1. Paradise Season 2 Ep. 5
91/100 – Hulu – Next Ep. March 16, 12 AM*
Paradise Episode 4 left the series at a point where there seemed like nothing could top its first-half start, a complete elevation from its first season, yet Episode 5 returns with a new character and storyline that impresses even more than the ones before it. The Mailman is an episode that takes a new character, Gary, as he navigates the volcano in an apocalypse bunker he finds with Xavier’s wife, Teri. It’s a story of not only Teri’s life and survival providing hope for Xavier, but also a heartfelt and complex story of Gary, and how he feels and cracks at moments of his own story. The episode is another brilliant way of introducing and connecting the outside world to Xavier and the events of the bunker, when the show seems to hit a peak it continues to get better, and with 3 episodes left, Paradise Season 2 is solidifying as one of the biggest breakout shows of the year so far.
2. Frieren Beyond Journey’s End Season 2 Ep. 8
89/100 – Crunchyroll – Next Ep. March 20 – 7 AM*
After a return to form for Frieren last week, Episode 8 turns in the best episode the show has ever put out with the two set-up fights with Frieren and Fern, & Stark and Richter fighting each of the respective demons set up in the last episode. It’s one of the highlights of what makes the show so great, beautiful and simple animation that lets you feel like you are in a medieval time, with action around very few corners but spectacular when you do find it, and Episode 8 finds it. The stakes are never too high as there is never any concern that the main characters are going to win or not, so the other aspects need to be executed to perfection, and here they are. Episode 8 is a standout in a season that was not off to a great start, but is returning to form now towards its end.
3. The Pitt Season 2 Ep. 10
89/100 – HBO MAX – Next Ep. March 19 – 9 PM*
The Pitt Episode 10 is one of the episodes most polarizing as we see Dr. Robbie began to snap even more than he had before as his emotions are clearly taking over when dealing with others’ stress. Much of Langdon and Santos’ tension is brought out in the episode as well, as we start to see many of the doctors come to a point of exhaustion as more patients get brought in from other areas due to malfunctions. To me this conflict is a great addition to the season and makes a great climax and inflection point for the storyline while remaining the realistic ER show that it is, Episode 10 is one of the series’ strongest episodes.
4. Fire Force Season 3 Ep. 22
89/100 – Crunchyroll – Next Ep. March 20 – 10 AM*
After the best episode in the show’s history last week, the final season of Fire Force again delivers an outstanding episode ahead of the grand finale of the Great Cataclysm. It’s the return of Shinra fighting off the moon as it crashes into earth, the return of Joker, and the doppelganger of Benimaru fighting against the real Benimaru in an action- packed, amazingly animated episode. It’s the perfect combination of a set up of the fights to come and a resolution of the fights occurring, with perhaps one of the coldest things to ever happen in anime: Benimaru defeats his doppelganger resembling the power his people believe he has because he is miles stronger than what his largest supporters can even fathom he is, absolutely insane plot.
5. Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Ep. 10
88/100 – Crunchyroll – Next Ep. March 19 – 8:26 AM*
JJK had been the center of the anime season with conflicting opinions between the Japanese and American viewers, but Episode 10 was a fantastic fight between Megumi and the new character Reggie. While the fight was not as hyped-up as Yuji’s previously, the animation here was just so well done and the cursed technique from Reggie was created brilliantly leading to an electric episode. We don’t get to see Megumi fight like this too often so to see him in action and hear his thoughts is a great addition as we move towards the end of the first part of the Culling Games.
6. One Piece Season 2
86.3/100 – Netflix – Season Completed
Season 2 of the One Piece live-action adaptation has been released, and is a huge hit to diehard fans and new audiences, alike. It takes us from the entrance of the Grand Line with Laboon to the end of the Drum Island Arc and Tony Tony Chopper’s journey joining the Straw Hats as their brilliant doctor. It’s a fantastic step up from an already great Season 1, with better casting and acting performances including a great Smoker, Mr. 3, Princess Vivi, and Nico Robin, and added improvements to the set design and costuming to make the show feel even more lived in than it did before. The new decisions made to bring characters not introduced until later into the show into its newer moments was brilliant. It connects the world together and brings the full picture to the forefront, fixing not only the pacing but the quality of the storytelling. It’s a real question whether anime can be turned into a successful and well-made live action show, and while certain aspects definitely feel hard like the dialogue or full fight scenes, One Piece Season 2 does one of the best jobs ever at fixing these issues and improving on one of the best adventures in all of media.
7. Hell's Paradise Season 2 Ep. 10
86/100 – Crunchyroll – Next Ep. March 22 – 7:45 AM*
Episode 10 of Hells Paradise second season is surrounded solely around Shion and Karugai’s fight against their Tengen match up. It’s a quite heartfelt battle that is more about sacrifice and resilience than it is about action, which is a nice and simple switch up from the action of the other fights of the season, yet again another great entry from Hells Paradise. With all but confirmation the last episode of the show will be the full fights and resolution against the Tengen, Season 2 of Hells Paradise after Episode 10 promises to be an outstanding ending.
