Actor Henry Ian Cusick as Desmond Hume on a red phone in the 'Lost' episode titled 'The Constant.'
TV

100 best TV episodes of all time

Written by:
November 30, 2022
ABC

100 best TV episodes of all time

What makes a great episode of television? Watching TV is one of America's favorite pastimes, and the best episodes feature some of the most memorable moments ever seen on the small screen—from epic battle sequences to heart-wrenching emotional scenes.

Stacker compiled data on all English-language TV episodes with over 2,500 votes on IMDb and ranked them according to IMDb user ratings. Data includes anime shows dubbed in English. Ties were broken by the number of votes. In the interest of maintaining a diverse list and reducing the dominance some shows might've had over the list ("Game of Thrones," "Breaking Bad," and "Person of Interest" in particular), shows have been capped at five episodes.

The episodes on this list, beloved by both fans and critics, feature epic love stories, nail-biting cliffhangers, moments that became memes, and send-offs to your favorite heroes and villains. You'll find a wide range of genres, including animation and anime, sitcoms, fantasies, dramas, and thrillers.

The data, as of November 2022, includes 100 episodes from 56 different shows. Sit back, grab a snack, and get your remote ready. After reading Stacker's list, you'll want to go into full-fledged binge mode.

#100. Invincible - 'Where I Really Come From'

- IMDb user rating: 9.6
- Season 1, episode 8
- Director(s): William Ruzicka
- Air date: April 30, 2021

In the season finale, superhero Invincible, aka high schooler Mark (voiced by Steven Yeun) learns the truth about his powers and their origins. In this acclaimed adult animated series based on the comic series, Nolan, Invincible's dad, reveals his true identity and the real plans he has for his hero son.

#99. Friends - 'The Last One'

- IMDb user rating: 9.6
- Season 10, episode 17
- Director(s): Kevin Bright
- Air date: May 6, 2004

One of the most-watched television episodes of all time, the sitcom "Friends" series finale was an hour long and culminated with the six pals moving out of their New York apartment and heading to Central Perk together one final time. Audiences were kept on the edge of their seats, wondering whether Rachel and Ross (Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer) would finally declare their love for each other or be separated by a job relocation to Paris.

#98. Arcane - 'The Monster You Created'

- IMDb user rating: 9.6
- Season 1, episode 9
- Director(s): Pascal Charrue, Arnaud Delord
- Air date: Nov. 20, 2021

In the first season finale of this adult animated action show based on the League of Legends game universe, the drama between sisters Vi and Jinx comes to a head. The pair spend the season on different sides of a violent rebellion in this series acclaimed for its stunning visual design and emotionally compelling characters.

#97. Arcane - 'The Base Violence Necessary for Change'

- IMDb user rating: 9.6
- Season 1, episode 3
- Director(s): Pascal Charrue, Arnaud Delord
- Air date: Nov. 6, 2021

This Netflix series has won acclaim for its elaborate fantasy world-building that merges sci-fi steampunk with esoteric lore. By the third episode, the main characters, sisters Vi and Jinx, are separated again, caught up in factions warring over arcane magic and crystals.

#96. Rick and Morty - 'The Rickshank Rickdemption'

- IMDb user rating: 9.6
- Season 3, episode 1
- Director(s): Juan Jose Meza-Leon
- Air date: April 1, 2017

The season three opener finds Rick planning his escape from the Galactic Federation, a high-security prison, while Morty and Summer remain back on Earth. The episode title is a play on the 1994 movie "The Shawshank Redemption," which focuses on a character trying to escape prison.

#95. Dark - 'Das Paradies'

- IMDb user rating: 9.6
- Season 3, episode 8
- Director(s): Baran bo Odar
- Air date: June 27, 2020

Netflix's grim time-travel series grips audiences through its complex timelines as families are caught up in the mysteries of missing children and the local wormhole beneath a nuclear plant. In the series finale "Das Paradies," the intertwined timelines reveal more about the origins of time travel, the various worlds it creates, and which survive or perish.

#94. The Walking Dead - 'Too Far Gone'

- IMDb user rating: 9.6
- Season 4, episode 8
- Director(s): Ernest R. Dickerson
- Air date: Dec. 1, 2013

In this midseason finale, one of the series' most complex villains, The Governor, attempts to take the prison from Rick. Chaos, death, and destruction ensue, leaving viewers reeling and waiting for the second half of an epic season.

#93. The Walking Dead - 'No Sanctuary'

- IMDb user rating: 9.6
- Season 5, episode 1
- Director(s): Greg Nicotero
- Air date: Oct. 12, 2014

This ratings record-breaker season opener finds Rick and friends still stuck in a box, attempting to get away from the demented inhabitants of Terminus. Carol, not only a survivor of the zombie apocalypse but of domestic abuse as well, continues to prove just what a boss she is by saving the whole crew.

#92. True Detective - 'Who Goes There'

- IMDb user rating: 9.6
- Season 1, episode 4
- Director(s): Cary Joji Fukunaga
- Air date: Feb. 9, 2014

This Emmy-winning episode features Detective Cohle returning to a dark, drug-addled world when the search for Reggie Ledoux leads him to a motorcycle gang, the Iron Crusaders. The episode ends with a dramatic and critically lauded six-minute tracking shot.

