Episodes to Boost My Mood

When the world gets too crazy, when life gets too rough, sometimes it can be nice to take a step back and escape into fiction for a short time. One way I like to do this is with a marathon of particularly fun episodes of shows I love. These aren’t necessarily the best episodes of the series, but they are ones that tend to make me happy.

Given the current situation the world is in, it feels like a fitting time to talk about some episodes that stand out for me personally. It’s not going to be a completely exhaustive list, but it will at least be ten episodes that I consider major highlights.

(Warning, there will be spoilers for each in their descriptions.)

Angel: “Smile Time” (S05.E14)

“Smile Time” is an episode where Angel is turned into a puppet while facing off against puppet demons that star in a kids show. Every character gets to make at least one amazing comment around this premise, with the best going to Lorne when he finds Angel torn apart and starts calling out, asking if there is a Geppetto in the house. This episode takes place toward the end of the series and is pretty much sandwiched between some very heavy episodes, making it feel like a nice breather, a chance smile even when everything around it may be bleak.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: “Once More, with Feeling” (S06.E07)

Full disclosure, this list could have been entirely made up of musical episodes, but I decided to only call out my favourite of them. Every member of the Scooby Gang has been holding onto (or is involved in) some kind of secret, and what better way to have them all come out than through song? The most fun part of this episode is how great the original soundtrack really is. The songs work on the level of revealing character, sure, but also on the level of just being a blast to sing along with. Special shoutout to “What You Feel”, sung by Hinton Battle (who plays the episode’s villain).

Chuck: “Chuck Versus the Beard” (S03.E09)

An episode that begins around the premise of Chuck feeling useless because the intersect has stopped working sound like it might be more of a bummer, but this episode packs in just about everything that makes a great episode for this series. Most importantly, we get a B-story that has Devon and Ellie connected to the spy life (which is always great), and a huge emotional payoff when Chuck finally reveals to Morgan that he’s a spy. Oh, and what great episode of Chuck would be complete without a performance by Jeffster (described in this episode as “the sound of liberty”).

Community: “Digital Estate Planning” (S03.E20)

Community is loaded with great high premise episodes, but this one stands out to me the most. The members of the study group are put into an old 8-bit style video game and have to work together to reach the end. The episode is almost entirely animated, with just small sections of the usual live action, and the animation style is perfect for what it is trying to emulate. All the nerdy references to gaming are fantastic. Abed finds love and even becomes a father. Like most episodes of Community, the focus on the episode comes down to how much more the group can do when they work together than any one of them on their own, which is always a nice theme to have.

Doctor Who: “The Doctor’s Wife” (S06.E04)

Written by my favourite writer (Neil Gaiman), and following one of my favourite groups the show has had (Matt Smith as the Doctor, travelling with the Ponds), this episode starts with a definite advantage. The actual plot of the episode has the TARDIS’s consciousness put into the body of a woman, which creates a hilarious dynamic between her and the Doctor. It’s fun, it’s got action, it’s got mystery, and it’s such a small episode in terms of scope that almost all the focus is on the main characters relationships.

Fairy Tail: “What a Pure Heart Weaves” (E219)

I think I might be in the minority with this, but I love what are usually considered “filler episodes”. This is one that is just adorable, that is all about Natsu baby sitting Asuka. It comes down to character building, especially for Asuka and, to a lesser degree, her parents. They are side characters who don’t get very much attention, so it is great to give them a chance in the spotlight. And literally everything with Asuka and her plans for the day are just so heartwarming, it’s impossible not to be happy watching this episode.

How I Met Your Mother: “Three Days of Snow” (S04.E13)

This episode is different than a lot of the others on this list, in part because there is a degree to which it sticks out to me because it is one of the first episodes of I ever watched of How I Met Your Mother. It’s basically the episode that made me love the show and had me go back to check out the beginning. We get a Robin and Marshal storyline, which is super rare. Ranjit makes an appearance. There’s the origin of “Puzzles”. And, to top it all off, a beautiful ending to it as Marshal and Lily’s relationship continues to prove how amazing it is.

The Magicians: “All That Josh” (S03.E09)

The main story in this episode is about how Josh has felt like he isn’t a part of the group. Much like the episode of Chuck, is not a super happy thing to base a story around. More so than that, this episode gets all the main characters into places that feel like they can’t save themselves from. But, with all this being the case, the end that really brings this whole episode together and makes it a must for this list. The group finds one of the seven keys they are looking for, allowing them all to communicate across worlds. They sing “Under Pressure”, which saves them all and makes Josh feel like he really belongs. (I know I said no more musical episodes… But between Kady and Elliot’s singing voices it would be impossible to leave it off this list.)

RWBY: “Chapter 1: Best Day Ever” (V02.E01)

Crazy anime fight scenes are always a great time. This episode takes that premise and goes one further, swapping out the usual weapons of RWBY and having the characters involved in a food fight taken to epic proportions. It’s a great chance to see the two main teams of the show, RWBY and JNPR, go all out while keeping the stakes entirely fun, with only their pride on the line, not their lives. And even all this manages to have a point, that it is good to let them behave like children while they still can, because things won’t always be so light and happy.

Supernatural: “The French Mistake” (S06.E15)

Ending this list with the most ridiculous. This is an episode where Sam and Dean travel to another universe, our universe, and take the place of Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, who are actors on the show Supernatural. Filled with gags, like them reacting to find meeting Jared’s real-life wife, who was one of the actresses who played Ruby on the show, and the running gag that Jared and Jensen hate each other. It’s like fictionalized behind the scenes episode, where the set is explored by the characters from the show itself. That being said, I’m also giving a special shoutout to both “Mystery Spot” (S03.E11) and “Changing Channels” (S05.E08) because I love the Trickster’s way of teaching lessons.

Do you do the same kind of thing? Let me know what episodes of TV you watch to cheer yourself up in the comments below! I’d love to hear about them.