Episode of the Week: ‘Bates Motel,’ ‘Agents of SHIELD,’ ‘Survivor: Worlds Apart’ among contenders

While this week was a relatively light one when it comes to no programming, we still feel like there was plenty of quality still in here for our Episode of the Week series. We had some surprising episodes of a few drama shows, a comedy step up to the table, and a show continuing to entertain us thirty seasons in.

However, we do have to remember here that this is not entirely about us! The whole purpose of this article is to share you our picks, and then let you vote on who you think was tops for the week. You can also share in the comments below.

“Mad Men” season 7, episode 8, “Severance” – This was a story about loss, about recovery, and quite possibly Don Draper’s own inability to move forward while everyone else around him is. We analyzed this episode so much more with a “Mad About Mad Men” piece earlier in the day.

“Survivor: Worlds Apart” episode 8, “Keep It Real” – Just for the amazing immunity idol sequence, this was one of the best storytelling episodes that “Survivor” has given us in some time. The CBS show has the best editors in the business, and with great casting and interesting twists, we somehow had a compelling story every second of this hour.

“The Big Bang Theory” season 8, episode 20, “The Fortification Implementation” – Penny did a podcast! Sheldon and Amy had a sleepover! The sitcom did a great job of including a variety of fun into this half-hour, while actually moving all of the characters forward.

“Agents of SHIELD” season 2,episode 16, “Afterlife” – The entire Real SHIELD arc has been really fantastic, and mixing in the element of Lincoln and Skye has proven to be really successful so far. This is the show that we wanted to see so long ago.

“Bates Motel” season 2, episode 5, “The Deal” – This was the episode all about Norma Bates fighting back. After facing so much resistance and even having terrible things done to her, it was great to see her really start to use the information that she knows about others to her advantage.