Slaves and Masters shows Twin Peaks struggling to find direction after solving Laura Palmer’s murder. With James on the run for a crime he didn’t commit and Ben Horne acting like General Robert E. Lee, it feels like the writers were grasping at straws. | © CBS
Rickdependence Spray pushes Rick and Morty’s weirdness into outright gross territory, starting with Morty misusing a horse breeding machine. Rampaging mutant sperm and an accidental incest baby made even longtime fans think the show crossed a line. | © Warner Bros. Television
Access takes a break from The West Wing’s usual political drama for a documentary-style look at C.J. Cregg’s day during a crisis. The format shift drains the tension, making the story feel distant and less engaging. | © Warner Bros. Television
Mazey Day starts as a sharp look at celebrity and paparazzi culture but veers off with an out-of-nowhere werewolf twist. The shift into supernatural territory felt completely out of place for a show built on tech-driven stories. | © Netflix
Stranger in a Strange Land dives into Jack’s backstory only to reveal the meaning of his tattoos, a detail fans found pointless. Combined with slow present-day scenes, it felt like pure filler that stalled Lost’s bigger mysteries. | © ABC Studios
Intro to Felt Surrogacy tries to pay homage to The Muppets with puppet therapy and a campfire tale, but it falls flat. Weak jokes, awkward songs, and an odd tone make it one of Community’s most skippable episodes. | © NBC
Remember the Monsters? ends Dexter with strange choices and a flat reveal of his fate. Instead of leaving his future a mystery, it shows him alive as a lumberjack, a conclusion that left many fans frustrated. | © Showtime Networks
Lifeboats finds Kendall and Roman scrambling to fix the company’s financial mess, but the stakes don’t hit as hard this early in the series. Without a strong connection to the Roy family yet, the episode feels more like a setup than drama. | © HBO
Fly moves away from Breaking Bad’s usual tense storytelling to show Walt and Jesse spending an entire episode hunting a stray fly in the lab. While it offers some quiet character moments, many viewers found it slow and out of place. | © Sony Pictures Television
The Lost Sister pulls Eleven away from the main Hawkins storyline for a detour in Chicago with another superpowered kid and her gang. The shift slows the season’s momentum, leaving fans impatient for her return to the real action. | © Netflix
Beer Bad tries to tackle alcohol abuse, but instead gives us Buffy turning into a caveman after drinking cursed beer. The result is a clumsy and condescending episode that feels more silly than meaningful for the series. | © 20th Television
Life of Brian shocked viewers by killing off the show’s beloved dog after a sudden accident. The overly dark tone and quick reversal a few episodes later made the whole storyline feel pointless and manipulative. | © 20th Television
Teso Dos Bichos trades Hitchcock’s birds for swarms of angry cats, with Mulder and Scully facing a bizarre jaguar spirit that makes them attack people. Even the cast and crew disliked it, with the director making “survivor” T-shirts as a joke. | © Fox Network
Alpine Shepherd Boy is slow and heavy on setup, focusing more on introducing characters than moving the plot forward. Even as one of the show’s weakest episodes, it’s still better than what most series put out. | © AMC
The much-hyped Game of Thrones finale left fans frustrated, packing in rushed twists and poorly set-up character changes. From Daenerys’ sudden turn to Bran’s surprise coronation, it felt like a checklist ending to a show that deserved more. | © HBO
Even the best shows have a dud now and then. From strange detours to pointless plots, these 15 episodes are the ones fans say you can skip without missing a thing.
