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- IMDb continues to make it easy for fans to find (or rediscover) the highest-rated TV episodes of all time. The ones that manage to be part of IMDb’s top episodes don’t often change, with series like Breaking Bad and Attack on Titan still dominating the rankings on the platform, but there are a few (like Hunter x Hunter) that have managed to crawl to the highest spots on the site.
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 December 27th, 2022, by Hannah Saab:
IMDb continues to make it easy for fans to find (or rediscover) the highest-rated TV episodes of all time. The ones that manage to be part of IMDb’s top episodes don’t often change, with series like Breaking Bad and Attack on Titan still dominating the rankings on the platform, but there are a few (like Hunter x Hunter) that have managed to crawl to the highest spots on the site.
10/10 ‘Breaking Bad’: “Felina” (2013) – 9.9
(Season 5, Episode 16) Streaming on Netflix
Praised by many as the greatest show of all time, Breaking Bad came to an end with “Felina”, and what an end it was. In the series finale, Walter (Bryan Cranston) 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 many loose ends, but at no point does it lose the sense of poignancy and tragedy that makes the show so great, which has earned it a score of 9.9 on IMDb.
9/10 ‘Hunter x Hunter’: “Zero × and × Rose” (2014) – 9.9
(Season 5, Episode 51) Streaming on Prime Video, Peacock, Netflix and Hulu
Hunter x Hunter is a beloved anima 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 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.
8/10 ‘Game of Thrones’: “Battle of the Bastards” (2016) – 9.9
(Season 6, Episode 9) Streaming on HBO Max
Another pinnacle of Game of Thrones‘s narrative, “Battle of the Bastards” sees Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) 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. The episode’s 9.9 rating on IMDb should serve as enough proof.
7/10 ‘Game of Thrones’: “The Winds of Winter” (2016) – 9.9
(Season 6, Episode 10) Streaming on HBO Max
In the final episode of the sixth season of Game of Thrones, Jon is declared King in the North while Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) plots to destroy her immediate enemies with one swift stroke.
The episode’s 9.9 on IMDb proves that it 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.
6/10 ‘Mr. Robot’: “407 Proxy Authentication Required” (2019) – 9.9
(Season 4, Episode 7) Streaming on Prime Video
The seventh episode of the final season of Mr. Robot, where Vera (Elliot Villar) holds Krista (Gloria Reuben) hostage in an attempt to force Elliot (Rami Malek) to join him by understanding Mr. Robot, is among IMDb highest-rated episodes and the top-scoring one from the show.
Reviewers on the platform, who gave the episode a near-perfect rating of 9.9, likey 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 and epic scope to provide some astonishing television content.
5/10 ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’: “The Phantom Apprentice” (2020) – 9.9
(Season 7, Episode 10) Streaming on Disney+
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 in the show, “The Phantom Apprentice” is praised by IMDb users (who have given it a score of 9.9) for its amazing technical qualities and for the way it develops the story of the Siege of Mandalore.
4/10 ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’: “Victory and Death” (2020) – 9.9
(Season 7, Episode 12) Streaming on Disney+
The final episode of The Clone Wars, where Ahsoka and Rex (Dee Bradley Baker) 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 at hand. It has amazing character development, visuals, music, voice acting, and a hauntingly beautiful final scene. Because of this, it has a great score of 9.9 on IMDb.
3/10 ‘Attack on Titan’: “Perfect Game” (2019) – 9.9
(Season 3, Episode 16) Streaming on Hulu
This fan-favorite episode of Attack on Titan, one of the most beloved anime shows ever made, 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, as proved by the episode’s phenomenal score of 9.9, and it isn’t hard to see why it’ll remain among IMDb’s best TV episodes.
2/10 ‘Attack on Titan’: “Hero” (2019) – 9.9
(Season 3, Episode 17) Streaming on Hulu
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 has a rating of 9.9 on IMDb.
1/10 ‘Breaking Bad’: “Ozymandias” (2013) – 10.0
(Season 5, Episode 14) Streaming on Netflix
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 (Aaron Paul) 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.
