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The Best Episodes of Once and Again

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

The series depicts the family of a single mother and her romance with a single father.
Genre:Drama
Network:ABC

Best Episodes Summary

"The Ex-Files" is the best rated episode of "Once and Again". It scored 9.3/10 based on 62 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 11/2/1999. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Gardenia".

  • The Ex-Files
    9.3/1062 votes
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    #1 - The Ex-Files

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/2/1999

    Being divorced means Karen and Rick must both go to Eli's weekend basketball tournament, creating some awkward moments for them.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Gardenia
    9.2/1046 votes
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    #2 - Gardenia

    Season 3 Episode 12 - Aired 1/11/2002

    A tragic accident shakes Karen from her deep depression and sets her up for the toughest battle of her life. This makes Eli and Jessie learn the hard way that their parents are more fragile than they'd thought.

    Director: Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz

    Writer: N/A

  • Falling in Place
    9.2/1043 votes
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    #3 - Falling in Place

    Season 3 Episode 13 - Aired 3/4/2002

    Jessie's anxiety and guilt about her mom's slow recovery causes tension with every member of the family, especially Lily. Meanwhile, Eli is in denial about the seriousness of his mother's condition.

    Director: Eric Stoltz

    Writer: N/A

  • Chaos Theory
    9.0/1028 votes
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    #4 - Chaos Theory

    Season 3 Episode 7 - Aired 11/23/2001

    Lily and Karen both have unrealistic expectations for Thanksgiving celebrations. So naturally, nothing goes as planned. The lighting board at the theater goes out, so rehearsal is postponed. Lily does all the cooking herself after the kids are all busy. The pipes underneath the sink rust out, so that messes things up further. Judy doesn't want to be at dinner if Sam is coming (via Rick's invitation). Disagreement over building plans leads to Rick and Sam working on Thanksgiving, which upsets Lily even more. Karen is depressed about not having anyone to celebrate Thanksgiving with. She cancels her dinner plans with friends and stays at home in her nightgown all day. In a moment of reflection, she wonders if she's ever been happy, or just making sure everyone else is happy. The theater janitor kicks them out, so the play rehearsal is moved to Lily's house. She even fills in for one of the students. Jesse ends up walking home from the theater. Not realizing his mom was still ho

    Director: James Eckhouse

    Writer: N/A

  • The Gay-Straight Alliance
    9.0/1080 votes
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    #5 - The Gay-Straight Alliance

    Season 3 Episode 14 - Aired 3/11/2002

    Grace pursues her teacher and Jessie develops an attraction for her friend Katie.

    Director: Patrick R. Norris

    Writer: Maggie Friedman

  • Pilot
    8.9/1052 votes
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    #6 - Pilot

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/21/1999

    Lily Manning, separated from her husband, and Rick Sammler, divorced for 3 years, meet by chance when her daughter, Grace, injures her ankle in a soccer game. They go out on a date, and are instantly attracted to each other.

    Director: Edward Zwick

    Writer: Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz

  • A Door, About to Open
    8.9/1030 votes
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    #7 - A Door, About to Open

    Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 4/24/2000

    Lily says that the kids in the two families should meet. So they schedule a night for that. Zoe is concerned about the environment. Grace again has conflicting feelings about Eli. Jennifer reveals to Grace that Cassidy is cheating on Eli. Grace is hesitant about telling Eli this information. Two of Cassidy's friends, Rachel and Lisa, warn Grace not to tell Eli what's going on (or else!). Naomi starts a book group and invites Karen, instead of Lily to be in the group because she feels that she and Lily have been drifting apart. Miles lets it be known to Rick that he doesn't want David involved on his project. Work pressures threaten to unravel Lily's plans for the meeting and they leave Rick on edge. Judy and Karen have a heart-to-heart in the bookstore about their two families. Eli finds out for himself that Cassidy's been cheating on him. Pressure from Miles forces Rick to cancel the dinner. A passage from the book the group is reading makes everything clear to Lily and Rick and Karen

    Director: Dan Lerner

    Writer: N/A

  • Moving On
    8.9/1020 votes
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    #8 - Moving On

