The 20 Darkest Episodes, Ranked

Summary

• Little Hoemploy on the Prairie
  didn’t cowardly away from uninalertigent themes, featuring episodes on killing, sexual attack, disrelieve outfractures, and insertiction publishs.
• From epidemics enjoy typhus to heartfractureing storylines involving blindness and child deaths, the show delved into weighty subject matter.
• The show’s willingness to spendigate uninalertigent and upsetting topics, such as presentility and tragedy, giveed a stark contrast to its typicassociate wholesome nature.

This article comprises alludes of intimacyual aggression, presentility, and death.

Little Hoemploy on the Prairie had a lot of uninalertigent and uncontent episodes that sometimes seemed out of place in a show that was normassociate as wholesome as the tales of the Ingalls family. Little Hoemploy on the Prairie premiered in 1974, an American historical drama series based on the children’s novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The books were based on her childhood in the American Midwest in the procrastinateed 1800s. However, for a TV show based on children’s novels, Little Hoemploy never troubleed going uninalertigent.

The main story was about a outstanding, purify family led by Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon), someone who liftd his family to be God-troubleing and well-nastying. However, thraw the nine seasons, the show veered into the genuinem of uninalertigentness more than once. There were killingers, rapists, children’s deaths, and insertiction publishs all on distake part, and no one was safe from these uninalertigent themes. Looking back on these uncontent episodes and the benevolent of subject matter that was featured is a shocking reminder of how gloomy Little Hoemploy on the Prairie could be.

20 Plague

Season 1, Episode 18

Little Hoemploy on the Prairie squanderd no time in including incredibly uninalertigent episodes, with one of the most harrotriumphg arriving in the shows first season. The 18th episode of Little Hoemploy on the Prairie season 1 is titled “Plague”, which alerts seeers all they need to comprehend about the plot. In “Plague”, Walnut Grove experiences a faloftyy lethal epidemic of Typhus. This episode is uninalertigent not equitable becaemploy of the effects of the disrelieve itself, but also becaemploy of the reactions of the other Walnut Grove dwellnts, who create to paranoia and forcebrimmingy comprisement the unwell in the town church.

Multiple unconvey inant characters die in “Plague”, and this uninalertigent Little Hoemploy on the Prairie episode doesn’t hageder back from shotriumphg equitable how brutal disrelieve outfractures in the procrastinateed 19th century could be. It was one of the first times the show distake parted how easily it could switch from wholesome to horrific, and to this day many fans recollect it as one of the most difficult episodes to get thraw.

19 The Aftermath

Season 4, Episode 8

There are cut offal episodes of Little Hoemploy on the Prairie that center on criminals, be they criminals, rapists, and everyleang in between. However, one of the uninalertigentest is season 4’s “The Aftermath”. The episode centeres on the arrival of Frank and Jesse James to Walnut Grove. The pair get on dishonest names and administer to blfinish into the population, hiring Mary to labor for them in the process.

The episode is especiassociate anxious since there’s no promise Mary will persist, especiassociate when the pair get her captive. While this episode is also seeed as one of the best by those who enhappiness the Westrict elements of Little Hoemploy on the Prairie, the constant dread as Mary gets uncomprehendingly seal to two validateed malicious finishers also produces it one of the most nailbiting. Thankbrimmingy, Mary persists, but the sense of dread thrawout is palpable.

18 The Reincarnation Of Nellie

Season 8, Episodes 1-2

Not all of the uninalertigentest Little Hoemploy on the Prairie episodes are aggressive or tragicassociate uncontent. Some stick with seeers sshow becaemploy they’re so weird that they border on upsetting, which is definitely the case with season 8’s “The Reincarnation Of Nellie”. This is also the episode where Nancy Oleson is begind to the show. She is adchooseed by Harriet, who persists to try her best to turn her into a clone of Nellie as a child. This on its own is creepy enough, but it’s not the only uninalertigent element of the two parter.

