This is a thread for the second half of 2020 and first half of 2021 (or the 2020-2021 school year for those in school). This is the time period of the 2020's that I actually liked, and miss. Aside from the COVID wave around the holiday season, January 6, and the election drama in general, there were plenty of things that I enjoyed during this time. Here is a list of what I liked from that time:

- Big Sky (Hulu/ABC)
- The Queen's Gambit (Netflix)
- Cobra Kai (even though it's originally from 2018, when it got picked up by Netflix was when it became popular)
- Ariana Grande's Positions album (including the song of the same title)
- Flight Attendant (HBO Max)
- Jingle-Jangle (Netflix)
- The Tomorrow War (Amazon Prime)
- The Nevers (HBO Max)
- Justin Bieber's "Peaches"
- Gwen Stefani's "Slow Clap"
- Hyrule Warriors: The Age of Calamity (Nintendo Switch)
- PS5 (thought I still don't have one, the release was a big highlight of this time)

That's all I can think of for now, but I'm sure there's a lot more.

One to add as much as I hate to admit, the Saved by the Bell reboot. I prefer when it is more about the original cast and characters, and how it references and pokes fun about the original series.

This period I remember having a feeling of hope and optimism as they were first coming out with the vaccines, and they weren't mandated and with limited availability in most places. There appeared to be a light at the end of the tunnel and it seemed like the pandemic was about to be over in the summer, but then the Delta wave hit. This period was better than the spring of 2020 with the initial shock of the pandemic and lockdowns, and the later part of 2021 with the Delta and Omicron waves and the supply chain crisis, and definitely better than 2022. I also did a lot of traveling during this time so that's why I look back with fondness and maybe have nostalgia for it further in the future.

Ed Sheeran came out with his song Afterglow during that time which is the best popular song of the 2020s so far (in my opinion). So music was very good.

World events wide I would have to disagree though. Masks were mandatory and In my city we couldn't gather as a family normally for Christmas due to restrictions. It was still quite bad. Wasn't to the level of mandatory vaccines yet, but they were clearly pushing for it and headed towards that direction even back then though.

Actually Afterglow is the second best. The best is The Killers - Caution.

Actually Afterglow is the second best. The best is The Killers - Caution.


Afterglow is the last song on my 2020 playlist, added right before New Years. With the Killers it was nice to see a familiar name, even though it sounded a lot different from their older material like Somebody Told Me and Mr Brightside.