The shrewd schemer, the master manipulator, the calculating conspirator who aspired to climb the ladder all the way to the Iron Throne instead found himself on his knees, begging for his life. His own plot to turn Sansa and Arya against each other backfired spectacularly, as the two sisters (with an assist from Bran) ganged up on him instead. Sansa dealt the sentence, while Arya executed the order. Chaos is a ladder — and it goes all the way down into the grave. —Kelly Woo
(Photo: HBO)

The Orphan Black series finale really started cooking with gas when the Core Four Leda sestras gathered in Alison’s backyard to celebrate the birth of Helena’s twins. It was an extended sequence that the show — and star Tatiana Maslany (as well as her hardworking double, Kathryn Alexandre) — had been building to over the course of the entire series, with the main cast of clones seamlessly mingling and sharing the same frame for almost 20 minutes. It’s a uniquely satisfying moment that no other show will ever be able to clone. —Ethan Alter
(Photo: BBC America)

It took six episodes and 20 years for Outlander‘s separated-by-centuries lovers, Jamie and Claire, to rekindle their red-hot marriage. Once the big reunion finally happened, though, it knocked Jamie — and us — out. Then, after the highlander turned printer picked himself up off the floor, he and Claire promptly set about making up for lost time, with an extended evening of tears, laughter, talking … and that other thing. You’ve heard of trial separations? This particular separation was a trial for fans, one we hopefully won’t be asked to repeat any time soon. —EA
(Photo: Starz)

Damon Lindelof, you magnificent bastard. Playing off all the hullabaloo sparked by Justin Theroux’s, ahem, unsupported jog in Season 1, The Leftovers creator made Kevin’s junk the intentional focus of a scene in the series’ penultimate episode, when President of the United States Kevin has to use a biometric scanner to confirm his identity. That means scanning not just his face, but also his, you know, Lil’ POTUS. Kevin demands to know why and is told advancements in plastic surgery mean his face could be copied. But … “Your penis, sir, they’re not gonna go to that length,” a security man tells him (with a straight face), prompting Kevin’s eyeroll and, no joke, an accompanying thud when he puts penis to scanner. —Kimberly Potts
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Generally speaking, “Let’s Generalize About Men,” is one of the best songs the musical geniuses over at Crazy Ex-Girlfriend have ever recorded. To get more specific about its brilliance, it deftly highlights the various frustrating and/or terrible things men do (#YesAllMen) while also reminding the audience that such gross generalizations can be grossly over the top. It’s also just hysterically funny. —EA
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It’s been three months, but we’re still screaming about the enigmatic final scene of David Lynch’s typically enigmatic Twin Peaks revival. Having saved Laura Palmer from the death that kicked off the series 25 years ago, Agent Cooper brings the woman he believes to be Laura back home. Only it isn’t her home. Her intensely primal response to being in the wrong place and, possibly, the wrong time reverberates throughout those closing moments and continues to echo in our ears. —EA
(Photo: Showtime)

You may still be ticked off about it, but ‘fess up: The Walking Dead got us all good with this shocker, in which Carl Grimes was bitten by a walker two episodes prior to the midseason finale but kept it a secret until he unveiled the chompers mark in the final minutes of the episode. Cliffhanger until Season 8 continues in February 2018? Nah … both actor Chandler Riggs and TWD showrunner Scott Gimple confirmed Carl will die from the wound. The only questions remaining are just how many Kleenex the inevitably teary midseason premiere — when Carl will die — will require, and how seismic a shift the loss will cause for the rest of the season, and series. Many fans thought TWD would end with the reveal that the series had been Carl’s story, told from adult Carl’s point of view. While that’s still a possibility for the comic book, in which Carl is still alive, the TV show is going to have to shift a lot of characters and a lot of storylines after this huge divergence from the source material. —KP
(Photo: AMC)

