Room 104: Ranking the season 2 episodes

Room 104 ranking season 2 / Image bu HBO

The sophomore season of HBO anthology series Room 104 brought a number of A-list stars and directors to showcase a multitude of stories and genres. This is our definitive ranking of this season’s episodes.

Mark and Jay Duplass’ anthology series Room 104 returned for its second season with a mixed bag of episodes. Set in one motel room, each 30-minute episode delivered a new cast and storyline spanning a variety of genres.

While its debut season in 2017 held some novelty value, season two had to improve its game to keep viewership steady. HBO’s decision to air two episodes a week around midnight on Fridays made it a tough ask, but viewers and reviewers stuck by the show.

The second season of Room 104 certainly upped the ante – chock-a-block with star power, including Rainn Wilson, Judy Greer and Brian Tyree Henry, as well as Oscar winner Mahershala Ali, and nominee Michael Shannon, the direction of several of the episodes was unique and memorable. From mixed genre fare to musical shorts, the sophomore season had it all.

Admittedly, not every episode of Room 104 was to everyone’s liking. We at Show Snob had a hard time stomaching the occasional episode, so it is understandable if some of you have stayed away from the show. Anthology series are like Pandora’s boxes – sometimes you’re right to be afraid of what you’ll find inside.

To better gauge which episodes you should be watching, we have ranked the second season episodes of Room 104 according to the central premise and how successfully the writers and directors executed it. Rankings are personal choices and not everyone will agree with our list. Do you feel we were too harsh about an episode you loved? Let us know in the comments.