Every episode of 'Stranger Things' ranked

Nearly every episode of “Stranger Things” are at least pretty good. Then, there’s “The Lost Sister.” This is pretty much uniformly considered the worst episode of the show, a second-season diversion that sees Eleven go to Chicago to hang out with another girl that was experimented on by Dr. Brenner and getting all goth. It feels completely off, and kind of needless to the storytelling.

Sometimes the penultimate episode of a season for a show feels like a table setting. That’s the case for “The Bite,” which is the second-to-last edition of the third season. While the finale is much higher on the list, and this episode isn’t bad, “The Bite” is a smidge lacking. Although, Murray cackling like Woody Woodpecker is definitely fun.

In terms of homage dipping into feeling like recycling ‘80s pop culture, “The Pollywog” definitely feels more like going through the motions. The introduction of Dart, a little creature from the Upside Down that Dustin takes as a pet because he’s lonely, is a little warmed over. It’s also a stretch of logic as well. Is Dustin really going to be so chill about a creature from an evil other world showing up in his home?

The worst episode of the fourth season was still pretty good, and also served as the final episode of the first batch that was dropped. It was supposed to be the big cliffhanger, but what “The Massacre at Hawkins Lab” ended up doing was making everything too neat. Suddenly the big bad of the season from the Upside Down has ties to not only Hawkins, but Eleven specifically. It was too cute, and honestly put a damper on the season, and the story, as a whole.

Eleven does a lot of really cool stuff, and finding that out during the first season is what made the introduction of “Stranger Things” so much fun. While it’s definitely significant that Eleven’s makeshift sensory deprivation tank lets her find Will in the Upside Down, getting to that point feels too much like a plot going from point A to point B to be much higher on this list.

The third season of “Stranger Things” begins with a big pile of 1985 mall culture and, OK, that’s a ton of fun. The fashion and music of the third season is probably the one that hits the nostalgia feelings the hardest. That being said, front a plot perspective “Suzie, Do You Copy?” isn’t exceedingly strong, unless you are really invested in Mike and Eleven’s dating. Since they are teenagers, we assume many of you aren’t, and we’re in the same boat.

With the bloat of the fourth season of “Stranger Things” – basically every episode is the length of a feature film – a table-setting, chess-piece-moving episode suffers the most. That’s what “The Monster and the Superhero” is. It’s totally fine, but is not as rich with incident as most of the season, or the show.

Eleven being snuck into the school is fun. This is early enough in the show’s run that Eleven is basically a human E.T., which had its positives and negatives. It feels a little thin, but it’s still fun, though Will’s “body” in the morgue being a fake is one of those twists that surprisingly basically nobody.

There are a couple strong set pieces in “The Nina Project.” Murray and Joyce subduing Yuri and crashing the plane is good action, while the quasi-heist at Suzie’s is fairly funny, while still feeling heist worthy. The reunion of Eleven and Dr. Brenner is notable as well.

There is a ton of action in “Papa,” as well as the (presumed) actual death of Brenner. It’s moving chess pieces for the season finale, but in a way that doesn’t skimp on the excitement and the emotional impact. “Papa” balances it all well, which is not easy to do on a show like this that is that has so many fireworks to set off.

“Stranger Things” and Halloween should go hand in hand. Well, the boys do have unbelievably good Ghostbusters costumes, so there’s that. Otherwise, Halloween feels like it isn’t used quite as effectively as it could be. Too much Nancy and Steve fighting over Barb’s death, not enough costume fun.

Will being taken over by the Mind Flayer is maybe our least-favorite “big thing” from the show. Can’t that kid catch a break? This episode is mostly just people running from monsters for however many minutes, which is exciting but not super gripping.

The second episode of season four, with everything from the first episode established they move into the storyline for the season. Frankly, the Fred stuff was a shrug, but fortunately they dispatched with him quickly. Everything with Eddie worked a lot better, though, and spending time with Hopper was goo as well.

The ice cream shop where Steve works is fun. Steve and Dustin reuniting after Dustin’s summer away is also fun. This episode is in many ways “Stranger Things” trying to do ‘80s teen dramedy, which we get. That’s something they had to do eventually. Did we need to see a rat explode, though?

“Dig Dug” sets the table for “The Lost Sister,” but we won’t hold that against it. This episode is stronger on its own merits. It’s probably Bob’s best episode, and why wouldn’t we want to shout out Bob. He burnt brightly before his untimely demise. Well, not really, but he seemed like a nice guy and a strong puzzle solver.

This episode builds to a crescendo that is basically the sole reason we have it so high on this list. The “flayed” version of Billy and the lifeguard Heather having dinner with Heather’s parents and then attacking them to the tune of “American Pie” is a delightful needle drop. That alone was awesome and justifies the show’s love for cramming in old pop culture.

“The Piggyback” ends the fourth season with highs and lows. Some stuff doesn’t really hit, and “Stranger Things” still pulls its punches for a show that is rife with death and destruction. However, it still managed to be exciting, a satisfying end to the season, and also quite emotional in places. Sure, it’s the length of a Marvel movie, but it also works as an action movie.

When the boys need a little science in their life, they go to Mr. Clarke. One of the first real heady moments of the show's run is when they go to him to get a little information on alternate dimensions and the potential to travel between them. It kind of took “Stranger Things” to another level, while also having the kids deal with tension that doesn’t feel forced but does raise the stakes.