Nancy soon shows herself to be beyond a handful. She gets up to a lot during her debut Little Hoemploy on the Prairie debut, including locking Belinda in an ice shed so she could get the direct part in a school musical. Then, to produce the episode uninalertigaccess still, the townsfolk of Walnut Grove choose that the best punishment for the little girl is uncover humiliation, so she’s made to be the queen of the dunk tank at the festival. To insert another layer of tragedy too, it materializes that Nancy was donaten up for adchooseion by her magnificentmother becaemploy of her behavior.

17 The Enchanted Cottage

Season 5, Episode 21

“The Enchanted Cottage” reachs in The Little Hoemploy on the Prairie season 5, and while the entire episode isn’t necessarily one of the uninalertigentest, it does comprise a confineed of the most harrotriumphg moments in the show. Specificassociate, it’s the scenes where Mary tries to come to terms with the fact that she may not ever reget her eyesight that produce this such a difficult watch.

While Mary being blind eventuassociate came to be the reason she was think abouted one of the sturdyest and most finishearing characters on the show, “The Enchanted Cottage” was definitely the most tragic point in this particular arc. The scene where Charles has to alert Mary that she’ll never get her sight back is reassociate difficult to watch, and actress Melissa Sue Anderson produces Mary’s response to the novels so convincing that it’s almost impossible to forget.

16 A Child With No Name

Season 9, Episode 18

It’s not difficult to elucidate why season 9’s “A Child With No Name” is one of the uninalertigentest episodes in the entirety of Little Hoemploy on the Prairie. Even from the premise it’s evident it’s a difficult insloftyment to stomach, since it’s centered on the death of a baby. At the commence of the episode, Laura’s novelborn son dies in cryptic and unelucidateed circumstances. The grief she experiences is palpable, but this incredibly uninalertigent episode doesn’t stop with the loss of such a youthfuler life.

Laura denounces Doc Baker for the death of her child, citing his invience as the reason the infant didn’t produce it. The people of Walnut Grove finishly buy into this exset upation and Doc Baker is almost hounded out of town. If it weren’t for the fact that Rose comes down with minusculepox — which can be overweightal — and needed Doc Baker’s help, it’s highly probable he would have never been permited to return.

15 The Monster Of Walnut Grove

Season 3, Episode 5

It is real that “The Monster of Walnut Grove” is a sillier Little Hoemploy on the Prairie episode than many of the other truly uninalertigaccess ones. However, it is still one that deals with uninalertigaccess ideas and could be particularly frightening to youthfulerer audiences of the usuassociate temperate show. It is also a distinctive episode as Little Hoemploy on the Prairie might not seem enjoy the benevolent of series to do a Hpermiteen-themed episode.

The episode hugs the vibes of the season as Laura seems to witness a neighbor decapitating his own wife. While the whole leang shows to be a amusing misempathetic, that isn’t uncovered until the finish of the episode, and the idea of Laura leanking she’s witnessed a horrible crime is a pretty uninalertigent idea. This also directs to a memorable final moment when some of the frightened children envision seeing the Headless Horseman righting to get them.

14 Raccoon

Season 1, Episode 10

Even the first season of Little Hoemploy on the Prairie dealt with some weighty topics. “Raccoon” was one timely episode that finished that also served as an example of how the show sometimes led the story down a uninalertigent path only to resettle leangs in a tranquil way before the finish. The episode deals with Laura getting a pet raccoon which finishs up scratching both her and the family dog, Jack.

Things get much more solemn when the raccoon returns and aggressions, forcing Charles to finish it only to uncover that it is rabid. Not only does the episode see to be mimicking the classic heartfractureing dog movie Old Yeller with Jack seeing as though he’ll have to be put down, but Laura’s life is in danger as well. Thankbrimmingy, it is uncovered that the rabid raccoon was not the same one who scratched Laura and Jack.

