A weekly feature in which we're trying to find the most compelling, best acted, written, directed and just generally great, memorable scenes that we've seen in past seven days on TV.
ARROW, "Dark Waters", December 9, 2015, Actors: Stephen Amell, Emily Bett Rickards, The Scene: Felicity gets shot
Diana Mack: Felicity dies (so it seems) after being shot, in Oliver's arms. Can we trust the scene and consider her officially dead? My guess is no. Not because I'm an Olicity fan but because Felicity is a well loved character among the fandom and it would be awful killing her off with no sense. I may be wrong, but I'm still hoping for a happy ending.
FARGO, "The Castle", December 7, 2015, Actors: Patrick Wilson and more, The Scenes: The Motel Shootout & The end sequence & Lou is saved by the UFO
Maximilian Conte: The entire end sequence. It was totally breath-taking, some of the best television I've seen in years. It was suspenseful, funny, and totally insane.
DarkUFO: The Motel Shootout. Also picked by Alex Zhora
Darth Locke: Lou is saved by the UFO!
GRIMM, "Wesen Nacht", December 11, 2015, Actors: Bitsie Tulloch and more, The Scene: Juliette is back
Diana Mack: Back to the first time I saw the episode, I was shocked because I thought she was dead. After that I realized I wasn't so surprised after all. We know Grimm is a supernatural show, so you can't ever know whether a character dies or not. Great changes are coming and I can't wait to see if her return will effect Nick's life with Adalind and the child.
HOMELAND, "New Normal", December 6, 2015, Actors: Claire Danes, Rupert Friend
The Scene: Carrie breaks down seeing Quinn 'die' on the video (picked by Bradley Adams & Alex Zhora)
MARVEL'S AGENTS OF SHIELD, "Maveth", December 8, 2015, Actors: Clark Gregg, Henry Simmons and more, The Scenes: Coulson and Fitz reunite with the team & Mack reminds everyone that he's in charge
Justyna K: Great winter finale! And it actually didn't go as tragically as I thought to be honest (that's a relief!). Trip's death and Skye's transformation last year still remain one of the show's best and most emotional moments for me. I think it's safe to say everyone expected the Inhuman to go through the portal but I never imagined it would be like this. Ward's death is something I did not see coming. I haven't really been a fan of the character but it still feels like a significant change for the show. And poor Will. My scene of the episode, however, is the team reunion near the end. For once everyone's together again and it was heartwarming to see them all finding someone waiting there especially for their return. Mack with Bobbi and Hunter, Daisy with Lincoln, Coulson with May and Fitz with Simmons. And it's the last one that really got me the most, with Jemma both happy to see Leo and others but heartbroken over the realization Will's gone. As always, both actors work brilliantly together. And the final look between Fitz and Coulson sure seems like something that will be explored when the show's back from the break. Can't wait for March already. Kudos!
Bradley Adams: Mack reminds everyone that he's in charge.
NASHVILLE, "We've Got Nothing But Love To Prove", December 9, 2015, Actors: Connie Britton, Charles Esten, The Scene: Deacon and Rayna get engaged
Klutzy girl: It was one of the most romantic TV proposals I've watched, and the scene was so adorable. I'm thrilled for them!
SAVING HOPE, "Shine a Light", December 10, 2015, Actors: Erica Durance, Michelle Nolden, The Scene: Dawn reveals that Alex taught her a lesson about the heart
Aimee Hicks: This episode aired as a standalone Christmas episode, but still managed to tap into the emotions of the characters as they currently stand in the normal series timeline. Dawn and Alex don’t always see eye to eye, but these women have a great friendship despite their differences. Dawn tries hard to hide her kind heart behind a tough as nails exterior but when she lets her guard down she can be incredibly compassionate. As Dawn admitted to Alex her dad cancelled on her for Christmas and she wasn’t exactly in the Christmas spirit and Alex pulling her in on this case helped to give that back to her. This whole season has been about really showing who Dawn is on the inside. As the season goes forward Dawn’s storyline is set to go down an increasingly emotional path and this was a nice moment to see the heart within the tough heart surgeon emerge. Erica and Michelle are always great scene partners and as usual when paired together these two made this scene special. It was about finding the meaning of Christmas and finding the meaning of heart. They may not have been able to save their patient but she taught a lot of people about love and compassion. This was a heavy Christmas episode which made this scene standout even further as it made all the hard stuff worth it to see how the sacrifice their patient made affected the doctors in a positive way. The scene delivered a great message during this holiday season and was driven by standout performances by Erica and Michelle.
