Most Memorable Episodes 2009

Here's the rundown of the most memorable episodes of 2009:

"An Alchemist's Anguish" (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Season 1 Episode 4)
Written by Hiroshi Ōnogi
Directed by Yasuhiro Irie

You won't see this on American animation. An absolute gutter of an episode. Ed and Al visit the home of the Sewing Life Alchemist Shou Tucker, who gained fame by creating a talking chimera two years back, and meets his daughter Nina and her dog Alexander. All seems fine as Tucker offers use of his library for the brothers' research, and the brothers fit in some playtime with the adorable Nina during breaks in their work. Despite Tucker's laid-back facade, however, one notices something is amiss almost immediately. The awful truth finally reveals itself, however, when Ed and Al found that Tucker has subsequently transmuted Nina and Alexander into a chimera in order to regain his certification as a State Alchemist, and that his wife was used in the transmutation of the talking chimera two years ago. The stomach-churning turn of events take a tragic, final twist when Scar, who had been hunting State Alchemists, takes Tucker's life when the latter was in the military's custody, and kills Nina's chimera as an act of mercy because she can never be restored as a human again. Emotionally draining, but utterly compelling, this is a fine example of the very best that Japanese anime can offer.

"And in the End..." (ER Series Finale)
Written by John Wells
Directed by Rod Holcomb

ER's final season was an extended, loving farewell to the longtime staple, and this finale capped it off with the perfect closure. Director Holcomb (who won an Emmy for this episode) and longtime showrunner Wells balanced the day-to-day hectic pace of the ER (including an excellent central case of a teen binge party gone wrong) with a sense of finality as characters reunite for farewells. It was a real treat for a longtime fan such as myself to see Carter, Weaver, Benton and Corday together again, while the cast of the latter seasons deservedly also got their share of the airtime, including Archie, the new head of the ER (who would've thought? Haha). As the final shot pans out of County General for the last time as the staff works on patients from an incoming case, we might have taken leave of the good folks of the ER, but for them in their fictional universe, life goes on. Thanks for 14 years, ER.

"Born to Run" (Terminator: TSCC Series Finale)
Written by Josh Friedman
Directed by Jeffrey Hunt

Not easy to write a finale not knowing whether the series would be renewed or not, but showrunner Friedman came up with this real gem, with a genius of a final scene that would have worked either as a series or season finale. The prison breakout scene was a great homage to the original Terminator 1 & 2 movies, including having part of Cameron's face blown off to reveal the cybernetic red eye below the skin. After Cameron willingly surrenders her chip to John Henry who skips town into the future, John and the T1000 Catherine Weaver (who turns out not to be the villain we all thought she was) jumps too in pursuit. They find themselves in an alternate timeline (or to a timepoint in the current timeline) when the resistance hasn't been acquainted with John Connor yet, and where Allison, not Cameron, was in the group John encounters. So many questions, but yet, in a way, the show has also come to a kind of natural conclusion with the maturing of John. With time travel being such an integral part of the Terminator franchise, it might almost be OK not to have a new season to answer all of the questions posed by that final sequence, because the show has brought the audience to a point where we can speculate on what might happen next, given the clues of what happened in the series.

"Broke" (The Office, Season 5 Episode 23)
Written by Charlie Grandy
Directed by Steve Carell

The Michael Scott Paper Company arc comes to a great conclusion with Michael's standoff negotiation with Wallace, in which he brilliantly got (most of) what he wanted, i.e. his old job back, as well as jobs for fellow defectors Ryan and Pam. Especially loved the brilliant way in which Michael's genius-by-way-of-being-an-oaf is portrayed, as he threatened Wallace that he will just keep opening new makeshift paper companies that take away Dunder-Mifflin's business if his demands are not met. Another highlight is Jim outmaneuvering Dwight as the latter tried to expose Michael's weak bargaining position (the MSPC is actually broke) to Charles. The highlight of a great year 5 for the show, coming off a strike-shortened season.

"Daybreak: Part 2" (Battlestar Galactica, Season 4 Episode 20)
Written by Ronald D. Moore
Directed by Michael Rymer

The finale had its detractors, but the first half at least was as grippingly exciting as the series' best episodes, as Galactica staged an outrageous attempt at rescuing Hera from the Cylons' base proximate to a black hole. The sense of impending doom, despite the audience knowing that Galactica will pull through, was extremely well portrayed. And there was a genuine regret when, after all was done and dusted, Tigh resignedly announced that the ship had finally jumped its last jump. The second part, with the scenes on prehistoric Earth, were contemplative and meditative, and at least for me, served as a nice coda to the series' various characters. This great science fiction series will be missed.

