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The Best Episodes of Transparent

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

The Best Episodes of Transparent

An LA family with serious boundary issues have their past and future unravel when a dramatic admission causes everyone's secrets to spill out.

Seasons5

  1. Background image for Grey Green Brown & Copper
    8.5/10(6 votes)

    #1 - Grey Green Brown & Copper

    S2:E10

    Maura reconciles with her lineage, both past and present; Ali talks to Leslie about her academic future; Josh looks to Buzz as a father figure; Sarah tries to tie up loose ends.

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  2. Background image for The Letting Go
    8.2/10(12 votes)

    #2 - The Letting Go

    S1:E2

    Maura embraces her new journey, but nothing about life as a woman is easy -- making friends, finding a new community, and above all, coming out to her children. Sarah introduces her husband (Rob Huebel) to her ex-girlfriend Tammy (Melora Hardin). Josh pays a visit to his ex-babysitter Rita, as Ali gets closer to her trainer.

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    Director:Joey Soloway
  3. Background image for If I Were a Bell
    8.2/10(4 votes)

    #3 - If I Were a Bell

    S3:E8

    Boyle Heights, 1958. 12 year old Maura's femininity causes a clash between her mother Rose and her grandparents, Haim and Yetta. Across town, 12 year old Shelly quits the school play and stops eating but won't tell anyone why. Flash forward to 1966, where 21 year olds Mort and Shelly carry on a secret affair.

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    Director:Andrea Arnold
    Writer:Our Lady J
  4. Background image for Exciting and New
    8.2/10(4 votes)

    #4 - Exciting and New

    S3:E10

    The Pfeffermans escape their problems on land by taking a cruise together. Though the clan spends most of the cruise apart - venturing on their own journeys of self discovery - they ultimately find themselves coming together at the Seder that almost wasn't.

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  5. Background image for Elizah
    8.0/10(5 votes)

    #5 - Elizah

    S3:E1

    While working at an LGBT suicide hotline, Maura receives a distressing call from a young trans woman, Elizah. Afraid that Elizah will hurt herself, Maura goes on an odyssey through South Central LA to find the troubled teen and lands herself in the hospital.

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  6. Background image for Just the Facts
    8.0/10(3 votes)

    #6 - Just the Facts

    S3:E4

    Maura gets an exciting peek at the future with a visit to the plastic surgeon's office but fails to muster the same enthusiasm from Vicki on a fun night out. Josh visits an unusually upbeat Rita while Ali and Leslie struggle with intimacy. Sarah finds distraction from her personal troubles by spearheading an unorthodox approach to Judaism.

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Transparent

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  8. Background image for Off the Grid
    8.0/10(4 votes)

    #7 - Off the Grid

    S3:E9

    After reconnecting with Colton, Josh decides to move to Overland Park, until a concerned Ali travels to him, intending to bring him home. Feeling abandoned, Sarah has trouble controlling her rage. Shelly confronts Buzzy about his spending, leading to some unforeseen revelations. Newly single Maura has an exciting, surprising night out.

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  9. Background image for Born Again
    8.0/10(4 votes)

    #8 - Born Again

    S4:E5

    Maura revisits the night that Ali was born. Davina recalls memories of her youth and comes to terms with her troubled relationship with Sal. Davina and Maura each make a deal with God.

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  10. Background image for Desert Eagle
    8.0/10(5 votes)

    #9 - Desert Eagle

    S4:E8

    Maura yearns to forge a new relationship but finds the connection strained. Ali is drawn to rejoin her family. Out in the vast desert Josh tries his hand at shooting a gun, leaving Shelly rattled.

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  11. Background image for Why Do We Cover the Mirrors?
    7.8/10(5 votes)

    #10 - Why Do We Cover the Mirrors?

    S1:E10

    A funeral brings all the Pfeffermans together and reunites them with their past - Shelley and Maura with old friends, Sarah with her ex, and Josh with his teenage babysitter - who brings a 17-year-old boy. Just when they thought there were no more secrets, the family busts out a few more.

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    Director:Joey Soloway
  12. Background image for Flicky-Flicky Thump-Thump
    7.8/10(5 votes)

    #11 - Flicky-Flicky Thump-Thump

    S2:E2

    Josh has a pool party for his new band, but he and his siblings are caught off-guard when Maura and Shelly arrive together; Ali reconnects with an old friend; Sarah finds her past catching up with her.

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  13. Background image for Oscillate
    7.8/10(6 votes)

    #12 - Oscillate

    S2:E8

    Maura learns more about the trans experience; Josh heads down a reckless path; Ali and Sarah take Maura to the Idyllwild Wimmin's Music Festival.

