To quote the endlessly wise Leslie Knope: “What’s Galentine’s Day? Oh, it’s only the best day of the year.”
It’s a well-known fact that February 14 is Valentine’s Day, but thanks to Parks and Recreation, February 13 is now reserved for celebrating the women in your life who lift you up and show you love. Sisters, friends, coworkers, and even random strangers who have offered a helping hand in a time of need. Women supporting women should be universal.
While we advocate for celebrating the women in your life on a daily basis, Galentine’s Day gives us a special opportunity to thank the ladies who matter the most by tuning in to watch a few episodes or a movie devoted to stories about female friendships and plutonic love. Sure, it’s fun to watch a romance flick from time to time, but when I need reminded that there is still good in the world, I’m running to the ladies to make me feel better.
In honor of the epic holiday and the hopefully incredible day alongside your best gal pals, might we suggest checking out some incredible TV episodes? Below, we have listed seven of our favorites that are worth checking out this year, with or without your friends. But be sure to share it so that you can spread the love even further.
Keep reading to find out which seven episodes made the list and why they are worth the watch.
-
“Galentine’s Day” – Parks & Recreation (Season 2, Episode 10)
How could we have a Galentine’s Day list and not include the blueprint, a.k.a. “Galentine’s Day,” the episode that inspired a holiday. In this episode, Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) invites her gal pals out for a brunch and teaches us how to properly show love to our friends. The show has numerous other Galentine’s Day episodes but this one has to take the cake for originality. Like Lil’ Sebastian, who could hate this?
-
“All Adventurous Women Do” – Girls (Season 1, Episode 3)
After Hannah (Lena Dunham) finds out she has HPV, she tweets out four words (how incredibly 2012 of her), writing, “All adventurous women do.” The moment of painful acceptance and heartbreak could easily break your heart if not for the epic dance party that follows. After walking in on Hannah getting down to “Dancing On My Own” by Robyn, Marnie (Allison Williams) joins in on the fun and dances it out in a sweet moment of friendship that could pierce even the coldest and deadest of hearts.
-
After Aimee (Aimee Lou Wood) is sexually assaulted while riding the public bus to school, she struggles with anxiety surrounding the mode of transportation and even breaks down to her friends. An honest conversation, however, reveals that each girl in the friend group has faced some type of assault or uncomfortable situation. At the end of the episode, the group gathers at the bus stop to ride with Aimee and show her that while it may be scary, she is never alone. I dare you not to cry your eyes out.
-
“Home” – PEN15 (Season 2, Episode 15)
When I think of the word “girlhood” it’s hard not to think of Barbie and PEN15. For obvious reasons, Barbie is a touching story about women and girls, but PEN15 is a decidedly different approach to tackling the impossible task of being a woman. In “Home,” Anna (Anna Konkle) and Maya (Maya Erskine) realize they may not be as ready to grow up as they have always thought, with Maya even breaking down after a more mature encounter. Through it all, the two girls are in lock-step and prove that in every up and every down, it’s your best friends who will have your back.
-
“Silent All These Years” – Grey’s Anatomy (Season 15, Episode 19)
Grey’s Anatomy is pretty hit or miss these days but Season 15, Episode 19, “Silent All These Years,” is one episode that I think about at least once a week. When Jo (Camilla Luddington) realizes her patient has faced sexual violence at the hands of a man, she struggles to figure out how to get her patient into surgery, which she desperately needs. Jo — having been a victim of abuse, herself — ultimately calls in some women as reinforcements to line the halls leading to the elevator, bringing the patient (and me) to tears.
-
Men will always disaappoint you. Friends, though? Friends are forever. In the Season 3 finale of The Sex Lives of College Girls — the most recent addition to the list — the four Essex University protagonists each go throuh a traumatic incident that leaves them in a perilous situation. Breakups, transfers, no matter what, these girls are there for each other. I can all but guarantee you will feel it deep in your soul if you watch the episode.
-
“The Agreement” – Derry Girls (Season 3, Episode 7)
Derry Girl‘s series finale proves that not only is less often more, but that anyone from anywhere can be a right and proper Derry Girl. The episode tackles the pain of getting older and the difficulty in facing adult choices, forcing the show’s main characters to cast their votes on the Good Friday Agreement. The episode yields one of the best scenes about female friendship on television in years and a powerful monologue about growing up that has gone viral on TikTok more times than one can count.
Happy Galentine’s Day to one and all! Go forth and celebrate the women in your life.
Read the full article here
