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The Best Episodes of Bonanza Season 8

Every episode of Bonanza Season 8 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Bonanza Season 8!

The Best Episodes of Bonanza Season 8

The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch while helping the surrounding community.

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  1. 8.0/10(108 votes)

    #1 - The Wormwood Cup

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    S8:E31

    A woman - convinced Little Joe intentionally killed her brother - offers $1,000 to the man who kills the youngest Cartwright in what she deems a ""fair fight."" Joe, meanwhile, must overcome his guilt over killing another man in self defense while trying to avoid the dead man's bitterly grieving father.

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    Director:N/A
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  2. 7.9/10(115 votes)

    #2 - Credit for a Kill

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    S8:E7

    Though his friend is badly in need of the reward money, Joe insists it belongs to him, to protect his friend from the dead outlaws' brothers.

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  3. 7.6/10(104 votes)

    #3 - Tommy

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    S8:E14

    The Cartwrights protect a woman and her deaf-mute little son from the boy's outlaw stepfather.

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  4. 7.6/10(105 votes)

    #4 - Black Friday

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    S8:E19

    In the town of Chiso, Joe encounters a former Ponderosa cowhand who is now a gunfighter and expecting to be killed on Friday the 13th. John Saxon makes the first of his three appearances in the series, in this episode as Steven Friday.

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  5. 7.6/10(95 votes)

    #5 - Judgment at Red Creek

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    S8:E24

    Hoss and Joe have their doubts as to who really robbed a way station, suspecting the two men they captured are innocent.

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  6. 7.6/10(98 votes)

    #6 - A Man Without Land

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    S8:E29

    The foreman of a neighboring ranch frames Joe for murder as part of a scheme to get his employer's property.

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  8. 7.5/10(106 votes)

    #7 - A Time to Step Down

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    S8:E3

    After the Cartwrights put wrangler Dan Tolliver out to pasture, the embittered old man plans to take part in robbing the Ponderosa.

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  9. 7.5/10(109 votes)

    #8 - Old Charlie

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    S8:E9

    A young cowpoke is killed during a fight with Hoss, but the old blowhard who runs the Virginia City stables, takes the credit, placing him in danger from the dead man's brothers.

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  10. 7.5/10(104 votes)

    #9 - The Unseen Wound

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    S8:E20

    Ben discovers that his friend, Sheriff Paul Rowan, is suffering from stress brought on by his wartime experiences.

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  11. 7.5/10(113 votes)

    #10 - Joe Cartwright, Detective

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    S8:E25

    Joe becomes fascinated by detective literature and drags Hoss into the picture when he suspects the bank is going to be robbed.

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  12. 7.4/10(99 votes)

    #11 - The Oath

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    S8:E11

    While in another town, on business, Ben runs into a saloon employee who is a big figure, and after he kills an old miner, who has burned down his house, Ben takes him into the sheriff. He is sentenced and hung. Before his departure, Charlie Monahan, has made his half-breed son, Charlie Two, swear an oath to kill Ben. Little Joe is made aware of this and must track him down to prevent him from carrying out his oath against Ben. Charlie Two is unaware that Joe is Ben's son, as they meet on the trail.

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  13. 7.4/10(107 votes)

    #12 - Journey to Terror

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    S8:E21

    Joe visits his married friends in Arizona Territory, only to discover the husband has become a criminal and is secretly part of a notorious gang.

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  14. 7.3/10(125 votes)

    #13 - Four Sisters from Boston

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    S8:E8

    The Cartwrights come to the rescue of four inexperienced homesteaders, when devious cattle ranchers try to run them off their property.

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  15. 7.3/10(98 votes)

    #14 - The Greedy Ones

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    S8:E34

    The Ponderosa is in danger of being overrun by gold hunters.

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  16. 7.2/10(110 votes)

    #15 - The Pursued (1)

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    S8:E4

    A Mormon with two wives is badgered by the town's people and then things get much worse.

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  17. 7.2/10(110 votes)

    #16 - The Bridegroom

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    S8:E13

    Joe plays matchmaker in this story of a rancher attempting to marry off his supposedly unremarkable daughter.

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  18. 7.2/10(108 votes)

    #17 - Ponderosa Explosion

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    S8:E16

    Two Virginia City old-timers fool Hoss and Joe into raising rabbits, and the Ponderosa is overrun with paws and whiskers.

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  19. 7.2/10(104 votes)

    #18 - Amigo

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    S8:E22

    A wounded comanchero sides with the Cartwrights when the rest of the gang, led by Captain Fenner, shows up to burn and rob the Ponderosa.

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  20. 7.2/10(94 votes)

    #19 - Dark Enough to See the Stars

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    S8:E26

    Young Billy Wilcox wanders onto the Ponderosa, sick, hungry, and alone. Ben finds him, and after he regains his strength, offers Billy a job. Jennifer Yardley, who with her father is visiting the Cartwrights, is interested in Billy. Billy is more concerned about a lawman that has come to town because he has a past that could be problematic: he killed a man in self-defense and ran.

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  21. 7.1/10(131 votes)

    #20 - Something Hurt, Something Wild

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    S8:E1

    The Cartwrights' friendship with a neighboring rancher is threatened by his mentally unstable daughter.

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  22. 7.1/10(101 votes)

    #21 - The Pursued (2)

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    S8:E5

    As the persecuted party awaits Ben and Hoss' return, Herber is shot and killed. Joe retaliates and shoots Herber's assassin.

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  23. 7.1/10(117 votes)

    #22 - A Real Nice, Friendly Little Town

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    S8:E12

    When the woman he was planning to marry is strangled, Joe forces the only suspect to come forward, in a very tense-filled episode.

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  24. 7.0/10(103 votes)

    #23 - Horse of a Different Hue

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    S8:E2

    So the Cartwrights will not be killed, one of Ben's oldest friends must make sure Joe does not win a horse race.

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  25. 7.0/10(139 votes)

    #24 - A Christmas Story

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    S8:E15

    Warbling Andy Walker returns to Virginia City a big success, along with his shifty Uncle Thaddeus.

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  26. 7.0/10(109 votes)

    #25 - Justice

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    S8:E17

    When the woman he was planning to marry is strangled, Joe forces the only suspect to come forward.

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Season 8 Ratings Summary

"The Wormwood Cup" is the best rated episode of "Bonanza" season 8. It scored 8/10 based on 108 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 4/23/1967. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Credit for a Kill".