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- For years, IMDb has been the best way for television fans to find and discover some of the best episodes ever produced, which get endless praise from users on the platform. Certain shows have had episodes in this prestigious group for years, while others like Succession and Better Call Saul have more recently joined the conversation with breathtaking episodes that prove the inimitable power of good TV.
A good episode of television can be a way of telling stories as thrilling and absorbing as any other. Great episodes are usually grand events where the show's narrative reaches a pinnacle, making them memorable to fans of the show and creating an impactful cultural legacy.
From Breaking Bad to Attack on Titan, only a select few shows have been able to achieve a nearly perfect score on IMDb. These best TV episodes of all time can be exciting, emotional, fun, or often all of those things at once. They are impressive achievements that prove the true power of television.
Updated on September 26, 2023, by Diego Pineda Pacheco:
For years, IMDb has been the best way for television fans to find and discover some of the best episodes ever produced, which get endless praise from users on the platform. Certain shows have had episodes in this prestigious group for years, while others like Succession and Better Call Saul have more recently joined the conversation with breathtaking episodes that prove the inimitable power of good TV.
18 'Hunter x Hunter' (2011-2014): "Zero × and × Rose"
Season 5, Episode 51 (2014)
IMDb score: 9.8/10
Hunter x Hunter is a beloved anime series based on Yoshihiro Togashi's eponymous and ongoing manga. The TV adaptation follows the likable young Gon Freecss, who embarks on a quest to find his father Ging, who's a legendary "Hunter" wrongly thought to be dead.
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When they stick the live-action landing.In the show's top-rated episode on IMDb, there's a variety of dark and dramatic moments. It's climactic battles like these that have fans glued to their seats, with a perfect balance between stunning animation and thoughtful character writing to support the action.
17 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' (2008-2020): "The Phantom Apprentice"
Season 7, Episode 10 (2020)
IMDb score: 9.8/10
The entire final arc of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is pretty much flawless, but "The Phantom Apprentice" is one of fans' favorite parts of the story. It's one of the highest-rated TV episodes for plenty of good reasons, as it's a riveting experience whether you're a Star Wars superfan or not.
Visually staggering and featuring one of the best lightsaber duels in all of Star Wars television, "The Phantom Apprentice" is praised by IMDb users for its amazing technical qualities and for the way it brings the story of the Siege of Mandalore to its boiling point.
16 'Attack on Titan' (2013-2023): "Perfect Game"
Season 3, Episode 16 (2019)
IMDb score: 9.8/10
This fan-favorite episode of Attack on Titan, one of the most beloved anime shows of the last decade, sees the main out of options and with no way out. These are the kinds of exorbitant stakes that make the best episodes in TV history compelling.
Shocking, emotional, atmospheric, visually stunning, fantastically acted... "Perfect Game" has it all. Some reviewers have called this the peak of anime, and it isn't hard to see why IMDb episode ratings have gotten this one so high in the site's rankings. It's everything that fans could have possibly asked from such a pivotal episode.
15 'Attack on Titan' (2013-2023): "Hero"
Season 3, Episode 16 (2019)
IMDb score: 9.8/10
Yet another one of Attack on Titan's fan-favorite episodes, which happens to come right after "Perfect Game", "Hero" has some of the best action and most satisfying payoffs in the whole show.
This episode is a huge contributor in cementing Attack on Titan as one of the best animated shows television has ever seen. It's grand, epic and exhilarating, which is why it's one of IMDb's highest-rated episodes, with fans praising its visuals, story, and music.
14 'Six Feet Under' (2001-2005): "Everyone's Waiting"
Season 5, Episode 12 (2005)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
Sometimes, the best way to deal with pain is through laughter. HBO's Six Feet Under, one of the funniest shows about grief, proves this. In the ending of its fifth and final season, "Everyone's Waiting", it proves why it's one of the best dark comedies to ever air on TV.
