2017 was not a good year for many things, but it was a good year for TV. Peak TV kept us sane in a completely insane time and hopefully it'll do the same in 2018. For now, let's look back at the 17 best episodes of 2017 and how they reflected, resisted, or blissfully ignored the hellscape of reality.

SEE ALSO: 20 pop culture duos that warmed our souls and broke our hearts in 2017

1. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, "Josh's Ex-Girlfriend is Crazy!"

It doesn't score high with feel-good vibes or carefree musical numbers, but Crazy Ex-Girlfriend fully embraced a dark plummet after Rebecca's friends find out her history with Robert and she tells Josh the truth. Rebecca hits rock bottom and hits it hard; she says horrible things to her closest friends in West Covina and ends up sleeping with the absolute last person on earth she should sleep with.

2. The Good Place, "The Trolley Problem"

After a stunningly twisted Season 1 finale (which made Mashable's best episodes list six months into the year), The Good Place embraced its extraordinary premise by diving headfirst into it with Season 2. We get more Janet, more of the weird rules of Michael's world, and more ethics, made remarkably digestible by impeccable writing and the charm of Chidi. "The Trolley Problem" is probably being shown in classrooms around the country now (if it's not...what are you doing) to illustrate the ethical conundrum of utilitarianism: Why save one life when you could save five? Oh...that's why.

3. This Is Us, "Number Three"

It didn't take long for the This Is Us team to realize that Sterling K. Brown as Randall Pearson is the show's not-so-secret weapon. He was at the center of Season 1 standout "Memphis" (an honorary mention on this list) and therefore the final installment of a trilogy of episodes each focused on one of the triplets. As he struggles to lose Deja (Lyric Ross), Randall reflects on his relationship with his adoptive and biological fathers, including a devastating Sliding Doors-esque sequence in which he and William imagine being in each other's lives for longer.

4. Master of None, "Thanksgiving"

Master of None Season 2 premiered in May, but made its mark on the later half of the year with an Emmy win for Aziz Ansari and Lena Waithe. Waithe is the first African American woman ever to win a writing Emmy, and the episode – a largely personal character study for Denise that drew from Waithe's own experience – is a deeply moving portrait of friendship, family, and identity. Even if the show never comes back, we're thankful for this episode.

5. Better Call Saul, “Chicanery”

The lower Jimmy sinks, the higher Better Call Saul seems to soar. Never has that been more apparent than in “Chicanery,” the devastating centerpiece of Season 3. As the brothers’ feud comes to a head in the courtroom, Michael McKean delivers an explosive monologue that makes for two of the most riveting minutes of television this year – and Bob Odenkirk matches that intensity with quiet devastation that lets you know just how much this “victory” has cost Jimmy. -Angie Han

6. black-ish, "Lemons"

One of the toughests tasks since the 2016 election has been bridging the gap between voters on either side. black-ish did this brilliantly with its first season of 2017 (tied to the inauguration), giving its characters a wealth of views and reasons for voting the way they did and a common goal, as Americans, to make this work – to make lemonade, even from the sourest lemons.

7. The Last Man on Earth, "Got Milk?"

In 2017, The Last Man on Earth faced a threat of nuclear winter, stranded our survivors on an island, and currently has them unknowingly in the vicinity of an unidentified explosive in Mexico. But the show set the bar with its first episode of the year, a special episode following Pamela (Kristen Wiig) from the first days of the virus. Pamela loses her husband, her friends, her enemy (Laura Dern, who should be in everything), before finally catching up with Tandy and the rest of the gang.

8. Alias Grace, "Chapter 6"

Grace undergoes hypnosis as a last measure to prove her innocence – a measure mostly imposed by the men who are in love with her, A.K.A. Dr. Jordan and Jeremiah. The procedure reveals that Grace is grappling with multiple identities, one of which sounds an awful lot like the earthbound soul of her dead friend Mary Whitney. So that's cool!! Sarah Gadon – the show's shining light – gives a spine-tingling performance during Grace's confession. Alias Grace was a bit of a slow burn, but that finale is a scorcher.

