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The Best Episodes of The Wonder Years

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

A coming of age story set in the late 1960s that takes a nostalgic look at a black middle-class family in Montgomery, Alabama through the...
Genres:ComedyDramaFamily
Network:ABC

Best Episodes Summary

"Love & War" is the best rated episode of "The Wonder Years". It scored 8.6/10 based on 202 votes. Directed by Numa Perrier and written by Kendra Cole, it aired on 4/13/2022. This episode scored 0.3 points higher than the second highest rated, "Forbidden Fruit".

  • Love & War
    8.6/10202 votes
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    #1 - Love & War

    Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 4/13/2022

    Bruce returns home from Vietnam, and the family is shocked to find out he is dating an older woman with an 8-year-old son with whom he is eager to start his life. When they learn more about Bruce’s latest deployment, they begin to understand his survivors’ guilt and come together to support him.

    Director: Numa Perrier

    Writer: Kendra Cole

  • Forbidden Fruit
    8.3/10116 votes
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    #2 - Forbidden Fruit

    Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 6/14/2023

    Torn between his secret relationship with Keisa and his friendship with Broderick, Dean turns to Jackie for advice. Meanwhile, after her latest run-in with the law, Jackie decides to turn over a new leaf.

    Director: Ken Whittingham

    Writer: Bob Daily

  • Football Team
    8.3/10115 votes
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    #3 - Football Team

    Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 6/21/2023

    As Kim decides to take classes at Bill's college and date one of his star students, Bill must walk the line between teacher and dad; Dean and his friends join the football team where Dean finds himself in a tricky situation.

    Director: Stacey Muhammad

    Writer: Amberia Allen

  • Takeover Spirit
    8.2/10103 votes
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    #4 - Takeover Spirit

    Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 7/5/2023

    When Lillian joins the church choir, she discovers a new side to her mother-in-law; Kim encourages a guilt-ridden Dean to have an encounter with the supernatural.

    Director: Melissa Kosar

    Writer: Jordan Black

  • Bill's New Friend
    8.2/1095 votes
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    #5 - Bill's New Friend

    Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 7/26/2023

    After Bill befriends Dean's music teacher, Bill and Lillian attend a party at his house and the evening takes an unexpected turn. Meanwhile, with their parents away, Dean, Bruce and Kim make their own plans for the night.

    Director: Ken Whittingham

    Writer: Max Searle

  • The Happiest Place on Earth
    8.2/1092 votes
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    #6 - The Happiest Place on Earth

    Season 2 Episode 10 - Aired 8/16/2023

    When the Williams family decides to go on a family vacation, Kim suggests a road trip to Austin College and Dean proposes a stop at Disneyland. After meeting up with his old bandmates, Bill reflects on his life choices.

    Director: Ken Whittingham

    Writer: Yael Galena

  • A Star is Born
    8.1/1093 votes
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    #7 - A Star is Born

    Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 8/2/2023

    In search of a new hobby, Dean joins the drama club - only to find himself mixed up in drama of his own. Bill and Kim grapple with Bruce's choice to campaign for a local politician.

    Director: Lisa C. Satriano

    Writer: Melanie Boysaw

  • Like a Boss
    8.1/1091 votes
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    #8 - Like a Boss

    Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 8/9/2023

    After Lillian's boss announces budget cuts, she is forced to make a decision and enforce boundaries between her personal and professional life. Meanwhile, Dean and Cory's friendship hits a few speed bumps as they work together for the boxcar derby.

    Director: Michael Schultz

    Writer: Tom Young

  • Happy Birthday Clisby
    8.1/1091 votes
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    #9 - Happy Birthday Clisby

    Season 2 Episode 9 - Aired 8/16/2023

    The Williams gather to celebrate Clisby's 75th birthday - including Bill's brother Melvin and his daughter Cassie. While Bill and Melvin try to one-up each other for Clisby's approval, Cassie shares big news with Lillian and Kim.

    Director: Katie Locke O'Brien

    Writer: Kendra Cole

  • One Small Step
    8.0/10147 votes
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    #10 - One Small Step

    Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 6/14/2023

    It’s the summer of 1969, and Dean and Bill are experiencing new walks of life in New York City where Dean has tagged along for Bill’s career-making songwriting gig. Back in Montgomery, Lilian’s infamous sister, Jackie, pays a memorable visit.

    Director: Ken Whittingham

    Writer: Saladin K. Patterson

  • The Workplace
    7.8/10280 votes
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    #11 - The Workplace

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/13/2021

    It’s “Take Your Son to Work Day” and Dean heads to band practice with Bill. But the “grown folks’ business” at the music studio prompts Lillian to have to pick up Dean. While at her office, Dean finally learns what his mom does while he’s at school all day, gaining a newfound respect for her career and ambition.

    Director: Shiri Appleby

    Writer: Kendra Cole, Meredith Dawson

  • Independence Day
    7.8/10212 votes
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    #12 - Independence Day

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/3/2021

    As Kim’s campaign for a car coincides with the need to take Grandaddy Clisby’s keys away, Bill proposes a solution that is only pleasing to him: Kim can drive, so long as she takes her grandfather and Dean around town. Later on at the mall, Dean is worried about seeming uncool when Clisby ends up chaperoning him and his friends, but Clisby has a few crowd-pleasing tricks up his sleeve.

