It only takes one... Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’re counting down our picks for the episodes that hurt the reputation of great TV shows and in some cases, represent the point at which a series began to decline. Major spoilers will be discussed, so consider this your warning.
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00:00And that's something you guys would want?
00:02YES!
00:03Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the episodes that hurt
00:08the reputation of great TV shows, and in some cases, represent the point at which a series
00:13began to decline.
00:15MAJOR spoilers will be discussed, so consider this your warning.
00:19You stay hearing, you watch.
00:25Number 30.
00:26A Journey to the Highlands, Downton Abbey
00:28The Crawleys take a trip to Scotland and visit Duneagle Estate.
00:32During the family trip, Mary goes into labor, and returns to the abbey to give birth to
00:36the young George Matthew Crawley.
00:51Matthew comes to visit Mary and meet his newborn son.
00:54It's a moment of joy for both parents as George will be the heir to the family estate.
00:58However, the moment of happiness is fleeting as shortly after Matthew leaves the hospital,
01:03he's involved in a car wreck and is killed.
01:16His sudden death was strongly disliked by many fans as it quickly followed the death
01:21of Lady Sybil Branson.
01:23Number 29.
01:24Everyone knows it's Bendy, Foster's home for imaginary friends.
01:28Bendy arrives in the Foster's home and immediately he causes trouble.
01:32The problem for Blue and the gang is that Mr. Harryman and Frankie take Bendy's side
01:36every single time.
01:54Bendy is mean for no reason.
01:56He's shown countless times getting the other imaginary friends into trouble even though
02:00they've done nothing to him.
02:01It also doesn't help that he's whiny and manipulative as anytime he's called out for his actions
02:06he feigns innocence.
02:17It's a shtick that becomes tired really fast, and we're left with a one-note character that
02:21adds nothing interesting to the show.
02:24Number 28.
02:25Pilot, Parks and Recreation.
02:27For many, the first season of this popular sitcom is a no-go.
02:32Things don't get off to a great start with the series' first episode.
02:47In it, we're introduced to Lesley Knope and company along with the town of Pawnee, Indiana.
02:52When it initially aired, the show was criticized for being too similar to The Office and the
02:57character of Knope too much like Michael Scott, while some found her to be unlikable.
03:10Even with all that said, there was still potential to prosper, which turned out to be the case
03:15as by season two, things started to come together.
03:18Number 27.
03:20The Timeless Children, Doctor Who.
03:22Plot twists, if done well, can lead to shock and awe as they can make us re-evaluate everything
03:28we've learned about a character or situation.
03:43For many fans of Doctor Who, however, this reveal was completely forced and unnecessary.
03:49Instead of the Doctor being a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, the Doctor is an otherworldly
03:54being of unknown origin who had their memories erased.
04:11Some felt that this explanation ruined the mystery of the Doctor, while others felt that
04:14this retcon undermined the history of the show and the Doctor's character development.
04:19Number 26.
04:21Song Beneath The Song, Grey's Anatomy.
04:24Musical episodes can be tricky.
04:26When done right, you end up with Buffy's Once More With Feeling.
04:29When done wrong, you end up with this episode from Grey's Anatomy.
04:40Many fans found the tonal shift to be jarring, as the show is primarily a medical drama and
04:45the idea of a musical just doesn't fit.
04:48Even co-star Patrick Dempsey thought the episode was a quote, big mistake.
04:52Fans also took issue with the fact that the majority of the cast can't really sing.
05:04It did get praise for taking a chance and trying something new, but for many, this died
05:08on the operating table.
05:10Number 25.
05:11The Day Will Come When You Won't Be, The Walking Dead.
05:15Jeffrey Dean Morgan's portrayal of Negan was widely praised, but it wasn't enough to save
05:19this episode from the scorn of critics and fans alike.
05:31Things were already off to a rough start, as many people were unhappy with the season
05:356 finale, Last Day on Earth, as it had slow pacing and ended with an unsatisfactory cliffhanger.
05:41The violence found in the season 7 premiere was viewed as brutal and gratuitous, with
05:46fans finding the way characters Abraham and Glenn were killed to be way over the top.
