George R.R. Martin reveals his pick for “best finale in the entire history of television”

Inspired by a Vanity Fair article listing the greatest TV episodes of all time, Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin has revealed some of his own favorites, including what he believes to be the “best finale in the entire history of television.”

A couple of weeks ago, Vanity Fair posted an article titled ’25 Perfect TV Episodes From the last 25 Years,’ which includes instalments of beloved dramas like The Wire, The Sopranos, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad.

But they also made room for comedy via the likes of Friends, Insecure, Fleabag, Arrested Development, and Atlanta (though admittedly the Teddy Perkins episode was more scary than funny).

While the ‘Blackwater’ episode of Game of Thrones also made the cut, inspiring Martin to chime in on some of those choices, and make a declaration of his own.

George R.R. Martin reveals his pick for “best finale in the entire history of television”

George R.R. Martin states that the Six Feet Under finale – which aired in 2005 – is “far and away the best finale in the entire history of television, and I cannot imagine how anyone could possibly do better.” Martin writes those words in a blog post dedicated to the Vanity Fair list, in which he agrees with several of the picks.

“I can’t take issue with many of Vanity Fair’s choices,” Martin says in the post. “‘The Suitcase’ from Mad Men, the heart-wrenching ‘Ozymandias’ episode from Breaking Bad. The Sopranos had lots of great episodes, but ‘The Pine Barrens’ was special, and for the entire rest of the series I kept waiting for that Russian to turn up again when we least expected.

“For The Wire they picked the episode where Stringer died, and one can’t argue with that, though Omar’s death hit me maybe a tiny bit harder… but the show was so good, it came close to perfection pretty frequently. Black Mirror is an extraordinary series in so many ways, but ‘San Junipero’ is the episode I love to watch over and over, and tell my friends to watch.

“If I had to pick one episode that was even more perfect than all the others on the list, though, it would have to be the final episode of Six Feet Under. I liked that series well enough, though I cannot say I loved it as much as I loved Rome or Deadwood or Fargo or a few other shows missing from the list, but that last episode was far and away the best finale in the entire history of television, and I cannot imagine how anyone could possibly do better.”

What happens at the end of Six Feet Under?

Six Feet Under ends in incredibly emotional fashion via the acclaimed Season 5 finale ‘Everyone’s Waiting.’

Following a farewell dinner for Nate (Peter Krause) – who died in a previous episode – Claire (Lauren Ambrose) drives to New York, leaving her family behind. During the journey – while Claire is crying – we see flashes forward to character deaths in the future, including the year of their passing.

So the audience learns that Ruth dies in 2025 aged 79. Keith is killed by a bullet in 2029 at age 61. Claire marries Ted. David dies in 2044 aged 75. Rico dies in 2049 when he’s 75. Brenda dies in 2051 aged 82. Claire dies in 2085 at the age of 102. And by that climactic moment, there isn’t a dry eye in the house.

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