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 a cultural legacy.
FromBreaking BadtoAttack on Titan, only a select few shows have been able to achieve a nearly perfect score on the top 10 IMDb episodes. 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 April 28, 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.
15 ‘Six Feet Under’: “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,” where the fate of each character is brought to the spotlight, it proves why it’s one of the best dark comedies to ever air on TV.
“Everyone’s Waiting” is a beautiful ending in that it’s one of the few TV show finales that provides full, genuine closure. It’s a real tearjerker, too, as fans on IMDb are definitely able to attest.
14 ‘Breaking Bad’: “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. In the series finale, Walter visits some old enemies and tries to secure his family’s future in his final return to Albuquerque.
“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.
13 ‘Hunter x Hunter’: “Zero × and × Rose”
Season 1, Episode 126 (2014)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
Hunter x Hunteris 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. Alongside a group of rowdy friends, Gon undergoes the brutal Hunter Examination and faces increasingly powerful foes to prove he’s worthy of the title.
In the show’s top-rated episode on IMDb, Chairman Netero fights the unbelievably powerful King, which leads to some dark and dramatic moments. It’s climactic battles like these that have fans glued to their seats, with many waiting for the already confirmed Hunter x Hunter season 7.
12 ‘Game of Thrones’: “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 Snowand Ramsay Boltonfacing 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.
11 ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’: “Sozin’s Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang”
Season 3, Episode 21 (2008)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
The Nickelodeon original Avatar: The Last Airbenderis 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.
10 ‘Game of Thrones’: “The Winds of Winter”
Season 6, Episode 10 (2016)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
In the final episode of the sixth season of Game of Thrones, Jon is declared King in the North while Cersei Lannister plots to destroy her immediate enemies with one swift stroke.
The episode was both the best way to follow up “Battle of the Bastards” and to end the sixth season. 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.
9 ‘Mr. Robot’: “407 Proxy Authentication Required”
Season 4, Episode 7 (2019)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
The seventh episode of the final season of Mr. Robot, where Vera holds Kristahostage in an attempt to force Elliot to join him by understanding Mr. Robot, is among IMDb’s highest-rated TV episodes and the top-scoring one from the show.
Reviewers on the platform likely 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 ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’: “The Phantom Apprentice”
Season 7, Episode 10 (2020)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
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. In one of the highest-rated episodes on IMDb, Ahsoka leads Republic clones to confront Maul on Mandalore.
Visually staggering and featuring one of the best lightsaber duels not just in the show, but the whole Star Wars franchise, “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.
7 ‘Succession’: “Connor’s Wedding”
Season 4, Episode 3 (2023)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
Since the moment it started airing in 2018, HBO Max’s Succession has been 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 might be very well earned.
“Connor’s Wedding” is one of the most recent episodes of Succession, part of a final season that is already shaping up to be remembered as one of the strongest seasons of television ever. It’s shocking, brilliantly directed, and it offers one of television’s best weddings ever.
6 ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’: “Victory and Death”
Season 7, Episode 12 (2020)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
The final episode of The Clone Wars, where Ahsoka and Rexmust 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.
5 ‘BoJack Horseman’: “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.
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 our existence. It’s not the kind of thing you’d expect from a show like this, which makes it even better.
4 ‘Attack on Titan’: “Perfect Game”
Season 3, Episode 16 (2019)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
This fan-favorite episode of Attack on Titan, one of the most beloved anime shows of the last decade, sees the explorers out of options and with no way out, which forces them to fight the titans with little to no hope.
Shocking, emotional, atmospheric, visually stunning, fantastically acted… “Perfect Game” has it all. Some IMDb reviewers have called this the peak of anime, and it isn’t hard to see why it’ll remain among IMDb’s best TV episodes. It’s everything that fans could have possibly asked from such a pivotal episode.
3 ‘Better Call Saul’: “Plan and Execution”
Season 6, Episode 7 (2022)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
For the seven years that it was on TV, Better Call Saul had the pressure of living up to Breaking Bad. With episodes like “Plan and Execution”, where a plan of Jimmy and Kim’s comes across unexpected complications, the show proved time and time again that it was up to the challenge.
The episode is a breathtaking encapsulation of all that makes the show so special. It’s a point of no return for most of the characters, with one of the most shocking moments in any 2022 show.
2 ‘Attack on Titan’ Season 3, Episode 17: “Hero” (2019)
IMDb score: 9.9/10
Yet another one of Attack on Titan‘s fan-favorite episodes, which happens to come right after “Perfect Game”, “Hero” sees Erwin’s heroic charge buying Levi time to confront the Beast Titan, while Armin devises a plan of his own.
“Hero” is one of the episodes that cement Attack on Titan as one of the best animated shows television has ever seen. It’s grand, epic and exhilarating, and it has some of the best action and most satisfying payoffs in the whole show, which is why it’s one of IMDb’s highest-rated episodes.
1 ‘Breaking Bad’ Season 5, Episode 14: “Ozymandias” (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 need 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. In it, Walt runs away from a tragedy, Jesse is taken hostage, and tensions pile up.
It’s no exaggeration to call this the biggest masterpiece that the small screen has ever been graced with. It’s 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 plot point and every character arc of the show has been leading up to this moment. Without a doubt, “Ozymandias” is worthy of its fame.