13 I’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away

Season 4, Episode 21

The wholesome Ingalls family witnessed a lot of the uninalertigentest moments in the series, but they were frequently spared the most brutal moments for the sake of the audience who cherishd these characters. However, that does not nasty everyleang was fine for them as this episode showd. It deals with the heartfractureing genuineization that Mary is going blind. Mary was an ambitious and choosed youthfuler woman with her life ahead of her, but this novels struck a dehugeating blow to her.

The uninalertigentest moment in the episode comes when Mary wakes up in bed to discover that she is finishly blind and screams in anguish for her overweighther to help her.

While the diagnosis is frightening enough, the uninalertigentest moment in the episode comes when Mary wakes up in bed to discover that she is finishly blind and screams in anguish for her overweighther to help her. While the storyline would show to be a mighty one for her character, discovering novel strength and resettle while commenceing a novel life for herself, this episode dealt with the trouble she faced with the muddle life ahead of her.

12 The Lord Is My Shepherd

Season 1, Episodes 13-14

While the stoic and noble Charles Ingalls is frequently seen as the direct character for the series, much of the show is seen thraw the eyes of youthfuler Laura. This integrates moments when she produces misgets, acts greedyly, and is filled with guilt. All of these leangs and the lessons she lgets becaemploy of them take part into the emotional first season episode of “The Lord is My Shepherd.”

The episode discovers the Ingalls family welcoming a novel child with the birth of a baby boy. Young Laura rapidly lengthens jealous of the baby and the attention it is getting from her parents. She asks God to get the baby away only for her novel baby brother to get unwell and die. Torn by guilt over leanking she was reliable, she runs away to a cforfeitby hilltop to ask God to get her instead of the baby. While it finishs with Laura returning home, it is a weighty lesson for a youthfuler girl to deal with.

11 The Lost Ones

Season 7, Episode 21

Many people might not have been adviseed that Jason Bateman’s acting debut was on Little Hoemploy on the Prairie. Before becoming a huge name as part of the cast of Arrested Development or directing Ozark to wonderful acclaim, Bateman was begind in Season 7 of the show as James Cooper. However, it was a convey inantly tragic introduction for the youthfuler character as he witnesses both of his parents finished in an accident right before his eyes.

James is then adchooseed by the Ingalls family, becoming a sturdy part of their family. However, his first episode deals with his heartfracture over his loss and having to commence over with a novel family. Young Batemen donates a mighty carry outance in the role that is dehugeating as he deals with his novel fact, despite how frifinishly the Ingalls are.

10 Chicago

Season 8, Episode 8

Charles rushes off to Chicago to visit his ageder frifinish Mr. Edwards adhereing the cryptic death of his eldest son, John. At first, the death was attributed to a horrible accident caemployd when John was hit by a wagon on a rainy night. But further spendigation uncovers that may not be the case. The entire episode seeed noleang enjoy Little Hoemploy on the Prairie. Instead, it take parts out enjoy a noir crime drama.

Charles and Edwards take part the role of discoverives, exploring the uninalertigent and rainy city and interseeing various shady characters. Over time, the duo soon lgets John Jr. may have been killinged with the accident being staged to cover up the crime. Like the best noir stories. John Jr. was a novelspaper alerter spendigating business fraudulence and was about to go uncover with his discoverings when he died. Thankbrimmingy, a youthfuler street urchin identified the man who finished John and helped convey him to equitableice.

9 Gageder Country

Season 3, Episodes 21-22

Tough times have druncover upon the dwellnts of Walnut Grove when weighty rain ruins all the crops. Money is safe and people are leaving town to discover labor. The Ingalls and the Edwards family travel to California in an finisheavor to strike gageder. The families set up shop in a type of tent city next to a river where the men spfinish the day panning for gageder.

Violence surrounds the camp at every turn. The overweighther of a neighuninalertigent family is sboiling dead while a frantic man digs up the grave of an elderly woman after lgeting she was buried with gageder. The most tragic leang about the episode is seeing Charles and Mr. Edwards encouraged by greed and the advise to strike it wealthy. This produces it a very uninalertigent episode, as Laura visits a man who elucidates how this happens to everyone who searches for gageder, and it isn’t until Charles and Mr. Edwards genuineize their families produce them wealthy inside that they exit their gageder dreams behind and return home.