#91. The Boys - 'Herogasm'

- IMDb user rating: 9.6
- Season 3, episode 6
- Director(s): Nelson Cragg
- Air date: June 24, 2022

"The Boys" follows superheroes, known as Supes, who were created by Vought International, an evil corporation. They use the Supes as exploited employees in this critique of late-stage capitalism. In this episode, viewers follow the Supes to the 70th anniversary of "Herogasm," an annual mass orgy event. "Herogasm" features one of the series' most controversial scenes: an octopus performing oral sex with The Deep, an Aquaman-like character on the show.

#90. The Walking Dead - 'No Way Out'

- IMDb user rating: 9.6
- Season 6, episode 9
- Director(s): Greg Nicotero
- Air date: Feb. 14, 2016

In this midseason premiere, Daryl takes on the Saviors, Rick leads the crew through a pack of walkers, and Glenn attempts to rescue Maggie. Tragedy gets the Alexandrians to finally fight back.

#89. Stranger Things - 'Chapter Seven: The Massacre at Hawkins Lab'

- IMDb user rating: 9.6
- Season 4, episode 7
- Director(s): Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer
- Air date: May 27, 2022

"Stranger Things" delves into 1980s nostalgia that's both whimsical and scary. Tweens become enmeshed in supernatural situations and shadowy government bureaucracies. In this epic episode, the gulag prisoners face off against a monstrous Demogorgon in a grisly and frightening sequence.

#88. Sherlock - 'The Reichenbach Fall'

- IMDb user rating: 9.6
- Season 2, episode 3
- Director(s): Toby Haynes
- Air date: May 20, 2012

The final episode of season two opens with a shocking declaration from Watson and a flashback. Sherlock's archenemy, Moriarty, attempts to set him up and make him look bad at an already precarious time for the investigator.

#87. Chernobyl - 'Please Remain Calm'

- IMDb user rating: 9.6
- Season 1, episode 2
- Director(s): Johan Renck
- Air date: May 13, 2019

In the aftermath of the explosion, scientist Ulana Khomyuk (Emily Watson) begins to investigate. This marks the first appearance of Watson in the series. Khomyuk was not based on a real person but rather a composite of many Soviet scientists who worked on the Chernobyl disaster.

#86. This Is Us - 'The Train'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 6, episode 17
- Director(s): Ken Olin
- Air date: May 17, 2022

"This Is Us" is known for its emotionally ruthless melodrama as it tells the story of the Pearson siblings as both adults and kids. "The Train" returns to the events of the night of dad Jack's death, first revealed in season two, giving more context. This episode features a tear-jerking passing of a main character. Tissues recommended.

#85. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - 'Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 4, episode 24
- Director(s): Shelley Jensen
- Air date: May 9, 1994

Will Smith plays the Fresh Prince in this iconic '90s sitcom that catapulted the young rapper to stardom and includes a famous emotional scene that later became a meme. In this famous episode, Ben Vereen plays Will's long last dad, Lou, who shows up to try and reconcile with the son he abandoned. Will's wealthy aunt and uncle are not amused when Will wants to leave with the man.

#84. The West Wing - 'Two Cathedrals'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 2, episode 22
- Director(s): Thomas Schlamme
- Air date: May 16, 2001

The Emmy award-winning second season of "The West Wing" ends on a cliffhanger about whether President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen) will run for a second term after revealing he has MS to the American people. It's an emotional episode that includes the funeral of a beloved character, multiple flashbacks, a looming storm, an international crisis, and the rousing, inspired speeches that made the series famous.

#83. Castlevania - 'The Endings'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 4, episode 9
- Director(s): Sam Deats
- Air date: May 13, 2021

Stunning animation and biting revenge make up this adult-oriented series based on a video game of the same name. In "Castlevania," Dracula is bent on avenging the murder of his wife by annihilating an entire community with an army of demons. The series' penultimate episode has Trevor, a monster hunter trying to stop Dracula, fighting an epic battle with Death itself.

#82. Grey's Anatomy - 'Sanctuary'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 6, episode 23
- Director(s): Stephen Cragg
- Air date: May 20, 2010

Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital (the fictional location of Shonda Rhimes' hit medical drama) erupts into pandemonium during part one of the sixth season finale. An active shooter, the disgruntled husband of a lost patient, terrorizes convalescents and staff. Amid the chaos of several vital characters becoming victims, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) reveals she's pregnant.

#81. Young Justice - 'Summit'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 2, episode 19
- Director(s): Tim Divar
- Air date: March 9, 2013

Set in the DC Comics universe, this adult animated series is packed with newly reimagined teen superheroes, including Nightwing, Bumblebee, Blue Beetle, Batgirl, and others. In "Summit," the characters come together in a cavern to negotiate the fate of Earth in an episode filled with reversals and surprises after Black Manta's dying son releases a hologram with a jarring message for the group.

#80. Adventure Time - 'Come Along With Me'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 10, episode 13
- Director(s): Diana Lafyatis, Cole Sanchez
- Air date: Sept. 3, 2018

In the aftermath of the Great Gum War, Finn and his dog Jake, a talking shape-shifter, go on magical adventures in the land Ooo in the extremely distant future. The series finale was the length of four regular episodes and featured extreme showdowns in a nightmare realm in its hand-drawn visual style. The finale follows a future timeline and resolves storylines throughout the charming and often emotional series.

