Rivalry weeks are a lot like "Fast and Furious" movies. There's often huge amounts of animosity among the stars. The plots make absolutely no sense. And most significantly, there are no bad ones, just varying amounts of bloodshed and pyrotechnics.
The 2020 installment was essentially the "Tokyo Drift" of rivalry weeks -- many big names not participating, a rather lackluster outing -- but 2021 was something different. It was drama and heartbreak. It was heroism. It was the underdog finally achieving greatness. It was the villain coming back from the dead. It was Oscar bait. It had everything.