10 Wonderful Episodes of ‘The Waltons’
The Waltons (1972–1981) is one of the most beloved American family drama TV series of all time and one of my personal favorites. The series was the creation of the late Earl Hamner Jr., who kicked it off with a movie called The Homecoming: A Christmas Story in 1971. There were also several reunion movies after the show ended that were great, too. However, in this post I’ll be focusing on my 10 picks for the best episodes of the show itself. It’s important to note there were 212 episodes, and I can count on one hand the number of episodes I disliked. So, the following 10 are far from the only great episodes of the show. They’re just some of my absolute favorites of the bunch. Note, there will be spoilers below.
1. “The Foundling” (Season 1, Episode 1)
The foundling is the premiere episode of the series, and what a premiere it is! The episode focuses on the family finding a deaf little girl named Holly on their doorstep. They keep her for a short time, go out of their way to learn to sign to talk to her, and even consider adopting her. All the while, her conflicted biological mother keeps close watch nearby. Her husband thinks Holly should go to an institution, but she wants to keep Holly safe from that fate, which is why she leaves Holly with the Walton family. He’s later convinced to bring both his wife and daughter home when he sees Holly sign and save youngest Walton…
