Boy Meets World's 7 Best And 7 Worst Episodes Ranked

The coming-of-age sitcom "Boy Meets World," which follows Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) and his friends as they learn life lessons while growing up in Philadelphia, is in many ways the perfect comfort show. This '90s classic is full of enduring truths regarding the importance of family and friendship. Its wholesome messages about love, life, and loss still resonate with people years later. "Boy Meets World" is like "a warm blanket," The Guardian said after revisiting the show in 2021.

Of course, when a show runs for seven seasons, there are bound to be a few low points. There are many classic episodes of "Boy Meets World," but the show didn't always get it right. At its very best, it's an engaging, heartfelt, and occasionally poignant drama disguised as a cheeky, lighthearted sitcom. However, it falters when it leans too far into the melodramatic, the surreal, and the absurd. Here's our ranking of the best and worst episodes of "Boy Meets World."

In "Seven the Hard Way," which deals with the aftermath of the prank war from the previous episode (a prank war that "Boy Meets World" fans think went too far), the gang is embroiled in a friendship-shattering conflict. To mend the fractured bonds, Eric (Will Friedle) and Mr. Feeny (William Daniels) gather everyone into the classroom and try to force them to settle their differences. More quarreling follows, and Rachel (Maitland Ward) — feeling both betrayed and fed up — storms out. Seven years after this failed reconciliation, we glimpse the trajectory of each character's life at Feeny's retirement party.

Rated 8.7 on IMDb, "Seven the Hard Way" blends humor with heartfelt drama and contains plenty of poignant moments. Redditor u/PMoney1089 even cites Eric's manifesto, "Lose one friend, lose all friends, lose yourself," as one of their favorite life lessons from "Boy Meets World," stating: "That line and that scene [of] Eric trying to keep the group together is one of the best scenes from the whole series." Considering this episode also features the introduction of Eric the Hermit — aka Plays with Squirrels — we'd say it is easily one of the best.

With a rating of 7.3 on IMDb, "I Am Not a Crook" ranks as one of the show's weakest narratives. When Cory complains about having no extracurricular interests or skills, Shawn (Rider Strong), eager to give his best friend some purpose, nominates him for class president. Initially horrified, Cory quickly embraces the role, promising to do away with what he refers to as "an antiquated justice system that relies too much on detention." As Cory's self-appointed campaign manager, Shawn encourages him to make increasingly absurd declarations rather than plausible promises like improved lunches and updated textbooks — all under the misleading slogan of "Honest. Loyal. Decent." When Cory fires Shawn at the behest of other students over a sexist remark he made in third grade, it's not just the presidency at stake, it's also a friendship.

Though Redditor u/simonthedlgger believes this storyline "sums up modern politics pretty succinctly," others, like blogger thatsavvy, "don't even want to discuss this episode" due to a deep loathing for any kind of student election plotline. We suspect some viewers may appreciate the installment for its focus on the ever-enduring bond between Cory and Shawn, but similar episodes — like Season 4 entry "An Affair to Forget" — are more engaging and more successful because they offer a layer of emotional depth.

At the start of "A Long Walk to Pittsburgh: Part 1," Eric bears witness to a concerning exchange between his brother's best friend and his brother's girlfriend. Basically, he sees Shawn comfort an upset Topanga (Danielle Fishel) by offering her a hug and a brief kiss on the cheek. In response, a disturbed and protective Eric brings home a "wonderful meal" for Cory — complete with cake! — to prep him for the devastating news. Nothing prepares Cory for the actual truth, though: Topanga, the love of his life, is moving to Pittsburgh.

As their final hour together draws near, they engage in overly optimistic discussions regarding how to maintain their relationship from a distance, but Matthews matriarch Amy (Betsy Randle) just wants the two teens to acknowledge the difficult reality of their situation. Shawn, for his part, refuses to believe Topanga will actually leave. "Not if TV is the true mirror of our lives," he says.

Rated at 8.7 on IMDb and featuring thoughtful insights from Feeny about the love Cory and Topanga share, "A Long Walk to Pittsburgh: Part 1" is one of the show's best episodes. Perhaps the highlight is the moment an appalled Cory finally learns about the dismal fate of Romeo and Juliet. IMDb user chrissyelizabeth-14563 describes it as "a great episode with a lot of intense emotions," while Cleveland.com considers it the second best episode of the entire series.

