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The Best Episodes of Spooks

Every episode of Spooks ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Spooks!

Binge this in 22h 25m•Peaking at 8.9/10

Tense drama series about the different challenges faced by the British Security Service as they work against the clock to safeguard the nation. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, and the series follows

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Spooks Season 7 Episode 7 - The Mole
    8.9/10(280 votes)

    #1 - The Mole

    S7:E7

    Harry is imprisoned and accused by MI5 of being the Russian mole. Lucas disappears to Moscow in a bid to gather intelligence and get to the bottom of Harry's arrest, whilst the rest of the team tries to prove his innocence on the Grid. But with so much evidence against him and a traitor among the team, things aren't looking good for Harry.

    Director:Sam Miller
    Writers:James Moran, Christian Spurrier

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  2. Spooks Season 3 Episode 10 - The Suffering of Strangers
    8.8/10(345 votes)

    #2 - The Suffering of Strangers

    S3:E10

    It's Fiona's birthday, and she's not going to forget it! While inspecting a possible Islamic terrorist safe house, they are kidnapped. With the threat of his son's, his wife's and Danny's life, Adam must choose who won't live to see another day, Fiona or Danny? The prime minister's life is in danger. Will MI5 give into the kidnappers demands? But then to everybody's surprise... Danny makes the ultimate sacrifice.

    Director:Alrick Riley
    Writer:Ben Richards

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  3. Spooks Season 7 Episode 8 - Nuclear Strike
    8.7/10(270 votes)

    #3 - Nuclear Strike

    S7:E8

    With the Russians launching a nuclear strike on London, the only person who can help the team in this desperate hour is the traitor amongst them. With the Russians hunting them down, the team ushers their traitor through London in a desperate bid to reach the codes, and the bomb, in time.

    Director:Sam Miller
    Writer:Neil Cross

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  4. Spooks Season 3 Episode 1 - Project Friendly Fire
    8.6/10(393 votes)

    #4 - Project Friendly Fire

    S3:E1

    Tom Quinn has disappeared after shooting his boss Harry Pearce. He also stands accused of assassinating the Chief of Defence Staff. Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee Oliver Mace uses this a pretext to launch a punitive investigation of MI5. Zoe, Danny and the team must prove Tom innocent and save the service from government takeover.

    Director:Jonny Campbell
    Writer:Howard Brenton

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  5. Spooks Season 5 Episode 1 - Gas and Oil (Part 1)
    8.6/10(347 votes)

    #5 - Gas and Oil (Part 1)

    S5:E1

    The government introduces Draconian emergency measures in response to a series of terrorist attacks. MI5 fears that influential establishment figures are behind the attacks and may be planning a coup.

    Director:Omar Madha
    Writer:Ben Richards

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  6. Spooks Season 10 Episode 6 - Deportation
    8.6/10(311 votes)

    #6 - Deportation

    S10:E6

    Harry finds himself facing deportation to America following the death of CIA agent Jim Coaver. After some new evidence comes to light about the recent attacks on the United Kingdom and the government's proposed alliance with Russia, Ruth and her former colleagues in Section D free Harry from CIA custody. Harry's suspicions see him going to another of his former Cold War adversaries.

    Director:Bharat Nalluri
    Writers:Sam Vincent, Jonathan Brackley

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Spooks

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  7. Spooks Season 2 Episode 5 - I Spy Apocalypse
    8.5/10(520 votes)

    #7 - I Spy Apocalypse

    S2:E5

    Tom's skills as leader are tested to their extremes when they take part in an Extreme Emergency Response Initiative Exercise (EERIE) to test their response to nuclear, chemical or biological act in central London, but when the power in the grid is cut and Harry starts to feel ill, they soon begin to suspect it's for real.

    Director:Justin Chadwick
    Writer:Howard Brenton

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  8. Spooks Season 2 Episode 10 - Smoke and Mirrors
    8.5/10(414 votes)

    #8 - Smoke and Mirrors

    S2:E10

    Tom ignores Harry's demands to end his relationship with CIA officer Christine Dale. Christine hands Tom a secure communication which she has accidentally received from high up in the CIA. It says that an American assassin has come to the UK for a hit and that the CIA are going to take him out, without informing Five or any of the security services. Tom can't tell Harry what he knows so enlists Danny and Zoe to help him. However, things start to go wrong and tonight's episode is all 'Smoke and Mirrors'. Will the truth be uncovered before something goes terribly wrong? Has Tom gone bad?

