TV Shows I Watched in 2021

Here’s my list of TV shows that I watched in 2021! Some of these are shows I started and finished this year (like Night Stalker and Hawkeye), whereas others (like Gilmore Girls and Kim’s Convenience) are shows I started in 2020 and finished in 2021.

All spoilers are prefaced with a spoiler warning.

1. Night Stalker (Netflix limited series)

• Glad this was fairly short and simple because I don’t like when limited series are long
• Very well-made in my opinion, and concise
• Also so glad there is justice (not really a spoiler since you can see the guy’s face in the thumbnail so you can infer that he was eventually caught)
• Don’t watch if you are squeamish or if true crime disturbs you, because the crimes he committed are truly awful

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE REST OF THIS REVIEW

• A few things were really mind-blowing to me:
• 1. I can’t believe Dianne Feinstein messed up the case like that???
• 2. I LOVE the way he was caught, and how the people just came together and WOULD NOT LET HIM LEAVE, and then LA erupted into celebration after he was caught
• 3. Grossed out but not surprised that women sent love letters and nude pictures to him after he was arrested… and also that he actually married one of those women (who only divorced him years later after finding out that something else he was accused of turned out to be true?? like the other stuff didn’t turn you off, honey??)

2. Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel (Netflix limited series)

• If you can’t tell, I love true crime
• This is a case that seriously disturbed me a few years ago after seeing the Buzzfeed Unsolved video, but I really wanted to learn more so I’m glad that I watched this
• Dang, I really thought for years that this was an unsolved mystery and I wonder why more people don’t think it’s solved especially after watching the conclusions that this docuseries comes to by the last episode

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE REST OF THIS REVIEW

• I feel 99% sure now that it was an accident/caused by delusions and I feel so bad for Elisa and her family
• Was gagging the whole time that couple was talking about drinking the water omg I would never drink tap water again

3. WandaVision (Disney+ limited series)

• Writing this now after Falcon & WS, Loki, and parts of Hawkeye have come out and I still like WandaVision the best
• I loooove Elizabeth Olsen and I can’t wait to see more of her in the new Dr. Strange movie
• I love Elizabeth and Paul Bettany together, great pairing
• Not really a spoiler, but it’s a beautiful exploration of how Wanda handles grief and the aftermath of all the tragic things that happened in Infinity War / Endgame

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE REST OF THIS REVIEW

• Sure, there are some plot holes and how much should we really be okay with Wanda keeping a whole town captive because she is bad at dealing with grief???
• But there was a lot of heart in it I think and I really enjoyed being part of the WandaVision conspiracy theory community on TikTok when new episodes were coming out
• There were a lot of loose ends that just weren’t tied up well, like the whole Evan Peters thing was a weird addition that didn’t really contribute anything meaningful, and there were a bunch of things about Monica Rambeau’s character and storyline that I wish were given more thought
• But overall I was really excited to watch this every week as episodes were coming out

4. The Ripper (Netflix limited series)

• Overall not really a super STANDOUT true crime documentary in my opinion, but still good
• Not really a spoiler, but one of my favorite things about this documentary is how they talk about how curfew on women was enforced at the height of The Ripper’s attacks and like… the blatant misogyny of not enforcing curfew for MEN or just for EVERYONE in general?? I’m really glad they pointed that out
• I actually think that the guy who turned out to be The Ripper looks weirdly like Charles Manson which freaks me out
• Also sex workers are just as worthy of life and do not deserve death despite how many people judge their choices!!!

5. Kim’s Convenience (started in 2020)

• Without a doubt, one of my favorite shows of all time now
• So many episodes made me burst out laughing AND cry, and there is just so much heart and genuineness and love in this show
• Also kind of proud that I can say I know who Simu was before Shang-Chi
• This show is really what I had hoped Fresh Off The Boat would be — it accomplishes what I think “Fresh” wanted to execute, in an infinitely better way
• So sad that this show ended the way that it did, with so much bitterness and anger attached, but glad that it exists at all and has changed so many lives, including mine

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE REST OF THIS REVIEW

• I really hated that last episode — apart from not seeing Appa and Jung reconcile (which was expected given how abruptly everything was ending)
• Shannon and Jung DID NOT have to break up
• I feel like Janet’s character ended up not developing as much as I hoped she would (as in she just seems to be really indecisive about everything from her love life to what she wants to do with her career), and I was hoping she would mature and find a sense of purpose by the end of the show

6. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

• Underwhelming
• I really wanted this to be good because I want Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie to succeed… but…. no
• I felt like this show was trying to be woke in a bunch of ways that fell flat
• Could. Not. STAND. Wyatt Russell’s Captain America and his character was so frustrating
• Are they making a season 2 of this because pls no

7. Gilmore Girls (started in 2020)

• This has also become one of my favorite shows of all time
• Gilmore Girls feels like home and comfort and warmth to me and I love just having it on in the background as I do other things at home
• It’s interesting because I feel like Lorelai and Rory do mature in different ways as the series goes on, but the ways in which they’re immature are REALLY frustrating (i.e., the way they handle their respective love lives)
• Not a spoiler, but even though it was sad that Amy Sherman-Palladino was not attached to the last season, I kind of liked the decisions that Rory made in the last two episodes or so

8. Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life (Netflix limited series)

• …yeah, I hated this. In principle, I’m glad that Amy got to do back and basically execute the season that she wanted, but I hated this.