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These shows help us laugh, cry, and cope."Everyone's Waiting" is a beautiful ending in that it's one of the few TV show finales that provides full, genuine closure for all its characters and plot points. It's a real tearjerker, too, as fans on IMDb are definitely able to attest.
13 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' (2005-2008): "Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang"
Season 3, Episode 21 (2008)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
The Nickelodeon original Avatar: The Last Airbender is often regarded as one of the greatest animated shows of all time, and "Sozin's Comet, Part 4" as one of the best series finales of all time. In it, all the characters face their biggest challenge yet.
Like all great series finales, "Avatar Aang" ups the stakes to unprecedented heights in order to force the characters to engage their fullest potential. It's emotional, action-packed, and an unforgettable ending to one of the best stories ever told through the magical medium of television.
12 'Vinland Saga' (2019-2023): "End of the Prologue"
Season 1, Episode 24 (2019)
IMDb rating: 9.9/10
Based on the popular manga of the same name, Vinland Saga is a great anime about revenge and honor. Its first season is among the highest-rated TV seasons on IMDb, and the finale of this introduction is just as outstanding.
The episode makes it abundantly clear that what viewers have just witnessed is only the introduction to the protagonist's journey to become a true warrior, and what an introduction it is. One of the best TV show episodes of all time, "End of the Prologue" is a season finale like no other.
11 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' (2008-2020): "Victory and Death"
Season 7, Episode 12 (2020)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
The final episode of The Clone Wars, where Ahsoka and Rex must use their wit and skills to survive Order 66, is the perfect way to close off one of the most beloved pieces of Star Wars media ever.
"Victory and Death" serves as one final fun Clone Wars adventure, while most definitely keeping the feeling of sadness, dread, and betrayal stemming from the inherently dark tone of the story. It has amazing character development, visuals, music, voice acting, and a hauntingly beautiful final scene.
10 'BoJack Horseman' (2014-2020) : "The View from Halfway Down"
Season 6, Episode 15 (2020)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
BoJack Horseman is known for each penultimate episode in each of its seasons being the strongest of that season. Season 6, the show's ending, didn't break that pattern. "The View from Halfway Down" is a heavily surrealistic character study where BoJack reconnects with faces from his past.
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To the shock of no one, Bojack isn't number one.The episode proves why BoJack Horseman is one of the greatest animated shows of all time. It's a haunting and gut-wrenching, but ultimately beautiful meditation on life, death, and the purpose of existence. It's not the kind of thing you'd expect from a show like this, which makes it even better.
9 'Mr. Robot' (2015-2019): "407 Proxy Authentication Required"
Season 4, Episode 7 (2019)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
For the four seasons that it was on TV, Mr. Robot consistently proved that it was one of the strongest dramatic thriller series ever conceived. The show's top-scoring episode comes in the middle of the final season, and it really packs a punch.
Reviewers on the platform appreciated Sam Esmail's outstanding directing, the beautiful cinematography, and Rami Malek's jaw-dropping performance. A claustrophobic five-act single-location episode, "407 Proxy Authentication Required," proves that you don't need a huge budget or an epic scope to provide some astonishing television content.
8 'Succession' (2018-2023): "Connor's Wedding"
Season 4, Episode 3 (2023)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
Since the moment it started airing in and up until the day it ended, Succession was hyped up as one of the best shows on modern television. "Connor's Wedding" sees the main characters reacting to a grim twist of fate, and it's one of the numerous episodes that prove that Succession's fame is well earned.
"Connor's Wedding" sets the stage for one of the most surprising and fascinating final seasons in any TV show ever, and does so with a story that's every bit as arresting as it is wonderfully directed, written, and acted, as well as offering one of television's best weddings ever.
7 'Better Call Saul' (2015-2022): "Plan and Execution"
Season 6, Episode 7 (2022)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
Better Call Saul always had the pressure of living up to Breaking Bad. With episodes like "Plan and Execution," the show proved time and time again that it was up to the challenge. Thrilling, funny, emotional, and bold, it's one of the greatest TV episodes of all time.
