18 Best TV Moments Of 2018

8. Van & Earn's Talk - Atlanta

Atlanta Helen
FX

Atlanta Season 2 had so many great moments it's difficult to whittle it down to just one, and feels even more sacrilegious not taking something from Teddy Perkins. However, Perkins has (understandably) been discussed a lot, but also works better as a whole. And for all the surrealism of Atlanta, it's best single moment was one that was as real and honest as it gets.

The episode Helen was still weird, with its Oktoberfest-on-acid setting and the behaviour of those involved, but the way it blended that otherness with something very much human and relatable is what epitomises the strength of Atlanta.

Against everything else, we have a couple going through a rough time in Earn and Van, and the 'where are we going?' talk that will be painfully familiar to just about everyone watching. Van is the earnest one here, saying she wants to be in a committed relationship. At this point, you're begging for Earn to agree. But that would be too easy. Instead, he simply says: "I don’t know what I want. I know this arrangement works for me." He finishes with one of the loudest shrugs in television. It's the kind of shrug you can feel.

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Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.