#79. Grey's Anatomy - 'Death and All His Friends'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 6, episode 24
- Director(s): Rob Corn
- Air date: May 20, 2010

Part two of the sixth season finale resumes with the continuation of a cliffhanger with Derek (Patrick Dempsey) suffering from a gunshot wound as an active shooter continues terrorizing hospital staff and patients. Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), pregnant with her and Derek's child, undergoes extraordinary loss as the characters reel from the violence.

#78. SpongeBob SquarePants - 'The Secret Box/Band Geeks'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 2, episode 15
- Director(s): Walt Dohrn and Paul Tibbitt ("The Secret Box"), Aaron Springer ("Band Geeks")
- Air date: Sept. 7, 2001

Nickelodeon's popular animated series set in the undersea world of Bikini Bottom premiered in 1999 and is still going strong. The series' characters, including SpongeBob, the titular sea sponge, and his pal Patrick, a starfish, have spawned innumerable memes that capture the hilarious absurdity of life. In the first segment, SpongeBob wants to know what's in Patrick's secret box. In the second, Squidward aims to start a marching band.

#77. Steven Universe - 'Change Your Mind'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 5, episode 28
- Director(s): Joseph D. Johnston, Kat Morris
- Air date: Jan. 21, 2019

This award-winning animated series won a GLAAD Media award for Outstanding Kids and Family Programming and is acclaimed for its rich and complex portrayal of queer themes and issues. Created by Rebecca Sugar, the fantasy series follows a young boy, Steven, who helps save the world as he develops his superpowers. In the epic season five finale, Steven rises to the challenge.

#76. The Americans - 'START'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 6, episode 10
- Director(s): Chris Long
- Air date: May 30, 2018

Set during the 1980s Cold War, Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys play Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, Russian spies who pose as average, suburban Americans in this show that merges domestic drama with espionage thrills. In the series finale, Elizabeth and Philip's double life is discovered by an FBI agent who is the couple's neighbor and friend as the series comes to its somber conclusion.

#75. Scrubs - 'My Finale: Part 2'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 8, episode 19
- Director(s): Bill Lawrence
- Air date: May 6, 2009

In the second part of the eighth season finale, the series narrator J.D. (Zach Braff) completes his final day at the hospital. It's a sentimental episode filled with J.D.'s remembrances and hopes for the future. It was intended as the series finale, but the show continued for one more season without many of its original characters.

#74. The Last Kingdom - 'Episode #5.10'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 5, episode 10
- Director(s): Jon East
- Air date: March 9, 2022

This Viking history show adapts Bernard Cornwell's The Saxon Stories novels that take place in early medieval England as warring sects duke it out for control. The series finale features more epic battles and a temporary truce, setting up the upcoming Netflix movie, "Seven Kings Must Die."

#73. Scrubs - 'My Screwup'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 3, episode 14
- Director(s): Chris Koch
- Air date: Feb. 24, 2004

Donald Faison plays Turk, a surgeon, and Zach Braff plays J.D., his doctor bestie, in this hospital-set sitcom filled with slapstick antics and sound effect gags as their attending doctor (John C. McGinley) torments them. In "My Screwup," Turk shaves his mustache to find a talking, animated mole. Brendan Fraser guest stars as Ben, a cancer patient, providing the show with an emotional sequence that reveals that character's fate.

#72. Mad Men - 'The Suitcase'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 4, episode 7
- Director(s): Jennifer Getzinger
- Air date: Sept. 5, 2010

Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) breaks up with her boyfriend over the phone in a spectacularly awkward sequence as he sits in a restaurant with her angry mom and family. Peggy and ad exec Don Draper ( John Hamm), carry this dramatic episode that takes place on Peggy's birthday and features both characters breaking down in rage and grief, showing their fraught bond.

#71. Sons of Anarchy - 'NS'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 3, episode 13
- Director(s): Kurt Sutter
- Air date: Nov. 30, 2010

Charlie Hunnam plays Jax in the motorcycle gang melodrama with Shakespearean plotlines of double-crossing and betrayal set in Charming, a fictional California town. Season three's epic finale features surprise reversals and suspense as it builds to a jaw-dropping conclusion.

#70. This Is Us - 'Super Bowl Sunday'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 2, episode 14
- Director(s): Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
- Air date: Feb. 4, 2018

The drama "This is Us" follows two timelines, one where the Pearson siblings are children and another as adults. The series reveals early on that dad Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) has passed, but doesn't reveal how until the "Super Bowl Sunday" episode. The gut-wrenching episode features a house fire and Jack's heroics seem to keep him safe except for a devastating surprise.

#69. Person of Interest - 'The Devil's Share'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 3, episode 10
- Director(s): Chris Fisher
- Air date: Nov. 26, 2013

The opening montage features Johnny Cash's rendition of the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt." In the 10th episode of the third season, the team seeks justice for the murder of one of their own. The episode also features several flashbacks, each featuring a major character.

#68. Person of Interest - 'The Day the World Went Away'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 5, episode 10
- Director(s): Frederick E.O. Toye
- Air date: May 31, 2016

In this episode, Finch's cover is blown, which sets a series of deadly events in motion. The Nine Inch Nails song this episode is named after plays at the episode's end.

#67. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - 'The Body'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 5, episode 16
- Director(s): Joss Whedon
- Air date: Feb. 27, 2001

In one of the saddest episodes of the series, Buffy and her crew struggle with an unexpected and very personal tragedy. Show creator Joss Whedon believes the episode is the best thing he's done—and maybe the best thing he will ever do.

