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The Worst Episodes of MacGyver

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

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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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  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    MacGyver Season 2 Episode 18 - Riley + Airplane
    5.7/10(3 votes)

    #1 - Riley + Airplane

    S2:E18

    When Matty and the team search for a former government tech who stole classified intel and has been evading capture, they reunite with the Coltons, the family of bounty hunters, who are pursuing the same man for different reasons.

    Director:Antonio Negret
    Writer:Lindsey Allen

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  2. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 3 - Awl
    6.3/10(9 votes)

    #2 - 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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  3. MacGyver Season 2 Episode 16 - Hammock + Balcony
    6.3/10(9 votes)

    #3 - Hammock + Balcony

    S2:E16

    MacGyver, Leanna, Riley and Bozer pose as honeymoon couples at a resort in order to gain information about a Serbian war criminal from his newly married son. Also, Bozer wonders if Matty knows about his relationship with Leanna, and Jack recruits Elwood to help him break into Matty’s home.

    Director:Eagle Egilsson
    Writer:Justin Lisson

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  4. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 17 - Ruler
    6.4/10(7 votes)

    #4 - 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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  5. MacGyver Season 3 Episode 17 - Seeds + Permafrost + Feather
    6.6/10(5 votes)

    #5 - Seeds + Permafrost + Feather

    S3:E17

    MacGyver and team are asked to solve a locked-door mystery when a man working inside a remote, ultra-secure international seed vault disappears.

    Director:Alexandra La Roche
    Writers:Nancy Kiu, Lindsey Allen

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  6. MacGyver Season 2 Episode 20 - Skyscraper - Power
    6.7/10(3 votes)

    #6 - Skyscraper - Power

    S2:E20

    Mac and Jack attempt to rescue a billionaire’s son after he is kidnapped by a former Navy SEAL who uses an EMP weapon to cut off power and communication lines to the Shanghai skyscraper where the boy lives.

    Director:Peter Weller
    Writers:Brian Durkin, Josh Brown

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    The 20 BEST Episodes of MacGyver

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  7. MacGyver Season 5 Episode 6 - Quarantine + N95 + Landline + Telescope + Social Distance
    6.8/10(4 votes)

    #7 - Quarantine + N95 + Landline + Telescope + Social Distance

    S5:E6

    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
    Writers:Andrew Karlsruher, Stephanie Hicks

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  8. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 2 - Metal Saw
    7.0/10(11 votes)

    #8 - 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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  9. MacGyver Season 4 Episode 11 - Psy-Op + Cell + Merchant + Birds
    7.0/10(4 votes)

    #9 - Psy-Op + Cell + Merchant + Birds

    S4:E11

    Mac is placed inside a fake prison cell with a top Codex operative, The Merchant, in order to gain his trust and get intel on their next move.

    Director:Ericson Core
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 1 - The Rising
    7.2/10(13 votes)

    #10 - 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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  11. MacGyver Season 3 Episode 4 - Guts + Fuel + Hope
    7.2/10(5 votes)

    #11 - Guts + Fuel + Hope

    S3:E4

    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

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  12. MacGyver Season 3 Episode 7 - Scavengers + Hard Drive + Dragonfly
    7.2/10(4 votes)

    #12 - Scavengers + Hard Drive + Dragonfly

    S3:E7

    Matty sends MacGyver and team to Ghana to recover a hard drive from an e-waste landfill that is run by a powerful and violent man. But when Matty refuses to reveal what’s on the drive, other than a mysterious file called “Dragonfly,” the team speculates about what could be so important to her.

    Director:Gabriel Beristain
    Writer:Andrew Karlsruher

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  13. MacGyver Season 3 Episode 15 - K9 + Smugglers + New Recruit
    7.2/10(4 votes)

    #13 - K9 + Smugglers + New Recruit

    S3:E15

    After a surprising introduction to Phoenix’s newest recruit, Desi, MacGyver and team are assigned to escort and protect an ATF (alcohol, tobacco, firearms) gun-sniffing dog who has a bounty on his head, only to discover they’re not the only ones crashing the weapon drop.

    Director:Gabriel Beristain
    Writer:Rob Pearlstein

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  14. MacGyver Season 3 Episode 18 - Murdoc + Helman + Hit
    7.2/10(4 votes)

    #14 - Murdoc + Helman + Hit

    S3:E18

    When Nicholas Helman resurfaces to carry out a killing spree, the Phoenix is forced to get help from the one person who knows him best… his protégé, Murdoc.

    Director:Roderick Davis
    Writer:Lee David Zlotoff

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  15. MacGyver Season 4 Episode 8 - Father + Son + Father + Matriarch
    7.2/10(4 votes)

    #15 - Father + Son + Father + Matriarch

    S4:E8

    After Oversight is almost killed in a bombing, he recruits Mac to help him find the suspected bomber, Mason. However, when Mason reveals he didn’t plant the bomb, the three team up to track down Codex, the shadow organization that set them up. Also, Mac meets his aunt Gwendolyn.