    Director:Sam Miller
    Writer:Howard Brenton

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  9. Spooks Season 7 Episode 1 - New Allegiances
    8.5/10(318 votes)

    #9 - New Allegiances

    S7:E1

    The team steps in when a British soldier is kidnapped by Al-Qaeda. Meanwhile, an old protégé of Harry's returns to the fold after eight years in a Russian prison - but whose side is he really on?

    Director:Colm McCarthy
    Writers:Neil Cross, Ben Richards

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  10. Spooks Season 9 Episode 7 - Dead Drop
    8.5/10(224 votes)

    #10 - Dead Drop

    S9:E7

    Lucas is plunged further into the depths of his past when Vaughn takes his manipulations to a new level. Ruth is approached and followed by an imbalanced council snooper who is convinced he's found a dead drop. She initially keeps her distance from him, but when her curiosity gets the better of her she ends up trapped in a situation not even he could have predicted. Lucas and Harry come face to face in the pursuit of the truth.

    Director:Edward Hall
    Writer:Anthony Neilson

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  11. Spooks Season 5 Episode 2 - Gas and Oil (Part 2)
    8.4/10(309 votes)

    #11 - Gas and Oil (Part 2)

    S5:E2

    MI5 has foiled an attempt to murder the Home Secretary, but the plotters use the new emergency powers to imprison Harry. The team must try to frustrate the coup before Harry is executed.

    Director:Omar Madha
    Writer:Ben Richards

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  12. Spooks Season 5 Episode 5 - The Message
    8.4/10(284 votes)

    #12 - The Message

    S5:E5

    The government publishes its report on the investigation into the death of seven terrorist suspects in a fire at a prison. Harry suspects a cover-up, then discovers that one of his team has been implicated.

    Director:Kenneth Glenaan
    Writer:Zinnie Harris

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  13. Spooks Season 6 Episode 8 - Infiltration
    8.4/10(237 votes)

    #13 - Infiltration

    S6:E8

    Ros is in grave danger after Bob Hogan discovers she's a traitor. Meanwhile, Harry's brought before Yalta's chief, whose identity shocks him to the core.

    Director:Stefan Schwartz
    Writer:Neil Cross

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  14. Spooks Season 8 Episode 1 - Uranium
    8.4/10(273 votes)

    #14 - Uranium

    S8:E1

    Harry is still missing, and there is one question on everyone's mind: is he dead, or alive? Section D discovers that Harry thwarted a clandestine operation to smuggle weapons-grade uranium into Iraq to justify the war. Now the rogue officers who masterminded the operation want their uranium back, and they are prepared to go to any lengths to get it. If Harry isn't dead already, is it too late to save him?

    Director:Alrick Riley
    Writer:Ben Richards

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  15. Spooks Season 9 Episode 6 - Cybershell
    8.4/10(237 votes)

    #15 - Cybershell

    S9:E6

    Relations between the CIA and MI5 are stretched after an American drone is hacked in Afghanistan whilst in British care, leading to the loss of American lives. Beecher - head of the CIA in London - arrives on the Grid to oversee installation of the US's advanced cybersecurity system, 'Cybershell', to prevent any future disasters. Lucas, out in the field, is tasked with protecting and delivering Daniella Ortiz to the Grid, the young ex-hacker turned White House cryptographer who holds the installation codes. When the Grid is hacked and locked down, the team is plunged into a nightmare. Will they escape and prevent the theft of all CIA and MI5 intelligence? Will Lucas be able to protect Ortiz when the hackers decide to cut out the middle man?