"The Death of the Undying" (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Season 1 Episode 19)
Written by Hiroshi Ōnogi
Directed by Yasuhiro Irie

A perfect epitome of FMA's breakneck pace of storytelling, this one's as emotionally charged as it is thrilling. A battle royale of epic proportions ensues after Roy and his men pursue Barry's human form into the basement of the hospital where the Homunculi had been conducting human experiments. Lust appeared to have Roy and Havoc left for dead, but commits the mistake of not finishing off her opponents when she had the chance. Get this...Roy cauterized his wounds using his own flames, using Havoc's lighter, and goes back and consigns Lust to oblivion by repeatedly burning her until the regenerative powers of her Philosopher's Stone is expended. That has to be the badass TV moment of the year. Lust's last words might very well be among the best parting lines of a villain ever ("I've lost...this is frustrating"), being so devilishly understated. As terrific as the main battle is, the best scene of the episode, for me, comes right before, as Riza found out from Lust that Roy was (apparently) dead. Her complete loss of will to live, after what she knew was an utterly futile attempt to avenge Roy, was heartbreaking to watch, and equally good was Al's stoic protection of Riza as she was about to be killed by Lust. And that's not all the awesomeness of the episode, as the installment still finds time to have Barry come to a tragic, ironic end as his human form ignorantly scratches off his blood seal, and Ed finally comes face-to-face with their long estranged father Hohenheim. Absolutely. Terrific.

"Enemy at the Gate" (Stargate: Atlantis, Series Finale)
Written by Paul Mullie and Joseph Mallozi
Directed by Andy Mikita

SG1's disappointment of a series finale made me wary of SGA's ender, but this was a winner. Atlantis has to rush back to Earth to save the planet from an attack by a Wraith ship made almost invincible by the acquisition of several ZPMs. Ronan being revived by a Wraith after dying onscreen felt like a real cheat, but the final battle between Atlantis and the Wraith ship was appropriately epic. The highlight, thought, was the ending scene, with the city floating adrift in San Francisco bay and the crew gathering around as the sun sets. Yes, it sounds cheesy as I'm writing it, but it works surprisingly well on TV. The show has had its fair share of detractors over the years, but I thought this standalone finished the series (the upcoming TV movies notwithstanding) on a high note.

"The Gypsy and the Hobo" (Mad Men, Season 3 Episode 11)
Written by Matthew Weiner and Cathryn Humphris
Directed by Marti Noxon

The episode that MM fans have probably been waiting for, as Betty confronts Don about the truth of his previous life after she found out about the contents of the shoebox. The confrontation was made all the more unnerving by the genious use of the plot device where Don left his mistress waiting in the car outside while confessing to Betty, leading the audience to fear that things might get worse for Don. How will the series proceed upon this game-changer of an installment, in which the central conceit of Don is now, more or less, known to everyone that matters in his life? The aftermath, in which Betty continue playing the devoted wife and they go trick-or-treating the very next day, suggests that this might all work out for Don, but the subsequent episodes suggest otherwise.

"Lesser Evil" (Burn Notice Season 2 Finale)
Written by Matt Nix
Directed by Tim Matheson

Terrific season finale packs tons into just one hour. Michael's battle of wills and wits with his handler Carla comes to a head, as he and Victor try to uncover incriminating evidence to get Carla off their backs. Carla corners them eventually though, but just when the situation appears dire and all seems lost, Fiona takes out Carla just as the higher-ups arrive. To avoid both of them getting killed by the incoming troopers, Victor tells Michael he has to kill him, and sell himself as the guy who took out the traitor. Left with little choice, Michael is forced to carry out this gruesome task, and then proceeds to reject the higher-up's offer of a job by awesomely jumping from their chopper. Action-packed to the brim, with several eye-popping car chases, this was an extremely satisfying finale to a fine sophomore year for the spy drama.

"Seinfeld" (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Season 7 Finale)
The series finale that "Seinfeld" should have had? Perhaps. I for one liked it much better than the actual one back in 1998, but then, this had the advantage of condensing it to just short snippets, enabling TPTB to feature only the best bits, i.e. the jokes, the biting social commentary (including the hilarious Blackberry head-down thing) and even a little happiness for George in the end. The wider Curb finale was great too, tying very nicely the plots about Larry and Seinfeld's debate on "Having said that", the water stain on the wooden table ("I respect wood") and Larry's reunion with Cheryl. Every scene with Mocha Joe (what a name!) is a must, as is Larry's impersonation of Jason Alexander as George, a character based on Larry. Sweet, scathing and consistently laugh-out-loud funny, this is a gem of an episode.

Honorable mentions:
"7:00pm to 9:00pm" (24, Season 7 Episode 12-13)
"En Garde" (Modern Family, Season 1 Episode 7)
"The Incident" (Lost, Season 4 Finale)
"Mr. Monk and the End" (Monk, Series Finale)
"The Practice Date" (Parks and Recreation, Season 2 Episode 4)