#66. Person of Interest - 'YHWH'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 4, episode 22
- Director(s): Chris Fisher
- Air date: May 5, 2015

The title of the season finale refers to God's name as it was revealed to Moses, as four Hebrew consonants. The episode features Root and Finch as they attempt to save the Machine.

#65. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - 'Hush'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 4, episode 10
- Director(s): Joss Whedon
- Air date: Dec. 14, 1999

Buffy and the Scoobies, her loyal band of ragtag sidekicks, battle bobblehead floating ghouls called The Gentlemen in this fan-favorite episode. Wearing suits and demented smiles, the demons steal voices and fans' (and Sunnydale residents') hearts without making a peep, as the 44-minute episode is carried out in near silence. The cast admitted it was one of the hardest episodes to make because show creator Joss Whedon's direction was so precise.

#64. Atlanta - 'Teddy Perkins'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 2, episode 6
- Director(s): Hiro Murai
- Air date: April 5, 2018

"Atlanta" is known for its original style and creative storytelling. Donald Glover writes, directs, produces, and stars in the series set amid four friends and the music scene in Atlanta. In the acclaimed episode "Teddy Perkins," Darius (LaKeith Stanfield) picks up an antique piano from an eerie mansion and meets the macabre Teddy as situations veer into surreal, chilling horror.

#63. Spartacus - 'Victory'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 3, episode 10
- Director(s): Rick Jacobson
- Air date: April 12, 2013

In the series finale, Spartacus and his rebel crew battle the Romans for their freedom. Known for its unique credits, the show didn't disappoint. The episode's final credits listed the names of virtually every character and actor who ever appeared in the series.

#62. House - 'Broken'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 6, episode 1
- Director(s): Katie Jacobs
- Air date: Sept. 21, 2009

The sixth season opens with House as a patient in a psychiatric hospital. His roommate at the hospital is played by Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the megahit Broadway musical "Hamilton."

#61. House - 'Wilson's Heart'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 4, episode 16
- Director(s): Katie Jacobs
- Air date: May 19, 2008

In the final episode of the two-part season finale, House figures out what happened to Amber on the bus and why she is not responding to treatment. Playing on a popular television death trope, everyone is torn up when a character dies, including the audience and House, even though no one was really crazy about said character. It is proof that an amazing and heart-wrenching death scene is worth its weight in television gold.

#60. Suits - 'Faith'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 5, episode 10
- Director(s): Anton Cropper
- Air date: August 26, 2015

Louis and Jessica get into a power struggle with Daniel Hardman and Jack Soloff, while Harvey and Mike are faced with important decisions and seek guidance from others. This season five summer finale is filled with flashbacks.

#59. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - 'Once More, with Feeling'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 6, episode 7
- Director(s): Joss Whedon
- Air date: Nov. 6, 2001

Before "Riverdale" gave us its musical television episodes, there was "Buffy." "Once More, With Feeling" has the longest runtime of any episode in the series and finds the residents of Sunnydale bursting into song and dance—and sometimes into flames. Under the influence of a diabolical dancing and singing demon, Sunnydale residents reveal their darkest secrets through song.

#58. Star Wars: The Clone Wars - 'Old Friends Not Forgotten'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 7, episode 9
- Director(s): Saul Ruiz
- Air date: April 17, 2020

When Ahsoka reaches out to Obi-Wan and Anakin, they are faced with an important decision: Should they defend Coruscant or help Ahsoka pursue Maul on Mandalore? The opening title sequence is different for this episode because it features an arrangement of the "Star Wars" theme by John Williams instead of the standard arrangement by Kevin Kiner.

#57. Supernatural - 'Swan Song'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 5, episode 22
- Director(s): Steve Boyum
- Air date: May 13, 2010

When the apocalypse looms, the Winchester brothers realize they need to make some important and difficult decisions. This season finale was originally intended to be the series finale (the show's creator only imagined five seasons). Much to the delight of fans, its showrunner Sera Gamble took over to continue the series.

#56. Friends - 'The One Where Everybody Finds Out'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 5, episode 14
- Director(s): Michael Lembeck
- Air date: Feb. 11, 1999

"They don't know that we know they know we know." This befuddling tongue-twister of a line uttered by a smiling Phoebe Buffay signals the beginning of the end for Monica and Chandler's months-long hidden love affair. It isn't all laughs, though. By episode's end, Ross gives his blessing to his best friend and baby sister.

#55. The Sopranos - 'Pine Barrens'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 3, episode 11
- Director(s): Steve Buscemi
- Air date: May 6, 2001

In an episode directed by Steve Buscemi, trouble comes for the Jersey mob crew when Chris and Paulie take over collections for a sick Silvio and—bada bing, bada boom—things get a bit out of hand. The dynamic duo tries to dump a body, gets lost in the woods, and nearly freezes to death. Meanwhile, Tony confesses to Dr. Melfi that he's been seeing one of her patients and admits things aren't going well.

#54. Lost - 'Through the Looking Glass'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 3, episode 22
- Director(s): Jack Bender
- Air date: May 23, 2007

With so much happening on the mysterious island in this episode, fans look for plot holes to this day. The image of Charlie raising a hand with the words "Not Penny's Boat" written in black marker as the water rises around him—and the revelation that the future Jack and Kate have somehow made it off the island—make this not only one of the best episodes of the series but one of the greatest finales.