    Director:Julian Holmes
    Writers:Sam Vincent, Jonathan Brackley

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  16. Spooks Season 9 Episode 8 - Cat and Mouse
    8.4/10(240 votes)

    #16 - Cat and Mouse

    S9:E8

    The team faces their toughest challenge ever: tracking down Lucas North, their Section Chief, friend and one of the best agents MI5 has ever had. Harry decides the team are too close, and brings in a specialist to help with the hunt. But it will not be easy to find a man who has nothing left to lose, and as the search becomes increasingly desperate, Harry and Lucas become embroiled in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

    Director:Edward Hall
    Writers:Sam Vincent, Jonathan Brackley

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  17. Spooks Season 4 Episode 2 - The Special (2)
    8.3/10(325 votes)

    #17 - The Special (2)

    S4:E2

    Zafar and Adam race against the clock to uncover the latest bomb. As a new ultimatum is issued and Tash mysteriously disapears, the team is forced to deal with the possibility of a mole within their own organisation.

    Director:Antonia Bird
    Writer:Ben Richards

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  18. Spooks Season 4 Episode 5 - The Book
    8.3/10(291 votes)

    #18 - The Book

    S4:E5

    A neo-conservative group murder an ex-minister to cover up his past and then they hunt down the journalist who is threatening to blow the story and is under MI5 protection.

    Director:Jeremy Lovering
    Writer:Raymond Khoury

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  19. Spooks Season 4 Episode 10 - Diana
    8.3/10(305 votes)

    #19 - Diana

    S4:E10

    A former officer is convinced that MI5 killed Princess Diana and is determined to force the team to prove it.

    Director:Julian Simpson
    Writer:Howard Brenton

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  20. Spooks Season 6 Episode 10 - The School
    8.3/10(241 votes)

    #20 - The School

    S6:E10

    Hardliners opposed to the peace between Iran and the West have targeted a London school. Jo is captured by Redbacks, the mercenaries who abducted Zaf.

    Director:Alrick Riley
    Writer:Ben Richards

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  21. Spooks Season 7 Episode 6 - Accidental Discovery
    8.3/10(246 votes)

    #21 - Accidental Discovery

    S7:E6

    A teenage boy accidentally stumbles upon a government conspiracy and is instantly absorbed into the world of MI5, ending up on the run. Lucas and the team battle to protect the boy from those who wish to silence him. Harry receives a cryptic message from his asset in Russia which could be the key to bringing down the high-level MI5 mole.

    Director:Edward Hall
    Writer:David Farr

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  22. Spooks Season 1 Episode 6 - The Lesser of Two Evils
    8.2/10(482 votes)

    #22 - The Lesser of Two Evils

    S1:E6

    Patrick McCann, an IRA leader claims to have information about a nuclear attack on the UK mainland, can MI5 trust the IRA enough to give them what they want in return; 36 hours free of surveillance, free to do whatever they wish?

    Director:Andy Wilson
    Writers:David Wolstencroft, Howard Brenton

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  23. Spooks Season 3 Episode 6 - Persephone
    8.2/10(322 votes)

    #23 - Persephone

    S3:E6

    Zoe is tried for manslaughter when an MI5 operation results in the murder of an undercover police officer.

    Director:Justin Chadwick
    Writer:Ben Richards

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  24. Spooks Season 4 Episode 1 - The Special (1)
    8.2/10(342 votes)

    #24 - The Special (1)

    S4:E1

    When a devastating bomb explodes in central London, causing multiple deaths, a terrorist group with a hatred for human life claim responsibility. With their leader facing extradition, the bombers announce that crippling attacks will be launched at ten hour intervals until he is released.

    Director:Antonia Bird
    Writer:Ben Richards

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  25. Spooks Season 4 Episode 7 - Syria
    8.2/10(301 votes)

    #25 - Syria

    S4:E7

    The Syrian foreign minister tries to establish subversive contacts with MI5 at the opening of a cultural centre in London. Fiona is desperate to lead this mission and must confront her Syrian past.

    Director:Omar Madha
    Writer:Raymond Khoury

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Best Episodes Summary

"The Mole" is the best rated episode of "Spooks". It scored 8.9/10 based on 280 votes. Directed by Sam Miller and written by James Moran, Christian Spurrier, it aired on 11/24/2008. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "The Suffering of Strangers".