By Ava Fineza

As the year comes to a close, I thought I would take the time to go over some of my favorite shows and movies that were released this year. Some made me yell, some made me cry, some were extremely gratifying, others were a bit tortuous, but in the end, if you can care about what’s happening on screen more than yourself for a little while then you probably have something big on your hands.

I’ll be discussing spoilers and events in multiple seasons (for shows), not just the season specific to 2020. Also, stick around or scroll down for some things I missed this year but wanted to check out!

The Good Place

Starting off the year with feelings. I remember watching the series finale of The Good Place (which was almost a year ago, holy shirt) and thinking that this show is probably perfect for me. It’s not even my favorite show but the combination of comedy and philosophy and fantasy is immaculate, plus the fact that there’s a Filipino main character which ~never~ happens… The Good Place is perfect in length, extremely funny, had lovable characters, and I had so much fun but still learned stuff?? It’s like the best TedEd video ever, and watching its finale left me with a hopeful message, a happy feeling, and just a few tear-stained tissues. Jeremy Bearimy, baby :’)

Sex Education

The casting in this show is so. Good. The characters all work with and against each other so well, and season two of Sex Ed carried the season along really well. I think anyone who watches this show knows how much the story drives the viewer to feel things, and I have to say that S2 only heightened these feelings - Otis being a jerk, the whole Adam-Eric-Rahim ordeal, everything with our queen Amy. The writers once again proved how good they are at creating new, intriguing characters as well as fleshing out the OG ones, and it means a lot that I can scream at the whole ensemble but still love every single one of them. Except for Issac. He knows what he did.

Birds of Prey (: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

This movie was so much fun, and I have a lot of good memories associated with it. A lot of people hated it, and a lot of the hate is unwarranted (I watch this video to cleanse myself), but really Birds of Prey is just a fun, crazy, and exciting movie with a really good soundtrack. I was considering not adding this movie because it’s not extremely deep and I wasn’t moved or anything, but BoP deserves to be here because I didn’t need to feel to enjoy it. Don’t get me wrong, I think the characters are interesting enough to spark emotion and intrigue, but at the same time it is an action-first movie, and it served its purpose in pulling me away from heavier feelings in real life. Thank you Birds of Prey! Also: Bruce >>> Batman

Westworld

When it comes to Westworld, I do a lot more thinking than feeling. This is what I meant by tortuous shows - I loved the first season so much, was kinda disappointed by the second season, and was “eh” by the third season which came out this year - overall, it is a bit exhausting to enjoy the show but I still do a lot. Westworld had such an interesting premise, and no matter what direction they’ve taken the show in the past seasons I am never bored. At the very least, it’s a fun sci-fi action show with really good effects and top-notch acting. Seriously, the acting is so good. But at the most, Westworld is thought-provoking and provides interesting dialogue on the future of technology and AI, as well as free will in the modern age. I’m really excited to see what the fourth season has in store despite the clear drop in quality from the first season (though, I feel like it was inevitable?). As Dolores says, some people choose to see the ugliness in this world… I choose to see the beauty.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

I know this show came out over a decade ago, but I’ll consider its release on Netflix a rebirth of sorts, at least for me. I liked this show way too much for me to not include it either way, tbh. ATLA was perfectly planned and extremely well thought out, and you can tell in its execution because even the most 180 switch in Zuko felt natural. The ending was a happy sadness for me, because I was satisfied with how everything turned out, but it had been such a fun experience and I was sad that I would never be able to watch it for the first time again. Oh, and also partly because I thought there were gonna be four seasons and there were only three??! The creators were extremely smart to treat their audience right because it allowed for kids and adults to fall in love with Avatar’s music, animation, and its wonderful wonderful characters.