In "He Said, She Said," Shawn misinterprets the advice of new guidance counselor Devon Collins (Amy Leland) after his guardian, Mr. Turner (Anthony Tyler Quinn), demands that he starts thinking about his future. The trouble is, during the counseling meeting, Collins confides that, while she did eventually attend college, she needed to take some time to learn about herself first — so she traveled around Europe. Fixating on the idea of travel (with it not quite clicking that his counselor engaged in all this soul-searching after high school), Shawn decides to hit the road via a bus ticket to Paris, Texas the very next day. Meanwhile, Eric buys official Feeny stationery from Griff (Adam Scott of "Parks & Rec" fame), planning to forge a glowing college recommendation letter.

With a 7.3 on IMDb, this is one of the worst-rated episodes of "Boy Meets World," and the score is pretty accurate. "He Said, She Said" is a forgettable episode that aims high but misses the mark. As The Twizard notes, "It's not quite as eye-opening as it wants to be, due to the fact that it's only one of the more minor stunts Shawn tries to pull." Other bloggers, like thatsavvy, have expressed frustration over the episode. "The Harley-vs-Cory plotline never resolved itself, and Eric's college recommendation also never came to anything," they said. "And the 'Feeny as narrator' thing never really started or ended anywhere."

With a solid rating of 8.8 on IMDb, "We'll Have a Good Time Then" is, in short, an emotionally devastating storyline. Half-brothers Shawn and Jack (Matthew Lawrence) find father Chet (Blake Clark) hustling pool at Pennbrook's Student Union after being sacked from his most recent job. Chet claims he wants to spend quality time with his boys, and Jack is eager to partake, but an embittered Shawn is convinced their father will be back in the wind in just a few hours. After a nice steak dinner, a terrible fight, and a piece of Rachel's insanely rich chocolate cake, tragedy strikes, forcing all the Hunters to deal with their emotional insecurities and damaged relationships. What's worse: It might be too late for them to heal their broken family.

"We'll Have a Good Time Then" remains popular with fans and critics alike. "Just watched it for the first time in a long time," Redditor u/Yopauolo posted. "It was very well done, and incredibly sad. And now I'm going to try to complete the rest of my Saturday with a lump in my throat." The episode has also been praised by Bustle's Ashani Jodha, who named it one of the most emotional episodes in "Boy Meets World" history. "All I can say for this episode is how much it puts me into the fetal position, sobbing my life away," she said. According to CBR's Neal Sastry, Rider Strong "genuinely nails the emotion" here, making the content all the more gut-wrenching.

"You're Married, You're Dead" features an engaged Cory trying to prove he can still be one of the guys by going out to Club Cleavage (pronounced "cla-vahj"), a burger joint staffed by female waiters who engage in what's referred to as "The World Famous Tushy Dance." It's the "Boy Meets World" equivalent of Hooters, but for our innocent characters, it's one step above a strip club.

Heckled by the other young men over the fact that he wears an engagement ring while there, Cory displays an alarming lack of judgment by taking the ring off and leaving it on the table. Plagued with guilt-fueled dreams, Cory tries to keep Topanga from learning the truth about the ring as Rachel — who's examining a woman's potential impact on male bonding for a midterm paper — decides to join Jack and Eric over at Club Cleavage. Her goal is to observe how she affects them. The answer is clear: She makes them incredibly uncomfortable.

Though one Redditor thinks this episode deserved kudos for being among the most entertaining Cory/Topanga-focused storylines from Season 6, overall it's pretty poor and it doesn't live long in the memory. It has a telling score of just 7.2 on IMDb, making it one of the least-liked "Boy Meets World" episodes on the website.

Rated 8.9 on IMDb, "A Long Walk to Pittsburgh: Part 2" is an enduring fan favorite episode about Cory struggling in Topanga's absence. He feels like he's the only one putting any effort into their new long-distance relationship. So, when Alan Matthews (William Russ) offers to drive his son to Pittsburgh for the weekend, a hurt Cory declines, convinced Topanga may not even want to see him. They're all in for quite a surprise when Topanga, having run away from her parents, shows up on their doorstep that night, soaked from the rain.

Entertainment Weekly's Erin Strecker believes that both parts of "A Long Walk To Pittsburgh" are vital installments to Cory and Topanga's epic love story, saying: "As the show went on, the comedy gave way to its fair share of melodrama, but here, the emotions were genuine and the feelings oh so real." Bustle's Ashani Jodha finds the episode to be just as emotional, claiming that Topanga's arc is crushing. "When she runs away and comes back to find Cory defending her to his parents, it's incredibly tough to watch," she adds.