#53. Mr. Robot - 'eps3.4_runtime-err0r.r00'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 3, episode 5
- Director(s): Sam Esmail
- Air date: Nov. 8, 2017

As chaos erupts at E Corp Headquarters, Elliot tries to intervene. One of the most technically advanced episodes of the series, this one looked like one continuous, commercial-free long take.

#52. Lost - 'The Constant'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 4, episode 5
- Director(s): Jack Bender
- Air date: Feb. 28, 2008

Another brilliant episode, "The Constant," was also dubbed the best episode of the century by The Ringer and the best episode of 2008 by TIME magazine. The story follows Desmond as he jumps back and forth between 1996 and present-day 2004. Only a phone call can break the loop between past and present and prove that Penny is Desmond's true constant.

#51. Mr. Robot - '405 Method Not Allowed'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 4, episode 5
- Director(s): Sam Esmail
- Air date: Nov. 3, 2019

This holiday episode takes place on Christmas and finds Elliot and Darlene on the run. In a pop culture nod, security guards watch the 1988 movie "Die Hard." The episode contains virtually no dialogue.

#50. Mr. Robot - '409 Conflict'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 4, episode 9
- Director(s): Sam Esmail
- Air date: Dec. 1, 2019

With Elliot unstable, Darlene and Mr. Robot attempt to get all of the Deus Group members in one place. The episode references the Robert Zemeckis film "Back to the Future Part II." The movie is mentioned frequently throughout the show.

#49. The Office - 'Stress Relief'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 5, episode 13
- Director(s): Jeffrey Blitz
- Air date: Feb. 1, 2009

This episode featuring a fire alarm, a heart attack, and an office roast won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. It was also the most-watched episode of the series, with a viewership of 22.9 million.

#48. Hannibal - 'The Wrath of the Lamb'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 3, episode 13
- Director(s): Michael Rymer
- Air date: August 29, 2015

In this epic series finale, Will and Hannibal team up to beat a common enemy. The haunting song "Love Crime" featured in the final episode was written by Siouxsie Sioux, who came out of retirement to write it for the show.

#47. Lucifer - 'A Devil of My Word'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 3, episode 24
- Director(s): Eagle Egilsson
- Air date: May 14, 2018

After a shocking death, Lucifer and company do their best to find the killer. Fox would air two more episodes in season three but ultimately canceled the series. Much to the delight of its loyal fans, Netflix picked the series up after Fox dropped it.

#46. Better Call Saul - 'Bagman'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 5, episode 8
- Director(s): Vince Gilligan
- Air date: April 6, 2020

The highly rated episode places two major characters in mortal danger. "Bagman" also distinguishes itself as the episode that is the closest in tone and style to "Breaking Bad."

#45. Better Call Saul - 'Rock and Hard Place'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 6, episode 3
- Director(s): Gordon Smith
- Air date: April 25, 2022

Early in the final season of AMC's hit thriller, audiences discover the fate of Nacho, played by Michael Mando. Nacho forms a bond with Mike (Jonathan Banks) that grows throughout the series as the two gangsters share an understanding of their brutal world. The episode belongs to Nacho who manages heroics amid devastating circumstances.

#44. Westworld - 'The Bicameral Mind'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 1, episode 10
- Director(s): Jonathan Nolan
- Air date: Dec. 4, 2016

The final episode of the first season of the HBO sci-fi western thriller received positive reviews from critics and fans alike. At 90 minutes, the episode was two minutes longer than the 1973 Michael Crichton movie on which the series is based. Maeve, Dolores, and Foster experience major shifts in this episode, setting the stage for season two.

#43. Breaking Bad - 'Dead Freight'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 5, episode 5
- Director(s): George Mastras
- Air date: August 12, 2012

"Dead Freight" features a nail-biting train heist in an episode that brims with nonstop suspense and reversals. Walter, Mike, and Jesse confront Madigral exec Lydia in the basement of an abandoned building, coming close to a deadly decision before joining forces. The episode also opens and closes with a child riding his bike through the desert, giving this episode an unforgettably devastating tone.

#42. Game of Thrones - 'The Door'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 6, episode 5
- Director(s): Jack Bender
- Air date: May 22, 2016

"The Door" finds Sansa under the protection of Brienne of Tarth, while Arya undergoes more intense training as she becomes a stealth killer under Jaqen's tutelage. Bran wargs his way to revelations about the children of the forest and the origin of the White Walkers, while the helpful Hodor gets caught in a heavily memed sequence that explains how he got his name.

#41. Game of Thrones - 'The Spoils of War'

- IMDb user rating: 9.7
- Season 7, episode 4
- Director(s): Matt Shakman
- Air date: August 6, 2017

The shortest episode in the series, with a runtime of 50 minutes, sees Arya return to Winterfell in a reunion that includes all of the surviving Stark children. Cinematographer Rob McLachlan and director Matt Shakman looked to war movies like "Saving Private Ryan" and "Apocalypse Now" for inspiration on how to approach the episode's epic Loot Train battle scene.

#40. RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars - 'Snatch Game'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 7, episode 2
- Director(s): Nick Murray
- Air date: May 20, 2022

"Snatch Game" plays on the classic game show "Match Game," where contestants on "RuPaul's Drag Race" impersonate celebrities and then play the updated game show version. This "All Stars" episode from a season of all previous "Drag Race" winners features drag queens competing as bizarre puppet Madame, Natasha Lyonne, Satan, Prince, and Mike Tyson, plus a show-stealing Judy Garland impersonation by the season's winner Jinkx Monsoon.

