Best Episodes of Manhattan

#1 - Perestroika 8.21

Season 1 - Episode 13

Frank is given a life-changing opportunity. Charlie finds himself in the U.S. Army's hot seat.

Directors: Thomas Schlamme

#2 - Jupiter 8.18

Season 2 - Episode 10

A new era is ushered in with the first test of an atomic weapon.

Directors: Thomas Schlamme

#3 - The Gun Model 8.08

Season 1 - Episode 12

Akley becomes vulnerable when he tries to fix Thin Man's shortcomings.

Directors: Daniel Attias

#4 - The Second Coming 7.97

Season 1 - Episode 8

When British scientists, who have done extensive work on an Implosion model similar to Frank’s, visit The Hill, Frank gains some unsettling perspective. Charlie grapples with whether to tell Akley about the revelation he made about Plutonium, as well as his fate with their group. As Charlie and Frank both face grim predictions about the future of their prototypes, the stakes at home are raised when Abby discovers what is really happening to the Jews in Europe.

Directors: Daniel Stern

#5 - Last Reasoning of Kings 7.92

Season 1 - Episode 4

Frank grapples with haunting memories from his past and his erratic behavior gets called into question, putting his team’s loyalty to the test. The Hill receives a visit from a famed physicist, whose sudden arrival sparks curiosity among the scientists – and Charlie is assigned to escort him around the compound. Callie plots an escape.

Directors: Paris Barclay

#6 - Spooky Action at a Distance 7.85

Season 1 - Episode 9

Charlie and Frank are forced to work together for the good of the project. When they run into a problem, Frank turns to an unconventional resource.

Directors: Andrew Bernstein

#7 - Acceptable Limits 7.85

Season 1 - Episode 6

When Charlie is chosen to go on an important trip to Tennessee to see the country’s first plutonium reactor, tensions in the Isaacs’ marriage only deepen when Abby learns that Charlie is accompanied by Helen on his trip. Fritz has a medical emergency, and Frank’s attempt to intervene leads to a shocking discovery.

Directors: Michael Uppendahl

#8 - Tangier 7.84

Season 1 - Episode 11

A development overseas re-invigorates the hunt for a spy on The Hill. Charlie and Abby make a sacrifice when the plan with Frank is threatened.

Directors: Julie Anne Robinson

#9 - The Understudy 7.82

Season 1 - Episode 10

Wives explore their inner desires. Visit from dead "spy's" spouse. Winter explores an unusual solution to ignition problem.

Directors: Simon Cellan Jones

#10 - The Hive 7.82

Season 1 - Episode 3

As the news of Sid’s death reverberates through the compound, the base begins cracking down on security on The Hill, which creates new complications for the scientists’ work. With all files and case studies on lockdown, Frank’s team is locked in an uphill battle to resolve the Implosion experiment without Sid’s expertise, leading Frank to resort to creative measures. Charlie grapples with unsettling feelings about his group. Abby starts a new chapter. An MP looks for penance for his actions.

Directors: Christopher Misiano

#11 - Brooklyn 7.82

Season 2 - Episode 9

Days before the world's first nuclear explosion, everyone races to secure their place in history.

Directors: Michael Uppendahl

#12 - Fatherland 7.80

Season 2 - Episode 2

Frank discovers the real reason he's been taken captive.

Directors: Daniel Attias

#13 - The New World 7.79

Season 1 - Episode 7

Helen and Charlie deal with a crisis. Abby embarks on a journey of self-discovery.

Directors: Rosemary Rodriguez

#14 - A New Approach to Nuclear Cosmology 7.74

Season 1 - Episode 5

Tensions between Charlie and Frank escalate after Charlie takes a public jab at Babbit’s past, raising red flags and drawing the attention of Occam – leading Frank to find creative ways to protect his mentor. Liza suffers several blows of her own – and points the finger at the army.

Directors: Bill D'Elia

#15 - The Prisoner's Dilemma 7.74

Season 1 - Episode 2

A special shipment of the first sample of plutonium arrives at The Hill – one that could change everything. With the future of his team up in the air, Frank knows that having some of the precious material could make all the difference. As Frank desperately tries to keep his team alive, he learns that Liao has been detained by a covert outside party. Liza helps Abby find creative ways to survive life on The Hill. As the wives grow closer, competition escalates between Frank and Charlie in the lab.

Directors: Thomas Schlamme

#16 - Behold the Lord High Executioner 7.73

Season 2 - Episode 7

The hunt for a Soviet spy turns deadly.

Directors: Jennifer Getzinger

#17 - You Always Hurt the Ones You Love 7.72

Season 1 - Episode 1

Frank Winter and his team have been recruited to work on a project even they could know nothing about until their arrival. Once inside “The Hill,” a middle class bubble on a dusty foothill in the New Mexico desert, they begin to sense that this is no ordinary assignment. In fact, they are living in a town with the world’s highest concentration of geniuses, yet it can’t be found on any map, a place where men and women are torn between duty and their moral values, husbands and wives conceal the truth from each other and their families, the military keeps secrets from the scientists they chaperone, and the scientists keep secrets from each other.

Directors: Thomas Schlamme