What really makes this one of the very best "Boy Meets World" episodes is the fact that it offers some insight into Amy's complicated — but ultimately supportive — attitude regarding Cory and Topanga's relationship. There's also some genuinely heartfelt Feeny advice that will leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling.

In "Show Me the Love," an emotionally shattered Topanga — she has lost her faith in love in the aftermath of her parents' divorce — cancels the wedding and breaks up with a heartbroken Cory. Angela (Trina McGee-Davis), recognizing the logic in Topanga's depressing epiphany, decides she doesn't want to be in a relationship either and follows suit by officially cutting things off with Shawn. Rather than respect the girls' wishes, the boys decide to head to Pittsburgh and try to convince Topanga's parents to get back together. Jack and Rachel, who've also broken up, assume — without having any kind of real discussion about it — that the other person will be moving out of the apartment. As a result, Rachel invites Topanga and Angela to move in with her, while Jack invites Eric. This, of course, only introduces more conflict — this time over who actually gets to live there.

Commenting in a discussion thread that asks for everyone's least favorite episode, Redditor u/Redvelvet221 points to this entry. "Least favorite is Season 7's 'Show Me the Love,'" they wrote. "I don't really like any of the plot lines when Topanga is questioning her and Cory's relationship because her parents are getting divorced. Always thought it was kinda random." The "Boy Meets World" Reviewed blog doesn't have much praise for this episode either, viewing the narrative as an exhausting disaster. "So, what, is she just never gonna date again?" they say of Topanga's decision. "It's completely incomprehensible."

At the start of "Cult Fiction," we see a worried Mr. Turner confronting Shawn about his latest test score and questioning the teen's plans for the future. After overhearing the brief argument, classmate Sherry expresses her sympathies and offers to take Shawn out for a cup of coffee. She suggests a place called The Center, which is run by a slippery man called Mr. Mack (Jerry Levine). Despite recognizing all the culty signs, our highly-suggestible troublemaker (who is feeling pretty lost at this point) falls victim to the place. Most alarming of all: It only takes an hour. Poor Shawn is thrown into even further turmoil when Turner crashes his motorcycle.

With a rating of 8.9 on IMDb, "Cult Fiction" is among the most popular "Boy Meets World" episodes. It's a perfect example of why the series has stood the test of time — the ability to balance humor with coming-of-age drama. On top of that, "Cult Fiction" features one of the most heartbreaking monologues from Shawn: Faced with devastating tragedy, he declares that he doesn't "want to be empty inside anymore." To make things even more depressing, after this episode, Mr. Turner inexplicably disappears from "Boy Meets World."

"And in Case I Don't See Ya" is essentially a parody of "The Truman Show," taking its title from an oft-repeated line in the Jim Carrey movie. It follows Eric as he decides to film his daily life — for unedited consumption by the public, no less! — in an ill-fated quest for popularity. Once he sets the cameras up in the apartment (notably without the consent of roommates Jack and Rachel), it's Rachel who becomes the star of the show.

The college-age viewers over at the Student Union love when Rachel walks into the living room wearing just a towel. Embracing this new development, Eric transforms into something of a Christof character. To keep Rachel in the apartment — objectified and on camera — he terrorizes his friend, exploiting her garbage disposal-related childhood trauma for the sake of cheap entertainment.

Elsewhere, Feeny grants Cory and Shawn an extension on their midterm papers, only to have them take advantage by expecting extensions on all their future assignments, too. It's a pretty dull B-plot, but at least it's not super creepy like the main story. One IMDb reviewer gave the episode a dismal 4 out of 10, criticizing the writing and questioning Cory's character development. "And in Case I Don't See Ya" earns its place among the worst "Boy Meets World" episodes thanks to its heavy melodrama and treatment of Rachel.

Series finales are often hard to get right, but "Boy Meets World" really sticks the landing with "Brave New World: Part 2." You'll need a tissue at hand as our characters bid farewell to Philadelphia — and to each other. "I still vividly remember sitting alone in front of our tiny living-room TV, embarrassingly wiping away the flood of tears streaming down my cheeks as these characters I'd grown up with went their separate ways, heading in directions where I and the rest of the audience couldn't follow them," said the AV Club's Patrick Gomez. The episode is emotional in the extreme, but it's also highly entertaining.

