It is a gift to become emotionally invested in fiction. Even though we know what we are watching isn't real, we still feel for the characters, laughing when they laugh, crying when they cry, and screaming "fuck yeah!" when they do a particularly fuck yeah–worthy thing.
These are the TV moments that made us cry at the screen in 2021.
12. The Shrink Next Door was the scene of a fire.
Better late than never, Marty. Apple TV+ is a credit.
Marty is a nice guy in The Shrink Next Door. It was too nice by a mile. Doctor Ike is not nice. He's an unethical psychiatrist, a predator, and a terrible houseguest. If You Give A Mouse A Cookie is a real-life version of the movie, which takes Marty away from his family, his friends, his money, and his autonomy over his own life. It's easy to assume that he'll never escape because of the fact that he had Marty in his sway for almost thirty years. That makes the moment when Marty fires Ike all the more satisfying. Marty couldn't regain those lost years, but standing up for himself late was definitely better than never.
The Shrink Next Door can be watched on Apple TV+.
11. Catherine is going for the kill.
At the end of The Great Season 1, Catherine fails to seal the deal on her coup by refusing to kill her husband. The second season deals with the aftermath of leaving the former Russian emperor alive as she takes over his empire, as well as with Catherine and Peter's budding feelings for each other as they become parents to baby Paul. The will-they-won't-they makes for some great romantic tension, but the untenability of falling in love with the husband you really ought to have murdered builds through the season until Catherine finally kills him. It should have been done a long time ago, Catherine.
The Great is available to watch.
10. Sex education with Otis and Maeve.
Sex Education fans had given up on a happy ending for Otis and Maeve, after two years of obstacles and poor timing, the dissolution of Otis and Maeve's sex advice clinic, and their friendship. In the fifth episode of the third season, we were surprised to see the estranged friends at a French rest stop, where they fight, talk, and finally kiss. By the final episode, we get a glimpse of what a relationship between these two would look like.
Sex Education is available on the internet.
9. What if the Multiverse were a place where the Guardians of the Multiverse lived?
Look who's intervening now. The credit is given to the studio that made it.
Think back to 2012 What is the most important moment from the first Avenger movie? It's an easy choice, the moment when the Avengers finally assemble. It's difficult to stand out in a series as sweeping as the one taking shape, but if there's any one sequence that defines a "before" and "after" for the ongoing story, it's that one.
The Disney+ series What If... is a way to toy with the expectations of a decade's worth of film and streaming TV. In every episode, a classic MCU moment is reinvented around a new premise. It's no surprise that the big "Avengers, assemble!" remix came during the finale. It's the Guardians of the Multiverse, not the Avengers. The emotional impact is the same. We inch forward in our seats, shout for joy, and soak in every last second of a beautiful, season-long payoff that is itself roots in more than 10 years of Hollywood history.
You can watch What If...? on Disney+.
8. Gi-hun's last phone call was Squid Game.
The first episode of Squid Game made it clear that whoever survived would have a lot to live with. In the finale, we catch up with a broken Gi-Hun, a year after he won the whole pot, but can't escape what he went through in the game. He sees The Salesman, brutalizing another desperate soul to kick off the year, just as things start to look up after he rescues Sae- Byeok's brother and plans to move to America for his daughter.
He wrested the games calling card away from the man. He dialed as Gi-Hun walked the jetway. His voice was so angry that he declared that he was not a horse, but a person. He wants to know who is running the games and how they do it. Gi-Hun was told not to get any ideas. Gi-Hun cannot forget and he cannot forgive. The call ends, but he makes a decision and walks out of the jetway back to Korea. He can end them all at once.
Squid Game is available on the internet.
7. The classic Loki remakes.
The award for the most memorable appearance in the fifth episode is given to the classic Loki. In the best moment of the timey-wimey series, Classic Loki makes an epic stand against Alioth. For a perfect "f* yeah" moment, his rebuilding of Asgard makes for a perfect distraction. This is the most powerful variant of the Loki, and it opens up future possibilities for extreme mischievousness. The purpose is wonderful.
Disney+ has a streaming service called Disney+.
6. That bridge fight is called Arcane.
Jinx, I need a coke. The credit is given to:
This isn't a "F- yeah" moment for any character in League of Legends. When Jinx shows up to interrupt their mission, it's kind of the opposite, since Vi's lost faith in Powder. The fight between Ekko and Jinx proves how beautiful and creative the show can get even in its most violent, heartbreaking moments. Ekko opens the fight with his pocket watch swinging, and the ticking brings both characters back to their more innocent days, when Ekko and Powder would play ball together. When the ball transforms into a bullet, the animation becomes hazy and nostalgic. Whew. The animation team.