"Plan and Execution" is a breathtaking encapsulation of all that makes the show so special. It's a point of no return for most of the characters, mixing the suspense and tension of the crime drama side of the series with the wit of its legal dramedy facet.
6 'Breaking Bad' (2008-2013): "Face Off"
Season 4, Episode 13 (2011)
IMDb rating: 9.9/10
Breaking Bad always knew how to finish off its seasons with a bang, but the ending of season four is a particularly strong one. "Face Off" is the culmination of every single plot point and story beat that had come before it, bringing it all to a rolling boil.
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In the first decade of the 2000s, these 10 shows changed the medium of TV, at least according to their ratings on IMDb.The episode is an undeniably nail-biting thriller in itself, which has audiences on the edge of their seat for its entire duration. The way all character arcs are brought to their most interesting moment up to that point is admirable, and the release of tension in the episode's final minutes is a masterclass in good televisual storytelling.
5 'Game of Thrones' (2011-2019): "The Rains of Castamere"
Season 3, Episode 9 (2013)
IMDb rating: 9.9/10
Despite its universally panned final season, Game of Thrones was (and still is) considered one of the most engaging fantasy epic shows to ever grace TV screens. It was always full of surprising twists and turns, but very rarely were they as shocking as the ones that fans were subjected to in "The Rains of Castamere".
There's a good reason why this is not only one of the show's strongest episodes, but also one of the highest-rated episodes on IMDb. It's an expertly executed tragedy that proved that absolutely anything could happen in Game of Thrones, which always kept viewers on their toes from that point onward.
4 'Breaking Bad' (2008-2013): "Felina"
Season 5, Episode 16 (2013)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
Praised by many as the greatest show ever, Breaking Bad came to an end with "Felina", and what an end it was. It's an outstanding series finale that brings closure to all the main characters and their stories in an intelligent way, while never failing to challenge viewers and longtime fans.
"Felina" is a more than worthy way to close things off, and most IMDb users seem to agree. It's an immensely satisfying episode that ties up loose ends in the perfect way, at no point losing the sense of poignancy and tragedy that makes the show so great.
3 'Game of Thrones' (2011-2019): "The Winds of Winter"
Season 6, Episode 10 (2016)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
After watching the final episode of the sixth season of Game of Thrones, those who aren't convinced that they're watching one of the best fantasy shows in television's history have no remaining excuses. It's a display of all that the series does best, from its terrific technical qualities to its moving story.
The episode was both the best way to end a season as strong as the show's sixth. It's incredibly emotional and satisfying, and it admirably balances the crazy amount of plot points that it has on its plate, resulting in what may very well be the best season finale of the show.
2 'Game of Thrones' (2011-2019): "Battle of the Bastards"
Season 6, Episode 9 (2016)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
One of the most climactic moments in Game of Thrones' narrative, "Battle of the Bastards" sees Jon Snow and Ramsay Bolton facing off in a battle for control of Winterfell.
Aside from being a great episode for Ramsay and Jon as characters, "Battle of the Bastards" is masterful in how it clarifies the stakes and builds excitement before the titular fight. And when that moment comes, all fans' jaws will drop. Everything in the sequence, from the writing to the visuals and the choreography, is a masterclass in how to execute a battle in television.
1 'Breaking Bad' (2008-2013): "Ozymandias"
Season 5, Episode 14 (2013)
IMDb score: 10/10
It should come as no surprise that this episode of Breaking Bad is the only TV episode with a perfect 10 out of 10 on IMDb, since you'd have to live under a rock to not have heard at least a few people refer to this as the greatest episode of television ever made.
It's no exaggeration to call this the biggest masterpiece that the small screen has ever been graced with. It's composed of nail-biting set piece after nail-biting set piece, brilliantly directed by Rian Johnson so that every scene is crafted to perfection and written so magnificently that it truly feels like every story beat and character arc of the show has been leading up to this moment. Without a doubt, "Ozymandias" is worthy of its fame.