Every Episode Of My So-Called Life Ranked

Quietly suspicious of her father Graham (Tom Irwin) after seeing him with another woman and overhearing a questionable phone conversation, Angela treats him with what he can only describe to his wife Patty (Bess Armstrong) as "silent contempt." In an attempt to sway his daughter, Graham offers her two Grateful Dead tickets for a Thursday night concert, much to Patty's dismay and Rayanne's delight. Angela, though, has no interest in attending and decides to scalp the tickets to pay Jordan (Jared Leto) for the fake I.D. he gave her in the pilot episode.

It's a move that threatens both her relationship with her father and her relationship with her new best friend. Meanwhile, Patty must deal with her own rocky father-daughter relationship when the family business, Wood and Jones Printing, gets audited. Continuing with the storyline's parental theme, we also learn that Rayanne doesn't really have a father figure in her life and that Rickie is afraid of his.

Currently sitting at 7.9 on IMDb, "Father Figures" ranks at the bottom of the list because of the rampant cheese factor throughout the narrative. "Even while it trades in showing the non-glossy, thoroughly realistic shades of teenage angst, the show also has the tendency to slip into unbelievable, thoroughly hackneyed...cheesiness," the AV Club's Amelie Gillette said. Reddit users like u/jacolec point to it as a prime example of why they don't actually like our sometimes self-absorbed teen lead.

With a rating of 8.2 on IMDb, this solid sophomore run featuring Angela and Jordan's first kiss is technically near the bottom of the MSCL barrel, but critics still love it. The AV Club's Amelie Gillette calls the grand monologue at the beginning of the story "dead-on in terms of the degree to which teenagers think about themselves," and This Was TV's Julie Hammerle says that "the moments between Patty and Graham [feel] very realistic and poignant." The narrative opens with Angela, via voiceover, talking about how many times she's been kissed. Notably, this count includes an "exciting" experience in which a lifeguard performed CPR on her.

Luckily, the eldest Chase daughter now has an enthusiastic wing-woman in Rayanne, who asks the puppy-eyed, constantly-leaning Jordan to hook Angela up with a fake I.D. Her scheme is made even easier when a frustrated Brian covers for Angela in class but demands she come over to help with an extra credit assignment, allowing Rayanne to make arrangements for Jordan to deliver the I.D. to Angela there.

Soon, our protagonist learns that even kisses with the guy you like can be downright lousy — especially when he interrupts you mid-sentence. Of course, Angela's not the only character feeling a little disillusioned. We also witness Patty and Graham's growing distress as they stumble through ballroom dancing lessons and contend with an instructor who recommends they dance with other people.

"The Zit" sees the annual Three Rivers Mother-Daughter Fashion Show approaching, with Patty clearly hoping to participate with her eldest daughter. But Angela, who's currently dealing with a hideous zit on her chin, and who's not feeling especially beautiful, has no interest in the pageant. Notably, Danielle (Lisa Wilhoit), who doesn't think she quite measures up to her older sister — and who would actually like to do the pageant — struggles with feeling left out.

Angela's own feelings of inadequacy only worsen when a jock-created list of forty sophomore girls ranked by what these teen boys consider the girls' "best" features begins to circulate around the school. While Rayanne rejoices over her promiscuous label, Sharon (Devon Odessa of "That's So Raven" fame) becomes self-conscious and Angela struggles with the complicated emotions that come with not making the list at all.

With a rating of 8.2 on IMDb, we imagine this entry ranks lower on the site's sorted list because it presents viewers with a simple (but still valuable) lesson about beauty. That said, many critics have praised this narrative — and this lesson. HelloGiggles' Lindsay Grossman commends the layered entry for seeing "body image from many different angles," and Cinemablend's Kelly West believes it "captures the spirit of the show beautifully as it examines the subject of self-perception among teens and adults."

Currently rated at 8.3 on IMDb, "Resolutions" is a bit of a mixed bag. This Was TV's Julie Hammerle calls the episode "kind of hilarious with all of the shallow resolutions peppered in with the not-so-shallow ones." Her fellow reviewer Emma Fraser commends Wilson Cruz's incredible performance, an assessment we wholeheartedly agree with — even if the narrative veers into After School Special territory.

