Episode Ratings Grid

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Episode Power Rankings

The peaks and the valleys. Find the essential episodes — and the ones to skip.

#1
S4E22 8.9
I'll Be Waving as You Drive Away: Part II

Feeling lost and abandoned, Mary Ingalls battles anger and self-pity at a school for the blind, far away from the little house by Plum Creek. But soon, Mary finds a source of hope in her new teacher, Adam Kendall, and as the two young people work together they find they have much in common. Meanwhile, back in Walnut Grove, many are forced to consider the real possibility of having to start a new life elsewhere as the town's economy erodes and work becomes scarce.

#2
S2E1 8.8
The Richest Man in Walnut Grove

Mr. Ingalls and his employer Mr. Hansen are anticipating a large income from a big job they have done. The Ingalls plan to pay their bill at the Mercantile store and more. Unfortunately, when Mr. Hansen learns that his client cannot pay, that means he cannot pay Mr. Ingalls and has to close his mill. With the bonus income lost, and the lack of regular income, the family has to think how they will pay their debts and keep up their other duties. Mr. Ingalls works for the livery owner, grooming and caring for the horses he owns. Once done there, he works for a local farmer to fix an irrigation system on his property. But, the women of the family want to help, too. Caroline and Laura plant a double crop of vegetables for the winter and plan to sell the eggs as they have been collecting. Mary plans to leave school temporarily to work for Mrs. Whipple, the seamstress, sewing assorted clothing items for ladies of the community. Laura continues in school, bringing home lessons to Mary so she doesn't get behind on her schoolwork. When she herself gets behind on turning in her homework, she tells Miss Beadle she ran out of tablet paper and doesn't want to ask her father to buy it. Miss Beadle offers a solution to the problem and all is much better.

#3
S1E2 8.7
Country Girls
#4 Remember Me: Part 2 S2E8 8.7
#5 Blizzard S3E11 8.7
#6 I'll Be Waving as You Drive Away: Part I S4E21 8.7
#7 Sweet Sixteen S6E22 8.7
#8 He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (Part I) S6E23 8.7
#9 He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (Part II) S6E24 8.7
#10 A Harvest of Friends S1E1 8.6

Lowlights

#204 S5E14 The Godsister 5.1

Charles has the opportunity to earn $50 by helping run new telephone lines for 30 days. While he's away, Laura and Albert's time is used up with doing extra chores. Caroline is also busy and doesn't have time to deal with Carrie, so she sends her off on her own with some trivial jobs to do. Carrie goes to pick strawberries, but when she sees how little they are, she figures it will take her all day to pick enough for a pie. She falls asleep and dreams that a beautiful girl who looks just like her, named Alyssa, takes her to a world where there are strawberries as big as she is, along with other fruits, but she's awakened when she dreams that a huge angry bug is chasing her on that fruit. The next day, she is sent to go fishing and Alyssa takes her to Heaven to see their old dog Jack. The next day she decides to use her Christmas penny to buy some licorice to share with Pa, who should be coming home soon, but she drops the penny in the field, so she dreams that Alyssa makes it big enough for her to sleep on so she can find it easily. She wakes up with it in her hand. Carrie wonders if Alyssa is just her fairy-tale friend or if she is real.

#203 The Halloween Dream S6E7 5.2
#202 The Nephews S7E14 5.9
#201 The Older Brothers S9E14 6.2
#200 Fight Team Fight! S7E4 6.6

The Quality Arc

Each point is an episode, plotted in order. Colored bands mark season boundaries. Look for the rise, the plateau, or the decline.

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Episode Engagement

High votes + high rating = beloved classic. High votes + low rating = notorious stinker. Low votes + high rating = hidden gem.

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Series Trajectory

One point per season. Smooths out the episode-to-episode noise to reveal the bigger arc.

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Season Momentum

Did each season build or fizzle? Green means the finale outscored the premiere. Red means the opposite. Longer arrows, bigger swings.

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Season Consistency

How steady is each season? Tightly clustered dots mean reliable quality. Scattered dots mean a wild ride.

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