Bonanza

The Best Episodes of Bonanza Season 9

Genres:WesternAction & AdventureDramaFamily
Network:NBC

Every episode of Bonanza Season 9 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Bonanza Season 9!

The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch while helping the surrounding community.
Episodes
34
Avg. Rating
7.5
S1
S2
S3
S4
E1
E2
E3

Filter By Season14

  1. 8.1/10(117 votes)

    #1 - To Die in Darkness

    Loading...
    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""?

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  2. 8.0/10(109 votes)

    #2 - The Gentle Ones

    Loading...
    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  3. 8.0/10(130 votes)

    #3 - The Burning Sky

    Loading...
    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  4. 7.9/10(105 votes)

    #4 - Night of Reckoning

    Loading...
    S9:E5

    A sadistic outlaw named Dibbs along with his gang, take siege of the Ponderosa, holding Joe, Hoss, and Candy prisoners. Their foreman, Donny Buckler, has stashed $60,000 dollars and Dibbs will stop at nothing short of murder to get his hands on it.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  5. 7.9/10(115 votes)

    #5 - Desperate Passage

    Loading...
    S9:E8

    Driving horses to Utah, the Cartwrights and Candy discover only two people left in a town wiped out by rampaging Paiute Indians. Together, Mary Burns and Josh Tanner must travel through hostile territory, along with the Cartwrights and Candy.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  6. 7.9/10(107 votes)

    #6 - Justice Deferred

    Loading...
    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 BEST Episodes of Bonanza

    READ
  8. 7.9/10(105 votes)

    #7 - Blood Tie

    Loading...
    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  9. 7.9/10(102 votes)

    #8 - Trouble Town

    Loading...
    S9:E24

    The Ponderosa ranch hands are at Riverbend during a cattle drive. While there, Candy meets an old friend, Lilah Holden, working in a saloon. When the cattle drive is ready to move on, Candy resigns to stay and help Lilah. It is not long before Ben, Hoss, and Joe are involved.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  10. 7.9/10(96 votes)

    #9 - The Bottle Fighter

    Loading...
    S9:E29

    Hoss is accused of stabbing a man to death, and his only hope of acquittal is a once great trial lawyer who is now a hopeless drunk.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  11. 7.8/10(107 votes)

    #10 - Sense of Duty

    Loading...
    S9:E2

    Ben, Hoss and Little Joe help the Virginia City militia escort a renegade Indian, who believes he is the Almighty, through hostile Indian territory to prison.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  12. 7.8/10(101 votes)

    #11 - False Witness

    Loading...
    S9:E6

    While at the bank in Sandust, Little Joe and the bank's secretary witness an armed robbery. During a subsequent gunfight, the main culprit kills the banker, but is quickly brought to justice. Joe, Hoss and Candy agree to be witnesses but must avoid being killed in the meantime.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  13. 7.8/10(93 votes)

    #12 - The Trackers

    Loading...
    S9:E15

    A man, recently released from prison for bank robbery, is accused of robbing the same Virginia City bank and gunning down a teller. The Cartwrights try to protect the accused man from a posse that intends to lynch him before his trial.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  14. 7.8/10(101 votes)

    #13 - The Thirteenth Man

    Loading...
    S9:E17

    The ranchers are once again losing stock to rustlers and not everyone agrees with range detective Marcus Alley's preventive methods.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  15. 7.8/10(114 votes)

    #14 - The Price of Salt

    Loading...
    S9:E19

    When a young woman inherits her late father's salt mine, a greedy rancher wants to buy all the salt for himself. Ben, standing for the smaller ranchers who cannot afford to pay the heiress' prices, bids against the wealthy rancher to get a fair price for all.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  16. 7.8/10(107 votes)

    #15 - The Late Ben Cartwright

    Loading...
    S9:E22

    In order to ruin the plans of a corrupt politician, Ben allows everyone to think that an attempt on his life was successful.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  17. 7.7/10(104 votes)

    #16 - Second Chance

    Loading...
    S9:E1

    Renegade Indians have been on the rampage attacking settlers and raising havoc in the West. Joe and Hoss have gone to warn the settlers when Joe is shot with an arrow. Hoss tries to remove the arrow, but the shaft breaks and it is imbedded in Joe's shoulder, leaving Joe gravely wounded. Hoss desperately searches for help and comes upon a wagon train with an odd assortment of people. There are two women, a thief, a dying doctor, and a coward on the wagon train.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  18. 7.7/10(101 votes)

    #17 - The Crime of Johnny Mule

    Loading...
    S9:E21

    Hoss stands alone in refusing to convict Johnny Mule, a ""slow"" ranch hand who is accused of robbing and murdering his boss. So when Johnny Mule - fearing he'll be lynched, regardless of the verdict - escapes from jail during jury deliberations, it's Hoss who takes the heat.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  19. 7.7/10(107 votes)

    #18 - A Dream to Dream

    Loading...
    S9:E26

    An alcoholic rancher, drinking away his bitterness, makes live unbearable for his wife and children. Hoss helps reform his friend while bringing happiness and stability to his family.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  20. 7.6/10(93 votes)

    #19 - The Sure Thing

    Loading...
    S9:E9

    A young girl's ownership of a beloved stallion is jeopardized by the "big plans" of her scheming father.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  21. 7.6/10(110 votes)

    #20 - A Girl Named George

    Loading...
    S9:E16

    Trick photography is employed to help a killer beat a murder rap, to prove he was not there at the time of the murder he committed. However, the camera also proves to be his undermining.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  22. 7.5/10(97 votes)

    #21 - The Stronghold

    Loading...
    S9:E31

    Joe and Candy sell a herd to the Farrell Brothers in Arizona, but are paid a worthless bank draft. The widow of the man one of the brothers killed helps them get their money back, and the brothers' hatred for each other is their undoing.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  23. 7.5/10(107 votes)

    #22 - Pride of a Man

    Loading...
    S9:E32

    Joe reluctantly takes a job as a substitute teacher and must contend with two older students who have no use for an education.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  24. 7.4/10(107 votes)

    #23 - Judgment at Olympus

    Loading...
    S9:E4

    Candy is arrested for committing murder in the town of Olympus. He is accused of killing Jed Wheelock, the son of wealthy A. Z. Wheelock. He insists on finding his son's killer but he wants a fair trial for Candy. Joe accompanies Candy to make sure things go smoothly, but when Joe is accused of killing a witness who claims he saw Candy kill Jed, Joe is locked up for murder with Candy, and it is up to Hoss to find the killer.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  25. 7.4/10(90 votes)

    #24 - Check Rein

    Loading...
    S9:E12

    An injured rancher, who has enlisted the aid of the Cartwrights to buy back one of his horses after his farm is foreclosed, must avoid getting killed by his ruthless uncle, who will stop at nothing to gain full control of the ranch.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A
  26. 7.4/10(94 votes)

    #25 - The Arrival of Eddie

    Loading...
    S9:E30

    Eddie McKay, the son of a robber and murderer who Hoss killed several years ago in a shootout, returns to Virginia City to make a good start. Hoss wants to help reform Eddie and help him get over his bitter feelings for the Cartwrights, but it's an uphill battle. Not helping matters, a rancher who wants Eddie to help him steal from the Ponderosa.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:N/A
    Writer:N/A

Season 9 Ratings Summary

"To Die in Darkness" is the best rated episode of "Bonanza" season 9. It scored 8.1/10 based on 117 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 5/5/1968. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "The Gentle Ones".