    Director: Robert Townsend

    Writer: Jacque Edmonds Cofer

  • Home For Christmas
    7.8/10202 votes
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    #13 - Home For Christmas

    Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 12/1/2021

    Dean can’t wait to spend Christmas with his older brother, Bruce, when he returns home from Vietnam. But adjusting to life back in Montgomery comes with unexpected challenges for Bruce, and the rest of the Williams family rely on their favorite holiday traditions to bring cheer

    Director: Fred Savage

    Writer: Bob Daily

  • Black Teacher
    7.8/10165 votes
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    #14 - Black Teacher

    Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 3/2/2022

    When their teacher goes on maternity leave, Dean, Cory and Keisa are excited to be taught by Mr. Brady, the school’s first Black teacher. Mr. Brady encourages the students to try out for the Knowledge Bowl team where Dean faces some unexpected challenges

    Director: Fred Savage

    Writer: Amberia Allen

  • Blockbusting
    7.8/10114 votes
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    #15 - Blockbusting

    Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 6/28/2023

    Bill and Lillian consider moving into the first integrated neighborhood in Montgomery; Dean develops a crush on Brad's mom during a sleepover at their house.

    Director: Nefertite Nguvu

    Writer: Jacque Edmonds Cofer

  • The Club
    7.7/10283 votes
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    #16 - The Club

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 10/6/2021

    Dean stumbles upon some “racy literature” and shares it with friends at school. When he is caught by the school principal, Bill and Lillian navigate uncharted territory as parents and Dean learns that manhood isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

    Director: Fred Savage

    Writer: Max Searle

  • Love, Dean
    7.7/10134 votes
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    #17 - Love, Dean

    Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 5/18/2022

    It's the end of the school year, and summer excitement is all around; Bill and Lillian each receive major career opportunities; Dean and Keisa take shelter together as a tornado tears through.

    Director: Saladin K. Patterson

    Writer: Yamin Segal

  • The Valentine’s Day Dance
    7.6/10163 votes
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    #18 - The Valentine’s Day Dance

    Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 2/2/2022

    Dean’s plans to ask Keisa to the Valentine’s Day Dance are foiled when another boy asks her out first after a new makeover makes her the talk of the school. Meanwhile, Bill and Lillian make Kim sign up for a Big Sister program to have extracurricular activities for her college applications.

    Director: Victor Nelli Jr.

    Writer: Brett Melnick

  • Jobs and Hangouts
    7.6/10146 votes
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    #19 - Jobs and Hangouts

    Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 3/23/2022

    Kim is excited to start her new job as a waitress at the local diner, which Dean adopts as his local hangout. When Kim experiences drama with her friends, she finds unlikely allies in a tough coworker and her younger brother.

    Director: Aisha Tyler

    Writer: Jacque Edmonds Cofer

  • Brad Mitzvah
    7.5/10165 votes
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    #20 - Brad Mitzvah

    Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 1/12/2022

    Brad works through his nerves preparing for his bar mitzvah speech while Dean ends his friendship with Keisa when Charlene tells him he can’t be friends with other girls. Things come to a head when the whole group comes together to celebrate Brad’s bar mitzvah.

    Director: Fred Savage

    Writer: Yael Galena

  • Goose Grease
    7.5/10142 votes
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    #21 - Goose Grease

    Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 4/6/2022

    When Dean comes down with the chicken pox on his way to a hunting trip with Bill and Grandaddy Clisby, Lillian forces the three of them to quarantine together. Clisby pushes homemade remedies on them out of his mistrust of doctors, but he’s forced to reckon with this when Dean’s condition worsens.

    Director: Ken Whittingham

    Writer: Yael Galena

  • Where No Dean Has Been Before
    7.5/10125 votes
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    #22 - Where No Dean Has Been Before

    Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 5/11/2022

    Dean tries to impress Keisa's cool new boyfriend by inviting him and his friends to a party Kim is throwing while Bill and Lillian are away for the night; things get out of hand just as Bill and Lillian arrive home.

    Director: Ken Whittingham

    Writer: Bo Zenga

  • Pilot
    7.4/10477 votes
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    #23 - Pilot

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/22/2021

    Struggling to figure out where he fits in, Dean decides to pursue his calling as "The Great Uniter" and attempts to organize the first integrated baseball game between his team and his friend Brad's team.

    Director: Fred Savage

    Writer: Saladin K. Patterson

  • Green Eyed Monster
    7.4/10314 votes
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    #24 - Green Eyed Monster

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/29/2021

    While Dean reckons with his first taste of heartbreak and betrayal, the adults in his life are overly empathetic and assume his grief is from mourning current events.

    Director: Fred Savage

    Writer: Mary Fitzgerald

  • The Lock In
    7.4/10228 votes
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    #25 - The Lock In

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/20/2021

    Dean is reluctant to attend the annual church lock-in until Kim tells him it’s where she got her first kiss. He enlists his friends to help him pair up with Keisa, but his plans are thwarted when he instead gets paired up with the pastor’s daughter, Charlene.

    Director: Molly McGlynn

    Writer: Amberia Allen