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Angel: Not Fade Away (2004)
Controversial, but Excellent All the Same
Yes, it's not the most fluid ending plot-wise, but it's not the writers' fault; on the contrary, they took an avowedly irrational cancellation from the WB and made lemonade.
This has to be one of the most awe-inspiring thematic exits I've seen; it's so incredibly bittersweet to see all of Whedon's ideas unfold so masterfully but in such a rushed format. In short, this episode is almost as good as and almost as tragic as Firefly's finale.
Some specifically admirable things about this episode are, as follows: this episode manages to provide a tightly essentialized climax to the season while providing closing statements for each and every character. The lull before the storm is one of the greatest parts of this episode, second only to Angel's "immortal" closing statement.
Firefly: The Message (2003)
Absolutely Underrated- Chekhov's Gun x4
This episode has the perfect ending.
During a certain scene there are 4 Chekov's guns, aka 4 lines that pay off at the end literally and thematically via foreshadowing.
It takes at least two viewings and some skill at analyzing art to spot all four of these "guns." Once you recognize how every single line and even movement was selected as foreshadowing for the end, then you will appreciate this as one of if not the very best Firefly episode. There is a real reason this episode almost won a Hugo.
Unfortunately, most people today will not catch the well-hidden subtleties that Whedon and Minear injected into the script, and so this episode shall forever endure the tragedy of under-appreciation.
Firefly: Objects in Space (2002)
Beautiful- The Highlight of Whedon's Career
This episode is a real stunner through and through. From the opening walking shot to the breathtaking scene in space to the final scene with the marble, this episode is a masterpiece if only due to its cinematography.
What makes it an eternal classic is the fact that on a conceptual level it integrates 14 episodes of plot, reveals a huge mystery, resolves a character, presents the fantastical without appearing fake or oblique, presents the ideas of choice and justice as fundamental, and thereby delivers the greatest ensemble television piece ever to have existed and be rewarded with cancellation because of its virtues.
Doctor Who: Midnight (2008)
Classic Postmodernist Nonsense That Wants to Be Brilliant
This was without any doubt one of the most pointless episodes of anything in existence.
Art should be about peoples' chosen values, and the clash of those values.
This episode fails utterly on both accounts. First of all, nobody, least of all the alien, has any values. It doesn't even have a name, or a given purpose. It mimics people and it dies. That is all.
The crew passengers don't, either. No matter how "sheik" Russell T Davies thinks he'll appear by turning the plot into incoherent nonsense by editing it so that everyone screams at one another the entire time, this episode presents nothing to aspire to, nothing to achieve. This episode reflects nothing less than a sick, disintegrative psycho-epistemology that refuses to make any coherence, something that spits in the face of everything that Doctor Who, every other thriller, work of science fiction, and indeed the entire school of Romantic Art stand for.
Contrary to this episode's disintegrative premises, things are what they are, A is A, and this trash is trash.
I only give this 4 stars for David Tennant, whose acting almost convinces the audience that the episode you are watching should actually be taken seriously and considered a work of art.
Yeah, right.
Doctor Who: The Poison Sky (2008)
Excellent production values and acting terrible script
Like in most television episodes, this one is let down by the abysmal writing. Just before they die, b ad guys have a complete turn of heart, as though the ideas they cling to are able to be flipped thanks to a moment of compassion.
The not-so-subtle anti-technological undertones are apparent in the script as evil capitalist cars are used to kill the planet, with the atypical big bad military taking a nice big hit as well.
Thankfully, the script editor seems to have reoriented Ms. Raynor back towards actually writing a Doctor Who episode and so Tennant and a big crew manage to make some excellent entertainment.
But why, oh why, do the linguists always have to suck...