SCORPION, "The Old College Try", December 7, 2015, Actors: Elyes Gabel, Katharine McPhee, The Scene: Walter performs Shakespeare and Paige confronts him afterwards
Aimee Hicks: Walter performs Shakespeare with real emotion and Paige confronts him afterwards. Walter has been showing signs of embracing some more of his emotional capability of late, but his logical brain won’t allow him to realize it. He is far more capable of emotion than he allows himself to realize and his performance of Shakespeare was a prime example of that. The look on Paige’s face as he performed the scene made it abundantly clear she knew his performance was no act. When she confronted him afterwards he denied it and in typical Walter style he side stepped to another topic. The irony in that is that he stopped Paige’s conversation in order to run off to see the results of the experiment he did in order to help Ray with his guilt over his fallen partner. I believe we are starting to see the evolution of Walter’s emotional expansion and I hope that as he goes on that journey it will continue to bring him and Paige closer. As always Katharine and Elyes have effortless chemistry that makes the bond between these two characters jump off the screen. It is their connection and the character evolution that made this scene standout in an exceptional episode.
SUPERGIRL, "Human For a Day", December 7, 2015, Actors: Melissa Benoist, Calista Flockhart and more, The Scene: Supergirl stops an armed robbery
Aimee Hicks: A powerless and injured Supergirl stops an armed robbery while Cat pleas to the city to believe in Supergirl as she believes in them. This episode had several big moments, including the epic Hank reveal, but for me this scene of Kara risking her life to be a hero really defined what this show is about. The message this scene aimed to deliver, and succeeded at doing, is tell the audience that anyone can be a hero and super powers are not required to do the right thing. Kara was nursing a broken arm not to mention very susceptible to being shot but she still tried to help and be a hero. In typical Kara fashion she saw the good in the robbers and focused her efforts on trying to get through to their humanity. Melissa did a great job showing that Kara was injured while trying to let the world perceive Supergirl as strong and not injured. Pain flickered across her face at times which she quickly masked over with strength in the form of compassion. The fact that Cat’s plea to the city in respect to Supergirl believing in them was intercut as part of this sequence made the moment all the more powerful. As the season has progressed Cat has shown that Supergirl is more than just a ploy for her to sell papers and magazines. Somewhere along the line she has developed a genuine fondness for her and will do everything in her power to protect her. Melissa and Calista have a fun dynamic when they are in the same room, but even separated they were both able to deliver equally strong heartfelt performances that allowed this scene to just barely inch this scene over the Martian Manhunter reveal to make it my favorite scene from the episode.
SUPERNATURAL, "O Brother Where Art Thou?", December 9, 2015, Actors: Jared Padalecki, Mark Pellegrino, The Scene: Sam and Lucifer meet again
Justyna K: Despite all the mentions of "the cage", I didn't actually expect to see Lucifer back, especially not any time soon, so this was a real surprise for me. Mark Pellegrino is absolutely brilliant in the role so it was great to see him on the show again. His and Jared's interactions are so powerful and spot on. Also, Lucifer always seemed like the show's main villain, so the stakes are getting higher and things crazier and more interesting with him around. I sort of guessed the messages were coming from the cage, but I hated how badly all went down for Sam. Poor guy. For once he wanted to believe something good is happening and someone is trying to help and it ends tragically. As much as I enjoyed this scene, I'm already worried about Sam and how he's gonna get out of this one. Enjoying the season so far, here's to many more great episodes ahead. Kudos!
THE AFFAIR, "210", December 6, 2015, Actors: Richard Schiff, Quinn VanAntwerp
The Scene: The final scene
Alex Zhora: "My oh my oh my".
THE BIG BANG THEORY, "The Earworm Reverberation", December 10, 2015, Actors: Jim Parsons, Mayim Bialik, Stephen Merchant, The Scene: Sheldon declares his love for Amy
Diana Mack: Sheldon realizes he can't live without Amy so he goes straight to her apartment, declares his love and kisses her! And Amy's date, David, is watching and rooting for them. Lol. Will Amy and Sheldon have sex after the episode? I'm rooting for them too.
THE LEFTOVERS, "I Live Here Now", December 6, 2015, Actors: Justin Theroux and more, The Scenes: Kevin sings 'Homeward Bound' & Kevin comes back home
Bradley Adams: Kevin sings 'Homeward Bound' in order to go home. Oh boy. This show knows how to do emotion like no other, and this was one of its best examples yet. The act that Kevin described just seconds earlier as "stupid" brought him to tears as we saw him remember the better moments of his life over the past few years. The choice of song was perfect (as has been the case all season) as the lyrics resonated. What assisted the scene even more was not knowing whether it would work, and the thought of Kevin's song not taking him home was tragic. Justin Theroux was marvellous and really sold it. Also picked by DarkUFO
Maximilian Conte: Ditto! This season has been incredible. There's nothing else as frustrating and rewarding on TV.
