The BEST episodes of Little House on the Prairie season 4

Every episode of Little House on the Prairie season 4, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Little House on the Prairie season 4!

Based upon the best selling "Little House" series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The show follows the lives of a simple farming family, the Ingalls, who settle into a quaint little house near the small town of Walnut Grove during the late 1800s. The majority of the shows were narrated by Laura and the series follows her from when she and her family arrive in Walnut Grove until her adulthood with Almanzo Wilder, with whom she starts a family of her own.

Last Updated: 2/22/2024Network: NBCStatus: Ended
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I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away (2)
star
8.73
55 votes

#1 - I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away (2)

Season 4 - Episode 22 - Aired 3/13/1978

Charles and Caroline sign Mary up for the blind school in Iowa. At first, Mary is very reluctant to learn anything at the school. However, after being with her teacher, Adam Kendall, for a while, she turns her outlook on life around. Mary is such a great student that Adam asks her to help her teach at a blind school with him.

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I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away (1)
star
8.33
75 votes

#2 - I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away (1)

Season 4 - Episode 21 - Aired 3/6/1978

Mary falls in love with Seth. When Mary's eyesight starts to get worse, Charles takes her to a specialist. He is devastated when the specialist tells him that Mary will lose her sight. Charles is unable to tell Mary for a while that she is going blind. When Mary does go blind, the whole family suffers.

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The Handyman
star
8.07
73 votes

#3 - The Handyman

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/3/1977

Charles must take a delivery to Mankato immediately and is unable to finish the addition to his house. Caroline hires a handsome man, Chris, to finish the house. Mary suspects that her Ma and Chris are falling in love.

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The Inheritance
star
8.05
64 votes

#4 - The Inheritance

Season 4 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/6/1978

When Charles learns that he's inherited the estate of a wealthy uncle, the Ingalls family find themselves on the brink of a new way of life.

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Here Come The Brides
star
7.82
67 votes

#5 - Here Come The Brides

Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/5/1977

Adam Simms and his son Luke move into town. Adam falls in love with Miss Beadle, while Luke and Nellie Oleson fall for each other. After Miss Beadle talks to Nellie about love and marriage, Nellie and Luke decide to get married.

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The Stranger
star
7.81
67 votes

#6 - The Stranger

Season 4 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/13/1978

Nels' brother sends his 12-year-old son to Walnut Grove after repeated conflicts at home and school. When Mrs. Oleson interferes in her husband's plans to rehabilitate his nephew, Nels asks Charles to step in and teach the boy some values.

Directors: Michael Landon
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
A Most Precious Gift
star
7.77
62 votes

#7 - A Most Precious Gift

Season 4 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/27/1978

Charles and Caroline are going to have another baby. Caroline constantly refers to the baby as he. Caroline delivers the baby sooner than expected causing Charles to be the doctor. The baby ends up being a girl, Grace.

Directors: Michael Landon
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I Remember, I Remember
star
7.71
69 votes

#8 - I Remember, I Remember

Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/23/1978

Mr. Ingalls is severely delayed when a wheel breaks on his wagon in the pouring rain. This is the day of Charles and Caroline's wedding anniversary. Everything had been all prepared and set up for that day. When Charles doesn't show up in time, Caroline tells the children how hard it was to get Charles to notice her and how many heartbreaks she had before she finally knew that Charles loved her.

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The Aftermath
star
7.69
59 votes

#9 - The Aftermath

Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/7/1977

Jesse and Frank James hide out in Walnut Grove. The people of Walnut Grove find out who they really are when bounty hunters come looking for them.

Writer: Don Balluck
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Meet Me At The Fair
star
7.66
62 votes

#10 - Meet Me At The Fair

Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/28/1977

The Ingallses and Olesons take a trip to the fair. Patrick, a carnival worker and Mary's boyfriend, and his boss, Cass (a balloonist and suave ladies man) vie for Mary's attention; Charles and Nels entering a jackass riding contest; and Carrie has her own adventure.

