The Pacific backdrop
Drama•Action & Adventure•War & Politics

The Best Episodes of The Pacific

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

Binge this in 8h 54m•Peaking at 8.1/10

Track the intertwined real-life stories of three U.S. Marines – Robert Leckie, John Basilone, and Eugene Sledge – across the vast canvas of the Pacific Theater during World War II. A companion piece to the

Airs on
HBO
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons1

All1

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Click to reveal
    The Pacific Season 1 Episode 6 - Peleliu Airfield
    8.1/10(2825 votes)

    #1 - Peleliu Airfield

    S1:E6

    Despite the suffocating 115-degree heat and a lack of clean drinking water, Sledge, Leckie and the other Marines confront the highly-fortified enemy as they attempt to capture the Peleliu airfield. After seeing his comrades badly injured, Leckie himself is wounded and evacuated from the island. Sledge witnesses the shocking truth about what is sometimes required to survive and fight another day.

    Director:Tony To
    Writers:Laurence Andries, Bruce C. McKenna, Robert Schenkkan

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. The Pacific Season 1 Episode 7 - Peleliu Hills
    7.8/10(2760 votes)

    #2 - Peleliu Hills

    S1:E7

    The Marines, including the newly christened “Sledgehammer,” continue the battle of Peleliu against an enemy determined to fight to the last man. Devastated by the loss of a revered leader, and witnessing unimaginable barbarity on both sides, Sledge veers to the very edge of moral collapse. Their objective finally secured, the Marines return to Pavuvu fundamentally changed by their experience on Peleliu.

    Director:Tim Van Patten
    Writer:Bruce C. McKenna

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. The Pacific Season 1 Episode 9 - Okinawa
    7.7/10(2861 votes)

    #3 - Okinawa

    S1:E9

    After battling across the island of Okinawa for more than a month, Sledge and the rest of the 1st Marine Division are ordered to relieve an Army division that has been in combat against the most strongly defended Japanese position on the island. The primordial conditions and the moral dilemma posed by the presence of civilians put tremendous strain on the physical and psychological endurance of Sledge and the other Marines.

    Director:Tim Van Patten
    Writer:Bruce C. McKenna

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. The Pacific Season 1 Episode 10 - Home
    7.6/10(2576 votes)

    #4 - Home

    S1:E10

    After the Japanese surrender, Leckie, healed from his wounds, leaves the hospital and returns home, while Sledge heads back to Alabama to be reunited with his family and Sid Phillips. Lena visits Basilone’s home and has an emotional meeting with his family. Leckie adjusts to post-war life by resuming his old job and starting a new relationship, but for Sledge, unsure why he survived the war seemingly unscathed, adjustment will require more time.

    Director:Jeremy Podeswa
    Writers:Bruce C. McKenna, Robert Schenkkan

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. The Pacific Season 1 Episode 2 - Basilone
    7.5/10(3352 votes)

    #5 - Basilone

    S1:E2

    Basilone and the 7th Marines arrive on Guadalcanal to reinforce Leckie and the rest of the 1st Marine Division as they continue to defend the crucial airstrip. Basilone plays a key role in repelling a nighttime Japanese attack, but suffers a frightful personal loss. After four months of continuous action, the exhausted and disease-ridden members of the 1st Marine Division are evacuated off the island.

    Director:David Nutter
    Writer:Bruce C. McKenna

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. The Pacific Season 1 Episode 1 - Guadalcanal/Leckie
    7.4/10(3743 votes)

    #6 - Guadalcanal/Leckie

    S1:E1

    In the immediate aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Marine Sgt. John Basilone prepares to ship out and confront the enemy somewhere in the Pacific, while budding journalist Robert Leckie enlists in the Marine Corps. Eugene Sledge, unable to enlist because of a heart murmur, says farewell to his best friend, Sidney Phillips, who is about to leave for boot camp. Exactly eight months after Pearl Harbor, the 1st Marine Division, including Leckie and Phillips, lands on Guadalcanal in order to secure its strategically vital airfield and prepare for the inevitable counterattack.

    Director:Tim Van Patten
    Writer:Bruce C. McKenna

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of The Pacific

    READ
  7. The Pacific Season 1 Episode 5 - Peleliu Landing
    7.4/10(2880 votes)

    #7 - Peleliu Landing

    S1:E5

    Basilone’s celebrity grows as he travels across the country on the war bonds tour. On Pavuvu, Sledge, assigned to the 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, is briefly reunited with Phillips and Leckie rejoins his company. Sledge then gets his first taste of combat as he, Leckie, and the rest of the 1st Marine Division meet fierce Japanese resistance while landing on the intricately and heavily defended coral island of Peleliu.

    Director:Carl Franklin
    Writers:Laurence Andries, Bruce C. McKenna

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  8. The Pacific Season 1 Episode 8 - Iwo Jima
    7.3/10(2849 votes)

    #8 - Iwo Jima

    S1:E8

    Increasingly frustrated by his role campaigning for war bonds, Basilone convinces the Marines to allow him to train troops headed for combat. Transferred to Camp Pendleton, he enjoys a whirlwind romance with an initially reluctant female Marine, Lena Riggi. But the couple know they are living on borrowed time, as Basilone is soon to take part in the Marine landing on Iwo Jima.

    Directors:David Nutter, Jeremy Podeswa
    Writers:Michelle Ashford, Robert Schenkkan

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. The Pacific Season 1 Episode 4 - Gloucester/Pavuvu/Banika
    6.8/10(2904 votes)

    #9 - Gloucester/Pavuvu/Banika

    S1:E4

    Finally enlisted as a Marine, Sledge trains for combat at Camp Elliott. The 1st Marine Division lands at Cape Gloucester on the Japanese-held island of New Britain. As Leckie and the other Marines battle the Japanese, they quickly realize that the more ominous enemy is the smothering jungle itself. Having survived Gloucester and stationed on the godforsaken island of Pavuvu, Leckie begins displaying the physical and mental effects of combat and is sent to a naval hospital on nearby Banika for psychiatric observation.

    Director:Graham Yost
    Writers:Graham Yost, Robert Schenkkan

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  10. The Pacific Season 1 Episode 3 - Melbourne
    6.5/10(3452 votes)

    #10 - Melbourne

    S1:E3

    Physically and mentally debilitated after the four-month ordeal on Guadalcanal, Leckie, Basilone and thousands of their comrades land in Melbourne, where they are greeted by adoring crowds and viewed as the saviors of Australia. While his buddies carouse, Leckie becomes deeply attached to an Australian woman and her first-generation Greek family. Meanwhile, Basilone is awarded the Medal of Honor and is asked to return home to help sell U.S. war bonds.

    Director:Jeremy Podeswa
    Writers:George Pelecanos, Michelle Ashford

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Best Episodes Summary

"Peleliu Airfield" is the best rated episode of "The Pacific". It scored 8.1/10 based on 2825 votes. Directed by Tony To and written by Laurence Andries, Bruce C. McKenna, Robert Schenkkan, it aired on 4/18/2010. This episode scored 0.3 points higher than the second highest rated, "Peleliu Hills".