06:04Number 24.
06:05Saturday Morning Fun Pit, Futurama.
06:08Anthology episodes have become a staple of this sci-fi comedy, but this collection of
06:12Saturday morning cartoon parodies fell flat for many.
06:24The majority of jokes just didn't land, while others felt the parodies themselves were worn
06:29out and tired.
06:30Later shows have spoofed Scooby-Doo and made the same jokes about reusing animation, shoehorned
06:35guest stars, the laugh track, and flimsy plot.
06:48Some also felt that this episode detracts from the humor derived from the characters
06:52and clever writing found in regular episodes.
06:55Number 23.
06:56Fart Book, Letterkenny.
06:58Known for its rapid-paced delivery and wordplay, this Canadian comedy has endeared itself to
07:02many.
07:03Unfortunately for fans of this series, all of that goes out the window with this episode
07:08centered around farts.
07:14It should be painfully obvious from the title, but the hicks come up with a social media
07:19network based on one's flatulence.
07:21The whole thing becomes a never-ending fart joke that most just can't get into.
07:41While there are some funny moments as it parodies the social network, you're not missing much
07:45if you decide to skip this one.
07:47Number 22.
07:48Frank's Brother, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
07:52The best part about this episode is Lance Reddick's performance, but unfortunately
07:55for It's Always Sunny fans, it's not enough to save it from the hate it gets.
08:08The episode takes place in the past, and recounts how Frank opens a nightclub along with his
08:12older brother, and they compete for the love of the same woman.
08:15While there are a good number of gags present throughout, fans have taken exception to the
08:20fact that it doesn't involve the gang all that much, and doesn't follow the setup of
08:24a conventional episode for the series.
08:32Number 21.
08:33Rick Dependent Spray, Rick and Morty.
08:35If there's a fine line between good and bad taste, for fans and critics of Rick and Morty,
08:41this episode is right up against it, if not outright crossing it.
08:52We're off to a gross start as Morty's genetic material unknowingly is transformed into giant
08:57monstrosities by Rick.
08:58They begin to terrorize the planet, and a plan is hatched to lure the sperm into a trap
09:03using one of Summer's eggs.
09:04A sperm manages to enter the egg, thereby meaning Morty and Summer technically have
09:09a child together.
09:22This fact was too much for many watching, and people started to question the direction
09:26of the show.
09:28Number 20.
09:29Tea Leaves, Mad Men.
09:31This fifth season installment focuses heavily, no pun intended, on Betty Draper, and marked
09:35Jon Hamm's directorial debut.
09:38Unfortunately, having Don Draper himself at the helm cannot save this episode from
09:42a questionable leap into high melodrama.
09:49Betty's cancer diagnosis would end up paying emotional dividends in the final season, but
09:52the story's rushed pacing here robs it of its emotional heft.
10:02Even worse, January Jones' real-life pregnancy gives birth to Fat Betty, regarded by many
10:07as one of the show's worst character arcs.
10:10Although the B-plot involving Don trying to recruit the Rolling Stones for a Heinz commercial
10:13is a highlight, it's not enough to save this from being one of Mad Men's more disappointing
10:17outings.
10:24Number 19.
10:25The One in Barbados, Friends.
10:27The finale of Friends' ninth season, this two-parter is the point at which some critics
10:32and fans believe the show was starting to run out of ideas.
10:42The episodes feature not just a love triangle between Phoebe and her suitors Mike and David,
10:47but also a love rectangle between Ross, Rachel, Joey, and Charlie.
10:52Although the former is arguably more interesting, the latter is a major focus of both episodes.
11:02Culminating in Rachel and Joey starting a relationship, one that was destined to be
11:06brief due to the character's limited chemistry.
11:09And yet, it has slightly more mileage than all the jokes about Monica's hair, albeit
11:14barely.
11:19Number 18.
11:20Shades of Grey, Star Trek The Next Generation.
11:29This beloved sci-fi series had a few weak outings over its seven seasons, which makes
11:33this season two dud stand out even more.
11:36After contracting a deadly virus, Commander Riker is put in a machine that causes him
11:40to dream about past events aboard the Enterprise.
