Serving as individual building blocks for the wider show’s success, creating a quality episode of television is no mean feat. From the pacing to the dialogue, there’s an awful lot that can go wrong during the creative process. It’s arguably whythe best television shows of all timebear such a prestigious reputation, with these series standing as a testament to creative excellence, technical brilliance, and flawless forward planning. With that being said, even television’s finest offerings are not completely without fault.
Despite a superb run of overall form, many of the most celebrated and influential series ever brought to life onscreen have still been known to produce an absolute clanger of an entry on one, or even multiple, occasions. Some television episodes are bad,but many have been known to be so terrible that they arguably shouldn’t even be considered part of the wider show,a state of affairs that has historically applied to big-hitters likeGame of Thrones,The Office, orStranger Thingsto name but a few.
Presenting a huge tonal shift from the rest of the show’s sophomore season, “The Lost Sister” remainsStranger Things’lowest-rated episodeas of 2025. The second season’s seventh installment follows Eleven as she attempts to reconnect with another test subject from Hawkins Laboratory. Better known by her numeric identifier, Eight, Linnea Berthelson’s Kali Prasad now uses her powers to lead a gang of street criminals.
Stranger Things' Worst Episode Proves Why A Spinoff Wouldn’t Work After Season 5
Stranger Things has an infamously weak episode, and unfortunately, this same episode proves why a spinoff would work after the show’s end.
Regrettably, while Kali’s backstory presented a compelling premise for the episode, it meant abandoning the second season’s thrilling Mind Flayer storyline for an hour of what was ultimately irrelevant television just as it was reaching fever pitch. Most egregiously, while the episode was clearly intended to set up the possibility of introducing future “siblings” further down the line, Kali has subsequently never been heard from again, rubber-stamping this episode’s status as a complete waste of time.
Once regarded as thegreatest fantasy television showof all time,Game of Thronesis now arguably most famous for possessing one of the most disappointing television finales in the history of popular culture. Highlighting the increasingly brutal fall-off in quality since the show had caught up with George R.R. Martin’s written canon, “The Iron Throne” encapsulated everything that was wrong with Benioff and Weiss' contrived endgame in the space of 78 minutes.
From Jon killing off Daenerys to Bran being hastily made King at the last minute, “The Iron Throne” closed out arguably the most influential television show ever made while failing to provide any meaningful sense of closure or catharsis. Virtually unrecognizable from earlier episodes ofGame of Thrones,the finale clocked in with a dismal IMDb rating of just 4.0; for context, the show’s lowest-rated episode before Season 8 debuted was 7.9.
Running for eleven seasons between 2010 and 2021,The Walking Deadplayed host to its fair share of stinkers over the years. However, while “Splinter” and “Swear” are just two of the entries lambasted as notably disappointing episodes, they pale in comparison to season 10’s"Diverged." Following series mainstays Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier in the aftermath of their relationship breaking down, the episode is frequently touted asThe Walking Dead’sleast impressive episode.
…“Diverged” is supposed to be a case study in character development for two of the series' most beloved faces, but adds virtually nothing of substance to either of them against the backdrop of a dull and meandering narrative.
With zero bearing on the show’s wider narrative, “Diverged” is supposed to be a case study in character development for two of the series' most beloved faces, but adds virtually nothing of substance to either of them against the backdrop of a dull and meandering narrative. While it’s worth noting that “Diverged” formed part of the season most heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, this malignedCarol and Daryl episodehighlights just how brutally boring a zombie apocalypse could be.
Despite limping on for two more subsequent seasons,The Officewas never the same following the departure of Steve Carell’s Michael Scott, a harsh reality that was never more depressingly apparent than during season 9’s “The Farm.” The episode’s main storyline chronicles the funeral of Dwight’s Aunt Shirley, while an apparently reformed Todd Packer returns to Dunder Mifflin with a sugary peace offering.
Sadly, Packer’s spiked cupcakes sub-plot can’t even begin to hold a candle to the show’s more forgettable episodes, and it’s the best thing about “The Farm” in its entirety. Inserted into proceedings as a potential back-door pilot for a spin-off set on Schrute Farms,“The Farm” is widely regarded asThe Office’sworst episode. Dwight’s narrative arc comes across as relentlessly contrived, while the jokes fall flat with a consistency that was arguably never been replicated throughout the iconic mockumentary.
The first episode ofRick and Mortynot to featureJustin Roiland following the disturbing allegationsthat saw him dismissed from the franchise, there was a lot of pressure riding on the show’s seventh season premiere. As such, witnessing the calamity that was “How Poopy Got His Poop Back” unfold onscreen likely had many viewers questioning whether there was any way back for the acclaimed animated sci-fi sitcom.
The real Hugh Jackman voices his animated counterpart in “How Poopy Got His Poop Back.”
