence here at Marvelous Geeks since October and we’re not mad about it. It’s the show everyone and their mothers should be watching especially those into period dramas. But in all seriousness, I made my mother watch it, too. (And she loved it. There’s only one other show she’s loved entirely, too.) Sanditon is the story of Jane Austen’s unfinished novel following heroine Charlotte Heywood (Rose Williams) to a small resort town where she finds love, friendship, and to quote “the greatest adventure of her life.” It is the stunning love story that involves an impeccably kind but jaded man and an incredibly brave resourceful woman navigating through their clashing vigor only to realize that they’re each other’s perfect match. “It’s the compelling story of humanity and how we operate amidst judgements and mistreatment. It’s the love stories between polar opposites that found laughter with each other and kindred spirits who’ve healed each other of all darkness within. It’s colorfully complex characters arguing over money, regattas, and pineapples? It’s the period drama you won’t want to miss because unlike ones that have come before it, it’s deliciously enticing and even in the midst of the quiet serenity, there’s gorgeous storytelling happening. There are a plethora of reasons why Sanditon is a show I’d recommend to anyone, here’s an entirely separate list of 10 reasons why you should give it a go.”

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This isn’t a critical review of what makes an episode flawless, it’s a list of the TV episodes I found myself either revisiting after completion or the ones that I couldn’t look back on  that continued to haunt me long after the credits stopped rolling. These are the episodes that left me in complete and utter awe. They’re the episodes filled with the most evocative performances and the most beautifully moving moments that touched my heart in a way I won’t forget easily.

One year later, and I still think about this episode at least a few times a month. It is without a doubt my favorite episode of The Good Place and the one I could potentially write an entire thesis on. “Pandemonium”, and especially the final few moments of the episode were utter chaos. “Embrace the pandemonium, find happiness in the unique insanity of being here, now.” There’s a great amount of happening in this episode like Michael panicking and then freaking out when he sees the soul squad together. There’s beauty in the montage created for Chidi and Eleanor. There’s beauty in Jason promising he won’t let Eleanor down. There’s beauty in Eleanor taking charge even while she’s afraid.There’s beauty in Tahani realizing what she’ll have to do when face to face with the person who’ll bring out the worst in her. There’s beauty in the humanity that’s found its way into Janet’s life. And there’s beauty in Michael’s faith in his Soul Squad.

The episode is simply put, special. It forces us to look within ourselves and confront the whys. It forces us to question existence, life, and even the afterlife. But it’s the perfect, most unique way of saying, smile because it happened. And I feel it’s safe to assume that we all know that’s nearly impossible to do, anything but the words we actually want to hear in a moment of sheer of frustration; however, it is what it is. Life is pure, unbelievably unfair chaos sometimes, and the only way to get through it is to embrace what’s bound to make us better. As mere mortals who are incapable of understanding what the afterlife entails, it’s also easy to just believe that we’d grow just fine without trials in our life, but the reality is, we don’t know that. We don’t know why life has to be the way that it is, but we’re here because of it, and there’s a whole lot of beautiful in between those tragic moments, which The Good Place captures perfectly in “Pandemonium”. While it is without question one of the saddest episodes on The Good Place, it succeeds in also being the most hopeful.

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Out of all the articles that release for our end of the year celebration, discussing my favorite characters is somehow the one that always brings on the tears. A well written character whose arc guides the story is the reason I love television so much. The opportunity to see these people live and love and bend and break all while being incredibly human and learning through their journey never fails to be inspiring. It’s a celebration of humanity that allows us to see ourselves, as viewers in a whole new light.

