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The Best Episodes of MacGyver Season 1

Every episode of MacGyver Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of MacGyver Season 1!

Binge this in 14h 42m•Peaking at 7.6/10

20-something Angus MacGyver creates a clandestine organization where he uses his knack for solving problems in unconventional ways to help prevent disasters from happening.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    MacGyver Season 1 Episode 1 - The Rising
    6.1/10(1435 votes)

    #1 - The Rising

    S1:E1

    Angus MacGyver and Jack Dalton, special agents for the Department of External Services (DXS), join forces to recover a missing bioweapon that has the ability to destroy hundreds of thousands of people with one single drop.

    Director:James Wan
    Writer:Peter M. Lenkov

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  2. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 2 - Metal Saw
    6.4/10(1046 votes)

    #2 - Metal Saw

    S1:E2

    MacGyver and the team attempt to rescue Sarah, Jack’s former CIA partner/ex-girlfriend who went missing in Venezuela after she obtained evidence to take down an international arms dealer.

    Director:Jerry Levine
    Writer:Craig S. O'Neill

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  3. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 3 - Awl
    6.6/10(919 votes)

    #3 - Awl

    S1:E3

    MacGyver and the team are in Malaysia to extract a terrorist groups’ money man, Ralph, who holds key intel to an impending attack. But the mission goes south when the man is shot, and now, with only a driver’s license and hand sanitizer available, MacGyver must keep Ralph alive in order to learn the terrorists’ plans.

    Director:Matt Earl Beesley
    Writer:David Slack

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  4. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 4 - Wire Cutter
    7.0/10(886 votes)

    #4 - Wire Cutter

    S1:E4

    Mac and Jack partner with older versions of themselves, a Russian bomb programmer and his estranged handler, to shut down a Soviet-era warhead in Moscow. But when the antiquated computer needed to disable the warhead becomes inoperable, Mac must find a way to fix it with only duct tape and wire in time to prevent a new Cold War.

    Director:Joe Dante
    Writer:John Turman

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  5. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 5 - Toothpick
    7.1/10(855 votes)

    #5 - Toothpick

    S1:E5

    Using only an armrest, a curtain rod, and a toothpick, MacGyver must fix a sabotaged train in order to protect a whistleblower who has proof that her boss is selling weapons to U.S. enemies.

    Director:Bobby Roth
    Writer:Nancy Kiu

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  6. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 6 - Wrench
    7.3/10(815 votes)

    #6 - Wrench

    S1:E6

    Using only a wrench and rope, MacGyver must diffuse a bomb set near the United Nations by his old nemesis, “The Ghost”, a notorious criminal whose work killed his mentor, and track him down before he strikes again.

    Director:Alec Smight
    Writer:Brian Durkin

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  7. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 7 - Can Opener
    7.3/10(801 votes)

    #7 - Can Opener

    S1:E7

    MacGyver is tasked to go undercover as an inmate in a maximum security prison to break out El Noche, a notorious drug kingpin, using only batteries and salt, and track him to his cartel's secret location and dismantle it.

    Director:Alec Smight
    Writer:Brian Durkin

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  8. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 8 - Corkscrew
    7.6/10(816 votes)

    #8 - Corkscrew

    S1:E8

    When MacGyver comes face to face with Murdoc, an international assassin hired to kill him, Mac must defend both himself and Bozer, armed with only a corkscrew and paper towel rolls. Also, Bozer feels completely betrayed when he finally learns Mac's true identity.

    Director:Janice Cooke
    Writer:Lindsey Allen

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  9. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 9 - Chisel
    7.2/10(790 votes)

    #9 - Chisel

    S1:E9

    With only a chisel and matchbook, MacGyver and team must defend themselves the U.S. embassy workers in Latvia from extremists who are attempting to retrieve their leader. Also, Bozer faces a big decision now that he knows who Mac really is.

    Director:Brad Tanenbaum
    Writers:Brandon Willer, Bret VandenBos

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  10. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 10 - Pliers
    7.4/10(744 votes)

    #10 - Pliers

    S1:E10

    Mac and the team have no time to reminisce while visiting Mac’s and Bozer’s hometown when they immediately start searching for a kidnapped prodigy from Mac’s old middle school, Valerie.

    Director:Lee Rose
    Writer:Brian Durkin

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  11. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 11 - Scissors
    7.4/10(746 votes)

    #11 - Scissors

    S1:E11

    MacGyver and Jack search for Riley, using a microwave and a power strip, after she mysteriously disappears and hacks into the NSA, possibly unleashing World War III. Also, Bozer goes on his first official mission, and Jack opens up about his history with Riley’s mother, Diane.