Plot twists on The Americans are rarely — OK, never — happy occasions, but not so with this surprise, which finds undercover KGB spies Philip and Elizabeth Jennings getting married. Actually, it’s Mikhail and Nadezhda, their real identities, who tie the knot during a Russian Orthodox Church ceremony in a dark warehouse, but it’s a lovely payoff for viewers, and the couple, whose 20-year relationship began as an arranged pairing to set their undercover identities and, through fake jobs, honey traps, assassinations, and two children, has turned into a genuine, loving, ridiculously complicated marriage. —KP
(Photo: AMC)

It couldn’t have happened to a worse person. Perry’s facade as the ideal husband cracks in public view in the Big Little Lies finale, and rather than try to pick up the pieces, his traumatized wife, Celeste, and her friends knock the whole damn thing down a flight of stairs. It’s a rousing bit of patriarchy-toppling that sent the series out on a high note in April and, watched again at the end of the year, presages the way real-world abusers are seeing their lies exposed. —EA
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When Hulu’s Emmy-winning series returns for Season 2 in April, Elisabeth Moss’s heroine may not be named Offred anymore. That’s because she’s no longer “Of Fred,” as in Fred Waterford, the man whose home she lived in as his designated breeder — a privilege granted to members of the Republic of Gilead’s ruling class. Offred (or as she was known in another life, June) is freed from her prison at the end of the season finale, led away by Gilead’s secret police and placed in the back of a black van. In Margaret Atwood’s novel, that’s where we leave her. Viewers, on the other hand, will soon see if she reclaims her name … or is forced to take another one. —EA
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The Doctor’s longtime Time Lord nemesis is no stranger to backstabbing betrayals, but the revived Doctor Who‘s 10th-season finale marks the first time when the Master stabs himself (and then shoots herself) in the back. Trapped on a Cybermen-filled colony ship caught in the pull of a black hole, the Master’s current form, Missy, kills her former self (John Simm), with the intention of standing alongside the Doctor instead of against him. Before he regenerates, the Master hits Missy with the full blast of his laser screwdriver, seemingly preventing her from taking another form. It’s a masterful — and hopefully temporary — exit for a fan favorite villain. —EA
(Image: BBC America)

Forget Demogorgons and Demo-dogs — nothing’s more terrifying than getting rejected at the school dance. Dustin may be a hero when it comes to all things Upside Down (and one who rocks an amazing head of hair), but he winds up sitting alone on the bleachers while his friends pair up. Then Nancy saves him from social disaster by asking him to dance. Just look at his shining eyes while she gives him a pep talk and try to stop your heart from melting. —KW
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Netflix’s wrestling series tapped out of its freshman season with an epic bout pitting friends turned adversaries Ruth and Debbie against each other as their in-ring Cold War guises. In one corner stood the Natasha Fatale-worthy Soviet, Zoya, while the other corner was occupied by the stalwart, spandex-clad American, Liberty Bell. Their rumble may have been carefully choreographed, but every blow, body slam, and flying leap was performed with maximum heart. —EA
(Image: Netflix)

We’ve seen it dozens of times before: a scene between a woman and man who are platonic friends, the guy makes a move, and she turns him down. But Pamela Adlon elevates this typical bit by basically saying just one word, repeated over and over again: “No.” After Jeff attempts to kiss her in the truck, Sam pounces on him, covering his mouth and growling “No, no, no … no!” with different inflections. She shakes his head, points her finger at him, turns off the radio, and stares straight into his eyes. —KW
(Photo: FX)

In his monologue, the ABC late-night host often jokes about politicians and current events, but in May, he took a turn into something very personal — his baby boy, who required heart surgery three days after being born. Kimmel used that difficult situation to plead for continued access to health insurance for people with preexisting conditions. “If your baby is going to die and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make. I think that’s something that whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat or something else, we all agree on that, right?” Right. Let’s make sure any new laws pass the “Jimmy Kimmel Test.” —KW
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Is this the moment Jimmy becomes Saul, the moment he decimates his proud, emotionally crippled fellow attorney brother Chuck on the witness stand, in front of Chuck’s peers, law firm partner, and the ex-wife he’s still in love with? There may not be any one moment that turns Jimmy into Saul, but this is the moment when, no matter how villainous we might have thought Chuck to be, we come to see him as the truly fragile, lonely, mentally unstable, sympathetic man he is — was, after that season finale — when he comes unglued during Jimmy’s manipulative questioning. —KP
(Photo: AMC)