Set right after the "So Called Angels" holiday special, the episode finds Angela signing Jordan up for peer tutoring (where Brian tutors him on "The Odyssey," and where he tutors Brian on how to score a girl's number), and Rickie still living with the Chases. The arrangement seems to be working, but when Rickie overhears the tail-end of Patty and Graham's conversation about him — and how he can't just stay there forever — he decides to go home. Trouble is, his aunt and uncle have moved in his absence. Worse, there's no forwarding address. So a stunned Rickie, not wanting to be a burden, tries to suffer in silence.

Rayanne, recognizing her friend isn't actually okay, believes Angela's mom kicked him out (which is, of course, not true), but Angela, in all her naivety, thinks he simply went back to his aunt and uncle's house. Eventually, the reality of his situation becomes more than Rickie can handle on his own, prompting him to reach out to his compassionate English teacher, Mr. Katimski (Jeff Perry, who you might recognize as Thatcher from "Grey's Anatomy").

Just like the "My So-Called Life" Halloween special, "So Called Angels" veers from the show's more realistic approach, this time by introducing a guardian angel in the form of a homeless teen — one who guides Angela (and Patty) to the lost and vulnerable Rickie. With a rating of 8.4 on IMDb, it's not the most-loved episode but it's far from the worst. In fact, some people really love it. Tilt's Ricky D considers the episode an absolute classic, not just because it's "without a doubt the biggest tear-jerker," but also because it starts "one of the best subplots of the series: Rickie and his attempts to find a family."

The beginning of the story sees a bloody and bruised Rickie crying in a snow-covered alleyway after being kicked out of his uncle's house. When he shows up at Liberty with his injuries the next day he claims he fell, but Rayanne tells Angela that Rickie tends to get beaten up a lot. In response, Angela attempts to convince her parents to let Rickie spend the night, but Patty and Graham are reluctant to get involved — until they learn more about Rickie's dangerous situation, that is.

Later, Jordan shares a poignant moment with the other teen while offering Rickie a ride to the place he used to crash whenever his old man knocked him around. Meanwhile, Brian, struggling with being alone on Christmas, reaches out to a helpline. The person on the other end of that line? Rayanne. This one definitely pulls at the heartstrings.

"Weekend," the penultimate episode of "My So-Called Life," is another entry that boasts a rating of 8.4 on IMDb. Here, we see Patty and Graham going away for a couples' retreat with Graham's younger brother and his girlfriend, leaving the Chase daughters to their own devices — they have the house to themselves for the entire weekend. Before the mini-vacation, Camille, sensing that Graham's restaurant partner, Hallie, could pose a threat to Patty's marriage, lends her friend a pair of handcuffs to use during the getaway to help spice things up. The problem is, Patty leaves them behind. As a joke, Rayanne handcuffs herself to the bedpost in Graham and Patty's bedroom, but the mood at the Chase residence quickly sours when none of the teens can find the key.

"Weekend" is notable in that it features voice narration from little sister Danielle rather than from Angela, and that slight change in perspective fuses the storyline with a different kind of energy. That is to say, Angela's teenage angst gives way to Danielle's enthusiastic, childlike desire to be a part of her older sister's life. It's fun to see how Danielle's all-consuming crush on Brian Krakow parallels Angela's fascination with Jordan Catalano.

"Pressure," which explores Angela and Jordan's brief relationship and our lead protagonist's ultimate devastation over their inevitable break-up, begins with Angela attempting to drive Jordan's beloved red car. Much to Jordan's dismay, she reveals herself as pretty incapable behind the wheel, but her small fender incident is soon forgotten when the pair starts making out — and when Jordan, believing it's what they're supposed to do now that they're dating, starts pressuring her for sex. He even visits her at home late in the night to tell her of a place where they can do it — an empty house on Cloverfield that all the high school students are using as a hook-up house.