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE REST OF THIS REVIEW

• I hate to say it, but apart from the last minute of the entire series being what Amy had intended it to be from the start, I thought basically everything else was unnecessary and bad
• I will say though that even though it was ridiculously frustrating to see Rory deal with her life in such an immature, entitled manner, I think it was good that Amy showed this side of Rory because (1) as much as Rory probably wouldn’t want to admit it, she had it pretty good growing up with her grandparents’ presence (and money) in her life, (2) a lot of millennials are honestly in similar situations as the one Rory finds herself in when she reaches her 30s
• I did not think it was necessary to have Rory hook up with Logan when he was ENGAGED, and I wish that Rory and Jess were more endgame than just Jess still being in love with Rory/Rory having an overall good relationship with Jess that I guess could blossom into something more in the hypothetical future
• Why did we have to send Lorelai on a Wild-esque trek on the other side of the country?? Completely unnecessary and I don’t think it was good to completely pull her out of the settings that we love seeing her in most — in Stars Hollow (or at least Hartford with her mother) interacting with other characters
• What the heck was the Stars Hollow musical about… I did not ask to see Sutton Foster and whatever the guy’s name was perform songs I don’t care about for TEN MINUTES
• I did like seeing Luke and Lorelai get married though

9. Loki

• I think this was good? It was definitely interesting but there was so. much. talking.
• I do really like Tom Hiddleston and I am rooting for Owen Wilson to succeed again, and I also think Gugu Mbatha-Raw is supremely talented, so it was a great cast but there was just so much information and I don’t think I appreciate it as much as other people might because it felt like a lot for me to take in
• I think it’s good set-up for other things that will happen in the MCU but not my favorite Marvel/Disney+ series

10. What If…?

• I really did not plan on watching this, and I did not expect to like it at all because I generally am not a fan of animated things, but I ended up enjoying this a lot
• First episode is kind of weak, but I think it definitely got better as it went on
• I love that Chadwick makes multiple appearances throughout the series, and that a lot of the main cast comes back for this show
• Without spoiling anything, I think my favorite episodes are probably Episode 3 (“What If… the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?”), Episode 5 (“What If… Zombies?!”), and Episode 9 (“What If… The Watcher Broke His Oath?”)
• The Dr. Strange episode was good too, but it was so dark and so sad

11. Lularich

• I will eat up any content about MLMs so I was really excited when my friend Amanda told me about this show and I watched all of it in one day
• I think it’s really unfortunate that these MLMs prey on women, many of whom are stay-at-home moms who are looking for a new sense of purpose and motivation, and take advantage of these women’s pursuit of a better life for their families
• MLMs are EVERYWHERE so if you think you might be someone who could get sucked into one someday, you should watch this haha

12. Squid game

• Wowowow
• This deserved all the hype it got
• Without spoiling anything, I don’t love what happens at the end of the last episode, but everything else was really great
• I am glad that it was expanded from being created as a movie to being turned into a show, but I would have liked for this to be a limited series instead of a show with multiple seasons
• Side note: The show is called Squid GAME, not Squid GAMES. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE REST OF THIS REVIEW

• Ok so I don’t think Jun-Ho is dead, and while I would love to see more of him, I think that S2 has the potential to be like “Peninsula” was to “Train to Busan”: bad
• I think that if the show turns into Gi-Hun and Jun-Ho trying to take down the organization that runs Squid Game, it’s not going to be as great, especially because all the characters we love died in S1
• I saw a video on YouTube about how the ways everyone dies are foreshadowed when we first meet them and that’s PRETTY CRAZY
• I also saw a video about how it’s possible that Il-Nam is Gi-Hun’s father because of some small details we see in this season, and I honestly think it’s kind of plausible except Il-Nam seems a little too old to be his dad, considering we can see how old Gi-Hun’s mom is

13. Only Murders in the Building (Season 1)

• Loooooooved this
• Anyone who knows me probably knows that I love Selena Gomez with a passion, and I have since I was 12, so it was a no brainer for me to watch this and I’m really glad that it was received so well (and that they’re making a second season!!!)
• There were lots of twists and turns and the writing was amazing
• I loved that “Jan” in this show is Holly from The Office (and how there’s a Jan in The Office as well)
• I won’t say anything about what happens except that I do like how everything unfolded/how the story was told, and it’s honestly a stellar show

14. Scenes from a Marriage (HBO Limited Series)

• This show is INTENSE and you will find it even more emotional if you are married
• I think it’s really interesting to see how both characters develop throughout the show
• The show is adapted from a stage play and each episode takes place months or years apart from each other, which I thought was cool
• I liked how they broke the fourth wall in the beginning of each episode, and the way that they broke the fourth wall at the end of the last episode
• People might think this is too much like Marriage Story, but I think I like it better because the way it was adapted into a limited series allowed for more space to flush out these characters and display more nuance overall

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE REST OF THIS REVIEW

• I found myself rooting for Mira in because her character became more vocal and less repressed throughout the episodes, but I also.. really hated her
• I basically found myself siding with Jonathan the entire show and that’s fine with me because OSCAR ISAAC
• I don’t know how I feel about the ending but I do feel like it kind of makes sense because how can you really sever a soul tie like the one that Jonathan and Mira have, especially when there is generally still so much love there AND they share a child
• I did like that they were saying in interviews and stuff that the way that Jonathan and Mira love each other in the last episode is finally the purest form of love they could have of each other, unconditional and without any expectations anymore

15. Hawkeye

• Entertaining but overall kind of weak? I don’t know if Kate and Clint as characters can carry the show even though I like Hailee and Jeremy
• Vera Farmiga tends to piss me off in every show I watch her in (the one other show that comes to the forefront of my mind is Bates Motel) because she, at least to me, consistently plays a mother who is GREAT AT GASLIGHTING

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE REST OF THIS REVIEW

• FLORENCE PUGH.
• Yelena was hands-down the best part of the show
• I don’t know if they’re going to make a season 2 of this but I’ll watch it for the actors even if I don’t love the story or feel super compelled to find out what happens next
• Are we supposed to like Jack now btw?? He’s so annoying

Thanks for reading!!!