11:43This framing device was used primarily to cut costs, as the show had run out of money
11:47near the end of the season.
11:57Even by clip show standards, this is a painful hour of television.
12:00Making matters worse, the series only had two seasons worth of episodes to mine for
12:04clips at the time.
12:06Thankfully, this was the first and last time The Next Generation attempted a flashback
12:10episode.
12:18Number 17.
12:19Chapter 54, Jane the Virgin.
12:22Even on its own terms, this mid-season finale is an excellent piece of television.
12:29Driven by the shocking death of Michael Cordero, this is a tragic, heartfelt episode that forever
12:33changed the series.
12:35Unfortunately, it didn't necessarily change it for the better.
12:38While received positively at the time, Chapter 54 is pointed to by some as the episode that
12:43killed the series, or at least marked a decline in quality.
12:46The sudden three-year time jump at the end of the episode was bad enough, as it glossed
12:51over the emotional fallout of Michael's death.
12:53But bringing Michael back from the dead the very next season retroactively made the twist
12:57pointless.
12:58Talk about a cop-out.
12:59Number 16.
13:03Into That Good Night, Roseanne.
13:05Long before the Conner family's ill-fated revival in 2018, Roseanne fans witnessed a
13:10different kind of train wreck in the form of this late-90s series finale.
13:18The ninth season of this once-beloved show was panned by critics and fans alike due to
13:23an unbelievable storyline that saw the Conners win the lottery and a shocking reveal in the
13:30two-part finale.
13:32After a series of increasingly bizarre adventures, the finale undid it all by revealing that
13:36the Conners never were millionaires.
13:47It was all a dream of Roseanne's, a fictional world, to help cope with the sudden death
13:51of her husband.
13:52While a bold storytelling choice, loyal viewers weren't exactly happy that the show had wasted
13:57their time with a season of off-brand weirdness before being told none of it actually mattered.
14:07Number 15.
14:08The Farm, The Office.
14:10By its final season, this NBC comedy was largely running on fumes.
14:18Following Steve Carell's departure in season seven, an increased focus was put on the remaining
14:22cast members, but no one was quite able to fill Michael Scott's shoes.
14:32Case in point, Dwight Schrute, who takes center stage here in an episode set on his beet farm.
14:38The Farm was originally intended to be a backdoor pilot for a proposed Dwight spinoff
14:42series.
14:43NBC ended up passing, and it's not hard to see why.
14:52As great as Dwight is, his antics work best when contrasted against his co-workers.
14:57While there is fun to be had at Schrute Farms, it's hard to imagine anyone wanting to watch
15:01a whole series about Dwight and his oddball family.
15:15Number 14.
15:16A Million Little Fibers, South Park.
15:19Trey Parker and Matt Stone's foul-mouthed animated series has maintained a high level
15:22of quality for over two decades.
15:32But around the tenth season, there was some cause for concern that the show had lost a
15:36step.
15:37This episode, which sees Towelie write a memoir and go on Oprah, is arguably South Park at
15:42its worst.
15:54It's an absurd setup that leads to the shocking visual of Oprah's genitalia taking hostages
15:58at gunpoint.
16:00While it's pretty incredible this episode actually made it to air, the humor just doesn't
16:03work and isn't up to the show's high standard.
16:06Even the show's creators have admitted it's bad, with Stone saying he would quote,
16:10erase that one if he could.
16:12On that, we can agree.
16:20Number 13.
16:21The Lost Sister, Stranger Things.
16:24Pacing is critical to a good story, and when a TV series suddenly grinds to a halt, audiences
16:29notice.
16:36Even on its own terms, this Eleven-focused episode deserves some credit for taking a
16:40storytelling risk.
16:41Unfortunately, Elle's trip to Chicago to hang with a group of misfits doesn't lead to the
16:45kind of character growth you would expect.
16:47She returns to Hawkins, Indiana the very next episode, and the only thing that's really
16:51changed about her is her hairstyle.
16:52Although, to be fair, it's a really cool hairstyle.
16:58Even worse, this episode takes us away from the action in Hawkins right as it's heating
17:02up for a final act showdown.