9. Dear White People, "Chapter V"

In the first several episodes, Dear White People established itself as intelligent, nuanced, and sharply funny. In episode 5, it added a layer of grim reality. Even on the fictional island that is Winchester University, we've seen racial tension build, and when Reggie can't stand his friend singing the n-word at a party, quick escalation leads to campus security pointing a gun at him. The incident shakes every character and completely alters Reggie's arc moving forward.

10. Black Mirror, "U.S.S. Callister"

Premiering Dec. 29 – so we'll keep this spoiler-free – "U.S.S. Callister" packs together a Star Trek spoof, a revenge story, and an actual space adventure with a true Black Mirror twist about ethics and technology. It gives us a surprisingly nuanced performance from Jimmi Simpson, a dramatic leading role for Cristin Milioti, and Jesse Plemons as the enigmatic Callister captain who has more than a few secrets.

11. American Vandal, "Hard Facts: Vandalism and Vulgarity"

The show no one needed or asked for but for which we could not be more grateful opened by establishing the world of Hanover High School which had been rocked by a mysterious crime. Dylan Maxwell was expelled for spray-painting 27 penises on faculty cars, but there are holes in his story, in the witnesses, and in many more as two intrepid documentarians dive deeper into the events. Vandal's first episode showed us exactly how committed this show was to its premise and its farce, and even then nothing could have prepared us for that finale.

12. Broad City, "Witches"

Abbi finds a gray hair and panics immediately about getting old, a fear barely assuaged when she has a lot in common with an elderly woman selling art outside the Met. Meanwhile, Ilana goes to see a specialist about her difficult relationship with sex since the 2016 election. Both girls overcome their difficulties because guess what? They're witches – we all are!

13. The Handmaid's Tale, "Faithful"

Offred hits her lowest point in this episode when she's asked to have sex with Nick in order to bear a child for the Waterfords...only it's not much of a choice. Flashbacks reveal the start of her relationship with Luke and their innate physical chemistry – a chemistry Offred redirects toward her stirring feelings for Nick when she visits his bedchamber at night to do things right.

14. Great News, "Honeypot"

The eerily timed sexual harassment episode of Tracey Wigfield's local news comedy stars Tina Fey as Diana St. Tropez, a powerful executive preying on the employees of MMN. Katie is crushed to learn this about her mentor, but finds out that Diana was only acting out to get a big payout, like Bill O'Reilly or Roger Ailes.

"Maybe someday...we'll live in a world where a woman can be a creep, and go home with a huge golden parachute," Diana says. Sigh. Someday.

15. The Leftovers, "The Book of Nora"

The Leftovers may have ended, but its fan base (critics) will never stop singing its praise. The final episode played to one of the show's greatest strengths: the tragically not-Emmy-nominated Carrie Coon as Nora Durst. Nora lost the most in the Departure, and it haunted her even as she built a new life with Kevin and eventually pushed him away. In a show about loss and grieving, we saw this character isolate herself from the living, but finally (hopefully) find her way back for good.

16. Rick and Morty, "Pickle Rick"

Long before Season 3 released, "Pickle Rick" was the conductor of the Rick and Morty hype train. Somehow, the episode managed to surprise, disappoint, and yet go above and beyond expectations. Viewers expecting Pickle Rick to be another wacky sci-fi premise like the Tiny Rick of Season 2 got, well, a lot more than they bargained for. The episode was so divisive, in fact, that it began a fandom civil war; but as co-creator Dan Harmon’s favorite episode, "Pickle Rick" signaled a new era of maturity for Rick and Morty. It was still the crass, nihilistic, intelligent, savage show it’d always been, but its honesty about the nature of family, mental health, and trauma introduced a whole new level of brutality. -Jess Joho

17. Nathan for You, "Finding Frances"

You never go into an episode of Nathan For You expecting "normal" television, but the two hour-long season finale was a journey into the cringe-worthy unlike any other. To summarize poorly, comedian Nathan Fielder forgoes his schtick of “helping” small businesses to instead help the (subpar at best) Bill Gates impersonator from a previous season reunite with a lost love. Somewhere along the way, he initiates a relationship with a sex worker — and if you’re uncomfortable already, you’re onto something. In an episode that will make you question the definitions of love, honesty, and the fabric of reality, Fielder brings his entire high-brow, dead-pan comedy experiment to a close. We just dare you to get through the whole thing without screaming. -Jess Joho