8. Shrinking Season 3 Ep. 7
85/100 – Apple TV+ – Next Ep. March 17 – 9 PM*
Shrinking Episode 7 enters another solid 35 minute entry into its third season, it’s an episode centered around the anniversary of Jimmy’s wife’s death, but feels much more jumbled than its last masterpiece of an episode. The episode is well made, and many of the moments for each character add to the overall success of the season, it just doesn’t feel quite as great as the 89 rating Episode 6 received. But with the reveal of one of the show’s newest characters taking her own life at the end of the episode, the ending to the Season promises to be an emotional one that I am curious to see how the cast is able to unpack.
9. Survivor Season 50 Ep. 3
84/100 – Hulu/Paramount+ – Next Ep. March 18 – 8 PM*
With Episode 3 of Survivor, the cast is starting to make it into the thick of the game and alliances are firmly forming, and at the first challenge the group is thrown by the fans with an early tribe swap. While the swap switches up some of the dynamic of the season, what it mainly does is put who is the narrator of sorts of the season, in Christian, in a much more precarious position than he was before. As he is sent back to tribal with his new tribe, including Emily and Ozzy, but adding a bunch of new faces from the other two tribes. In the mix, Mike White devises a plan to boot Q that ends up working in a heartbreak for many fans. In a new episode that continues the entertainment that may qualify Season 50 as the best start to a season in history.
10. Rooster Ep. 2
84/100 – HBO MAX – Next Ep. March 22
– 10:00 PM*
Rooster returns for its second episode, of its amazingly well- filmed comedy starring Steve Carrel, and its solidifying as a new smash drama comedy hit. The characters surrounding the father-daughter duo that make up the entirety of the story so far, seem to be getting defined extremely independently and collectively together, in a way that is both comedic and leaves room for more plot points. Archie, Katie’s husband, is at a crossroads of what he should do after cheating on her, as Greg decides he is going to stay in town and start to work for the school as well. It’s an episode that is a step-up from the first, and extremely heartfelt and promising.
11. Abbott Elementary Season 5 Ep. 15
84/100 – Hulu – Next Ep. March 18 – 8:30 PM*
With Abbott Elementary being fully back after more of a reintroduction last week, the show takes a step back up in quality with a continuously hilarious new episode. The show is headlined by all of the school’s presentations about firefighters, drugs, and drinking, using a gimmick to silence Gregory and create some fun interactions with Janine. It’s a Melissa-centric episode that shows us her struggle to fully commit to a promotion her significant other fire fighter receives, and ends with a heartfelt show of emotion to wrap up a great simple episode that picks up some momentum for the return of Season 5 of the show.
12. Sentenced to be a Hero Ep. 10
83/100 – Crunchyroll – Next Ep. March 19 – 6:30 AM*
The new Sentenced to be a Hero episode is equally solid on the heels of the season continuing to increase its presence lore and world-building. The demons begin to infiltrate the group of heroes as they continue to target Teoritta, as she and Xylo are in the direct line of their plans. Another solid entry from this new and well-animated show, that may get overshined by the amazing anime that has released this week but should be praised as the surprise of spring anime.
13. DTF St. Louis Ep. 3
81/100 – HBO MAX – Next Ep. March 22
– 9:00 PM*
The third episode of DTF St. Louis takes a more outlooking position telling us the events of Floyd pre-kill and describing him as the caring man that the show wants him to resemble at this point. Both Jack and Carol speak to his best traits while exploring their sexual fantasy-like relationship, while dealing with their relation to Floyd. It’s another pretty solid episode for the very awkward dark comedy thriller show, it’s not a game changing episode for the plot or the rating of the show but one that does a great job continuing to build the characters.
14. My Hero Vigilantes Season 2 Ep. 10
78/100 – Crunchyroll – Next Ep. March 16 – 6 AM*
Vigilantes continues its storyline it picks up in Episode 9 with more here, and their tasks for both the heroes working with Eraserhead and the main cast of characters brought back. However, the newest episode is back to where the season started, feeling more like a companion show with not a ton of intrigue. Events in this story seem to just stall the plot, not advance it, and a return to the main storyline feels more like a let down then a return to form for this My Hero spin-off.
15. Monarch Legacy of Monsters Season 2 Ep. 3
76/100 – Apple TV+ – Next Ep. March 19 – 10 PM*
The next episode of Monarch, after a great boost in quality from Season 1, is a giant step back as we focus on the romance through the years of our older characters, going back to the exact thing that made the show struggle in the first place. Taking away all of the monsters and replacing it with relationships that simply do not feel intriguing or nuanced enough to make a connection more important than the main plot. It’s an issue the Monsterverse has had for years and Episode 3 is the perfect example of why the show needs to play to its strengths and not its weaknesses.
