10 Great TV Shows With Only One Bad Episode

Rather than battling Magneto, Sentinels, or Apocalypse, this infamous X-Men: The Animated Series storyline has Jubilee trapped in a cave with a group of children. To pass the time, she concocts a fairytale where she envisions her mutant allies and foes as princes, trolls, and wizards. 

Although X-Men: The Animated Series had its fair share of filler, this is the most egregious example. There’s no real plot progression, stakes, or impact on the ongoing narrative. In a cartoon known for serialised storytelling and emotional arcs, this just feels like a total waste of time.

Even though X-Men explored prejudice, trauma, and civil rights, Fairytale Theatre goes for kiddie humour, clashing with the established tone. This decision could be forgiven somewhat if it were executed well, but the jokes fall flat, and the fairytale plot is anything but inventive. What’s worse is that the budget was noticeably slashed just before this episode went into production. As such, it suffers from limited animation, janky facial movements, and simplified backgrounds.

The character of Jubilee received a lot of unnecessary hate throughout X-Men: The Animated Series' run, so it's frustrating how the worst episode happened to be centred around her.