Dylan knows his little bro has serious mental problems. But does he expect to find their mother, their dead mother, her body carefully preserved, sitting at the dinner table Norman has so carefully prepared for a family meal? Uh, no. And after a quick hurling session — as one would do after stumbling upon such a gruesome shocker — Dylan has to confront Norman and try to persuade him they’re never going to have the happy family life they both wanted. They’re both heartbroken, both victims of Norma and the fallout of her own broken childhood, making it all the more tragic that Dylan is forced to be the one to kill his brother when Norman comes running at him with a knife (a callback to the beginning of the series). —KP
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Ray Donovan showrunner David Hollander decided to unfold the story of Abby Donovan’s death in reverse so that viewers would feel the full impact of her loss, not just the actual death. Mission accomplished, as awards-worthy performances by Paula Malcomson and her co-stars delve into the nuances of the family’s relationships, and Abby’s raw, relatable feelings about her death, including anger that the cheating, murderous love of her life gets to live while she wastes away. In her last chance to take control of what remains, Abby enlists the help of brother-in-law Terry and equally strong daughter Bridget to take some pills and fall peacefully, forever asleep in her own bed. In a bitter twist, Ray returns home just too late, having gone to New York and basically swapped another young cancer patient’s life for the chance to get Abby into a clinical trial that might have saved hers. —KP
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In April, the 13-episode series about the suicide of high school student Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford) was at the top of teens’ Netflix queue, but the binge-worthy series had some parents up in arms over a graphic scene in which the tragic teen was shown slashing her wrists in a bathtub. The series, which also featured a violent sexual assault scene, came under fire by suicide prevention groups that felt it glamorized teen suicide. Netflix stood by the story of Hannah’s suicide and the 13 cassette tapes she left behind but ultimately ramped up the trigger warnings ahead of each episode. —Victoria Miller
(Image: Netflix)

The pilot boasts several impressive sequences, including the intro that told the life story of the troubled David Haller. The most audacious was Syd, Ptonomy, and Kerry busting David out of his watery interrogation. From there, the camera followed them in one dizzying, fluid take as bullets whizzed by and bad guys were tossed aside with the flick of a hand. This was a jaw-dropping show of mutant powers that announced that Legion wasn’t your average superhero TV show. —KW
(Image: FX)

It’s rare for a comedy to have a twist this shocking: In last January’s Season 1 finale, Eleanor (Kristen Bell) finally realized that “the Good Place” to which she believed she had been falsely admitted after dying was actually a new kind of “Bad Place” designed by demon Michael (Ted Danson). Fan Damon Lindelof put it best: “The Good Place blew my mind. [Creator] Mike Schur told me what he was gonna do before he did it and it STILL blew my mind,” he told us. “Best first season finale for any show I think I’ve ever seen. All that, and FUNNY too. This show should get Emmy nominations for everything there is.” —Mandi Bierly
(Photo: NBC)

What do we love most about Titus’s partly musical reaction to his boyfriend Mikey’s alleged infidelity/Beyoncé tribute? So many things, from his flowy sun yellow caftan and gold boots to his struggle with that eternal question: What’s worse, being “heartbroke or roachbit?” Other quotable moments: “the flyest tenor in the choir up in your short-ort-orts,” “Bucky with the good hair,” and one we’re still saying occasionally, “Boom, boy, bye, foop.” Oh, maybe our most favorite thing: Titus is particularly peeved Mikey wore his date outfit, “that blue sweater I put on you in Episode 204 of our relationship,” during his videogame evening with another dude. “Kimmy Kidnaps Gretchen!” — Episode 204 — does indeed find Titus dressing his man in the exact blue sweater Mikey’s sporting when Titus sees him with “Jorff.” —KP
(Photo: Netflix)