17:04All in all, it feels more like an intrusive diversion than an important moment of character
17:08growth.
17:15Number 12.
17:16Last Days of Summer, Friday Night Lights.
17:18Following up a critically acclaimed first season can be tough for any show, and Friday
17:23Night Lights certainly fumbled the ball with its second season premiere, Last Days of Summer.
17:31While it does a nice job showing the fallout from the events of the previous season, things
17:35go wrong for a lot of characters, particularly Tyra and Landry, whose altercation with Tyra's
17:41stalker leads to the stalker's body going in the river.
17:50This in particular set off a season-long investigation arc, which feels inconsistent with what the
17:54show had been, and what it would go on to become.
18:02Number 11.
18:03The Great Divide, Avatar The Last Airbender.
18:06Avatar saw mercifully few duds over its three-year run, but this one stands out as the worst
18:11of the bunch.
18:18The plot sees Aang and company decide to help two bickering rival clans migrate through
18:23a canyon.
18:24Most of the run time is devoted to arguments, both among the feuding groups and within the
18:28group of heroes.
18:29In the end, Aang resolves the clan's differences by lying to them, a decision that really doesn't
18:34match his character, and acts as a really weird message to end on.
18:41Overall, The Great Divide adds little to the plot or the characters, making it an easy
18:49one to skip.
18:55Number 10.
18:56The Puerto Rican Day, Seinfeld This show about nothing was one of the most
19:00influential TV series of the 90s, and many were shocked when creators Jerry Seinfeld
19:05and Larry David decided to end it after nine seasons.
19:14While the series finale is still regarded by some as a major disappointment, an earlier
19:19episode in the season proved just as controversial.
19:21Many Puerto Ricans were offended by the episode's subject matter, which generally cast Puerto
19:26Ricans in a negative light, and Kramer's accidental burning of their flag didn't help matters.
19:36NBC was flooded with angry letters, prompting the network to issue a formal apology.
19:41Even setting aside the controversy, the episode isn't very memorable, and makes a strong case
19:46for Seinfeld calling it quits when it did.
19:54Number 9.
19:55Black Market, Battlestar Galactica This re-imagined space opera series incorporated
19:59a lot of different genres, but this episode featured one that it did not pull off well,
20:04noir.
20:05The episode sees Lee, Apollo Adama, investigating a black market that has somehow sprung up
20:16in a fleet with a population smaller than an average city.
20:19Besides the glut of plot holes and narrative conveniences, trying to turn Galactica's resident
20:24heroic pilot into a gritty detective for an episode just didn't fly.
20:35Noir in space can work, but it doesn't work here.
20:39Even series creator Ronald D. Moore has called Black Market a disappointment, but at least
20:43he could admit when they fracked up.
20:48Number 8.
20:49Free Fall, ER Any show on the air for 15 years is bound
20:58to have at least one bad episode, and Free Fall is one of ER's worst.
21:03The crux of the episode's awfulness lies in the departure of Dr. Robert Romano, a generally
21:08unpleasant man.
21:14Romano did have other sides to him, and had even received something of a karmic punishment
21:18when he lost his arm to a helicopter blade.
21:21His death, however, is just cruel and unusual.
21:24How does it happen?
21:25Why a helicopter crashes on top of him, of course.
21:28The writers had already made the character two-dimensional by the end of his run, but
21:31did they have to make his death just as cartoonish?
21:44Number 7.
21:45Intro to Felt Surrogacy, Community Season 4 was a rough one for Community All
21:50Around, and this episode is arguably the low point of a year full of less-than-stellar
21:55outings.
22:00Intro to Felt Surrogacy shows the study group lost in the woods, during which they eat some
22:05berries that make them hallucinate that they're all puppets and swap secrets with each other.
22:14While Community is known for its stunt episodes and surreal moments, usually they're in service
22:19of the story or characters.
22:21But that's just not the case for this bizarre trip of an episode.
22:29Number 6.
22:30Stranger in a Strange Land, Lost.
22:35Although it was a polarizing show overall, Lost definitely hit a slump during its third
22:40season.