Following a down on his luck Mr. Poopy Butthole as he encounters a hard-partying Hugh Jackman, it’s hard to express how little emotional investment this meandering episode prompts. Furthermore, Roiland’s lack of involvement doesn’t make a huge difference to the stories thatRick and Mortytells, but the notoriously meta show’s failure to address the departure of their maligned former leading man in any form whatsoever is notably disappointing, even in light of the fraught nature of the allegations against him.
In many senses, it’s hardly surprising thatSupernaturalplays host to at least one disastrous piece of television, considering that the show began in 2005 and aired for fifteen seasons, concluding in 2020 with a final episode tally of 327. However, while the fan-favorite show may have featured a number of notably sub-par episodes over the years, no outing retains the same level of universal dislike among the fan base as season 9’s “Bloodlines.”
Bloodlines has a rating of 5.8 on IMDb.
Supernatural’sworst episodeby a considerable distance, “Bloodlines” was a purported backdoor pilot, laying the foundations for the Ennis Ross monster crime families storyline that was supposed to form the basis of spinoff show,Supernatural: Bloodlines. However, the episode’s bland characters, contrived plot, and the reduced roles of the Winchester brothers were universally panned, swiftly nixing any spinoff plans in short order.
The first episode of the police procedural sitcomBrooklyn Nine-Ninefollowing the 2020 George Floyd protests, “The Good Ones” clearly had good intentions, adopting a new tone and approach to reflect the fraught social developments sweeping America at the time. Unfortunately, it only ended up confirming what many long-time fans of the show had feared: the notion that a lighthearted take on funny cops simply wasn’t a workable premise moving forward.
89%
100%
93%
Season 8
The gags just didn’t hit the same anymore, while multiple narrative developments, like Rosa leaving the Nine-Nine or Hitchcock’s retirement, were crudely shoe-horned into the story. While the show’s attempts to address current events were highly commendable, “The Good Ones'” new direction ultimately proved to be too great a departure fromBrooklyn Nine-Nine’stried, tested, and suddenly untenable formula for success.
Giving the likes ofHow I Met Your MotherandGame of Thronesa run for their money when it comes to theworst series finales in television history,Dexter’s"Remember the Monsters" proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the once-great crime drama. While the show had been on a downward trajectory for some time, the eighth season finale was virtually unrecognizable from earlier installments of the inspired vigilante serial killer offering.
Despite playing siblings on the show, Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter got married and underwent a divorce in real-life.
Unresolved narrative threads, gaping plot holes, and generally dismal script-writing are all prevalent throughout the aftermath of Deb’s shooting, a segment of television that is so sub-par that it had many viewers questioning why they had even bothered to watch the show in the first place. While the spin-off seriesDexter: New Bloodwent some way to righting the wrongs of the original series' conclusion, “Remember the Monsters” remains an indelible black mark on the show’s wider reputation more than a decade later.
Black Mirroris renowned for its notoriously “Marmite” episodes, with multiple installments of the long-running anthology series receiving a polarizing response over the years. With that being said, fans and critics remain near unanimous on their consensusworstBlack Mirrorepisode. The unfortunate candidate in this case, better known as the second season’s third entry, “The Waldo Moment,” chronicles a blue animated bear’s vulgar attempts to run for political office.
Poorly written and riddled with clichés, the episode’s lack of quality is particularly confusing considering that this wasn’t even a new show trying to find its footing;Black Mirrorhad established itself as a creative force to watch following an acclaimed first season.
Led by a thoroughly unsympathetic protagonist in Daniel Rigby’s Jamie Salter, “The Waldo Moment” received overwhelmingly negative reviews. Poorly written and riddled with clichés, the episode’s lack of quality is particularly confusing considering that this wasn’t even a new show trying to find its footing;Black Mirrorhad established itself as a creative force to watch following an acclaimed first season. As such, this entire episode feels notably separate toBlack Mirror’sfinest offerings.
A front-runner for television’s most irritatingly formatted episode,How I Met Your Mother’s"Bedtime Stories" sees Marshall use an array of stories about his friends to lull his son, Marvin, to sleep on a long coach journey, meaning that the whole episode’s dialogue is worded with rhymes. Rather unsurprisingly, this gimmick gets old extremely quickly against the backdrop of what is primarily a filler episode, resulting in a truly disastrous eleventh installment of the show’s final season.
10 Best Episodes Of How I Met Your Mother
The best How I Met Your Mother episodes are all examples of everything that made the hit sitcom such a success.
Unequivocally regarded as one ofHow I Met Your Mother’spoorest episodes, “Bedtime Stories” has no bearing on the show’s wider story and doesn’t break any new ground. Unfortunately, this means that any patience for the episode’s grating rhyming format wears thin in short order, a state of affairs that becomes even more apparent rewatching a show with a laugh track in 2025. Ultimately, even a Lin-Manuel Miranda cameo isn’t enough to save this dreary entry from its reputation asan episode so bad that it shouldn’t even be considered part of the wider show.