    Director:Stephen Herek
    Writers:Nancy Kiu, Lindsey Allen

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  12. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 12 - Screwdriver
    7.6/10(752 votes)

    #12 - Screwdriver

    S1:E12

    Using a screwdriver and bug spray, MacGyver must find the U.S. government mole who is leaking classified intel to the organization that is trying to take down The Phoenix Foundation. Also, Sarah returns to help with the mission, and Nikki reappears, but Mac can’t tell which side she’s on.

    Director:Craig Siebels
    Writers:Craig S. O'Neill, David Slack

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  13. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 13 - Large Blade
    7.3/10(720 votes)

    #13 - Large Blade

    S1:E13

    On the way back from capturing a war criminal, Mac and Jack’s helicopter crashes in a remote area of Kazakhstan, injuring their pilot and allowing their prisoner to escape with Jack’s gun. Using a large blade and a water bottle, MacGyver must get help as the pilot’s condition worsens and before the war criminal takes them as prisoners.

    Director:Sylvain White
    Writer:Andrew Karlsruher

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  14. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 14 - Fish Scaler
    7.4/10(680 votes)

    #14 - Fish Scaler

    S1:E14

    Using a fish scaler and some fishing wire, Mac and Jack must track down a corrupt FBI agent who has framed a man for murder. Also, everyone on the team is terrified to get their first performance review from Matty, their tough new boss.

    Director:Eagle Egilsson
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 15 - Magnifying Glass
    7.6/10(685 votes)

    #15 - Magnifying Glass

    S1:E15

    When Matty’s goddaughter and her boyfriend are killed in a San Francisco park, Mac and the team investigate the crime and start to suspect that the 1970s Zodiac Killer has returned.

    Director:Stephen Herek
    Writer:Brian Durkin

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  16. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 16 - Hook
    7.4/10(663 votes)

    #16 - Hook

    S1:E16

    While tracking down the dangerous fugitive Aaron Deckard, Mac and Jack face the notorious Colton family of bounty hunters who already kidnapped their mark. Also, Bozer and Riley try to hack into Jack’s CIA file to find out about his history with Matty.

    Director:Tawnia McKiernan
    Writer:Nancy Kiu

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  17. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 17 - Ruler
    7.4/10(675 votes)

    #17 - Ruler

    S1:E17

    Bozer’s first overseas mission goes terribly wrong when Mac and the team are blamed for a terrorist bombing and the Phoenix Foundation is forced to disavow them.

    Director:Antonio Negret
    Writer:Andrew Karlsruher

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  18. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 18 - Flashlight
    7.5/10(691 votes)

    #18 - Flashlight

    S1:E18

    When Mac and the team travel to Hawaii to aid in earthquake relief efforts, they team up with Chin and Kono from the Five-0 task force to rescue a group of government scientists trapped in a building. However, as they work on the complicated rescue, a group using the chaos as a distraction aims to steal the top-secret weaponry from the scientists.

    Director:Jonathan Brown
    Writer:Lindsey Allen

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  19. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 19 - Compass
    7.6/10(660 votes)

    #19 - Compass

    S1:E19

    Mac and Jack help Mac’s close friend from M.I.T. after she fakes her own death to prevent someone from killing her in order to suppress her scientific research.

    Director:Christine Moore
    Writer:Lee David Zlotoff

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  20. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 20 - Hole Puncher
    7.6/10(656 votes)

    #20 - Hole Puncher

    S1:E20

    When the team intercepts a terror group’s message meant for Murdoc, Mac poses as the psychopath to save the intended target and find out why they want Murdoc to assassinate him.

    Director:Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum
    Writers:Craig S. O'Neill, David Slack

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  21. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 21 - Cigar Cutter
    7.6/10(661 votes)

    #21 - Cigar Cutter

    S1:E21

    Murdoc moves forward with his plans for revenge against MacGyver by recruiting his recently released former cellmate to infiltrate the Phoenix Complex as a “lab technician” and kill every agent inside.

    Director:Stephen Herek
    Writer:Unknown

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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"The Rising" is the best rated episode of "MacGyver" season 1. It scored 6.1/10 based on 1435 votes. Directed by James Wan and written by Peter M. Lenkov, it aired on 9/23/2016. This episode is rated 0.3 points higher than the second-best, "Metal Saw".