9 Terrible Episodes From Otherwise Great Shows
Unless you’re working on a TV show titled Breaking Bad, Six Feet Under, or The Wire, you’re gonna produce some clunker episodes now and then. But the shows below had episodes so bad they threatened to derail their respective show’s entire legacy. (And one widely derided series finale, detailed below, might have done just that.)
Here, presented in ascending order of estimated detriment, are terrible episodes of otherwise great shows.
Rick and Morty: “Rickdependence Spray”
Crimes: Centering a plot twist on a certain bodily fluid produced by Morty during the teen’s fixation on horse-breeding technology. Centering another plot twist on an incest baby. Giving Michelle Buteau an IMDb credit with the character name “Sperm Queen.” And, of course, that episode title.
Black Mirror: “The Waldo Moment”
Crimes: Ditching Black Mirror’s bleak sci-fi for a thinly-veiled parody of modern-day politics much less effective than Season 1’s “The National Anthem.” Basing the title cartoon character-turned-candidate’s personality on puerile punchlines. (And, to its credit, being too prescient to watch now.)
Grey’s Anatomy: “Song Beneath the Song”
Crimes: Endangering fan-fave Callie (Sara Ramirez) and the Calzona baby to make Grey’s cast members — only some of whom were singers — perform musical homages she hallucinated. Showcasing far too little of Ramirez’s pipes. Neglecting Tegan & Sara’s “Where Does the Good Go,” an anthem of the show.
The X-Files: “Teso Dos Bichos”
Crimes: Continuing The X-Files’ streak of shoehorning Indigenous cultures into supernatural sci-fi. Forcing Gillian Anderson’s Scully to face off against killer house cats. Having a shoot so cursed that the episode’s director gave its crew “‘Teso Dos Bichos’ Survivor” T-shirts. Apparently not realizing the word “bichos” is phallic slang.
Lost: “Stranger in a Strange Land”
Crimes: Pairing a boring plot about the Others with unnecessary flashbacks in yet another Jack-centric episode. Providing an inaccurate translation of Matthew Fox’s tattoos. Being such obvious filler that it convinced ABC to concede to the showrunners’ demand for an end date for the series.
Stranger Things: “The Lost Sister”
Crimes: Slamming the brakes on Season 2’s narrative momentum for an Eleven-centric standalone episode that felt like a backdoor pilot. Giving the Millie Bobby Brown character Excessive Evil Eyeshadow. Including an anachronistic and geographically impossible shot of Chicago’s skyline.
Seinfeld: “The Puerto Rican Day Parade”
Crimes: Making offensive jokes about Puerto Ricans — including (but not limited) to a scene with Kramer (Michael Richards) accidentally torching and then stomping on the PR flag — necessitating an apology from NBC. Subjecting viewers to a lackluster bottle episode one week before Seinfeld’s series finale.
Star Trek: The Next Generation: “Code of Honor”
Crimes: Casting only Black actors to play the aggressive Ligonian race, a move that reportedly got the episode’s original director fired and embarrassed Patrick Stewart and the rest of the cast. Featuring a hand-to-hand battle to the death with clunky, unconvincing fight choreography.
How I Met Your Mother: “Last Forever”
Crimes: Killing the mother (Cristin Milioti) and Robin (Cobie Smulders) and Barney’s (Neil Patrick Harris) marriage in unjust season-finale shocks. Being too reverent to a twist from the series premiere. Offending fans so much that some hoped the episode was an April Fool’s joke.
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