Warning: There are spoilers ahead!
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.
FromBreaking BadtoAttack 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. Whether they’re riveting crime sagas or profound dramas, they are impressive achievements that prove the true power of television.
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“Vichnaya Pamyat” – ‘Chernobyl’ (2019)
IMDb Rating: 9.8/10 – Season 1, Episode 5
The HBO miniseries Chernobylis nothing short of one of the greatest in the history of the medium. Each of the show’s five episodes is amazing, and thus highly rated on IMDb, but there’s one that stands clearly above the rest: “Vichnaya Pamyat” (Ukrainian for “Memory Eternal”), the miniseries’ monumental final episode.
On IMDb, reviewers called the episode “the pinnacle of television.” It’s not just a fantastic episode in its own right, with terrific production qualities and titanic performances, but also the perfect way to conclude such a bleak story. Reserving the portrayal of what led to the infamous explosion for the finale was certainly a risky creative choice, but it paid off handsomely. “Vichnaya Pamyat” feels like a horror thriller just as much as it feels like a celebration of the ordinary heroes who responded to the disaster.
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“Saul Gone” – ‘Better Call Saul’ (2015–2022)
IMDb Rating: 9.8/10 – Season 6, Episode 13
It’s quite a challenge to bring any show to a satisfying close, and another to bring to a close not just a show as exceptional as Better Call Saul, but the entire Breaking Baduniverse? That’s one gargantuan task, yet “Saul Gone” delivered. Simultaneously subversive and rewarding, it’s a brilliant conclusion to the story of Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk).
Aside from being home to Better Call Saul‘s single best quote, “Saul Gone” is a masterpiece for all manner of other reasons, all of which IMDb reviewers were happy to list when talking about the series finale. Mentioning the poetic subtlety of the finale, the hugely powerful way Jimmy’s arc comes to a close, and the tremendous quality of the writing for the episode, fans were happy to call this one of the greatest episodes of television they’d ever seen.
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“Chapter 16: The Rescue” – ‘The Mandalorian’ (2019–)
IMDb Rating: 9.8/10 – Season 2, Episode 8
It’s hard to believe that a transmedia franchise as massively successful and long-running as Star Warshad never had a live-action show before The Mandaloriancame out in 2019. The show took the world by storm, and while its latest season is typically agreed to be relatively weak, the second one is typically agreed to be the best.
This exceptional second season concludes with “Chapter 16” of the series, titled “The Rescue.” Filled with hugely exciting yet carefully realized fan service, emotionally riveting moments, the culmination of several character arcs, and a deeply moving ending, “The Rescue” isn’t just Star Wars television at its best, but television in general at its best, period.
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“Perfect Game” – ‘Attack on Titan’ (2013–2023)
IMDb Rating: 9.8/10 – Season 3, Episode 16
This fan-favorite episode of Attack on Titan, one of the most beloved anime shows of the last decade, sees the main character 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 might not be an overstatement. Indeed, it isn’t hard to see why IMDb episode ratings have gotten this one so high in the site’s rankings. “Perfect Game” has everything that fans could have possibly asked for from such a pivotal episode.
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“Hero” – ‘Attack on Titan’ (2013–2023)
IMDb Rating: 9.8/10 – Season 3, Episode 16
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. It sees Eren leading an attack as a distraction, allowing Levi to take on the Beast Titan.
This episode is a huge contributor to cementing Attack on Titan‘s legacy as one of the best animated shows television has ever seen. It’s grand, epic and exhilarating, with jaw-dropping action and a fulfilling conclusion to the Titan-killing battles, which is why it’s one of IMDb’s highest-rated episodes, with fans praising its visuals, story, and music.
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“A Regular Epic Final Battle” — ‘Regular Show’ (2010–2017)
IMDb Rating: 9.9/10 — Season 8, Episode 27
The buddy comedy Regular Show is one of Cartoon Network’s biggest cult classics, a true masterpiece of a kids’ cartoon that blends surreal elements, slacker humor, and supernatural adventures to entertain audiences of any and all ages. Led by one of the most iconic duos in all of animation, it’s a family-friendly classic unlike any other.
The show’s best episode? There’s really no doubt about it. The series finale, “A Regular Epic Final Battle,” is one of the best of any cartoon of the 21st century. Though definitely poignant, it’s also as exciting, joyful, funny, and bizarre as fans of the show expected—and then some. It was always going to be a titanic task to bring such a beloved show to an end, but Regular Show perfectly stuck the landing.
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“Zero x and x Rose” — ‘Hunter x Hunter’ (2011–2014)
IMDb Rating: 9.9/10 — Season 1, Episode 126
Hunter x Hunter is one of the most iconic Japanese manga series of all time, and fittingly, the two anime series based on it that have come out are just as iconic. The 1999 show is phenomenal, but there’s no matching the 2011 fan-favorite. With some of the most striking aesthetics of any anime series in history, it’s an impressive feat adored by all fans of the source material.
The show’s best episode is the climax of its fifth story arc, the Chimera Ant arc, which some critics and anime fans have called one of the best story arcs in anime history. It’s “Zero x and x Rose,” a layered work of art so well-paced, visually impressive, and packed with perfectly executed payoffs that it’s no wonder fans have rated it so incredibly highly on IMDb.
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“Somewhere in the Woods” — ‘Gravity Falls’ (2012–2016)
IMDb Rating: 9.9/10 — Season 2, Episode 21
Yet another animated masterpiece, Gravity Fallsis a cult classic in the same vein as David Lynch‘s Twin Peaks(which it was very clearly inspired by), perhaps the biggest that Disney Channel ever had. The adventures and misadventures of siblings Dipper and Mabel Pines over the summer at their great-uncle’s tourist trap in Oregon are easily one of the best TV comedies of the 2010s.
A lot was riding on the show’s finale, and saying that it met fans’ expectations would be an understatement. Exciting, masterfully written, and wrapping everything up about as perfectly as any Gravity Falls fan could have hoped, it’s one of the most beloved series finales in animated television history. Genre shows rarely have truly perfect endings, which makes the virtual flawlessness of “Somewhere in the Woods” all the more impressive.
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“Re;” — ‘Code Geass’ (2006–2008)
IMDb Rating: 9.9/10 — Season 2, Episode 25
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, also known simply as Code Geass, is one of the best anime series of the 2000s. Fans on IMDb call it a genre-transcending masterpiece, and critics have constantly praised the series’ ability to appeal to pretty much every major anime fan segment. With great characters, great voice acting, and great pacing, what could go wrong?
Great though the whole thing may be, every show has a peak, and Code Geass‘ comes with its ending, “Re;” This series finale is all about thematic work, a conclusion so perfect that reviewers on IMDb aren’t afraid to admit that it left them completely speechless. It’s structurally perfect and utterly tragic, an episode of perfectly understated yet devastating power.
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“Everyone’s Waiting” – ‘Six Feet Under’ (2001–2005)
IMDb Rating: 9.9/10 – Season 5, Episode 12
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 undeniable philosophy. 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.
“Everyone’s Waiting” is a beautiful ending that shows the last moments of every major character. For a show where death is so vital, it only makes sense that it would function as the centerpiece of the finale. 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.