Francesco B: Kevin comes back home finding out that his whole family is waiting for him. Also Kevin singing Homeward Bound. I truly consider The Leftovers' season 2 as one of the best season ever. This finale was intense and these scenes with Kevin were emotionally powerful.
YOU'RE THE WORST, "The Heart Is a Dumb Dumb", December 9, 2015, Actors: Aya Cash, Chris Geere
The Scene: The final scene
Maximilian Conte: The final scene where Gretchen tells Jimmy that she'll talk to a doctor... and that she loves him, too.
Diana Mack: Felicity dies (so it seems) after being shot, in Oliver's arms. Can we trust the scene and consider her officially dead? My guess is no. Not because I'm an Olicity fan but because Felicity is a well loved character among the fandom and it would be awful killing her off with no sense. I may be wrong, but I'm still hoping for a happy ending.
Maximilian Conte: The entire end sequence. It was totally breath-taking, some of the best television I've seen in years. It was suspenseful, funny, and totally insane.
DarkUFO: The Motel Shootout. Also picked by Alex Zhora
Darth Locke: Lou is saved by the UFO!
Diana Mack: Back to the first time I saw the episode, I was shocked because I thought she was dead. After that I realized I wasn't so surprised after all. We know Grimm is a supernatural show, so you can't ever know whether a character dies or not. Great changes are coming and I can't wait to see if her return will effect Nick's life with Adalind and the child.
HOMELAND, "New Normal", December 6, 2015, Actors: Claire Danes, Rupert Friend
The Scene: Carrie breaks down seeing Quinn 'die' on the video (picked by Bradley Adams & Alex Zhora)
Justyna K: Great winter finale! And it actually didn't go as tragically as I thought to be honest (that's a relief!). Trip's death and Skye's transformation last year still remain one of the show's best and most emotional moments for me. I think it's safe to say everyone expected the Inhuman to go through the portal but I never imagined it would be like this. Ward's death is something I did not see coming. I haven't really been a fan of the character but it still feels like a significant change for the show. And poor Will. My scene of the episode, however, is the team reunion near the end. For once everyone's together again and it was heartwarming to see them all finding someone waiting there especially for their return. Mack with Bobbi and Hunter, Daisy with Lincoln, Coulson with May and Fitz with Simmons. And it's the last one that really got me the most, with Jemma both happy to see Leo and others but heartbroken over the realization Will's gone. As always, both actors work brilliantly together. And the final look between Fitz and Coulson sure seems like something that will be explored when the show's back from the break. Can't wait for March already. Kudos!
Bradley Adams: Mack reminds everyone that he's in charge.
NASHVILLE, "We've Got Nothing But Love To Prove", December 9, 2015, Actors: Connie Britton, Charles Esten, The Scene: Deacon and Rayna get engaged
Klutzy girl: It was one of the most romantic TV proposals I've watched, and the scene was so adorable. I'm thrilled for them!
Aimee Hicks: This episode aired as a standalone Christmas episode, but still managed to tap into the emotions of the characters as they currently stand in the normal series timeline. Dawn and Alex don’t always see eye to eye, but these women have a great friendship despite their differences. Dawn tries hard to hide her kind heart behind a tough as nails exterior but when she lets her guard down she can be incredibly compassionate. As Dawn admitted to Alex her dad cancelled on her for Christmas and she wasn’t exactly in the Christmas spirit and Alex pulling her in on this case helped to give that back to her. This whole season has been about really showing who Dawn is on the inside. As the season goes forward Dawn’s storyline is set to go down an increasingly emotional path and this was a nice moment to see the heart within the tough heart surgeon emerge. Erica and Michelle are always great scene partners and as usual when paired together these two made this scene special. It was about finding the meaning of Christmas and finding the meaning of heart. They may not have been able to save their patient but she taught a lot of people about love and compassion. This was a heavy Christmas episode which made this scene standout even further as it made all the hard stuff worth it to see how the sacrifice their patient made affected the doctors in a positive way. The scene delivered a great message during this holiday season and was driven by standout performances by Erica and Michelle.
