Tell-Tale TV Picks of the Week: Shocking Moments from Downton Abbey, The Flash, and The 100

This week in TV, declarations of love were made on The 100 and Supergirl, while Peyton and Liv had second thoughts about their love lives on iZombie. Madam Secretary and Arrow featured family reunions that didn’t go exactly as planned, although Felicity’s reunion is only going to get worse.

Below, some of our writers share their picks from this week in TV.

Best Moment

Lizzie: Mulder says goodbye to the Were-Monster, The X-Files. Last week, we got two episodes. This week we got only one, but boy, was this one worth two, possible three. And, in the final moments of the episode, our believer, after the mid-life crisis to end all mid-life crisis, gets some of his customary faith restored as the monster-turned-human goes back to his usual lizard-like form. In front of him. See, Mulder, the one time you didn’t want to believe…

Allison: Every moment of Malia and Kira spending time together on Teen Wolf. It was the highlight of the hour. Malia was forced to be a cheerleader, which is not a role she was meant to take on. It’s hard not to love the sight of Malia in goggles.

Jessica: The dance recital on American Crime was amazing, and I can’t stop thinking about it. From the parallels to the wide close up reactions of the main characters it was a piece of art. I didn’t feel like I was watching television but something much more transformative.

Lyra: Felicity Smoak taking control of that board meeting like a BAMF on Arrow. Ever since the shooting she’s feared how much of the woman she was before was left inside of her. After many moments of doubt where she blatantly ignored her own fears she took control. (We all knew it was in her!) She finally saw that just because she’s in a wheelchair doesn’t mean that she can’t run HER company. She’s more than capable of conquering the world.

Caralynn: Clarke entering the Summit meeting dressed in full formal Grounder wear on The 100 was beyond epic. She looked fierce and amazing and it was just perfect. Also, the Grounder Anthem “Take A Life With Me” by the show’s composer, Tree Adams, was stunningly beautiful and fit the scene to a T. Interspersing the scene with cuts of Bellamy and the crew fighting their way to the top of Polis was also a cool move.

Most Shocking Moment

Lizzie: Barry defends Harry, on The Flash. I mean, I thought everyone on Team Flash should cut Harry some slack, which is why I totally didn’t expect them to. Common sense is not what they do best, after all. So, Barry making the argument that Harry was part of the team, that they all would have done the same, and that they should help him, not lock him up was a big surprise. A pleasant one, at that.

Allison: The destruction of Mount Weather on The 100. This is the show I know and love. As soon as the assassin was shown to be in Mount Weather, my blood was pumping and there may have been yelling at the TV. The Ice Nation is brutal, and now we’ve seen what they are capable of first hand.

Jessica: I was really shocked that they showed an amputation on Mercy Street. I knew that they were commonplace during the Civil War I just didn’t realize how traumatic they were till they showed an entire one. Shivers.

Lyra: I’m hopping on the same show as Allison but a different moment. Gina’s death on The 100 was by far the most shocking moment of this week. No one will ever know the pain she experienced or how she tried to warn her friends. She will be a hero lost in time. Nothing more tragic than that.  

Caralynn: Lord Grantham’s burst ulcer and the sudden projectile-vomiting of blood at the dinner table on Downton Abbey. That was insane! It was pretty clear all season that Robert would have some kind of health scare but I was 100% not prepared for it to be that sudden or gruesome. For a soap opera about fancy rich British people, the show can really get gory when it wants to be. It was horrifying.

Moment That Left You Wondering 

Lizzie: James confesses his love for Kara, just not to her face, on Supergirl. I find James to be the definition of boring, but until this week I didn’t have any specific beef with him. Now I do. I’m not saying he can’t be in love with Kara, he can. It’s totally allowed. But if he’s not in love with Lucy, then why is he still with her? Why did he let her quit her job, move to National City, and make her entire future about him? How’s that fair to Lucy? Or Kara, for that matter?

Allison: I just can’t get over the uber bitch that was Maureen on Madam Secretary. She really let Henry have it and said some horrendous things. It was bad enough at the house when she threw it in Henry’s face that she was always there taking care of their dad every day when Henry rarely showed up, but at the police station? That was uncalled for. You do not say things like that, EVER. It’s hard to even consider Maureen’s version of history, but we haven’t really seen any of it. I need to see more of Henry’s family life.

Jessica: I agree with Allison about Maureen on Madam Secretary! I really need more background into Henry’s family and their relationship with Bess! I’m also starting to wonder if we are ever going to get more West Wing vibes from Bess and the staff…like we did in season one? I feel as if they are struggling to get the groove between home and work life balanced.

Lyra: The burning of Elena Gilbert’s body on The Vampire Diaries. Does this mean that she’s never coming back to the show? Or was Tyler smart enough to get a witch involved and that wasn’t her actual body? I need answers now! Whenever TVD ends, Elena needs to come back to finish the show right.

Caralynn: Blaine and Peyton having sex on iZombie. I really wanted Peyton to go there, but I didn’t think she would (not so soon at least). And she basically instigated it! That hook-up was so hot and I’m sitting here shipping “Paine” knowing how wrong it is. Especially since Peyton learned the truth about Blaine from Liv almost immediately after. David Anders is a charisma machine and Blaine is such a wonderfully complicated, dark character. The whole thing is delicious and complicated and I haven’t shipped a new couple this hard in a while.

What were your picks? Leave them in a comment below.