#39. Gravity Falls - 'Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back the Falls'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 2, episode 20
- Director(s): Stephen Sandoval
- Air date: Feb. 15, 2016

The conclusion to the three-part second season finale finds survivors of the ongoing Gravity Falls apocalypse rummaging through the mystery shack for parts. They hope to build a giant robot that can defeat monsters from other dimensions. Disney's popular animated series features unique concepts and quirky antagonists that appeal to audiences of all ages.

#38. Regular Show - 'A Regular Epic Final Battle'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 8, episode 27
- Director(s): Calvin Wong
- Air date: Jan. 16, 2017

Mark Hamill provides the voice for Skips in this kicky animated comedy about park groundskeepers, a blue jay, and a raccoon, who fend off work as much as possible, which leads to various existential, supernatural adventures. The series finale makes references to pop culture and various moments in the series in its signature inventive style.

#37. Gravity Falls - 'Not What He Seems'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 2, episode 11
- Director(s): Stephen Sandoval
- Air date: March 9, 2015

In this charming Disney animated series, Dipper and Mabel travel to Gravity Falls, a town boasting paranormal activity where their Grunkle Stan owns a tourist attraction. In this episode, Stan makes a doomsday device that opens a portal. After he gets arrested for stealing toxic waste, his twin brother Stanford Pines emerges from the portal after 30 years, revealing many secrets and mysteries.

#36. Avatar: The Last Airbender - 'Sozin's Comet: Into the Inferno'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 3, episode 20
- Director(s): Joaquim Dos Santos
- Air date: July 19, 2008

The penultimate series finale episode ends with a cliffhanger as the hero Aang faces certain death. The popular animated series spawned a multimedia franchise, including comics, books, and a live-action movie in 2010. Inspired by anime style, the Avatar universe divides civilization into warring nations based on earth, air, fire, and water benders who telepathically control the power of the elements.

#35. Succession - 'This Is Not for Tears'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 2, episode 10
- Director(s): Mark Mylod
- Air date: Oct. 13, 2019

In season two's finale, the billionaire Roy family and their entourage of underlings take to their yacht for a Mediterranean cruise, where they strategize how to deal with their cruise company's sexual misconduct scandals. Betrayals amp up as characters scheme about whose head should roll, culminating in a viciously dramatic surprise revelation on live television by wayward son Kendall (Jeremy Strong).

#34. House - 'House's Head'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 4, episode 15
- Director(s): Greg Yaitanes
- Air date: May 12, 2008

There's a mystery in House's head, and only he can figure it out. Involved in a bus accident, he believes one of the victims is dying, but not from the crash. In an interesting cameo, Fred Durst of the band Limp Bizkit plays a bartender.

#33. Succession - 'All the Bells Say'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 3, episode 9
- Director(s): Mark Mylod
- Air date: Dec. 12, 2021

The season three finale pulls the ultra-affluent Roy siblings to Tuscany for their mother's posh wedding, setting everyone's emotional breaking points in extravagant vacation villas and lavish locales. Their billionaire dad Logan (Brian Cox) schemes against his own kids, who each vie for control of the family company and fortune in ways that are more about their inner child than the money.

#32. Person of Interest - 'Return 0'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 5, episode 13
- Director(s): Chris Fisher
- Air date: June 21, 2016

In the final episode of the series, Finch and the Machine share a moment, while one character makes the ultimate sacrifice. The dark series ends on a relatively optimistic note. Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Chancellor Agard called the series finale "a pathos-filled and near-perfect end that focused on the show's relationships."

#31. BoJack Horseman - 'Time's Arrow'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 4, episode 11
- Director(s): Aaron Long
- Air date: Sept. 8, 2017

One of several flashback episodes in the series, this one deals with the history of BoJack's parents, Beatrice Sugarman, a socialite, and Butterscotch Horseman, a writer. It also features Matthew Broderick in another turn as BoJack's maternal grandfather, Joseph Sugarman. Interestingly, all the voice actors who play Beatrice's family (including Broderick, Jane Krakowski, and Lin-Manuel Miranda) are Tony Award winners.

#30. Barry - 'ronny/lily'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 2, episode 5
- Director(s): Bill Hader
- Air date: April 28, 2019

Barry has an unexpected encounter with surprising consequences in this season two episode, which won two Emmy awards: one for sound editing and one for sound mixing. It was nominated for four additional Emmys.

#29. Community - 'Remedial Chaos Theory'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 3, episode 4
- Director(s): Jeff Melman
- Air date: Oct. 13, 2011

At Abed and Troy's housewarming party, several alternate realities play out. These realities come into play in later episodes of the show in various ways. For this episode, the writers drew inspiration from shows like "The Simpsons," "Star Trek," and "The X-Files."

#28. Community - 'Modern Warfare'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 1, episode 23
- Director(s): Justin Lin
- Air date: May 6, 2010

Jeff and Britta's sexual tension cannot be denied nor ignored by the study group, and a friendly game of paintball gets out of hand. The episode itself is a homage to action-adventure films and the first of many featuring paintball.

