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The Best Episodes of The Big O

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

Binge this in 10h 50m•Peaking at 9.4/10

Forty years ago, the minds of Paradigm City's inhabitants were wiped clean of all recollections of the past. Now, ruled by a powerful corporation and cut off from the rest of the world by desolate

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    The Big O Season 1 Episode 13 - RD
    9.4/10(130 votes)

    #1 - RD

    S1:E13

    The episode begins with a mysterious woman in a red cloak and hood murdering several people, leaving behind only the phrase, ""Cast In The Name Of Good Ye Not Guilty."" This is the phrase shown on Big O when activated. One of the dead is a dancer named Ellen Weight, a client of Roger's who had memories from before the Event, despite being far too young.

    Director:Ikuro Sato
    Writer:Keiichi Hasegawa

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  2. The Big O Season 1 Episode 12 - Enemy Is Another Big
    8.0/10(32 votes)

    #2 - Enemy Is Another Big

    S1:E12

    Roger is hired by Alex Rosewater to deliver a very large severance check to Michael Seebach aka Schwartzvald. After accepting the assignment, Roger intercepts the police radio about a new Megadeus which has appeared at JFK Mark. He goes there as Big O and is confronted by a Megadeus swaddled in bandages and controlled by Schwartzvald. The Megadei begin to battle with Schwartzvald's Megadeus wrapping Big O in his bandages. Roger fights back, burning away the bandages to reveal another Big O unharmed. The robot then vanishes, leaving only a bandage to fall from the sky. Back at his house, Angel calls Roger to give him Schwartzvald's whereabouts. Roger follows the directions to find that Schwartzvald is throwing a masquerade party. Roger talks to Schwartzvald, who is dressed as a clown, and who uses the partygoers as an example of the corruption of the city. When Roger hands over the check, Schwartzvald burns it and the masks of the partygoers burst into flame. Schwartzvald cal

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. The Big O Season 1 Episode 4 - Underground Terror
    7.9/10(41 votes)

    #3 - Underground Terror

    S1:E4

    A woman named Patricia Lovejoy (the same woman called Angel in Electric City) approaches Roger Smith about a job with Paradigm. He is supposed to convince a reporter named Michael Seebach to hand over his manuscript, but as it turns out, Seebach had disappeared months earlier. Using his connections with Major Dastun, Roger tracks down an apartment Seebach is renting. There he discovers a typewriter and a large stack of papers, which he begins to read when gasoline pours in under the door and lights. Roger jumps out the window to escape and is confronted by Seebach, now calling himself Schwartzvald and wrapped in bandages. Seebach tells Roger to report to Paradigm that they will never see him in the city again, then disappears.

    Director:Tetsuya Watanabe
    Writer:Chiaki J. Konaka

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  4. The Big O Season 1 Episode 10 - Winter Night Phantom
    7.9/10(43 votes)

    #4 - Winter Night Phantom

    S1:E10

    Major Dastun has been having a recurring dream about a woman in white who is shot on a pier with her final words being ""Vous êtes si gentil."" The language has been long forgotten in Paradigm City, but it still seems familiar. At the same time, a toy robot crawls into a packed church and explodes. It is the latest in attacks by terrorists who are targeting retired city officials.

    Director:Sumio Watanabe
    Writer:Keiichi Hasegawa

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  5. The Big O Season 1 Episode 1 - Roger the Negotiator
    7.8/10(82 votes)

    #5 - Roger the Negotiator

    S1:E1

    In the pilot episode, Roger Smith is introduced as Paradigm City's top negotiator. As the episode begins, he is delivering the ransom for a girl named Dorothy, who had been kidnapped from her father, a rich industrialist named Saldano. After the exchange, Saldano arrives and reveals that the Dorothy Roger they had obtained was actually an android fake. When Roger realizes Beck isn't playing fair, he activates the briefcase carrying the ransom and it flies out of Beck's car.

    Director:Ikuro Sato
    Writer:Chiaki J. Konaka

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  6. The Big O Season 1 Episode 11 - Daemonseed
    7.6/10(32 votes)

    #6 - Daemonseed

    S1:E11

    Dorothy is buying a tie for Roger at the department store in preparation for Heaven's Day. Roger snaps at her when he sees her and when he apologizes, he sees a saxophone player on the sidewalk whom he gives to generously. Later, at Roger's house, Norman explains Heaven's Day to Dorothy, one of the traditions being to give presents to those you love. When Dorothy asks Roger if he would be giving gifts to anyone, he becomes nervous and declares that he doesn't like the gift-giving. This causes Dorothy to storm out of the room. The saxophone player, Oliver, brings home some ham with the money Roger gave him and tells his blind girlfriend Laura that he would like to give her a good Heaven's Day gift. Roger consults Norman on Dorothy's reactions and Norman tells him that Dorothy's birthday is apparently on Heaven's Day. Roger asks about Dorothy's dress size and then rushes off to buy her a nice coat, which Oliver is also admiring but can't possibly afford. Oliver gets his pay from