    Director:David Straiton
    Writer:Travis Fickett

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  16. MacGyver Season 1 Episode 19 - Compass
    7.3/10(3 votes)

    #16 - 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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  17. MacGyver Season 2 Episode 17 - Bear Trap + Mob Boss
    7.3/10(6 votes)

    #17 - Bear Trap + Mob Boss

    S2:E17

    Mac, Jack and Riley set out to find a mobster-turned-informant after he’s kidnapped and taken to Chernobyl by an international crime boss who’s worried he will deliver incriminating information to the CIA. Also, Bozer struggles to keep a secret from Matty.

    Director:Steven A. Adelson
    Writer:Nancy Kiu

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  18. MacGyver Season 2 Episode 19 - Benjamin Franklin + Grey Duffle
    7.3/10(3 votes)

    #18 - Benjamin Franklin + Grey Duffle

    S2:E19

    As Mac and the team investigate the suspicious death of Dawn's CIA supervisor, the evidence leads to a dirty CIA agent and a massive counterfeiting ring.

    Director:Sharat Raju
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. MacGyver Season 3 Episode 1 - Improvise
    7.4/10(8 votes)

    #19 - Improvise

    S3:E1

    Three months after quitting the Phoenix Foundation and moving to Nigeria, Mac puts aside his differences with his father and returns when he hears Jack is the target of a murderous dictator he double-crossed.

    Director:Stephen Herek
    Writers:Peter M. Lenkov, Craig S. O'Neill

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  20. MacGyver Season 3 Episode 3 - Bozer + Booze + Back to School
    7.5/10(4 votes)

    #20 - Bozer + Booze + Back to School

    S3:E3

    MacGyver, Riley, Bozer and Leanna go undercover on a college campus to smoke out a deep-cover operative who is recruiting students to carry out deadly attacks around the world. Also, Jack joins bounty hunter Billy Colton in the hunt for a bail jumper but is concerned when he finds out Billy offered Riley a job.

    Director:Tessa Blake
    Writer:Nancy Kiu

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  21. MacGyver Season 3 Episode 6 - Murdoc + MacGyver + Murdoc
    7.5/10(4 votes)

    #21 - Murdoc + MacGyver + Murdoc

    S3:E6

    Murdoc abducts MacGyver’s girlfriend, Nasha, to force Mac to help him rescue his son, Cassian, from a kidnapper. Also, a dangerous individual from Murdoc’s personal life shows up, giving Mac a glimpse into the villain’s past.

    Director:Stephen Herek
    Writer:Craig S. O'Neill

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  22. MacGyver Season 3 Episode 10 - Matty + Ethan + Fidelity
    7.5/10(4 votes)

    #22 - Matty + Ethan + Fidelity

    S3:E10

    Matty reveals a shocking secret to the team: she has a husband who’s been undercover in a criminal organization called S-Company for eight years. When his status as a CIA agent comes out, Matty needs MacGyver to find and extract her husband before it’s too late.

    Director:David Straiton
    Writer:Andrew Karlsruher

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  23. MacGyver Season 3 Episode 13 - Wilderness + Training + Survival
    7.5/10(4 votes)

    #23 - Wilderness + Training + Survival

    S3:E13

    When MacGyver takes Riley and Bozer into the wilderness for a weekend of survival training, things take a turn when they run into a violent group of criminals who are searching the rugged backcountry for a lost crate of money. Also, Jack and Matty go on a road trip to place Matty’s ex-husband and his family in witness protection.

    Director:Brad Turner
    Writers:Andrew Klein, Josh Brown

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  24. MacGyver Season 3 Episode 14 - Father + Bride + Betrayal
    7.5/10(4 votes)

    #24 - Father + Bride + Betrayal

    S3:E14

    An international crime boss offers Matty a deal she can’t refuse – he’ll surrender himself into her custody if he’s allowed to return to the United States to watch his daughter walk down the aisle. MacGyver and team crash the wedding to ensure the crime lord doesn’t run, only to discover they’re not the only ones lying in wait at the event.

    Director:Avi Youabian
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. MacGyver Season 3 Episode 19 - Friends + Enemies + Border
    7.5/10(4 votes)

    #25 - Friends + Enemies + Border

    S3:E19

    MacGyver and Desi help a group of Syrian refugees who are being pursued by human traffickers. Also, in Los Angeles, Bozer is trapped in Oversight’s car which is rigged to explode.

    Director:Andi Armaganian
    Writer:Justin Lisson

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Riley + Airplane" is the worst rated episode of "MacGyver". It scored 5.7/10 based on 3 votes. Directed by Antonio Negret and written by Lindsey Allen, it aired on 3/30/2018. This episode scored 0.6 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Awl".