'Game Changer' Season 8 Episodes, Ranked From Worst to Best

With “Last Talent Standing” airing Monday, season 8 of Dropout’s flagship show Game Changer came to an oversized end. The 23-contestant, nearly 90-minute finale was a reflection of the latest season: big casts, big sets, big laughter. Game Changer season 8 was no doubt the series’ most ambitious, and that ambition produced some great episodes, like the premiere “Don't Wake Standards & Practices.” But simplicity often works even better, like in “Rulette 2,” which was just three chaotic people being as chaotic as possible for 50 minutes. Now that it's in the books, there’s no better time to rank season 8’s episodes. Like when ranking the 10 best Game Changer episodes, it’s a challenging task, especially as season 8’s crop of episodes were so good and so varied. Let’s get to it. 10 Night Shift (episode 3) Well, one of them has to come in last. Unfortunately for “Night Shift,” I’m sticking it in 10th place. It’s not a bad episode by any means — the show has 81 episodes now, and they can’t all be “Bingo” — but “Night Shift” was season 8’s least memorable. Watching the two batches of contestants slowly figure out the game is a fun ride, and the night shift inadvertently working against their day shift counterparts produced some great laughs. But the most notable part of “Night Shift” might have been Ron Perlman’s unexpected appearance, which isn’t enough to make it one of season 8’s best. 9 Last Talent Standing (episode 10) “Last Talent Standing” shows bigger isn’t always better. The America’s Got Talent riff with Squid Game aesthetics showed off just how deep Dropout’s roster of talent is (network favorites like Vic Michaelis, Brennan Lee Mulligan, and Zac Oyama weren’t even featured). However, the premise ran thin by the end. The episode may have been full of laughs, but it’s probably not a great indictment of “Last Talent Standing” when its contestants (and a guest judge) are more than ready to call it a day at the tail-end of the episode’s excess. 8 I Spy (episode 9) Season 8 was full of moments where Game Changer’s art department got to flex their strengths, and “I Spy” was certainly the biggest showcase of the team's talent and creativity. Contestants Lily Du, Brian David Gilbert, Michaelis, Jacquis Neal, and Ele Woods had a helluva time playing host Sam Reich’s devious twist on a childhood classic. Watching poor Neal unable to trust his gut and lose because of it made for great laughs, though there were times I felt like Woods in not quite understanding the rules or scoring system. 7 Earwigs (episode 7) “Earwigs” reminded me a bit of season 7’s “The Drinking Game” in the way the players had to focus on each others’ behaviors while still playing a game or improvising a comedic bit. Each round added more layers, roles, and minigames to the overall game, reminding viewers that Game Changer is, at its core, a game show, and not just a vehicle for Reich to torture his friends, like in season 5’s “Escape the Greenroom.” 6 What’s the Catch (episode 8) Game Changer hasn’t been shy about handing out actual prizes in past episodes, though that’s certainly become less of a focus as the series has gone on. “What’s the Catch” starts as an episode all about handing out prizes, until Kimia Behpoornia, Kurt Maloney, and Jacob Wysocki get hit with terrible twists, like Behpoornia’s fine dining meal having to be served at 4 a.m. or Wysocki only being able to visit Universal for a minute at a time (possibly my favorite bit of the season). Sure, these prizes maybe were only intended to be set-ups for sketches, but that doesn’t change just how funny the episode and its sketches were. 5 Kangaroo Court (episode 4) I never tire of watching players try to bullshit their way to victory, and that’s what “Kangaroo Court” was all about. Aabria Iyengar, Michaelis, and Mulligan all had to complete a task, and then convince a jury they had won the task while Reich, of course, rigged the game against them. Seeing the different strategies at play made for a great episode, and I never tire of watching Michaelis be as chaotic as ever, or Mulligan try his best and still come up short. 4 Don't Wake Standards & Practices (episode 1) “Don't Wake Standards & Practices” set the table well for the entire season with its paradoxical premise. Asking Ally Beardsley, Jeremy Culhane, and Lou Wilson to push the envelope with their comedy and discover just how much they could legally get away with is a winning and hilarious formula; “Don't Wake Standards & Practices” may have produced the biggest belly laughs from me all season. Who knew a game as simple as “have comedians just be really fucking funny” could work so well? 3 Rulette 2 (episode 2) Speaking of belly laughs — “Rulette” was a season 7 favorite, and bringing it back for season 8 was a winning decision, as was including Anna Garcia in the rules-based chaos once again. Like “Make Some Noise” or “Sam Says,” the simple premise of “Rulette” makes it a great game samer as there’s no worry about diminishing returns with the conceit of the game. Just watch Demi Adejuyigbe, Garcia, and Josh Ruben find new ways to make you (and each other) crack up while obeying random-ass rules, like having to curtsy to speakers or having to end a sentence with a “cool move.” Plus, “Rulette 2” also gave us Ruben endlessly humping a person-sized mannequin in a suit, which will never not be hilarious. 2 Noise Some Makes (episode 6) Game Changer can never have enough of Mulligan, Oyama, and Ruben. Bringing them back for another “Make Some Noise” wouldn’t quite make sense — that premise already has its own spinoff show. Instead, “Noise Some Makes” gleefully ensures the Noise Boys make some noise with delightful twists, like having their prompts being drawings or being given to them via a game of telephone. “Noise Some Makes” flipped the script around enough to feel original and separate from Make Some Noise, and also spotlighted the season’s breakout star, Reich’s assistant Kaylin Mahoney. Here’s to hoping she returns as a contestant in season 9. 1 Count the Rice (episode 5) While some later Game Changer episodes focus less on games and are just excuses for comedians to be funny (like “What’s the Catch”), “Count the Rice” leans into the old-school Game Changer spirit of letting game mechanics be front and center; the comedy comes from funny people staying within the confines of the game. The episode excels at keeping both the players and viewers guessing at every turn. Each added game builds on the previous layer in fun ways, and discovering the mechanics of “Count the Rice” alongside players like Dropout newcomer Catherine McCafferty was a joy. Once the layers and twists of “Count the Rice” reveal themselves, it’s a race to the finish line, keeping the viewers and contestants like Demi Adejuyigbe and Ify Nwadiwe locked in to the very end. “Count the Rice” is the closest Game Changer season 8 came to capturing the spirit of “Bingo,” the show’s all-time episode. “Count the Rice” is not only season 8’s best episode, it’s easily one of the series’ best.