¯\_ ..water tribe.. _/¯

Ramy

The second instance of tortuous, not because it’s bad, but because it is so awkward and cringey at times (in the best way). It’s part of Ramy’s style of awkward, dark humor and I love it, and it’s one of the reasons why I enjoyed this show so much. I was able to see a new culture, new setting, and importantly a new perspective on things like love and life. I love watching these “slice of life” stories, they feel so much more intimate and real and strike the audience (me) deeper. A warning: only step into one person’s world at a time, these kinds of shows always get super intense and it is ~emotionally taxing~ This year, I chose to delve into Ramy’s life (stick around to the end to find out about one I missed out on!).

The Boys

Similar to BoP, The Boys is a show to escape, but I have very often fallen into the hole of binge-watching the episodes. It’s probably my favorite action show, filled with really fun characters and so much gore it’s comical (and a little sickening). But what sets The Boys apart from other series is its heavy sarcasm and irony, which turns the viewing experience into a sort of spot the difference scenario between the Boys’ world and our own. The Boys is extremely fun to watch without being completely mindless, and it definitely deserves a place on this list.

The Clone Wars

It was between this and The Mandalorian, but if I’m being completely honest there wasn’t a competition. Maybe The Clone Wars has an advantage because it’s seven seasons long and complete, but I just feel so connected to the characters. Mr. Dave Filoni got us, he pranked us into feeling for every single one of them and managed to give the lifeless clones lives, to the point where some of my favorite arcs are about them and not the Jedi. I only started and finished the show this year, but it’s been around since 2008 so I can only imagine the emotional connection the first viewers have to the show. The last season is so heartbreaking and beautiful, and I think The Clone Wars was the show that Star Wars fans didn’t really deserve, but definitely needed.

Soul

I think Soul was meant more for adults and teens than it was for young children (not a bad thing), in both message and material. Either way, the animation was stunning as always, the dialogue was wholesomely funny, and the Pixar Lesson in this movie is one of my favorites in a while. Soul was what we needed in a year full of so much tragedy and disappointment and anger and sorrow, and I really liked the focus on the mixed feelings that come in big moments of our lives. I find myself thinking into the future and, like Joe, see my life as a series of big milestones that really matter and push aside everything else that I don’t see as important. Sometimes when I go through a patch of feeling bad all the time, I think “well once this happens or I get that things will start to get better for me,” but it’s never just one thing (*cough cough* a new year). I just live, and then I look around, and notice that I’m okay. Soul shows the basic parts of a human life that make it worth living, something we can miss and only recognize - in Joe’s case - when it’s almost too late. This film gave me some warm happy feelings for the end of the year, and I’m glad I was able to watch it.

So that’s my Best of 2020 list! It has been a tiringly bad year for so many, and I am extremely privileged to not have experienced anything close to the worst of it. Even so, we all have our own experiences and ways this year screwed us over, and I am happy to at least have some shows and movies to help me escape or ground me. Hope you enjoyed it, and I’ll see you next year :)

Oh, and here’s some stuff I missed out on but wanna catch next year!

What We Do In The Shadows

A hilarious vampiric office-esque sitcom, I watched most of the first season last year and unfortunately never got around to finishing it. I love the movie, however, and basically everything Taika Waititi makes so this series is definitely something I need to pick up again.

I May Destroy You

I’ve heard and read such good things about this show, and Michaela’s other show Chewing Gum looks extremely good as well. The show is centered around sexual assault and the way it can upend your life, and I have heard that I May Destroy You tackles this topic in a very un-glamorized, raw way that I already know will tear me to shreds. Sophia had the time to watch it and not me >:( but hopefully I will get to it soon. 

Schitt’s Creek

I’ve also started and never finished this - but I remember loving this show a lot. Super hilarious and sweet, as well as inclusive and chock-full of magnetic characters. Not to mention it won nine Emmy’s. That’s gotta mean something.

The Queen’s Gambit

My family and friends have all seen this show and I haven’t T.T Idk why but when a show gets extremely hyped up it just makes me want to avoid it in fear of getting disappointed. It doesn’t really make sense, I know. But I love limited series, and I love chess, and I am beginning to love Anya Taylor-Joy (not as much as Sophia tho) so I really need to get to watching this one.

Thanks for reading!

-Ava :)