You can watch Arcane on the internet.
5. Succession, Tom gets a win.
It's difficult to root for anyone in Succession since they're all terrible people. The Season 3 finale of the show is one of the most meaningful and exciting twists the show has ever seen. Tom was worried about going to jail. He was worried that his wife didn't love him. At one point, she said so, in an ill-advised attempt at dirty talk. When an opportunity arises for Tom to regain some of the power he once had, he takes it, throwing Shiv and her brothers under the bus in order to gain some status with Logan. It's the biggest power play of the season, and it sets up a real bloodbath between husband and wife as the show moves forward. The moral of the story is that if your partner is going to prison, be nice to them.
Succession is available on HBO Max.
4. Hacks, never perform again.
An obnoxious, unfunny comedian is the worst. Drew is the owner of a comedy club who harasses the female performers. He's gross, and all too familiar, which is why he's called out by comedy legend Deborah Vance. If Drew never performs again, she will give him $1.69 million. Smart owns this scene, with Deborah's anger bubbling just under a facade of sharp wit. When Drew accepts her offer, she is happy as well. Deborah says she can get rid of one of them. We would like to give our sincerest thanks.
Hacks is available on the internet.
3. Crystal takes the mic.
This one is clear. Credit: Starz
Heels episode 5 was one of the few TV moments that made me stand up and yell in my living room. You don't realize you would die for Crystal Tyler before this moment, but that's how well-written Michael Waldron's wrestling drama is.
Jack Spade wants to keep his storylines focused on male wrestlers, and he disrespected her recently. Crystal was fired from her job so that brother Ace could take the new girl he was sleeping with. Crystal has had enough. She has a voice in her ear that tells her that she has something special and should take it. So she does. She snatched the microphone from the hand of Ace so that she could dump him for Bobby Pin instead of being accused of being an adulterer. The crowd goes crazy and soon, Ace does the same. Crystal lives at the Duffy Wrestling League, and we can't wait to see what she does next.
Heels is available to watch on Starz.
2. "Agatha All Along" was the title.
WandaVision is the first Disney+ series to start painting a broader picture of the MCU, and it's not without its share of surprises. Mephisto wasn't one of them. Agatha had a close relationship with the Devil in the comic and got her own big coming-out moment.
Fans loudly voiced their suspicion that Wanda's neighbor, who is friendly and helpful, would turn out to be a version of the comic book character who survived the Salem Witch Trials. Our patience was rewarded with an expected reveal that arrived in the most unexpected and musical of ways, but one that was nonetheless thematically appropriate for WandaVision.
"Agatha All Along" is one of the best reveals to date, as it was one of the earworms we all found ourselves humming for weeks after it aired. It was a surprise that theory-loving fans would not be surprised about the arrival of a character who will surely be seen more and more.
WandaVision is on Disney+.
1. You're a Mean One, Mr.
Worlds are colliding. Finally! Before Spider-Man: No Way Home hit theaters, Hawkeye had one last episode on Disney+. Kate Bishop's mom, Eleanor, is in a room with a large man wearing a white suit. Wilson Fisk is the Kingpin of the comic book series, "Marvel's Kingpin" byVincent D'Onofrio.
The import of the moment may have been lost for fans of the Disney+ series. The big crime guy is recognized by anyone who remembers the shows. Daredevil was a nemesis to Kingpin. His appearance in a Disney+ series is confirmation that what happened on the streaming service is still a factor in the future of the company. How lucky we are. Let's allow Danny Rand to sit this one out.
You can watch Hawkeye on Disney+.
Pietro???, WandaVision was an honorable mention.
Did we say Pietro? We meant him. The credit is given to the studio that made it.
The fans had high hopes for WandaVision after a year of no new releases. The show was great, but equal to its critical reception was the level of hype each new episode brought with its twists and reveals. Evan Peters, who played Quicksilver in the X-Men series, appeared on WandaVision as Wanda's brother, who was previously played in the MCU. If not the decade, it would have been the biggest "F- yeah" moment of the year, as it appeared to be confirmation of the multiverse and the X-men crossing over into the MCU. Peters's Pietro was a fake that was projected into the body of a Westview resident. There is a person named Ralph. There is a person named Bohner. Points are given for the awesome few weeks when we all thought the biggest event in the MCU was happening.
WandaVision is on Disney+.