Aimee Hicks: Walter performs Shakespeare with real emotion and Paige confronts him afterwards. Walter has been showing signs of embracing some more of his emotional capability of late, but his logical brain won’t allow him to realize it. He is far more capable of emotion than he allows himself to realize and his performance of Shakespeare was a prime example of that. The look on Paige’s face as he performed the scene made it abundantly clear she knew his performance was no act. When she confronted him afterwards he denied it and in typical Walter style he side stepped to another topic. The irony in that is that he stopped Paige’s conversation in order to run off to see the results of the experiment he did in order to help Ray with his guilt over his fallen partner. I believe we are starting to see the evolution of Walter’s emotional expansion and I hope that as he goes on that journey it will continue to bring him and Paige closer. As always Katharine and Elyes have effortless chemistry that makes the bond between these two characters jump off the screen. It is their connection and the character evolution that made this scene standout in an exceptional episode.
Aimee Hicks: A powerless and injured Supergirl stops an armed robbery while Cat pleas to the city to believe in Supergirl as she believes in them. This episode had several big moments, including the epic Hank reveal, but for me this scene of Kara risking her life to be a hero really defined what this show is about. The message this scene aimed to deliver, and succeeded at doing, is tell the audience that anyone can be a hero and super powers are not required to do the right thing. Kara was nursing a broken arm not to mention very susceptible to being shot but she still tried to help and be a hero. In typical Kara fashion she saw the good in the robbers and focused her efforts on trying to get through to their humanity. Melissa did a great job showing that Kara was injured while trying to let the world perceive Supergirl as strong and not injured. Pain flickered across her face at times which she quickly masked over with strength in the form of compassion. The fact that Cat’s plea to the city in respect to Supergirl believing in them was intercut as part of this sequence made the moment all the more powerful. As the season has progressed Cat has shown that Supergirl is more than just a ploy for her to sell papers and magazines. Somewhere along the line she has developed a genuine fondness for her and will do everything in her power to protect her. Melissa and Calista have a fun dynamic when they are in the same room, but even separated they were both able to deliver equally strong heartfelt performances that allowed this scene to just barely inch this scene over the Martian Manhunter reveal to make it my favorite scene from the episode.
Justyna K: Despite all the mentions of "the cage", I didn't actually expect to see Lucifer back, especially not any time soon, so this was a real surprise for me. Mark Pellegrino is absolutely brilliant in the role so it was great to see him on the show again. His and Jared's interactions are so powerful and spot on. Also, Lucifer always seemed like the show's main villain, so the stakes are getting higher and things crazier and more interesting with him around. I sort of guessed the messages were coming from the cage, but I hated how badly all went down for Sam. Poor guy. For once he wanted to believe something good is happening and someone is trying to help and it ends tragically. As much as I enjoyed this scene, I'm already worried about Sam and how he's gonna get out of this one. Enjoying the season so far, here's to many more great episodes ahead. Kudos!
THE AFFAIR, "210", December 6, 2015, Actors: Richard Schiff, Quinn VanAntwerp
The Scene: The final scene
Alex Zhora: "My oh my oh my".
THE BIG BANG THEORY, "The Earworm Reverberation", December 10, 2015, Actors: Jim Parsons, Mayim Bialik, Stephen Merchant, The Scene: Sheldon declares his love for Amy
Diana Mack: Sheldon realizes he can't live without Amy so he goes straight to her apartment, declares his love and kisses her! And Amy's date, David, is watching and rooting for them. Lol. Will Amy and Sheldon have sex after the episode? I'm rooting for them too.
Bradley Adams: Kevin sings 'Homeward Bound' in order to go home. Oh boy. This show knows how to do emotion like no other, and this was one of its best examples yet. The act that Kevin described just seconds earlier as "stupid" brought him to tears as we saw him remember the better moments of his life over the past few years. The choice of song was perfect (as has been the case all season) as the lyrics resonated. What assisted the scene even more was not knowing whether it would work, and the thought of Kevin's song not taking him home was tragic. Justin Theroux was marvellous and really sold it. Also picked by DarkUFO
Maximilian Conte: Ditto! This season has been incredible. There's nothing else as frustrating and rewarding on TV.
Francesco B: Kevin comes back home finding out that his whole family is waiting for him. Also Kevin singing Homeward Bound. I truly consider The Leftovers' season 2 as one of the best season ever. This finale was intense and these scenes with Kevin were emotionally powerful.
YOU'RE THE WORST, "The Heart Is a Dumb Dumb", December 9, 2015, Actors: Aya Cash, Chris Geere
The Scene: The final scene
Maximilian Conte: The final scene where Gretchen tells Jimmy that she'll talk to a doctor... and that she loves him, too.