    Season 2 Episode 21 - Aired 4/25/2001

    Rick and his kids start to move their stuff to Lily's and Lily gets a call to sign the divorce papers. Carla tells Eli that she's not going back home because she's convinced that her parents hate her. So Eli asks Grace to ask Lily about staying at Lily's house. Eli gets his reply from the University of Illinois about admittance, and it's not good. Lily's hesitant about Carla staying with them. Eil tells his dad about the letter, at the dinner table, and neither one of them is happy now. Carla is worried that her plans to travel in Europe in the summer might not happen. Lily discovers medicine missing from her cabinet. Suspecting Carla, she goes to Carla's bag and finds them. Carla confesses to Rick about the pills. Lily goes to visit with Carla's stepmother and finds out some reasons for her problems. Carla tells Eli, in the middle of school, that she is leaving town immediately for Portland, Oregon. Eli says he wants to go with her. They plan to meet at the bus station that night. Ric

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Sex Show
    8.9/1028 votes
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    #9 - The Sex Show

    Season 3 Episode 8 - Aired 11/30/2001

    Grace finds an ""adult magazine"" in their home recycling bin. This leads to a whole ""will you talk to Eli about this?"" talk coming from Lily to Rick. Rick is amazed at Sam's continued inability to be with only one woman at a time. Judy and Sam have yet another awkward conversation, this time at a newsstand. Judy later confesses to Sam while having lunch that she can't kiss him because she wouldn't stop once she started. Lily worries that Rick isn't as interested in her now that they're married. Rick confides to Sam that he thinks the same thing about Lily. Karen and Judy go out to a bar/club. Karen isn't sure she wants to be there in the first place. She meets a man there, and feels guilty when she ends up spending the night at his place. Tad makes Jesse uncomfortable at his party. Lily tells Rick that she doesn't necessarily WANT sex, but rather just to BE with him and not have his mind a million miles away. Judy and Sam have their usual ""we can't be together but we have to

    Director: Dan Lerner

    Writer: N/A

  • Tough Love
    8.9/1058 votes
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    #10 - Tough Love

    Season 3 Episode 9 - Aired 12/7/2001

    When Eli loses his job and Grace's teacher questions her acting, they both learn the hard way that real self-confidence can be one of life's toughest accomplishments. Both learn that tough love can be a powerful motivator.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Maggie Friedman

  • Thanksgiving
    8.8/1024 votes
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    #11 - Thanksgiving

    Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 11/23/1999

    Lily's father decides to invite Jake to Thanksgiving at Lily's house against her wishes. Her father has difficulty in deciding whose side of the divorce to support.

    Director: Claudia Weill

    Writer: N/A

  • Liars and Other Strangers
    8.7/1033 votes
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    #12 - Liars and Other Strangers

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/12/1999

    After meeting Rick, Judy expresses to Lily her misgivings about Lily's blossoming relationship with him.

    Director: Ron Lagomarsino

    Writer: N/A

  • Outside Hearts
    8.7/1028 votes
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    #13 - Outside Hearts

    Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/16/1999

    While Lily is at a convention, Judy allows Grace (and Rick and Karen allow Eli), to go to a party that ends up with bad consequences.

    Director: Todd Field

    Writer: Alexa Junge

  • The Gingerbread House
    8.7/1028 votes
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    #14 - The Gingerbread House

    Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 12/21/1999

    Lily tells Jake she wants a divorce, and tells Rick about her one-night stand with Jake. Rick can't forgive her, putting their future in jeopardy.

    Director: Dan Lerner

    Writer: N/A

  • The Mystery Dance
    8.7/1028 votes
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    #15 - The Mystery Dance

    Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 2/7/2000

    Rick and Lily begin to mend their relationship. Judy meets a man who might fulfill her dreams.

    Director: Dan Lerner

    Writer: N/A

  • I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down
    8.7/1023 votes
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    #16 - I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down

    Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 11/14/2000

    Parental pressure bears down on Eli to get his act together for college. However, Eli wants to form a music group.