As Cory, Topanga, Eric, and Shawn mentally prepare for their move to New York City, Jack renounces his inheritance (his stepfather's money). He declares his intention to join the Peace Corps with Rachel, much to the dismay of the deceased Chet (who is with his boys in spirit). Cory leaves young Joshua with some brotherly advice, and Mr. Feeny, believing that his students are ready to go off into the world and start new chapters, gives them some final words of wisdom: "Believe in yourselves. Dream. Try. Do good."

The last episode of "Boy Meets World" has an impressive rating of 9.3 on IMDb and is beloved by fans. "The Classroom scene is so iconic," Redditor u/studli3n14 said.

"Boy Meets World" is at its most absurd in the Season 5 episode "No Guts, No Cory." The episode is a direct follow-up to "The Witches of Pennbrook," which briefly features Melissa Joan Hart as Sabrina from fellow TGIF hit "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." As such, "No Guts, No Cory" opens with Salem — Sabrina's talkative black cat, technically a centuries-old witch who's been turned into a cat as punishment for trying to conquer Earth — strolling the halls of John Adams High after swallowing a time ball. From the get-go, the storyline promises to be just as strange and surreal as its predecessor.

When Feeny finishes a lesson about WWII, Topanga tells Cory about how the war spurred high school kids to get married because they just didn't know what the future would hold. Our protagonist then picks up Salem and strokes the cat while thinking about what living in those times would've been like. One magical time jump later, Cory, Shawn, Jack, and Alan are enlisting to fight in the war (the ticklish Eric gets rejected). Topanga vows to wait for Cory, and — as if things weren't weird enough — Shawn promises to marry his best friend's girl if Cory doesn't make it home.

According to Cleveland.com's Troy L. Smith, "No Guts, No Cory" is the worst installment of "Boy Meets World" ever. It's a "detour episode that goes nowhere," he said. Like us, Vox's Caroline Framke found the whole picking back-up partners thing to be very odd, saying, "It was supposed to be romantic, or something."

With an incredible rating of 9.4 on IMDb, "And Then There Was Shawn" is a parody of the hit horror movie "Scream," which was only a few years old at the time. It examines Shawn's subconscious mind as he struggles to cope with Cory and Topanga's breakup. When Shawn causes a scene in class — the teen yells at fellow student Kenny for daring to ask Topanga for a pencil — a furious Feeny issues a class-wide detention. Things start getting scary when Feeny leaves the students alone and they find a message written in blood on the chalkboard: "No One Gets Out Alive." The situation becomes even more terrifying when Kenny is killed with Topanga's giant pencil.

Featuring plenty of horror homages and references to shows like "South Park" and "Scooby-Doo," this playfully spooky episode offers a rich story and great character development. "The 'Boy Meets World' writers clearly know and love teen slasher movies and the homage is done well, but more importantly it's clear that they know and love the characters," Polygon's Emily Heller wrote. "They didn't write a slasher episode for the sake of airing a slasher episode."

"And Then There Was Shawn" has garnered a lot of love and praise over the years. Artist (and enthusiastic fan) Jennifer Ball even created a one-off comic book based on the episode as a tribute. It has everything horror fans could want, including an appearance from Scream Queen Jennifer Love Hewitt. But ultimately, this entry earns its status as the crème de la crème of "Boy Meets World" because of its near-perfect balance of horror, humor, drama, and heart.

"For Love and Apartments" continues the storyline introduced in the Season 7 premiere. To recap, Topanga's parents have filed for divorce. In reaction, Topanga — now doubting that her and Cory's love for each other will last a lifetime — has ended their relationship. Determined to fix everything, Cory has dragged Shawn to Pittsburgh. The plan is to get Topanga's parents back together.

As the boys try — and fail — to convince the Lawrences to reconcile, Rachel, Angela, and Topanga challenge Jack and Eric to a wrestling match. WWE legend Mick Foley magically appears just in time to act as the group's official referee, breaking down the door of the apartment in the process. With a telling score of just 6.9 on IMDb, "For Love and Apartments" ranks dead last on the site's sorted list, and fans have been openly critical of the episode over the years.

"Just awful," Redditor u/Hermione-Weasley said of the episode. "I hated the girls taking over the apartment and literally beating up Eric and Jack. Then there was the main plot with Topanga calling off the engagement that ended up being a waste of a storyline. There's nothing entertaining about the episode." As Uproxx's Brandon Stroud points out, there's just not much to learn in this absurd and melodramatic installment, in which the main takeaways seem to be: "True love is dead. Pro-wrestling is fixed. If you don't like what your friends are doing, try to fight them."