Chaos Breeds Chaos 2020 Television Awards – Part 2

Read on for Part 2 of this year’s Television Chaos awards. (Check out Part 1).

Cutest Creature: The Child, Star Wars: The Mandalorian

[image error]The Child (The Mandalorian)

The moment this little creature peeks out of the blanket in his little hover pod, you automatically want one of your own! If that wasn’t enough, during the next episode we get to see him walk, play, eat an entire frog whole like a duck and prove his worth with force power. The puppetry (which we later learn in Disney+’s Disney Gallery: Star Wars: The Mandalorian was performed by five separate puppeteers) was outstanding, giving the little guy the perfect amount of curiosity, emotion and carefree attitude that proved that the Mandalorian had a soft side under the hard exterior of his bounty hunter predilections. From saving his friends from a flamethrower to sipping soup while watching his new father-figure fight, the Child (who was instantly and affectionately dubbed “Baby Yoda”) became a favorite among hardcore and non-hardcore Star Wars fans alike.

Best Cameos: Tom Ellis and Ezra Miller, Crisis on Infinite Earths

[image error]Tom Ellis, Ezra Miller and Grant Gustin (Crisis on Infinite Earths)

If the extraordinary five-episode Arrowverse cross-over event wasn’t big enough, producers packed the meta-fueled arc with plenty of great cameos. But the best ones came in the form of those from completely different franchises, making them all the more special. First, and most surprising, was Ezra Miller’s big-screen Barry Allen popping in to give advice to TVs Barry Allen. It was shocking, not because it was another Flash, but because I never expected stars from the Zak Snyder-produced Justice League universe to cross-over with the television series. This alone opens up a whole new world of possibilities, should the producers feel the urge to unseal that Pandora’s box in the future. The other cameo that came out of left field but fit so nicely into the world was Tom Ellis’s Lucifer enjoying life in Hell. Presumably, this would either take place prior to his journey to L.A. to pair with Detective Decker (Lauren German) or between seasons 4 and 5, but to see his smug, arrogant mug ham it up with John Constantine (Matt Ryan) as the official Satan on Legends of Tomorrow was a true delight.

Best Fight Choreography: Ahsoka vs. Darth Maul, Star Wars: The Clone Wars

[image error]Ahsoka Tano and Darth Maul (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

For as long as The Clone Wars has been on, the show has yet to earn any awards on this site. That ends today, as the fight sequence between Ahsoka Tano (voiced by Ashley Eckstein) and Darth Maul (Ray Park) in the anti-penultimate episode of the series was truly extraordinary. As part of the mind-blowing final four episode arc, which takes place at the same time as the events of Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, these perfectly-crafted episodes helped fill in plenty of gaps as to where Ahsoka was during the activation of Order 66 and how she escaped. All four episodes had their highlights, but none were better than the epic lightsaber duel between these two characters. I can’t say that it was the best lightsaber duel of the entire series (I still believe that Duel of the Fates, the battle between Qui-Gonn, Obi-Wan and Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace holds that crown), but this is definitely a close second. Everything from its sweeping nature to the acrobatics on display to the music that accompanied it led to some of the greatest animation of the series, as well as one of the most impactful episodes. It was also great to learn that Ray Park, who embodied Maul in Phantom Menace, did motion capture for Maul in this episode as well. Kudos to Dave Filoni and the team at Lucasfilm for creating such a stellar end to a terrific chapter in the Star Wars Saga.

Most Surprising Death: Nicholas Endicott (Durmot Mulroney), Prodigal Son

[image error]Halston Sage and Durmot Mulroney (Prodigal Son)

Though seeing the Ugnaught actually get killed trying to protect the Child in The Mandalorian was a devastating, and somewhat shocking moment in the series, there was another death that surprised and shocked to a greater degree — and not because of who died, but who did the killing. In Prodigal Son‘s final episode, everything was leading up to Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne) taking the life of villainous Nicholas Endicott to complete the transformation his father (Martin Sheen) so desperately wanted. It was only a matter of how he would do it. Would it be on purpose? An accident? Would he use a gun, a knife or his bare hands? The moment was finally upon us, and then — Bright’s sister, Ainsley (Halston Sage) comes up behind Endicott and takes a knife to his throat! If that wasn’t enough, she then stabs him seven times for good measure. It was a moment that came entirely out of left field but made complete sense in the overall story. To see Bright’s reaction to her being the killer, and then watching Ainsley wake up as if she was in some sort of dream state when it happened, was a mind-blowing end to an incredibly well-done new series, opening the door to many possibilities moving forward.

Saddest Death: Christopher LaSalle (Lucas Black), NCIS: New Orleans

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Don’t forget to check out Part 3 of the 2019-2020 awards, including Worst Anthology Switch, Most Poignant Confession and the season’s most noticeable trend.