#27. Person of Interest - 'If-Then-Else'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 4, episode 11
- Director(s): Chris Fisher
- Air date: Jan. 6, 2015

In this midseason episode, Samaritan carries out an aggressive cyberattack against the stock exchange. The team is forced to stop what could become a global economic disaster. "If-Then-Else," the episode's title, refers to a conditional statement featured in computer programming languages.

#26. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - 'Hinokami'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 1, episode 19
- Director(s): Haruo Sotozaki, Toshiyuki Shirai
- Air date: August 10, 2019

"Demon Slayer" follows a teen boy who returns home from a trip to town to find his entire family slain, except for his sister, who is slowly becoming a demon. Imaginative art direction dramatizes family bonds and traumas as the boy is asked to give up his sister. In "Hinokami," a family of Spider Demons wreaks havoc on Mount Natagumo.

#25. Dexter - 'The Getaway'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 4, episode 12
- Director(s): Steve Shill
- Air date: Dec. 13, 2009

The season finale contained a shocking revelation for one major character and a difficult end for another. John Lithgow won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Arthur Mitchell in the fourth season of the critically acclaimed show.

#24. The Office - 'Goodbye, Michael'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 7, episode 21
- Director(s): Paul Feig
- Air date: April 28, 2011

The office prepares to say goodbye to Michael in this emotional episode. This was the last time Steve Carell would appear on the show, with the exception of his return for the series finale two years later. The final scene Carrell shot was the one where Michael says goodbye to Jim.

#23. Mr. Robot - 'Hello, Elliot'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 4, episode 13
- Director(s): Sam Esmail
- Air date: Dec. 22, 2019

In the second part of the series finale, fans and Elliot finally discover the truth. The first half of the two-part finale marked the first time the Styx song "Mr. Roboto" was used in the series. It accompanied the main title sequence.

#22. The Office - 'Finale'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 9, episode 23
- Director(s): Ken Kwapis
- Air date: May 16, 2013

Series creator Greg Daniels came up with the idea for the series finale during season three. He envisioned a reunion show in line with the post-competition shows that followed the reality series "Survivor." In the finale, Dunder Mifflin employees gather for a panel discussion about the documentary they participated in, then attend Dwight and Angela's wedding.

#21. Hannibal - 'Mizumono'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 2, episode 13
- Director(s): David Slade
- Air date: May 23, 2014

In the season finale, Will makes his decision, while Jack tries to capture Hannibal. An interesting scene following the credits left fans with questions for the following season.

#20. Doctor Who - 'Blink'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 3, episode 10
- Director(s): Hettie Macdonald
- Air date: June 9, 2007

With the Doctor and Martha trapped in 1969, Sally Sparrow must decipher a series of cryptic messages. The critically-acclaimed episode also features a pop culture reference to "Scooby-Doo."

#19. Better Call Saul - 'Point and Shoot'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 6, episode 8
- Director(s): Vince Gilligan
- Air date: July 11, 2022

The finale season of this spinoff returns from hiatus with this epically tense episode that ends with two major characters in the same grave under the concrete of the elaborate meth lab featured in "Breaking Bad." Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton) taunts Kim (Rhea Seehorn) and Saul (Bob Odenkirk). He forces one to make a kill while the other waits with him. Salamanca's instructions for an "idiot-proof" murder make up the episode's title: just "point and shoot."

#18. Better Call Saul - 'Saul Gone'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 6, episode 13
- Director(s): Peter Gould
- Air date: August 15, 2022

The series finale of the acclaimed "Breaking Bad" spinoff finally offers closure, however bleak, about what happens to the conman lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), transformed from Jimmy McGill, and his ex-wife Kim (Rhea Seehorn). The show uses color cinematography to signal flashbacks while black and white convey the present day.

#17. Breaking Bad - 'To'hajiilee'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 5, episode 13
- Director(s): Michelle MacLaren
- Air date: Sept. 8, 2013

Walter and Jesse turn on each other in this season five episode, making the episode's name all the more meaningful. To'hajiilee is the Navajo reservation where Walter not only buried his money but where he and Jesse first cooked meth in the pilot episode.

#16. The Mandalorian - 'Chapter 16: The Rescue'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 2, episode 8
- Director(s): Peyton Reed
- Air date: Dec. 18, 2020

The second season's finale episode features a rousing rescue sequence set aboard an Imperial Cruiser transporting the famously adorable young Jedi, Grogu. The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) makes a brave play, with help from friends, to retrieve Grogu from Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) in an episode that culminates with a showdown on the ship's bridge and an epic, surprise arrival from one of the franchise's emblematic characters.

#15. Chernobyl - 'Vichnaya Pamyat'

- IMDb user rating: 9.8
- Season 1, episode 5
- Director(s): Johan Renck
- Air date: June 3, 2019

In the final episode of the critically acclaimed miniseries, the truth about the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster comes out. Winning the most BAFTA awards for any series ever as of 2020, the show also won 10 Emmy awards, including Outstanding Limited Series.

#14. Six Feet Under - 'Everyone's Waiting'

- IMDb user rating: 9.9
- Season 5, episode 12
- Director(s): Alan Ball
- Air date: August 21, 2005

This series finale made several best television series finale lists, including USA Today and Entertainment Weekly. The Fisher clan's story is tied up not only in the present but in the future, using a flash-forward technique in an extended, seven-minute montage that reveals the death of all the show's main characters. Given that every show opened with death, it seemed a fitting end that it should close with it.