Charlotte Heywood, in this version of Jane Austen’s Sanditon, might just be my favorite regency heroine, for there’s so much to say about her innate goodness and strong resourcefulness. Charlotte Heywood is the leading example of “having a soft heart in a cruel world is courage, not weakness”, but perhaps the most captivating part of Charlotte’s tenderness is that it’s woven intricately with the will to stand up for what she believes in. She’s anything but quiet and observant – she’s hardheaded, too, but her choices come from pure intent and unbelievable altruism. Charlotte’s the type of person who’d choose someone else’s happiness above her own time and time again out of the sheer belief that it’s what’s right, it’s how it should be. It’s why she can never marry for fortune because the belief that she’d be prisoning herself and thus, her partner is something she can’t live with. And it’s that very heart that makes it so easy to fall in love with her — just ask Sidney Parker. Charlotte could turn even the most jaded of souls who’ve been tainted by life’s heartbreaks into a softened man who’d do anything to ensure he remains on her good graces. Charlotte’s openness towards Georgiana, and the genuine desire to make sure she knows she’s loved speaks so highly on behalf of the  person she’s aiming to be. A woman who will do everything she can to make the small world she is a part of a little brighter. She isn’t afraid to speak up and she isn’t afraid to apologize. She is willing to learn and grow. Some people are born with a lot of goodness in their bones, some learn to choose it, Charlotte is both, for learning who she is and who she wants to be is something that I hope we’ll get to see more of when Sanditon is renewed for a second series.

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We don’t all agree on everything, but I feel it’s safe to assume that the majority of us in this community of writers are under the rightful belief that this has been a stupendous year for performances. Especially where limited series are concerned. Vulnerability isn’t an easy emotion to master when acting, but the people who’ve excelled this year mastered it with impeccable and inimitable nuances. Some of these names are familiar ones, but a large majority of the performers in this category are new faces to Marvelous Geeks. Their performances have stood out beautifully throughout the year making my absolute honor to write about them.

I’ll be frank, I didn’t see the appeal in Fleabag while watching the first season, but the moment season two began, I was floored and ready to give every single award to Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Waller-Bridge is simply put, a mastermind — the brilliant meticulous decisions in her performances throughout the year have been strikingly moving and filled with flawless range. We see prodigious growth in Fleabag throughout the season, while Waller-Bridge ensures that her charm is stapled inflexibly and rightfully in every corner. The work she does in “Episode Four” alone is unparalleled and should stand as the very example of what it means to find the balance between comedy and drama. In Fleabag’s ways of breaking the fourth wall, Waller-Bridge enlightens viewers with brilliant ease that connects us further to the unbelievably relatable chaos inside her mind. It’s in her eccentric mannerisms and potent transparency that make her such a vulnerable character we’ve all found ways to connect to. Fleabag isn’t perfect, but Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s performances surely are and her expressive features deserve a category on their own, for the breakdown of every compelling look could result in a full length novel. Waller-Bridge leads the audience towards captivating profundities and astonishing pinnacles throughout the course of six episodes, which alone deserves continuous praise for its exclusivity in the world of television.

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November 10-16 “The Funeral to End All Funerals” | The Good Place

The most unsurprising fact at this very moment is that throughout the final season of The Good Place, there have been far too many great scenes to choose from, and there was no shortage of  great scenes in “The Funeral to End All Funerals.” Kristen Bell’s direction of the episode felt incredibly important for Eleanor because there’s not a single scene in the latest episode that didn’t feel like a punch in the gut in all the right ways. How this show manages to make me openly weep every single time is still so astonishing. For instance, Bell’s voice breaking while maintaining stoicism as Eleanor said “wake him up”, all the eulogies and how these merry band of misfits healed one another through the entirety of their journey? “The Funeral to End All Funerals” was a masterful episode, but we’re all still thinking about the scene right? You know the one, the one with all the Janets, another perfect performance by D’Arcy Carden and what it meant for humanity.

