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The Worst Episodes of MacGyver

Every episode of MacGyver ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of MacGyver!

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.
Genres:DramaAction & Adventure
Network:CBS

Worst Episodes Summary

"The Rising" is the worst rated episode of "MacGyver". It scored 6.1/10 based on 1418 votes. Directed by James Wan and written by Peter M. Lenkov, it aired on 9/23/2016. This episode scored 0.3 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Metal Saw".

  • The Rising
    6.1/101,418 votes
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    #1 - The Rising

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/23/2016

    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

  • Metal Saw
    6.4/101,036 votes
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    #2 - Metal Saw

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/30/2016

    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

  • Awl
    6.6/10909 votes
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    #3 - Awl

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 10/7/2016

    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

  • Wire Cutter
    7.0/10877 votes
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    #4 - Wire Cutter

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/14/2016

    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

  • Toothpick
    7.1/10846 votes
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    #5 - Toothpick

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/21/2016

    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

  • Chisel
    7.1/10781 votes
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    #6 - Chisel

    Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/18/2016

    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

    Writer: Bret VandenBos, Brandon Willer

  • DIY or DIE
    7.1/10702 votes
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    #7 - DIY or DIE

    Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 9/29/2017

    Using a cell phone and soccer ball, MacGyver and the team search for a Navy SEAL who is believed to be alive in captivity in the Middle East.

    Director: Stephen Herek

    Writer: Peter M. Lenkov, David Slack, Craig S. O'Neill

  • Wrench
    7.3/10807 votes
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    #8 - Wrench

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 10/28/2016

    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

  • Can Opener
    7.3/10791 votes
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    #9 - Can Opener

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/4/2016

    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

  • Pliers
    7.3/10734 votes
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    #10 - Pliers

    Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 12/9/2016

    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

  • Large Blade
    7.3/10711 votes
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    #11 - Large Blade

    Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 1/13/2017

    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

  • Fish Scaler
    7.3/10675 votes
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    #12 - Fish Scaler

    Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 2/3/2017

    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: N/A

  • Hook
    7.3/10657 votes
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    #13 - Hook

    Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 2/17/2017

    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

  • Guts + Fuel + Hope
    7.3/10591 votes
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    #14 - Guts + Fuel + Hope

    Season 3 Episode 4 - Aired 10/19/2018

    MacGyver and Riley, with the help of Vasil, a distraught father, must find a way to drive a tanker filled with liquid oxygen through a region occupied by rebels and deliver it to a children’s hospital before they run out. Also, Riley helps MacGyver decide whether or not to allow his father back into his life.

    Director: Peter Weller

    Writer: Rob Pearlstein

  • C8H7ClO + Nano-Trackers + Resistance + Maldives + Mind Games
    7.3/10736 votes
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    #15 - C8H7ClO + Nano-Trackers + Resistance + Maldives + Mind Games

    Season 5 Episode 11 - Aired 3/26/2021

    Mac and Riley head overseas together to prevent a governmental collapse and inadvertently inhale new deadly microscopic technology.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Scissors
    7.4/10738 votes
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    #16 - Scissors

    Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 12/16/2016

    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

    Writer: Lindsey Allen, Nancy Kiu

  • Ruler
    7.4/10667 votes
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    #17 - Ruler

    Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 2/24/2017

    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

  • Muscle Car + Paper Clips
    7.4/10610 votes
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    #18 - Muscle Car + Paper Clips

    Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 10/6/2017

    Using a necklace and a microwave transmitter, Mac and the team attempt to locate Riley after her first solo mission with a group of dangerous hackers goes off the rails

    Director: Ericson Core

    Writer: Nancy Kiu

  • Jet Engine + Pickup Truck
    7.4/10596 votes
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    #19 - Jet Engine + Pickup Truck

    Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 11/3/2017

    Using a cassette player and a plastic bucket, Mac and the team attempt to extinguish a massive oil wellhead fire in a Nigerian village, set by a rebel group, which is trying to topple its government by destroying their most valuable resource.

    Director: Stephen Herek

    Writer: Andrew Karlsruher

  • Right + Wrong + Both + Neither
    7.4/10497 votes
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    #20 - Right + Wrong + Both + Neither

    Season 4 Episode 6 - Aired 3/13/2020

    When Russ’ first love, Emilia, is kidnapped by the same rebels he fought during his private military contract days, he takes the Phoenix team to a small, impoverished town to rescue her and rid the town of the rebels for good.

    Director: Roderick Davis

    Writer: Andrew Klein

  • Quarantine + N95 + Landline + Telescope + Social Distance
    7.4/10665 votes
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    #21 - Quarantine + N95 + Landline + Telescope + Social Distance

    Season 5 Episode 6 - Aired 1/22/2021

    During COVID-19’s first stay-at-home order, as Mac, Bozer and Riley quarantine together, they try to stop a crime in progress at their neighbor’s house. Also, Russ’ romantic fling takes on a longer and more complicated turn when they quarantine together.

    Director: Andrew Ahn

    Writer: Andrew Karlsruher, Stephanie Hicks

  • Corkscrew
    7.5/10807 votes
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    #22 - Corkscrew

    Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/11/2016

    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

  • Screwdriver
    7.5/10738 votes
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    #23 - Screwdriver

    Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 1/6/2017

    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

    Writer: Craig S. O'Neill, David Slack

  • Magnifying Glass
    7.5/10681 votes
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    #24 - Magnifying Glass

    Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 2/10/2017

    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

  • Flashlight
    7.5/10685 votes
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    #25 - Flashlight

    Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 3/10/2017

    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