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The Fighter
star
7.64
56 votes

#11 - The Fighter

Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/21/1977

People in Walnut Grove are betting on a big boxing match in town. Mr. Ingalls does not know that he will be fighting an extremely sick person. That's why Charles is surprised in the ring when he is able to defeat his opponent so quickly. After his opponent collapses, he is brought to Doc Baker. Doc Baker is able to save him but warns him that he needs to stop fighting.

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The Rivals
star
7.62
61 votes

#12 - The Rivals

Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/9/1978

Charles must try to save his business from a competitor. Laura, who is love with Jimmy Hill, must compete with somebody else for him.

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Whisper Country
star
7.58
64 votes

#13 - Whisper Country

Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/16/1978

Mary eagerly accepts a teaching job in a backwoods community, only to face the sternest test of her career and life when she meets the community's leader: an elderly woman who is totally against education but has concealed a shameful secret.

Directors: Michael Landon
Writer: John Hawkins
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Creeper of Walnut Grove
star
7.57
68 votes

#14 - The Creeper of Walnut Grove

Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/24/1977

Things are being stolen in Walnut Grove. Laura and Andy try to figure out who's the crook. They end up getting a lot of people mad at them, including Mr. Ingalls, especially after his hair turns green.

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To Run And Hide
star
7.53
62 votes

#15 - To Run And Hide

Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/31/1977

When Doc Baker is unable to save a patient of his, he believes that he is unhappy being a doctor. He finds a new doctor for the town. Doc Baker stays on when he realizes that the new doctor really doesn't care about his patients.

Directors: Michael Landon
Watch Now:Apple TV
Be My Friend
star
7.52
86 votes

#16 - Be My Friend

Season 4 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/30/1978

When Laura is playing along a creek, she finds a bottle with a note in it. The note read, "Be my friend." Laura convinces Pa to help her look for the person who sent the note. They end up finding a baby. Charles then searches for the parents of the child. The baby belongs to teen parents. The reason the mother left the baby for the Ingalls to find was because her dad was opposed to her being with the guy she conceived the child with. The young parents take the baby and try things again.

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Times Of Change
star
7.51
74 votes

#17 - Times Of Change

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/19/1977

After going to Chicago for the first time, Charles and Mary are very disappointed in what life in the city is really like.

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The Wolves
star
7.49
96 votes

#18 - The Wolves

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/17/1977

Charles and Caroline go away and leave Mary in charge. Laura and Andy find some baby wolves.

Directors: Michael Landon
Watch Now:Apple TV
My Ellen
star
7.43
63 votes

#19 - My Ellen

Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/26/1977

A mother is in deep denial over her daughter's death in a tragic drowning. To comfort herself, she kidnaps Laura, hoping she will take her late daughter's place.

Directors: Michael Landon
Watch Now:Apple TV
Freedom Flight
star
7.33
58 votes

#20 - Freedom Flight

Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/12/1977

An Indian boy comes to Walnut Grove trying to get help for his sick father. The people of Walnut Grove become very hostile toward the Indians. Thanks to Mr. Ingalls' help the Indians are able to escape.

Directors: Michael Landon
Watch Now:Apple TV
The High Cost Of Being Right
star
7.30
63 votes

#21 - The High Cost Of Being Right

Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/14/1977

After Mr. Garvey's barn burns to the ground with the crops inside, his wife, Alice, takes a job at the post office. Mr. Garvey opposes this believing that a man should be able to support his family. He is ready to get a divorce until he realizes what his stubborn pride was doing to his family.

Directors: Michael Landon
Writer: Don Balluck
Watch Now:Apple TV
Castoffs
star
6.65
92 votes

#22 - Castoffs

Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/12/1977

When Laura's dog, Jack, dies, her Pa gives her a new dog, Bandit, after the dog follows him home. Although the dog seems very friendly to Laura, Laura doesn't want it. When Laura later visits Aunt Kezia, a lonely women, she realizes that she really loves Bandit.

Directors: Michael Landon
Writer: Tony Kayden
Watch Now:Apple TV