    Director:Tooru Kitahata
    Writer:Shin Yoshida

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of The Big O

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  7. The Big O Season 1 Episode 14 - Roger the Wanderer
    7.5/10(2 votes)

    #7 - Roger the Wanderer

    S1:E14

    Roger Smith takes on the three foreign MegaDeuses, as well as the demons in his own mind. The battles he fights, both internal and external, will change Paradigm City forever.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. The Big O Season 1 Episode 26 - The Show Must Go On
    7.5/10(2 votes)

    #8 - The Show Must Go On

    S1:E26

    R. Dorothy rises from her deathbed, thanks (in part) to Beck. Roger Smith and Alex Rosewater stage the Showdown of the Century, while Gordon Rosewater shows Angel her true destiny.

    Directors:Kazuyoshi Katayama, Akira Yoshimura
    Writer:Chiaki J. Konaka

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  9. The Big O Season 1 Episode 2 - Dorothy, Dorothy
    7.1/10(43 votes)

    #9 - Dorothy, Dorothy

    S1:E2

    In the previous episode, Major Dastun and Dorothy looked like they were going to be crushed by Dorothy One as it fell. However, when the dust cleared, Dastun was fine and Dorothy had disappeared. Roger took Big O back into the subway to escape Dastun's rage over the destruction of the fight. Then, he began to search for Dorothy. He received a tip about a nightingale in the city, which led him to a club called Nightingale. There Roger found Dorothy along with a man named Waynewright who said he was her grandfather. Dorothy sang in the club after which Beck arrived, shot Waynewright, knocked out Roger and kidnapped Dorothy.

    Director:Ikuro Sato
    Writer:Chiaki J. Konaka

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  10. The Big O Season 1 Episode 6 - A Legacy of Amadeus
    7.1/10(38 votes)

    #10 - A Legacy of Amadeus

    S1:E6

    After waking Roger up with her piano playing, Roger decides to take Dorothy to see a friend who can help her learn to add feeling to her playing. His friend is a robot named Instro, who was built by a scientist named Amadeus and thought of Instro as a son. Instro remembers how happy Amadeus was when Instro would play the piano for him. While Instro is giving Dorothy a lesson, a mysterious stranger arrives and reminds Instro that he needs to fulfill his creator's legacy.

    Director:Ikuro Sato
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. The Big O Season 1 Episode 8 - Missing Cat
    7.1/10(35 votes)

    #11 - Missing Cat

    S1:E8

    Dorothy befriends a stray cat and takes it in. Roger thinks it's cute until the owners of the cat show up. But what's more, the cat is more than what he seems to be.

    Director:Tetsuya Watanabe
    Writer:Keiichi Hasegawa

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  12. The Big O Season 1 Episode 3 - Electric City
    6.9/10(41 votes)

    #12 - Electric City

    S1:E3

    Recently, there's been a number of power outages in Paradigm. Roger is hired by Paradigm Power Management to go to the Electric City and negotiate with the locals the reactivation of the hydroelectric power plant. They say a god lives in the water.

    Director:Tooru Kitahata
    Writer:Chiaki J. Konaka

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  13. The Big O Season 1 Episode 5 - Bring Back My Ghost
    6.8/10(36 votes)

    #13 - Bring Back My Ghost

    S1:E5

    A military police vehicle crashes after seeing an apparition while crossing a certain bridge and it is apparently only the latest in a string of such accidents involving high ups in the military police. Roger is retained to work for a billionaire named Melissa Frazier who wants Roger to find her son Bonny. Bonny worked for the military police and was killed during a riot on the haunted bridge a year earlier, after which time the ghost sightings began. His body fell into the water and disappeared. Roger is tipped that Bonny may have been killed because he was going to reveal corruption in the MPs. He goes to track down one of the few remaining conspirators, a Colonel Gaust, but he has been taken to the bridge by Bonny Frazier and pushed into the water. Both Big O and Dastun attempt to attack the apparition, but their attacks appear to go through it, while it's missiles assault Big O from all directions. In a last ditch attempt, Roger tracks the origin of the missiles and shoots

    Director:Hideki Okamoto
    Writer:Keiichi Hasegawa

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  14. The Big O Season 1 Episode 7 - The Call from the Past
    6.8/10(32 votes)

    #14 - The Call from the Past

    S1:E7

    Episode begins, Roger and Angel are trapped in a building buried under the sea, one of a string apparently created by the Event. Three days earlier, Roger is trying to negotiate to bring down the price of fish for the people outside the domes. He learns that the reason fish is so expensive is because the fishermen won't go out to fish because they are scared of a sea titan in the water.