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January 20-26 “Pandemonium” | The Good Place

It has been a week, friends, and almost all TV shows are back on our screens. (Waiting impatiently for Game of Thrones, Superstore, and Elementary.) On a side note, I’m still too devastated over the Saints’ loss during the championship games to even talk about it. Sunday’s episode of Outlander brought us one step closer to the finale. This is Us unlocked the mystery of Nicky Pearson, Black-ish gave us another great episode, Riverdale unmasked the Gargoyle King but not without giving us another killer to find. The Magicians premiered with an emotionally and frustrating episode. (I just want all my babies back together again is this too much to ask for!?) And Brooklyn Nine-Nine took us back to 1999 reminding us of the beautiful friendship between Jake and Gina. But it’s The Good Place’s season finale that left me a bawling wreck — absolutely no exaggeration.

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This is always the hardest category to write about but simultaneously my absolute favorite. The best part of it is remembering the very first time I watch the episode and think, “Yup, I need to talk about this for year-end reviews.” But it’s interesting because I was a little stumped this year. I didn’t want to repeat episodes from shows and I wanted a wide variety. We can thank Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Good Place for making my choices so hard with a ton of amazing episodes. Oh how I adore the comedies on TV right now.

For more end of the year reviews, check out our Top 10 Performers, 10 Characters, and 10 Relationships.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: I don’t know how Katie (Nerdy Girl Notes)would cover this show weekly because I could never find the right words. And I especially can’t find the words for “Start.” The final episode of The Americans needs to be seen by every single TV enthusiast in the world. I can understand that the genre may not be everyone’s cup of tea, in all honesty, at times, it was even too heavy for me, but I’m grateful to know that I’ve seen the best thing on TV. (This sentence was not meant to rhyme, but we’re sticking to it.) “Start” was the perfect conclusion. It wrapped the series up in the most finely crafted bow I’ve ever seen, tying loose ends so wondrously not many before it have mastered. It gave its audience some of the most haunting images to hold onto and I’m sure, without even trying, rendering many of us utterly speechless. Maybe eight years from now when I’m less distraught over “They’ll remember us. They’re not kids anymore.” I’ll be able to talk about just how encompassing “Start” was, but today’s not that day. Or maybe when I’ve finally gotten Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell’s meticulously somber expressions and the stoic, yet crumbling physicality out of my mind, I’ll be able to talk about it more. But for now, let this just serve as my plea to get you all to watch The Americans because it’s truly unmatched. There are no words that could rightfully encapsulate the magnitude of this finale’s greatness.

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For the past few years, this category’s been the most difficult — trying to pick through my favorites without too much repetition from past years and the desire to give other characters the opportunity to be on here as well. But my inability to choose could’ve been due to the fact that there just weren’t that many options in the first place. And this year’s special — in both the TV verse and cinematic. And these ten characters are ones I’m certain I could not love more even if I tried. Some old with exceptional growth and some new pushing me into a state of gratitude for just how great TV’s been this year.

The Ladies

I don’t think there’s ever been a character as adored as quickly as Timeless’ Lucy Preston. And season two pulled the darling historian through the darkest of revelations only to have her come out of it even more generous than before. Lucy’s heart is inexpressible –there hasn’t been a character like her in a while, and it’s been a stunning ride watching her continuously open her heart despite the fact that the one person she trusted most in her life turned out to be the villain in her story. Whether it was fighting alongside the women who were to be executed during the Salem Witch Trials, standing with Suffragette Alice Paul, or welcoming Jessica to the team despite her feelings for Wyatt — Lucy’s benevolence is selflessness in its most evident form. She is nobility personified, for even when she could be choosing for herself, fighting for her own future, the other person’s effect is always taken into deep consideration, too. But the thing I appreciate most about Lucy is that even with all the compassion running in her veins, she’s not one to allow anyone to take advantage of her — she understands that goodness and naiveté aren’t the same thing. She’s fought back when she needs to. She’s cried when she’s been in pain. She’s doubted. She’s believed. She’s gotten excited. She’s shown viewers a wide range of emotions authenticating the fact that women are beautifully complex. She’s many things, but above all, she’s a woman who’s walked through fire and instead of letting it burn her, she’s used it to fuel the good fight instead. She’s walked out with the flames as phoenix feathers — stronger, wiser, and even more compassionate than before.