“E Pluribus Unum” is not just that thing written on money that is often a trivia question. It’s the title of a very good “Stranger Things” episode. There’s a lot of espionage and intrigue, a classic Soviets versus Americans story which, come on, this show was obviously going to do. Steve and Robin’s interrogation scene manages to balance terror and humor quite well, and somehow all the spy stuff doesn’t feel too silly.

Jason and his big speech at the town meeting didn’t end up really meaning much in the long run of season four. At the time, though, it was a great bit of business. Everything at the lake with Steven, Robin, and Nancy was also really good. “The Dive” may have been the penultimate episode of the first half of the fourth season, but it was better at building intrigue and providing entertainment than the following episode.

“The Flayed” comes one episode before “E Pluribus Unum,” and is just a smidge better. Maybe we enjoy the action-packed nature a bit more. The third season of the show is more horror influenced, especially body horror, and there’s definitely a good strain of that running through “The Flayed.” We will always remember Nancy and Jonathan killing their “flayed” coworkers and them dissolving into a goo and joining together into a single blob.

How do you feel about a baby Demogorgon eating a cute cat? If it’s too much for you, well, “Will the Wise” probably isn’t up your alley. This episode dives into Will as a character a bit more, which is good, given that he spent most of the first season one tick above being a living McGuffin.

In terms of tension, few scenes elicit more than Billy, who has been flayed, being trapped in a sauna by the kids to try and prove he has been possessed. It proves true, of course, and then he has a fight with Eleven that is one of the best in the show’s history as well. If the stuff with Lucas’s little sister was a little less precocious, it could have been even higher on the list.

The first season of “Stranger Things” was a sensation, but something of a surprise one. After all, it wasn’t based on any existing property. That raised the stakes for the second season. Could they manage? “MADMAX” showed us that, yes, they could build on that first year, adding new characters and showing they could do more than reveal mysteries about Eleven to keep us hooked.

The fourth-season premiere had a lot of narrative pipe to lay, not to mention new character to introduce. However, “The Hellfire Club” did it with gusto. The episode was really good, and served as a top-notch season premiere. It didn’t merely rest on the good graces of the character people had come to know and love. The show dove in head first.

The very first episode of “Stranger Things” had a lot to handle. We didn’t know anything about any of these characters, the Upside Down, Eleven, you name it. For many, “Stranger Things” was “that new show Winona Ryder is in.” After watching one episode, though, we knew there was so much more to the show.

The outsized discourse surrounding Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” has been a bit much. On the other hand, credit where it is due, the song’s use in “Dear Billy” does absolutely rule. It was the highlight of the fourth season, which helped make this the best episode of that season. “Stranger Things” indebtedness to pop culture of the past doesn’t always work, but it is also what the show does best when they nail it.

And “The Vanishing of Will Byers” was followed immediately with “The Weird on Maple Street.” This episode delves further into Eleven, as this is when she first really started interacting with the boys and sees the world outside Hawkins Labs for the first time. Plus, Joyce has to deal with her son disappearing, which is brutal, but in a well-done way.

More episodes of “Stranger Things” are coming, but as of right now this is the most recent episode of the show. The third season of “Stranger Things” culminates in a massive, epic battle at the mall, which is of course just a front for a Soviet plan to reopen the gate to the Upside Down. A ton of changes in this episode, changes that will forever alter the world of the show. That’s enticing. We can’t wait to see what’s next.

This episode involves notable things both small and large. Jonathan and Steve get in a fight over Nancy, but also Eleven returns to break a bully’s arm, which is pretty bādass. It’s an emotional episode that ends with a cliffhanger that still works even in this modern streaming era. Sure, we had to only hang on that cliff for, like, two seconds, but it was still exciting!

One of the first iconic images of “Stranger Things” is that wall of letters and Christmas lights that Joyce builds. It’s a cool image, yes, but it’s even better when you see it in action. Only the third episode of the show, “Holly, Jolly” takes things to a whole new level. This is when we realized there could be a special show here, and we were not disappointed.

OK, so here’s a penultimate episode that really, really works. Eleven has a truly awesome moment when she returns in goth form to save all her friends and loved ones from those Demodogs. Unfortunately, she could not save Bob, who is killed trying to be a hero. This episode has a massive body count for this show, and it can be grisly. However, that shows the stakes were real. Not everybody is going to get out of this alive.

Nancy and Jonathan have an amazing ‘80s horror film moment when they cut their hands to draw the Demogorgon to try and defeat him. Then Steve shows up and takes things to the next level. The finale of the first season is just wall-to-wall excitement. Will is saved, but Eleven disappears. There are happy moments and sad moments. This is what you want from a season finale of a TV show.

The second-best episode of “Stranger Things” is the first-season finale. The best episode? That would be the second-season finale. Honestly, this could have been a season finale and we would have loved it. “The Gate” basically has zero missteps. The action is amazing, but then there is still time for humor, heart, and more. Sure, we can’t get too invested in the romantic lives of two teenagers, but when Mike and Eleven dance together at the Snow Ball? That’s a sweet moment that’s hard to deny. If you want to know how to end a season of television, watch “The Gate” to get a picture-perfect example.