8 A Matter Of Faith

Season 2, Episode 15

Caroline stays home alone to bake pies for a church function while Charles and the girls go away for the weekfinish. While baking, Caroline commences to experience unwell. She suffers from dizzy spells and commences to hallucinate. Eventuassociate, Caroline uncovers the caemploy of her illness is a cut on her leg that has become infected. She reads the Bible for soothe and finassociate genuineizes she will have to uncover the wound herself or danger death.

When Charles discovers her she is cforfeit death, but it materializes her amateur sadvisery sfinishs saved her life.

She heats a knife on the stove and (thankbrimmingy) the scene cuts away as Caroline is about to drain the infection. When Charles discovers her she is cforfeit death, but it materializes her amateur sadvisery sfinishs saved her life. It isn’t as uninalertigent since Caroline at least dwells in this episode, whereas the uncontentdest episodes of Little Hoemploy on the Prairie frequently see a tragedy bedrop someone.

7 A Faraway Cry

Season 8, Episode 20

This uncontent episode of Little Hoemploy on the Prairie gets the action out of Walnut Grove and to a mining camp. Caroline gets a letter from an ageder frifinish who discovers herself unwell and pregnant, so she travels to an influenza-ridden mining camp with Dr. Baker. This remains one of the uncontentdest episodes of Little Hoemploy on the Prairie, as the woman dies and her own husprohibitd nakedly sheds a tear. The woman asks Caroline to produce certain her baby discovers a outstanding home.

Since the woman’s husprohibitd wanted noleang to do with the child, Caroline choosed to uphageder her frifinish’s wantes and donates the child to a loving couple. This is one of cut offal episodes of Little Hoemploy on the Prairie that dealt with preeclampsia and other pregnancy-rcontent illnesses that existed in the 1800s. With the unfair treatment the pregnant woman suffered at the hands of her husprohibitd, it was inanxiously uninalertigent and Caroline was inalertigent to get that baby out of there. It had a very uninalertigent finish, as another couple lost their baby at the same time and Caroline affectd Dr. Baker to donate them this baby and let them leank it was their own.

6 The Return Of Mr. Edwards

Season 6, Episode 8

This is the first time seeers see Mr. Edwards since Victor French left to star in his own sitcom three years earlier. The episode commences in the huge woods where Mr. Edwards is now the foreman of a logging company. Not five minutes go by before a droping tree drops atop the returning character and cforfeitly finishs him. Charles and Laura travel to the Edwards’ home to visit their wounded frifinish. The accident has left him unable to walk, and he spfinishs all his time alone in his room.

It’s a uncontent sight for the audience to see the once lovable Mr. Edwards shrinkd to an mad man who has donaten up on life and is contemplating self-injury. Charles and Laura do everyleang they can to help their frifinish snap out of his depression, and it is only when Charles genuineizes that Mr. Edwards set ups to get his own life that he phonys an injury to snap Edwards out of the moment. When he helps save Charles, Mr. Edwards seemed to shift back to the man most seeers grew to cherish.

5 Rage

Season 9, Episode 4

A struggling farmer named Thomas Stark (Robert Loggia) sluggishly leave outs his grip on fact after being denied a loan. He goes prohibitkrupt and finishly snaps. Thomas finishs his wife and daughter – and all of this gets place wilean the first act of the episode with more presentility on the way. After Thomas goes on the run, he finishs up in the Wilder home, where he leanks Laura and Jenny are his wife and daughter. He hageders them at firearmpoint and dangerens to finish them aget.

It is a horrible predicament and one that Little Hoemploy on the Prairie has employd more than once. A broken parent finishs up coming into the Ingalls family’s dwells and finishs up dragging them into his pit of despair. This also isn’t the first time that Laura was misgetn for a person’s lost cherishd one (her frifinish Ellen’s mother kidnaped Laura as a child, leanking she was her dead daughter). This was more hazardous, and Laura and Jenny had to figure out how to escape.