    Director:Masakazu Obara
    Writer:Chiaki J. Konaka

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  15. The Big O Season 1 Episode 9 - Beck Comes Back
    6.7/10(34 votes)

    #15 - Beck Comes Back

    S1:E9

    Episode begins with Beck being broken out of prison by a Megadeus. Then, Roger is hired by Mr. Wise, a rich industrialist, to negotiate for the return of his kidnapped son, Francis. After hanging up on the kidnappers, Roger is fired by Wise, only to be rehired when the ransom is paid and his son is not returned. The kidnappers call back, recognize Roger's voice and agree to return the son if Roger brings the ransom. Roger finds Francis at the cabin he was directed to, but the police arrive believing that Roger was the kidnapper. This was a setup by the real kidnapper, Beck, to get revenge on Roger (see Roger The Negotiator and Dorothy Dorothy).

    Director:Ikuro Sato
    Writer:Shin Yoshida

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  16. The Big O Season 1 Episode 15 - Negotiations with the Dead
    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #16 - Negotiations with the Dead

    S1:E15

    Roger is hired by a woman to protect her husband, a retired Senator, from an assassin. Apparently, the assassin is working for the same people who controlled the "mad bomber" from Act:10 "Winter Night Phantom" and the murderous android in Act:13 "R-D".

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. The Big O Season 1 Episode 16 - Day of the Advent
    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #17 - Day of the Advent

    S1:E16

    An unknown object crashes to Earth inside Paradigm City. While the general populace takes it as a good sign, Roger Smith isn't so sure, especially when he is hired to perform a very unusual Negotiation--one that will bring him into direct conflict with Paradigm CEO Alex Rosewater.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. The Big O Season 1 Episode 17 - Leviathan
    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #18 - Leviathan

    S1:E17

    Schwartzvald rears his bandaged head again, and a new MegaDeus threatens Paradigm City. Business as usual? Roger Smith sure doesn't think so.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. The Big O Season 1 Episode 18 - The Greatest Villian
    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #19 - The Greatest Villian

    S1:E18

    When Beck kidnaps Roger Smith, R. Dorothy must take the case. Prepare yourself for R. Dorothy Waynewright...the Negotiator. Paradigm City will never be the same.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. The Big O Season 1 Episode 19 - Eyewitness
    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #20 - Eyewitness

    S1:E19

    Someone is killing androids in Paradigm City. After several attacks, Paradigm HQ dispatches a special agent to assist in the case: Freddy O'Reilly. But Freddy is an android himself. He and Dastun have an uneasy working relationship. When Dorothy is targeted, she manages to avoid being destroyed and is taken in for police questioning.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. The Big O Season 1 Episode 20 - Stripes
    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #21 - Stripes

    S1:E20

    Roger is still having strange flashbacks. He can only assume that they are memories, but he's not quite sure. Frustrated, he returns to visit Gordon Rosewater, the man who built Paradigm City, on his farm. Gordon only offers vague platitudes and cryptic responses, until he gives Roger one very important clue.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. The Big O Season 1 Episode 21 - The Third Big
    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #22 - The Third Big

    S1:E21

    Roger Smith & Dan Dastun race to R. Dorothy's aid, while Alex Rosewater finally unveils "Big Fau". But can he control the power of a MegaDeus once it is unleashed?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. The Big O Season 1 Episode 22 - Hydra
    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #23 - Hydra

    S1:E22

    Roger is unsympathetic to Alex's problems. Alex pushes his science group to reactivate the Big Fau. Underground tremors and a power outage draw attention to these tests, and the union spy Vera unleashes a three-headed giant electric eel. Once again, Roger and the Big O find themselves facing a giant monster to protect all of Paradigm City.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. The Big O Season 1 Episode 23 - Twisted Memories
    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #24 - Twisted Memories

    S1:E23

    Beck's back, with an army of annoying android assassins. Alex Rosewater deals with his Daddy Issues in a very negative way, while at the same using Beck to kidnap R. Dorothy. And we're just gettin' warmed up...

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. The Big O Season 1 Episode 24 - The Big Fight
    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #25 - The Big Fight

    S1:E24

    Roger Smith and Big O slug it out with Alan Gabriel and "Big Duo Infern", while Alex Rosewater uses R. Dorothy's Memories to complete Big Fau. And the Union is still out there...

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"RD" is the best rated episode of "The Big O". It scored 9.4/10 based on 130 votes. Directed by Ikuro Sato and written by Keiichi Hasegawa, it aired on 1/19/2000. This episode scored 1.4 points higher than the second highest rated, "Enemy Is Another Big".