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The Best Episodes of Bonanza

Every episode of Bonanza ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Bonanza!

The Best Episodes of Bonanza

The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch while helping the surrounding community.
  1. Background image for The Wish
    8.3/10(125 votes)

    #1 - The Wish

    S10:E23

    Hoss spends his two-month vacation helping a black family get their farm in shape, and dealing with racism in the neighboring town.

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  2. Background image for Hoss and the Leprechauns
    8.2/10(275 votes)

    #2 - Hoss and the Leprechauns

    S5:E12

    In what is arguably the best comedy of the series, Hoss swears he has seen green elves running around the Ponderosa and a smooth-talking Irishman complicates matters even worse.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for Mark of Guilt
    8.2/10(112 votes)

    #3 - Mark of Guilt

    S10:E13

    Hop Sing tells Hoss and Candy they can use the ancient Chinese art of fingerprinting to prove Joe is innocent of murder.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for Kingdom of Fear
    8.2/10(111 votes)

    #4 - Kingdom of Fear

    S12:E27

    Ben, Hoss and Joe, along with Candy and a fellow rancher, are jailed on false trespassing charges by a greedy mining tycoon. The despot runs a gold mine (i.e., a thinly-veiled prison camp) and acquires slave labor by pressing phony criminal charges against the unfortunate inmates.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for Twilight Town
    8.1/10(238 votes)

    #5 - Twilight Town

    S5:E4

    Joe is bushwhacked in the desert and awakens to find himself in Martinville, a town that may or may not be populated by ghosts. An errie, surrealistic and well-produced episode.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for To Die in Darkness
    8.1/10(117 votes)

    #6 - To Die in Darkness

    S9:E28

    While the others are away, Ben and Candy are lured by an old friend of Ben's to go somewhere. The ""friend"" traps them in a deep pit. He comes back to give them food, but how long will he be feeling ""generous""?

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  8. Background image for The Stillness Within
    8.1/10(141 votes)

    #7 - The Stillness Within

    S12:E24

    Blinded by an explosion, Joe wallows in self-pity, and at first resists the efforts of a woman trying to teach him to live without sight, not knowing she is also blind.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for Forever
    8.1/10(224 votes)

    #8 - Forever

    S14:E1

    Little Joe finds true love in newcomer Alice Harper. Following a courtship, the two are engaged. Unlike most of the Cartwrights' previous girlfriends, Alice makes it to the altar. Joe and Alice are starting their new life together, and she soon becomes pregnant. All appears well, as Joe and Alice start their new life together in their new home ... until one day Joe is out. Alice's indolent brother owes money to a ruthless businessman and has not yet paid, so they find Alice instead. When she can't pay the debt, they brutally kill her and burn Joe's house down.

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  10. Background image for The Avenger
    8.0/10(282 votes)

    #9 - The Avenger

    S1:E26

    A restaurant owner whom Ben and Adam have confronted over stolen Ponderosa beef ends up dead one night. His daughter, Sally Byrnes runs the cafe and in her resentment, wrongfully accuses Ben and Adam of murdering her father and they are sentenced to hang. A rancher by the name of Hawkins is also jealous of the Cartwrights and has hired his men to stop the town from helping Ben and Adam, ensuring they hang. Hoss and Joe are willing to stop them, but Ben insists they stay within the limits of the law.

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    Writer:Unknown
  11. Background image for The Gamble
    8.0/10(164 votes)

    #10 - The Gamble

    S3:E27

    In the town of Alkali, the Cartwrights are jailed on false charges of robbery and murder, but Joe escapes and returns with an army of Ponderosa hands.

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    Director:Unknown
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  12. Background image for Thunder Man
    8.0/10(144 votes)

    #11 - Thunder Man

    S4:E31

    Little Joe's 19-year old girlfriend is killed by a good samaritan, an explosives expert who had stopped to render aid to the woman's uncle after he suffers a stroke. Unable to talk, the only clue he can offer the investigating Cartwrights is a scrawled title of the song the assailant was whistling — ""New Orleans Woman.""

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for The Legacy
    8.0/10(140 votes)

    #12 - The Legacy

    S5:E11

    Adam, Hoss and Joe mistakenly believe their father was murdered. They split into 3 different directions to confront the supposed killers. In his heart, Ben knows his sons will not act outside the law; but he is not 100% sure that Joe will behave correctly.