From the beginning, the Girls made for unlikely friends. And certainly, their relationships were contentious at best and toxic at worst. Why did they remain in one another’s lives? It was up to Shoshanna to initiate the breakup we all saw coming. When Hanna, Marnie, Jessa, and Shoshanna gathered in one place, the latter’s engagement and new life shocked her so-called friends. But she’d moved on and it was time for the other three to do the same. “I have come to realize how exhausting and narcissistic and ultimately boring this whole dynamic is, and I finally feel brave enough to create some distance for myself,” she declares, adding, “I think we should all just agree to call it. OK? Great.” Call it a conscious un-quadrupling. —KW
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Viewers had plenty of burning questions about Jack Pearson’s death in the first season of This Is Us, but no one saw this coming. Season 2 gave viewers a gut-punch from the get-go when the episode “A Father’s Advice” ended with Rebecca (Mandy Moore) pulling up to the burnt-out remains of the Pearsons’ ’80s/’90s home, Jack’s personal belongings in a plastic bag on the seat beside her as she wailed in agony. We still don’t know exactly how Jack died — and we’re not sure we want to now. —VM
(Photo: NBC)

It’s the moment that convinced Jason Bateman to take a trip to the Ozarks. As morally compromised financial planner Marty Byrd prepares to confront his wife’s lover, that particular problem resolves itself with a one-way trip from a skyscraper balcony to the pavement below, courtesy of a Mexican drug cartel. The impact of that murder is felt in Ozark‘s first episode and reverberates throughout the show’s hit first season, with a steady stream of conflicts raining down on Marty’s head. Fortunately for him, most of those subsequent conflicts aren’t human-shaped. —EA
(Image: Netflix)

Every western worthy of the genre includes a climactic shootout, with the good guys facing the bad guys in a fight to the finish. But this showdown pitted good girls against Frank Griffin and his murderous gang — and the ladies of La Belle held their own (even if some of them had never held a gun before). The scene was a beauty to behold, with fiery smoke wafting down main street, Alice and Mary Agnes standing like avenging angels on the roof, and horses galloping through hotel hallways. It was nice of Roy and Bill to show up at the end to take out a few last stragglers, but this shootout was all about the girl (gun) power. —KW
(Image: Netflix)

King of Queens fans were in their glory when Kevin James reunited with his former TV wife, Leah Remini, for a two-parter at the end of the first season of Kevin Can Wait. The reunion of the King of Queens couple even came with a cutesy title: “The Sting of Queens.” At the time, no one knew Remini would become a Kevin Can Wait series regular (RIP, Donna), but it was clear that even after a 10-year separation, the chemistry between this comedy king and queen was still there. —VM
(Photo: Jeff Neumann/CBS)

Just like us, Issa, Lawrence, and their friends are addicted to a TV show. Due North is set in the antebellum South and centers on a slave (Regina Hall) and the master she loves (Scott Foley). Insecure‘s showrunner has described it as “Scandal meets Underground.” What started off as a joke in the writers room became an actual thing; eight episodes of Due North were written and filmed like a real show. The funniest part is watching the Insecure characters get so into it, like when Chad yells, “Bitch, let the bitch read!” at his screen. If only we could binge it too! —KW
(Photo: HBO)

In the series finale of the gloriously insane HBO comedy, Lee Russell (Walton Goggins) was almost eaten alive by the embodiment of his power-hungry ambition, a tiger, the school’s mascot. The real twist: As soon as the audience stopped laughing, we found ourselves getting misty. In the surprisingly tender aftermath, Russell told Neal Gamby (Danny McBride) that the last year had been his favorite year of his life — and tried to get Gamby to say he loved him too. “I remember [Walton] and I both were like, ‘This is what the whole entire series is about. It’s about this scene. If we can just make people take this ride for this scene, then we will have done what we needed to do with the show,” McBride told us. —MB
(Photo: HBO)

When Melissa McCarthy made her first surprise appearance on SNL in February as then-press secretary Sean Spicer, it was a seismic moment. Already on a roll thanks to Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump parody, the show elevated its comedy game even more. McCarthy’s impersonation was perfect — she nailed Spicer’s shouting, his gum-chewing, his rage, and his tendency to, uh, exaggerate the truth. —KW
(Photo: NBC)