Jordan's not the only one Angela's feeling pressured by here. Now that she and Jordan are "official," parents Graham and Patty insist on meeting the young man. As Angela contends with Jordan's pushy attitude about sex and her parents' pushy attitude about meeting the guy, Graham contends with some significant pressures from his cooking student, Hallie, who wants to start a restaurant — with him as the chef. The episode (which has a rating of 8.5 on IMDb) is uncomfortable to watch at times, but that's because it takes no prisoners. "Pressure" touches on some important teenage topics and handles them surprisingly well for a show that aired in the mid-90s.

In "The Substitute," which boasts an impressive rating of 8.6 on IMDb, Mr. Racine (Roger Rees), an unconventional substitute who wears one white sock and one black sock, inspires the students in Angela's English class by encouraging them to write anonymous, heartfelt poems. Angela writes about a sleepy girl who lives in a moldy gingerbread house and who fears blowing away, while Sharon writes a sexually-charged poem about an experience she shared with her boyfriend.

After an initially conflicted Patty and Graham agree to print these brutally honest poems in the school's literary journal, the principal takes it upon himself to confiscate the "inappropriate" material. As Angela, furious over the censorship, makes her own photocopies, intent on keeping the content accessible to the student body, Sharon frets over people finding out that she wrote that racy poem — and Rayanne frets over people finding out she didn't.

This episode more than earns the A- score that the AV Club's Amelie Gillette. In her glowing review, she compliments "The Substitute" for its "solid, often subtle, and emotionally-complex" storytelling and compares it to "Dead Poets Society." But, whereas Robin Williams' character in that classic film is earnest and pure of heart, Mr. Racine is, in some ways, a fraud. Still, like ForeverYoungAdult's Jenny Bird tells us, "Just because someone makes bad decisions in one part of their life doesn't mean that they can't still be inspiring."

"Self-Esteem," with its impressive rating of 8.7 on IMDb, and its excellent A- rating at AV Club, ranks as top-tier "My So-Called Life" content. Here, we learn that Angela has started to skip her geometry reviews in favor of meeting up with Jordan in the boiler room, where they engage in passionate make-out sessions. Outside of the boiler room, though, Jordan doesn't really acknowledge her presence.

Like Xander in the infamous "Zeppo" episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," who must deal with the feelings of worthlessness that come with always being assigned donut duty, Angela's frustrating arrangement with Jordan eats away at her self-esteem. As she struggles with her perceived value, Sharon regrets breaking up with Kyle before midterms, and Rickie finds himself annoyed with their new English teacher, who calls him by his full name (Enrique) and keeps asking him to join Drama Club. Graham, meanwhile, has a bizarre experience during his cooking class that begins with the teacher failing to show up due to food poisoning and ends with the other attendees asking him to teach the course.

With its exceptional pacing and honest exploration of how everyone can have bouts of low self-esteem, it's easy to see why this episode is so well-regarded. What's more: In one of the entry's best moments, Angela gets the opportunity to throw back the "Why are you like this?" comment to Jordan while they're arguing.

Like "Weekend," the show's 11th episode switches up the voice narration, offering a glimpse into another character's inner life. This time, we get Brian's perspective — a storytelling decision that critics like IGN's Eric Goldman praise. With an excellent rating of 9 on IMDb, the story opens with Brian discussing how his psychologist parents fundamentally disagree on pretty much everything, and how being the photographer for Yearbook translates to not actually being in the Yearbook. Set against the backdrop of the school's "World Happiness" dance, we then watch Brian, still pining for Angela, slowly turn his attention to new girl Delia. Though he eventually asks an excited Delia to the dance, he regrets it as soon as Angela asks for a ride to the event.

As Brian debates ditching Delia, Sharon bullies Kyle into asking her to the dance, Graham uses his newfound free time to wallpaper the bedroom, and Rickie develops a crush on Corey after the other boy compliments his vest. Determined to play wing-woman for Rickie, Rayanne asks Corey to join them at the dance, but when she doesn't show up, Rickie must deal with heartbreak and humiliation, convinced he "doesn't fit anywhere." The reason this entry ranks as the crème de la crème of "My So-Called Life" is that, as a character, Brian is — for better or worse — incredibly relatable, and that kind of authenticity is what this teen drama is all about.