    Director: Peter Horton

    Writer: N/A

  • Feast or Famine
    8.7/1025 votes
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    #17 - Feast or Famine

    Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 11/21/2000

    It's Thanksgiving and that means both the Sammler's and Manning's get together for dinner, whether they want to be there or not. It turns out that the two mothers get along quite well. It's Rick and his mom that have issues. She questions whether Rick knows that his children aren't doing as well as he would like to think. Barbara sees her son Aaron for the first time since Phil's funeral.

    Director: Claudia Weill

    Writer: Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz

  • Food for Thought
    8.7/1028 votes
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    #18 - Food for Thought

    Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 12/5/2000

    Jesse is taken to a psychiatrist to find out why she isn't eating. Karen's firm is hired to oppose the building of Miles' building -- the one Rick is designing.

    Director: Edward Zwick

    Writer: Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz

  • Aaron's Gettin' Better
    8.7/1026 votes
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    #19 - Aaron's Gettin' Better

    Season 2 Episode 16 - Aired 3/21/2001

    Aaron returns for an extended stay and impresses everyone with his improvement. Grace and Spencer go back to the restaurant to write about their experience there, but Spencer gets nervous (because he was scared then) and goes home. The voices that have haunted Aaron for so long return at dinner and he freaks out. Shelley returns and says that despite the dinner outburst, he is getting better.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Pictures
    8.7/1021 votes
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    #20 - Pictures

    Season 3 Episode 10 - Aired 12/14/2001

    Amid complete chaos, a surprise Christmas Eve delivery of Tiffany and Jake's baby unites the Manning and Sammler families like never before. Meanwhile, Judy's first encounter with Sam's eleven-year-old son doesn't go very smoothly.

    Director: Dan Lerner

    Writer: Alexa Junge

  • Let's Spend The Night Together
    8.6/1035 votes
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    #21 - Let's Spend The Night Together

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/28/1999

    Rick and Lily ponder taking their relationship to the next level.

    Director: Marshall Herskovitz

    Writer: Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz

  • Cat-In-Hat
    8.6/1030 votes
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    #22 - Cat-In-Hat

    Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 4/3/2000

    Karen pushes herself far beyond her comfort zone when her involvement with Leo becomes more serious. Eli plays his parents against each other in order to get into a bar to see his friends' band play. He gets in trouble when he sees his mother, and she sees him, there. Rick finds out that Karen said no and Eli didn't tell him that, getting Eli in trouble with Rick as well.

    Director: Claudia Weill

    Writer: N/A

  • Destiny Turns On The Radio
    8.6/1027 votes
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    #23 - Destiny Turns On The Radio

    Season 3 Episode 5 - Aired 11/2/2001

    A boy in the play school play asks Jesse out. Grace is less than happy with the news, because she thought that the boy was flirting with her during rehearsal. Karen is upset that Rick didn't left her out of the loop on this. Les takes over a talk show after the host leaves following an argument between the two. He asks for Lily's opinion on a call (while on the air), which leads to her taking over the show that night, and a once-a-week gig after that. Rick and Lily argue about her discussing Jesse's ""date"" when it hasn't been decided if he'll let her go. Grace thinks about quitting the play (over her sorta-feelings for Tad and the whole Tad-Jesse thing), but that's not what she tells Mr. Dmitri. He convinces her to stay. Grace is irate that Lily offered to loan Jesse Lily's pearl necklace when she wouldn't let Grace borrow it earlier. Grace is starting to think that Lily likes her stepdaughter Jesse more than her. Karen accuses Lily of using Jesse's personal life for radio ""mat

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • One Step (Parent) Backward
    8.6/1027 votes
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    #24 - One Step (Parent) Backward

    Season 3 Episode 15 - Aired 3/18/2002

    Sam places his dream of committing to Judy and having a family squarely on the shoulders of his ten-year-old son. Meanwhile, Jake finally realizes his feelings for Tiffany and his new baby daughter.

    Director: Elodie Keene

    Writer: N/A

  • Experience Is the Teacher
    8.6/1044 votes
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    #25 - Experience Is the Teacher

    Season 3 Episode 17 - Aired 4/1/2002

    The prospect that Grace may be romantically involved with her creative-writing teacher troubles Lily, infuriates Jake, and imperils the career of the instructor.

    Director: Matt Shakman

    Writer: Maggie Friedman