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  14. Background image for Oh Holy Night
    7.8/10(4 votes)

    #13 - Oh Holy Night

    S3:E5

    The Pfefferman family gathers at Hineni to support Sarah's alternative spiritual endeavor. After the news of a close friend's untimely passing, a distressed Josh leans on Raquel for support. Ali ends the night by witnessing the pitfalls of Leslie's prejudices.

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  15. Background image for The Open Road
    7.8/10(4 votes)

    #14 - The Open Road

    S3:E6

    Josh hits the road with an unlikely copilot, stirring up some undeniable chemistry along the way. Back at home, Shelly becomes wary of Buzzy's outlandish spending while Ali sees God during a nitrous induced trip at the dentist's office.

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  16. Background image for Groin Anomaly
    7.8/10(5 votes)

    #15 - Groin Anomaly

    S4:E2

    Ali is blindsided when Leslie goes public with the details of their relationship. Sarah is ignited by a new connection with her daughter's former teacher, Lila. Josh unexpectedly encounters an ex. Shelly takes up improv. Ali joins Maura on her trip to Israel and their journey gets off to a bumpy start.

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  17. Background image for Moppa
    7.7/10(7 votes)

    #16 - Moppa

    S1:E4

    Maura finally comes out to Ali, and they join Sarah on a field trip to the mall - where they all get rude lessons in womanhood. Josh is forced to confront his past thanks to questions from Syd (Carrie Brownstein) about his longtime relationship with Rita.

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  18. Background image for Wedge
    7.7/10(6 votes)

    #17 - Wedge

    S1:E5

    When Shelly's husband Ed goes missing, Sarah, Josh and Ali set out to find him, and instead find themselves lost in their past. Ali can no longer keep Maura's secret from Josh, which sends him into a tailspin. When Maura runs into a Pfefferman family friend she takes a stand for her new identity.

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  19. Background image for Rollin
    7.6/10(7 votes)

    #18 - Rollin

    S1:E3

    Maura moves out of the family house and into a lively new apartment complex, just as Sarah needs a new home after dismantling her perfect life. Josh has to reconsider his sudden vision of starting a family, while Ali finds some new boundaries to cross.

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  20. Background image for Bulnerable
    7.6/10(5 votes)

    #19 - Bulnerable

    S2:E6

    Ali finds herself a little too close to Leslie when she seeks Leslie's advice on her UCLA application; Josh confronts Shelly about the past; Sarah uses a hard-won date night to explore some of her sexual fantasies.

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  21. Background image for Man on the Land
    7.6/10(7 votes)

    #20 - Man on the Land

    S2:E9

    Maura makes a new friend and has a rude awakening at the music festival; Sarah experiences liberation from an unlikely source; Ali makes an unexpected journey to the past.

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  22. Background image for Pinkwashing Machine
    7.6/10(5 votes)

    #21 - Pinkwashing Machine

    S4:E3

    Sarah tests a new parenting style and is shocked to discover that it works. Josh reconnects with Dr. Steve as tensions rise at home with Shelly. Drawn in by an intriguing new friend, Ali travels to Palestine. Maura makes a life-changing discovery about her family history.

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  23. Background image for Cool Guy
    7.6/10(5 votes)

    #22 - Cool Guy

    S4:E4

    Maura and Ali uncover new truths about their family. Shelly gets bold in her improv class. Sparks fly between Sarah, Lila, and Len and they set off to hatch a plan. Josh is haunted by the past.

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    Director:Sarah Gavron
  24. Background image for I Never Promised You a Promised Land
    7.6/10(5 votes)

    #23 - I Never Promised You a Promised Land

    S4:E6

    The family convenes for an unusual vacation and encounters a tribe of long-lost Pfeffermans. Ali pulls away from the rest of the family as her political convictions drive her to challenge the binary.

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    Director:Jim Frohna
  25. Background image for Babar the Borrible
    7.6/10(5 votes)

    #24 - Babar the Borrible

    S4:E7

    Sarah and Len divert a family outing to visit Lila's mom, leading to a blowup between the siblings. Ali breaks off from the group to visit her friend Lyfe in Ramallah while the other Pfeffermans engage in some questionably authentic tourism of desert life.

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  26. Background image for They Is on the Way
    7.6/10(5 votes)

    #25 - They Is on the Way

    S4:E9

    Back in Los Angeles, Davina's stay at the Pfeffermanhouse is rudely interrupted. The Pfeffermans float in the Dead Sea and Ali rushes to meet them but is waylaid at an Israeli checkpoint.

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Best Episodes Summary

"Grey Green Brown & Copper" is the best rated episode of "Transparent". It scored 8.5/10 based on 6 votes. Directed by Andrea Arnold and written by Noah Harpster, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, it aired on 12/11/2015. This episode scored 0.3 points higher than the second highest rated, "The Letting Go".