22:41Some point to Expose, an episode that killed off two fan-despised characters as the show's
22:46low point, but many are of the opinion that this episode is much worse.
22:54The flashback focuses on how Jack got his tattoos, while the island storyline focuses
22:59on Kate and Sawyer's return to camp, and Jack and Juliet's tenuous position among
23:03the others.
23:04The episode also answers some questions, like what happened to the people the others kidnapped,
23:10while also raising some more.
23:15Ultimately, Stranger feels like filler, which on a show this serialized, can really kill
23:24the momentum.
23:28Number 5.
23:29Beer Bad, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
23:34High schoolers and the shows that depict them have difficulty transitioning to college,
23:39and Buffy was no exception.
23:41The Beer Bad episode depicts our heroine drowning her sorrows in beer after being used for sex
23:47by a jerk of a guy.
23:50However, some magic juju in the beer turns her and her drinking pals into cave people.
23:58Although elements of the series' trademark wit and humor are present in the episode,
24:03they're a bit overshadowed by the ham-handed warning against drinking and casual sex, as
24:07well as the literal dumbing down of the protagonist.
24:13In short, Beer Bad, Bad.
24:15Number 4.
24:16Remember the Monsters?
24:18Dexter.
24:19At one time, serial killer drama had been in decline since season 4's Trinity Killer
24:22arc, but nothing prepared viewers for this trainwreck of a series finale.
24:26A truly awful hour of television, this episode retroactively undoes season's worth of character
24:31growth in one fell swoop.
24:33Dexter's mercy killing of his sister Deb would have been bad enough on its own, as
24:37she deserved so much better.
24:39But it gets so much worse.
24:44After driving his boat into a hurricane, Dexter is presumed dead.
24:48In reality, he's alive and well, living out his days as a lumberjack.
24:52While there's surely someone out there who liked this ambiguous ending, it's clear
24:55the writers didn't have any better ideas for how to put this show out of its misery.
25:00Number 3.
25:01The Principal and the Popper.
25:02The Simpsons.
25:07In this episode, Principal Seymour Skinner is revealed to be an imposter, who took the
25:11name of one of his comrades who never came home from Vietnam.
25:17Dealing a long-established character as being someone else can work when done well, but
25:21the fact that the town decides to pretend they never learned this info by the episode's
25:25end, not only rendered any impact it might have had moot, it also made fans and critics
25:30feel betrayed, and like the whole thing was pointless.
25:39Many staffers have called the episode a mistake, but its writer Ken Keeler has claimed it was
25:44meant to provoke and satirize fan outrage.
25:47Intent aside, the execution had everyone saying,
25:50Don't!
25:51Well, from now on, you're gonna see a new Seymour Skinner.
25:54Oh, no we won't!
25:56Yes, Mother.
25:57Number 2.
25:58Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken.
26:01Game of Thrones.
26:02Everyone knows Game of Thrones lost its way in the final season, but it hit a low point
26:06earlier in the show's run with this controversial fifth season dud.
26:18By this stage, the series had nearly run out of source material, and was diverging further
26:23away from George RR Martin's books.
26:31One of the more questionable changes happens here, as Sansa Stark is forced to marry the
26:35sadistic Ramsay Bolton and endure his cruelty.
26:38As far as hours of television go, both The Bells and The Iron Throne may be worse, but
26:43with Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken, Game of Thrones stopped being prestige TV.
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27:04Number 1.
27:05Last Forever – How I Met Your Mother
27:14Few series finales have insulted fans or come as close to ruining the show as a whole quite
27:19like this one.
27:20Last Forever features the unceremonious off-screen death of the mother Tracy, as well as the
27:26divorce of Barney and Robin, whose marriage had been the focus of the entire final season.
27:36Both developments were necessary for the final nail in the coffin – getting future Ted
27:40together with future Robin, an outcome the creators reportedly decided on halfway through
27:45the show.
27:46For an episode whose message was that things change, its writers seemed blind to the fact
27:51that the show had moved on from Ted and Robin's relationship.
27:55For the better.
28:09What episode ruined your favorite TV show?
28:11Let us know in the comments.
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