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    Director:Unknown
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  14. Background image for The Other Son
    8.0/10(114 votes)

    #13 - The Other Son

    S7:E4

    A mule skinner and his two sons are hired by Ben to transport nitroglycerin to California.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for All Ye His Saints
    8.0/10(119 votes)

    #14 - All Ye His Saints

    S7:E14

    In this series' highlight, little Michael Thorpe heads to the high country to ask God to spare his critically wounded father, believing he has found Him in the form of longtime fugitive Tom Cain.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for The Gentle Ones
    8.0/10(119 votes)

    #15 - The Gentle Ones

    S9:E7

    Most people consider Mark Cole a coward, but he does not hesitate to step forward when his brother attempts to break a horse by torturing it.

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    Director:Unknown
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  17. Background image for Justice Deferred
    8.0/10(112 votes)

    #16 - Justice Deferred

    S9:E13

    An anguished Hoss discovers that his testimony helped hang an innocent man accused of murder. As he struggles to bring the real killer to justice, Hoss must also combat the cowardice of another witness and the jury foreman, an influential banker.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  18. Background image for The Burning Sky
    8.0/10(136 votes)

    #17 - The Burning Sky

    S9:E18

    A cruel, sadistic, alcoholic and racist rancher named Aaron Gore stalks the wife of Ben's friend, whom he has hired as a horse trainer. The woman is a glowingly beautiful Sioux who befriends Mr. Gore's son, whom he regularly beats up. Mr. Gore uses some incredibly vicious means to ensure she regrets ever having anything to do with his son.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for Blood Tie
    8.0/10(112 votes)

    #18 - Blood Tie

    S9:E20

    A band of outlaws enact a scheme to rob the Ponderosa, by tricking Hoss and Little Joe away from the ranch and leaving a wounded Ben alone at home.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for My Friend, My Enemy
    8.0/10(105 votes)

    #19 - My Friend, My Enemy

    S10:E16

    Only the testimony of an Indian wanted for horse theft can clear Candy of murder.

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    Director:Unknown
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  21. Background image for The Saddle Stiff
    8.0/10(105 votes)

    #20 - The Saddle Stiff

    S13:E17

    Fired ranch hand, Cactus, suggests that Ben is too old to put in a real work's week and challenges Ben to take a job as a ranch hand under the name "Ben Brown". He takes the job to prove himself better than Cactus.

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    Director:Unknown
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  22. Background image for The Hidden Enemy
    8.0/10(129 votes)

    #21 - The Hidden Enemy

    S14:E10

    Dr. Will Agar is Virginia City's new town doctor, and brings with him new skills and expertise to treat area residents' health maladies. Only thing is, Dr. Agar is seriously addicted to morphine, and it results in serious trouble for everyone.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  23. Background image for Death at Dawn
    7.9/10(249 votes)

    #22 - Death at Dawn

    S1:E32

    Virginia City is plagued by organized crime, Sam Bryant and his gang. One of his men, Farmer Perkins, kills a storekeeper, and at his trial, the wife of the store owner is afraid to testify. When Perkins is sentenced to hang, Bryant kidnaps Ben and wants to exchange Ben for Perkins, which leaves Adam with the most difficult decision of his life. A stellar cast.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  24. Background image for The Honor of Cochise
    7.9/10(171 votes)

    #23 - The Honor of Cochise

    S3:E3

    The Cartwrights and a bigoted army captain are pinned down by Cochise and his braves, who claim the officer poisoned 30 of their people.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  25. Background image for The Ride
    7.9/10(152 votes)

    #24 - The Ride

    S3:E18

    Adam races against the clock to prove a man who was once his friend is guilty of robbery and murder and Adam is convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt he is guilty.

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    Director:Unknown
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  26. Background image for The Crucible
    7.9/10(186 votes)

    #25 - The Crucible

    S3:E28

    Adam is left to die in the desert after two thieves take $5,000 and his horse from him. Near death, he stumbles into an old prospector named Kane who offers to lend him a mule and supplies in exchange for three day's work at his mine. Kane, however, turns out to be a demented madman. He holds Adam prisoner and tortures him to prove his theory that anyone could be driven to kill, even a man as rational as Adam. This is Pernell Robert's favorite episode along with "The Wooing Of Abigail Jones".

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    Director:Unknown
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Best Episodes Summary

"The Wish" is the best rated episode of "Bonanza". It scored 8.3/10 based on 125 votes. Directed by Michael Landon and written by Michael Landon, it aired on 3/9/1969. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Hoss and the Leprechauns".