Now that we’re about to begin the back half of 2022, I thought it would be interesting to look back at the mountain of programming that the major streaming services all rolled out over the course of this year to build out what I guess you could say amounts to a sort of streaming hall of fame. It’s not an easy task, but it is possible. However, not all streaming videos are winners. Not all streaming releases are good.
Netflix is a service that has a large library, thanks to not just critical darlings but also the likes of Stranger Things OzarkBut also ridiculous and silly reality showsIs it Cake?) and breathtakingly dumb original movies (The Man from Toronto). Apple TV Plus has had a phenomenal hits ratio this year thanks to shows like Severance, PachinkoAnd Tehran). AMC has its own must-watch titles. Better Call SaulThe highly-anticipated second season of the upcoming series is set to debut in just days.
Biggest moments from this year’s streaming releases
There’s no one single qualifier or metric you could use in order to identify your favorite moments from the best streaming releases of the year so far. In this post, given the inherent subjectivity, I’m simply going to identify four moments from the streaming content I’ve consumed over the past six months that left me in the most shock. Or, the moments that were overall the most memorable.
This is certainly not a comprehensive list, nor are the moments that I’ve picked below listed in any particular order. That said, let’s dive right in with a death that I’m sure disappointed tons of streaming viewers.
This one comes from Part 2 of the fourth and final season of Netflix’s Ozark.
Ruth Langmore, RIP
As soon as Clare Shaw blurted out the truth about who killed Javi Elizonndro to his mother — the sister of cartel leader Omar Navarro — it was pretty clear that Ruth Langmore’s goose was cooked. It was only a matter time.
Ruth had manipulated Javi into showing up for a meeting at Shaw’s office, only to gun him down in retaliation for Javi killing Ruth’s cousin Wyatt.
There were many problems with the way things ended. Ozark, if you ask me. But Julia Garner’s unforgettable performance as Ruth was not one of those things. Her accent, her foul-mouthed insults, all of the bad things in her life that she nevertheless overcame, Garner combined it all into one of the finest multi-season performances I’ve ever seen on a Netflix show. Poor Ruth. She came so close.
“I was going to swindle the Tinder Swindler”
Netflix also released a 2-hour long jaw-drop earlier this year. The Tinder Swindler.
This documentary film was like an inexplicable torrent of madness, increasing speed as we learned more about the handsome con man who was able steal huge amounts of money from beautiful women just looking for love.
His victims were all incredibly sympathetic and touched your heartstrings. And then you meet Ayleen Charlotte, promising with her devastating smile and a twinkle in her eye that she did not intend to take the swindler’s machinations lying down. As part of the turn of the tables, she drops one line after another. My personal favorite was when Ayleen spoke to an off-screen interviewer about the conman. “He never believed that I was capable of doing this. He knows now. Hi Simon!”
Two more highlights from 2022’s best streaming releases
I’ve got two more favorite streaming moments to mention, and they come from, respectively, AMC and Apple TV Plus.
AMC is on my list because of the outstanding final season. Better Call SaulThe show’s mid-season finale aired on May 31st. The finale was stunning and left me with my jaw on the ground for quite some time.
Another RIP — this time, Howard Hamlin
Season 6 was essentially a game for all the main characters on the show. “Where’s Lalo?”All slowly accept that Lalo Salamanca survived last season’s attempted hit in Mexico. But no one knows where he’ll strike next. He may not even be there.
Finally, the episode is abruptly titled. Plan and executionHe is there. Standing behind Howard Hamlin, inside Jimmy McGill and Kim Wexler’s apartment.
Lalo slowly screws a silencer onto a gun.
And then … he shoots Hamlin in the head.
The one-second act generated many questions. What’s Lalo, who shushed Jimmy and Kim’s subsequent freakout with his menacing nicety of “Let’s talk,”What are you planning to do next What are Jimmy and Kim going to do with Howard’s body? Howard had spent the first part of the day ranting to anyone listening about Jimmy’s awfulness.
July 11, when Season 6 begins Better Call Saul returns, can’t get here soon enough.
Episode 4 PachinkoApple TV Plus
This brings us to my personal favorite TV scene. It’s that good. It comes at the very end of Episode 4. PachinkoApple TV Plus.
To set the scene, a little background. These are the concepts of “home”Identity and passion are everywhere Pachinko, which unspools a multigenerational family story set against the backdrop of Japan’s colonization of Korea. Like Solomon, a Korean character who was educated in America, this story shows how some Koreans have built enviable lives in Japan and forged successful careers. But it’s not home.
Solomon works at the Tokyo office of a multi-national investment bank. His Korean heritage means that he is eager to impress his superiors by selling a land to an elderly Korean woman. The old woman feels cold feet the day of the deal’s signing in a packed boardroom. Solomon and her speak Korean to one another so that nobody else can understand. Among other things, she insists to him, in so many words, that he’ll never be truly accepted as one of They.
Between Days
Solomon knows she’s right. Satisfied that she’s making the right decision in not signing, the old woman abruptly leaves. Everyone stares at each other stunned. What’s the deal? They filter out of the room, leaving Solomon dejectedly staring at the old woman’s glass of water, still sitting on the table.
Yesterday, I felt so old/I felt like I could be dead.
Solomon leaps up from the table. He sprints out of his room. Charges down the stairs. Races outside. It’s nighttime, and it’s just started to rain. Solomon is running as hard and fast as possible. He takes off his tie. He takes off his suit jacket. Metaphorically, he sheds that skin, that identity.
Go on, you can disappear. / Go on! Get away
In the distance, a cover group starts to play The Cure’s In between Days. Solomon begins to dance in the rain amid the hustle and bustle of the city. He dances like his life is on the line, with a beautiful smile on his face. It feels like the first moment we’re seeing his authentic self, rather than a version of what other people expect him to be. It’s one of the best moments you’ll see on TV this year.
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