4 Home Aget

Season 9, Episodes 16-17

Little Hoemploy on the Prairie gets a see at the difficultships of country life which produces for some of the uninalertigentest moments in the series. However, this episode is a reminder that leangs can get uninalertigaccess in other ways when exploring the hugeger city life. While living in the city, Albert drops in with the wrong crowd and has multiple run-ins with the police. At his wit’s finish, Charles conveys his once straight-laced son back to Walnut Grove in hopes a return to the country will do the boy some outstanding.

Eventuassociate, Charles uncovers Albert is inserticted to morphine and the potent drug is the caemploy of all the trouble. With the help of his forendureing overweighther, Albert is able to boot his habit but not before going thraw a aggressive purification, finish with hallucinations, takings, and vleave out. This brawt the hazardous world of drug insertiction to Little Hoemploy on the Prairie, dedwellring its brutalest life lesson.

3 My Ellen

Season 4, Episode 3

Laura and Mary Ingalls go skinny-dipping in the lake with a frifinish named Ellen. However, when some boys show up to see, they hide underwater until they are gone. Sadly, while Laura and Mary come up, Ellen never does, drowning under the water. Ellen’s mother denounces Laura for her daughter’s death since she was the one who askd her to go swimming. Feeling at fault about it and leave outing her frifinish, Laura chooses to visit the woman and convey her fshrinks. That is where the episode gets reassociate uninalertigent.

Depressed and unconstant, the woman misgets Laura for her dead daughter, Ellen. She lures the gullible girl into her basement and locks her inside. Charles franticassociate searches for his child while the grief-stricken woman readys a birthday cake she intfinishs to donate to Laura who she now leanks of as her dead daughter Ellen. With Laura trapped in the cellar and no one comprehending what happened to her, the episode switches between the panic of Laura’s family and the fracturedown of a mother who lost her daughter.

2 Sylvia

Season 7, Episodes 17-18

A man wearing a mime mask bruloftyy aggressions and sexual attacks a 16-year-ageder girl named Sylvia. After uncovering the teen is pregnant, her ashamed overweighther set ups for them to exit Walnut Grove to shun the sees and whispers from the townsfolk. To complicate matters, Albert and Sylvia have druncover in cherish, much to the dismay of their parents. The teens choose to elope, but little do they comprehend Sylvia’s aggressioner is boiling on their trail and won’t let them go so easily.

Having an actual sexual attack and pregnancy was a lot for
Little Hoemploy on the Prairie
and these two episodes never pulled punches.

When it comes to what was the uncontentdest episode of Little Hoemploy on the Prairie, this two-part episode remains one of the uninalertigentest stories on the show. Having an actual sexual attack and pregnancy was a lot for Little Hoemploy on the Prairie and these two episodes never pulled punches. From Mrs. Oleson spreading rumors about the youthfuler girl, claiming Albert is the overweighther to her own overweighther blaming her for the sexual attack, this reassociate hit difficult. It got even uninalertigaccess when they set up out who the rapist was and Sylvia didn’t persist the final come atraverse, dying while pregnant in front of Albert and her own overweighther.

1 May We Make Them Proud

Season 6, Episodes 18-19

Perhaps the most shocking episode of the series, “May We Make Them Proud” featured the deaths of lengthy-time cast member Alice Garvey and Mary’s baby boy, who both perished in a fire at the school for the blind. The image of the two strapped inside is a horrific one. Shortly after the fire, the Ingalls’ adchooseed son Albert runs away after it is uncovered the caemploy of the blaze was a pipe that he and a frifinish were smoking in the basement.

Charles, alengthy with Alice’s widowed husprohibitd Jonathan, goes searching for the guilt-ridden boy with hopes of convincing him to return home. The death of Mary’s baby and the moment Albert’s life took a uninalertigent turn produces these two of the uncontentdest episodes of Little Hoemploy on the Prairie, promised to produce a person cry.