Water! It’s easy to take for granted. It tends to be a background feature — a useful setting or a visual device to help form a nice shot. Perhaps it’s an obstacle to overcome. But when’s the last time you really sat and considered a televised body of water? Oceans, ponds, rivers, even man-made water features: These are indispensable elements of screen storytelling. They can be moody or sparkling, dangerous or peaceful. They deserve their own moment to shine. To ripple. To reflect.
So let this be your opportunity for reflection, too. It’s been a tough year. Take a few minutes to stare into some briny (or freshwater!) depths and celebrate TV’s best bodies of water this year.
This beaut comes to us from Alaska Daily. Cruise ship aside, there’s a Hudson River School quality here with all those warm, reflective tones.
The fictional influencer in this episode of Alaska Daily thought so, too, which is why she’s filming here. Look how gorgeous those yellow and blues are! (Three seconds later this fictional influencer falls to her death.)
Underwater imagery was a big trend in TV water for 2022. Here’s a striking example from Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Here we have a lovely shot of a London pond from HBO Max’s Starstruck. “Muckiness†is an underrated quality for a good body-of-water image to convey, but look how effective it can be.
An unusual spyglass-style ocean shot from The Crown featuring a breaching whale.
This frame from The Crown is a stunning study in grays and is also a strong example of water as a source of visual texture. Also, consider the way the shape of the coastline is echoed in the cloud cover.
Another underwater example from Below Deck Down Under. Captivating.
We tend to think of water in terms of blues or grays, but this shot from Bad Sisters plays with some unusual warm tones.
Andor’s beach planet Niamos demonstrates water’s capacity to be at once familiar and alien. Also, the music in this scene fucking slaps.
A gorgeous watery overhead shot from Andor — and a reminder of the vital importance of childhood swimming lessons.
Appropriately ominous, this yacht-club shot from The Watcher communicates a superficial calm together with lurking secrets.
An essential reminder from Borgen: Power and Glory that ice is also water.
Beach imagery is so beguiling, isn’t it? In this instance, a shot from Our Flag Means Death demonstrates both the emotional effort of setting off to sea and the beautiful rippling play of light created by water and sand.
We come to one of this year’s undisputed TV champions of the sea, The White Lotus. This, part of the show’s continual use of menacing underwater interstitial shots, also includes an appealing interplay of light reflecting on both the water’s surface and the sandy ocean floor. Notice how the floating body, far from seeming free and relaxed, instead appears to be trapped by her surroundings.
Mike White loves to play around with pictures of holes.
A rare illustrated image, but vital for a full appreciation of The White Lotus’s water obsession.
Look at those nighttime reflections! Almost makes you want to jump in.
For my money, the Reservation Dogs finale has the single best ocean scene on television in 2022, a year with remarkably stiff competition. There’s such a lovely sense of both finality and possibility here, rendered with both elegance and ease.
Finally, we round out 2022 with House of the Dragon.