10 Bad Episodes That Stop Their Shows From Being Perfect

Warning: spoilers for different episodes, including series finales. Few TV shows have achieved the rare status of being perfect from beginning to end, meaning they have no bad or filler episodes, and there are many great TV shows that could have been perfect had it not been for one bad episode. The list of the best TV shows of all time covers different genres, and being part of this list doesn’t mean perfection. Many of these shows have weak or bad episodes, but not so terrible as to overshadow the rest of the show’s good quality and achievements. A bad episode in a great TV show can show up at any point throughout its run. It has become quite common for good shows to have bad finales, and in many cases, that last episode becomes the show’s only weak one, which definitely leaves an unpleasant mark on the show’s legacy. In other, though fewer, cases, a show has a bad first episode, but some quickly learn from it, and the rest of the show is near-perfect. In most cases, a great show’s bad episode pops up mid-season, with the show usually being able to quickly brush it off. What makes these episodes bad are lazy writing, characters not acting like themselves, bottle stories, or filler ones to meet a specific episode count. Most of these episodes are skippable, but others eventually served some purpose in their shows. “Chapter Seven: The Lost Sister” - Stranger Things Season 2, Episode 7 Stranger Things’ “The Lost Sister” episode takes viewers outside of Hawkins, which isn’t bad, but it failed to maintain the rhythm of the show. “The Lost Sister” follows Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) as she travels to Chicago to find a fellow Hawkins Lab subject, who turns out to be Kali (Linnea Berthelsen). Kali helps Eleven master her powers, with Eleven eventually deciding to return to Hawkins and use her powers to close the gate. “The Lost Sister” is still considered the worst episode of Stranger Things due to its different tone, change of setting, and disruption of the season’s narrative. Although the episode isn’t useless, as Kali returns in season 5 and Eleven’s training pays off, it’s the weakest part of Stranger Things’ run. “The Iron Throne” - Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 6 Game of Thrones had a divisive final season, and unfortunately, its series finale became its worst episode. Titled “The Iron Throne,” the episode covers the aftermath of the destruction of King’s Landing brought by Daenerys (Emilia Clarke), and finally reveals who becomes the leader of the Seven Kingdoms: Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), while Sansa (Sophie Turner) is crowned Queen in the North and Arya (Maisie Williams) sets out to explore the uncharted Sunset Sea west of Westeros. “The Iron Throne” is widely considered the worst and most disappointing Game of Thrones episode, as well as one of the worst TV finales of all time. “The Iron Throne” was rushed, had many out-of-character moments, unsatisfying solutions, and the decision to make Bran the King of Westeros was heavily criticized. Still, Game of Thrones is one of the best fantasy TV shows of all time. “Stranger in a Strange Land” - Lost Season 3, Episode 9 Lost also had one of the most controversial TV finales of all time, but the episode that almost ruined the show came a lot earlier, in season 3. “Stranger in a Strange Land” sees Kate (Evangeline Lilly), Karl (Blake Bashoff), and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) continue their journey back to the beach camp, while Jack (Matthew Fox) does what he can to save Juliet from execution. This episode’s flashbacks are all about the origin of Jack’s tattoos, which is one of the biggest reasons why this episode doesn’t work. The origin of Jack’s tattoos doesn’t offer anything to the story or to Jack’s development, and the island storyline doesn’t bring the plot forward, either. Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof also admitted that “Stranger in a Strange Land” is the show’s worst episode (via Lost Blog). "Guns For Hire" - The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 6 The Mandalorian’s bad episode comes in its third and final season, and it sees Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) traveling to Plazir-15 to find her former Mandalorian Nite Owl fleet. However, the planet’s rulers ask them for help in neutralizing repurposed and malfunctioning Imperial and Separatist droids. It’s a low-stakes episode compared to the rest of the show, with a side quest that disrupts the season’s storyline and a different tone that doesn’t fit the show. “The Great Divide” - Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 1, Episode 11 Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the best animated TV shows of all time, but it wasn’t safe from having a bad episode. “The Great Divide” follows Aang and company as they venture into the Great Divide, the world’s largest canyon. Aang is faced with a conflict between two Earth Kingdom tribes, and he ends it by lying to them. This has been criticized for being a questionable move from Aang and very out of character, and the episode’s story has no real impact on the rest of the show, being nothing more than a filler episode. “Last Forever” - How I Met Your Mother Season 9, Episodes 23 & 24 Another great TV show with a terrible finale that almost ruined the entire show is How I Met Your Mother. “Last Forever” is the two-part series finale, and as such, it brings closure to the stories of Ted (Josh Radnor), Marshall (Jason Segel), Lily (Alyson Hannigan), Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), and Robin (Cobie Smulders), and finally reveals who the mother is... only to also reveal that she’s dead, and Ted ultimately ends up with Robin. It’s a disappointing episode and finale, which undoes years of character development and has the worst (and most unfair) payoff of a years-long mystery. “Christopher” - The Sopranos Season 4, Episode 3 The Sopranos is one of the best TV shows of all time, and while that won’t change, the episode “Christopher” will remain its worst. “Christopher” sees Silvio (Steven Van Zandt) leading the crew to sabotage Native Americans protesting the Columbus Day Parade, as he believes their actions are insulting to Italian-Americans. The episode has been criticized for its messy, overstuffed, and uneventful plot, out-of-character behavior, and weird pacing. “The One In Barbados” - Friends Season 9, Episodes 23 & 24 “The One In Barbados” is the two-part season finale of Friends’ season 9, and it’s notably bad for being the beginning of the show’s worst couple: Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc). “The One In Barbados” sees the group traveling to Barbados for Ross’ (David Schwimmer) conference, and while he and Charlie (Aisha Tyler) grow closer and finally kiss, so do Rachel and Joey, who give in to their feelings for each other. Meanwhile, Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) rejects the marriage proposals of David (Hank Azaria) and Mike (Paul Rudd) but stays with the latter. The super-sized episode is widely regarded as Friends’ worst due to how forced the Rachel/Joey relationship was, its boring subplots, and the terrible set design that couldn’t effectively sell the idea that they were no longer in New York City. “Beer Bad” - Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 5 Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of the best and most beloved TV shows of all time, but even fans of the show admit that “Beer Bad” is a terrible episode. In it, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) gets drunk on Black Frost beer, which turns out to be a warlock’s potion added by the pub’s owner as revenge for years of college kids taunting him. The beer turns its drinkers into Neanderthals, including Buffy. “Beer Bad” is clearly an anti-drinking message but done badly, as it doesn’t fit the show’s tone and the season’s story, though it finally gives closure to the Buffy/Parker storyline. The source of conflict being a beer with a magical potion and its effects are so bad they aren’t even funny, and the episode falls more into “uncomfortable to watch” territory rather than just being a bad and uneventful episode. "Fly" - Breaking Bad Season 3, Episode 10 This list proves that even the greatest TV shows of all time had bad episodes, and Breaking Bad is also part of this group. “Fly” sees Walt (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse (Aaron Paul) trying to catch a fly in the lab as Walt fears it could contaminate their product. In the process, Walt and Jesse talk about their families, as well as Jane’s (Krysten Ritter) death. “Fly” is criticized for being a weaker episode compared to the rest of the show, with a slower pace and minimal progression, and while many viewers disliked the fly storyline, others have found meaning in it as a symbol of guilt. Source: Lost Blog. Release Date 2008 - 2013-00-00 Network AMC Showrunner Vince Gilligan Directors Vince Gilligan, Michelle Maclaren Writers Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, Vince Gilligan, George Mastras, Moira Walley-Beckett, Sam Catlin, Thomas Schnauz Franchise(s) Breaking Bad