Dawson's Creek: True Love (3.23)

Hahahahaha! The face that launched a thousand memes. As soon as Dawson and Joey hit the dock, the realization suddenly hit me that True Love was the source of that infamous image up top. Oh, Van Der Beek. Who knew your face could contort like that? Gah. True Love is actually a really wonderful finale, pulling together all the themes of the season and featuring an ending which pushes most of the cast into absorbing new directions. Dawson, Jen and Jack all grow, and Joey and Pacey finally run for the hills together. It's a happy ending, not that you would guess it from that picture. It never gets old, right?

Dawson's Creek: The Anti-Prom (3.22)

Dawson's Creek never disappoints, always cycling back to characters trying to salvage friendships despite all the awkward baggage that you can't forget, no matter how much you want to. It's really the last barrier that Dawson and Joey need to break through. You can understand why Joey would want to remain friends with Dawson, but any rational person would realize that it's an impossible task. It sucks, but you either choose to be with the person you love, or pursue a friendship with someone who is clearly infatuated with you. It's sort of lose-lose for Joey, but it's a decision that she needs to make to protect everybody's sanity. Including ours at home.

Dawson's Creek: Show Me Love (3.21)

Show Me Love instantly increases the melodrama, Dawson's petulance surfacing in an overtly "TV show" form with the regatta rivalry and the boat race; but the honesty of the show's major love triangle keeps things intact for now. All three parties have gone their separate ways since the events of last episode, and they all spend most of this week trying to get back into the groove, so to speak. Joey tries to stop her guys from feuding, Pacey goes crazy over Dawson's arrogance, and Dawson tries to act as if nothing has happened. Three guesses who comes out of this the worst.

Alias: Time Will Tell (1.8)

Eight episodes in, and Alias resembles more than anything a well-oiled machine. It hasn't become annoying or anything, but the show is absolutely adhering to a strict set of instructions every week. Syd pursues some kind of device, there's a swanky gala to infiltrate, she fights with Anna, the retrieved device leads to someplace else, and a cliffhanger leaves Sydney's life in jeopardy. It's all very routine, and it's actually something of a blessing that this is Anna's last appearance for a couple of seasons. I dig the character a lot, particularly her ice-cold demeanor, but the show was risking falling into a generic pattern, and Anna was definitely a major symptom of that.

Alias: Color Blind (1.7)

There's a strong recurring theme here that writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman keep coming back to: characters bending their prerogatives over time, or reacting in surprising ways that seem to go against the feelings they may have had up until recently. It's present in Francie's acceptance of Charlie's proposal, as well as in Will's reluctance to investigate Danny's murder following the demise of Eloise Kurtz, but it's most present with Sydney, who expresses so much emotional growth here. We only met her six weeks ago, but she's already evolving as a person.

Charmed: Engaged and Confused (8.16)

I had forgotten how little the Triad factors into season eight, their deaths immediately thrusting Christy center stage for the final battle. Of course, this is also the episode in which Billie is revealed as 'the ultimate power', an enormous slap in the face to everybody who has watched this show for the last eight years. What I find strange is that the writers knew the fan reaction to Billie at this point, and yet still insisted on having her monopolize the season like a bad case of crabs. Kaley Cuoco has never appeared totally comfortable with this material, and it's insane that everybody involved didn't slowly diminish her screentime over the course of the year.

Charmed: The Last Temptation of Christy (8.15)

So the season is at last launching into its major final arc. As much as I dislike Billie and Christy being at the center of it, I appreciate the forward momentum, as well as the return of the Triad -- logic be damned that Cole vanquished them, but whatever... Sure, you can roll your eyes at all the dramatic dialogue about 'the Key' and Billie's continued insistence on being as moronic as possible, but there's was the only storyline this week that actually felt purposeful. It still sucks that the Charmed Ones have become an irrelevant presence in their own series, but I guess we just have to sit back and deal.

Angel: Shells (5.16)

There's an enormous shift in tone here, understandable considering the tragic hour it follows, but it's still something that rattles. As an introduction to Illyria, however, Shells is ridiculously successful. It's not the first time a character has been taken over by something evil (we've seen variations on this plot device repeatedly over the years on Buffy and Angel), but Amy Acker is so shockingly convincing as this cold, uber-powerful titan that you get completely suckered in by her character. A strange mix of Glory (with the minion worship), Anya (the total lack of understanding when it comes to humans) and some kind of relentless machine, Illyria is a wonderful addition to the cast.