#13. Avatar: The Last Airbender - 'Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang'

- IMDb user rating: 9.9
- Season 3, episode 21
- Director(s): Joaquim Dos Santos
- Air date: July 19, 2008

The series finale finds Aang facing some of the greatest challenges of his life. This episode provides a satisfying ending to the animated series and segues nicely to the sequel series, "The Legend of Korra."

#12. Star Wars: The Clone Wars - 'Shattered'

- IMDb user rating: 9.9
- Season 7, episode 11
- Director(s): Saul Ruiz
- Air date: May 1, 2020

An Order 66 is declared, interrupting Ahsoka's trip to see the Jedi Council in the next-to-last episode of the series. For fans, it's all been leading up to this. A pivotal scene in the episode features audio from the 2005 movie "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith."

#11. Star Wars: The Clone Wars - 'The Phantom Apprentice'

- IMDb user rating: 9.9
- Season 7, episode 10
- Director(s): Nathaniel Villanueva
- Air date: April 24, 2020

On Mandalore, Ahsoka, backed by Republic clones, confronts Maul. This episode marks a first in the show's history with the episode's events unfolding in real-time to a "Star Wars" film.

#10. Star Wars: The Clone Wars - 'Victory and Death'

- IMDb user rating: 9.9
- Season 7, episode 12
- Director(s): Nathaniel Villanueva
- Air date: May 4, 2020

Rex and Ahsoka struggle to survive in the series finale. For Slate, Marissa Martinelli wrote: "It's the ending that 'The Clone Wars' always deserved, and a dignified close to an era of 'Star Wars' that wasn't always so dignified."

#9. BoJack Horseman - 'The View from Halfway Down'

- IMDb user rating: 9.9
- Season 6, episode 15
- Director(s): Amy Winfrey
- Air date: Jan. 31, 2020

The penultimate episode of the series features the return of actor Zach Braff, who shows up as a butler. BoJack has a recurring dream where he is attending a dinner party. The episode was arguably one of the darkest and saddest of the series.

#8. Mr. Robot - '407 Proxy Authentication Required'

- IMDb user rating: 9.9
- Season 4, episode 7
- Director(s): Sam Esmail
- Air date: Nov. 17, 2019

Though not done under the best circumstances, Krista helps Elliot make a startling realization about his past. This episode had a slightly longer runtime of 56 minutes and ran commercial-free.

#7. Better Call Saul - 'Plan and Execution'

- IMDb user rating: 9.9
- Season 6, episode 7
- Director(s): Thomas Schnauz
- Air date: May 23, 2022

The midseason finale of the acclaimed "Breaking Bad" prequel focuses on Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian). Kim (Rhea Seehorn) and Saul (Bob Odenkirk) spend the season in elaborate schemes to ruin the respected lawyer's reputation. Howard finally reaches his breaking point and confronts the couple at their apartment with deadly consequences.

#6. Breaking Bad - 'Face Off'

- IMDb user rating: 9.9
- Season 4, episode 13
- Director(s): Vince Gilligan
- Air date: Oct. 9, 2011

Voted by TV Guide as one of the best shows of 2011, it isn't difficult to understand the high praise for "Breaking Bad" watching this season four finale. Featuring a final face-off between Walter White and one of his enemies and questions for Jesse Pinkman on how he knew about the poisoning of Brock, this episode offers a final twist that proves Walter has hit the point of no return. Fans of the show will never look at a simple backyard lily of the valley in the same way.

#5. Game of Thrones - 'The Rains of Castamere'

- IMDb user rating: 9.9
- Season 3, episode 9
- Director(s): David Nutter
- Air date: June 2, 2013

A wedding becomes the setting for one of the most shocking episodes of the series. Coldplay drummer Will Champion makes a cameo as one of the wedding musicians. The episode received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series.

#4. Breaking Bad - 'Felina'

- IMDb user rating: 9.9
- Season 5, episode 16
- Director(s): Vince Gilligan
- Air date: Sept. 29, 2013

The series finale saw record-breaking viewership and was the most-watched episode of the entire series with 10.3 million viewers. In it, Walter White returns to Albuquerque to tie things up with old enemies and his family. The title "Felina" is an anagram for "finale."

#3. Game of Thrones - 'The Winds of Winter'

- IMDb user rating: 9.9
- Season 6, episode 10
- Director(s): Miguel Sapochnik
- Air date: June 26, 2016

This season six finale features an unbelievable, extended vengeance sequence and a major revelation about an important character. Online fan reactions proved just how shocked fans were by the bloody episode.

#2. Game of Thrones - 'Battle of the Bastards'

- IMDb user rating: 9.9
- Season 6, episode 9
- Director(s): Miguel Sapochnik
- Air date: June 19, 2016

This episode has not only been called the best in the "Game of Thrones" series but also in television history, which explains its near-perfect rating on IMDb. Two major action sequences take place in the next-to-last episode of season six, one of them featuring Daenerys going after her enemies.

#1. Breaking Bad - 'Ozymandias'

- IMDb user rating: 10.0
- Season 5, episode 14
- Director(s): Rian Johnson
- Air date: Sept. 15, 2013

One character goes on the run, while another is taken hostage. This critically acclaimed episode has been called one of television's best episodes. Show creator Vince Gilligan said the episode was "the best episode we ever had or ever will have."

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