The BEST episodes of Perception

Every episode of Perception ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Perception!

This fascinating series features one of the most unique crime solvers on television, an eccentric neuroscience professor who is recruited by the FBI to help solve complex cases. Eric McCormack stars as Dr. Daniel Pierce, who possesses an intimate knowledge of human behavior and a masterful understanding of the way the mind works. Although Pierce’s mind may be brilliant, it’s also damaged as he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. Rachael Leigh Cook co-stars as FBI agent Kate Moretti, Pierce’s former student who has recruited Pierce to consult on cases.

Last Updated: 12/5/2024Network: TNT (US)Status: Ended
Dirty (1)
star
7.92
750 votes

#1 - Dirty (1)

Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 8/19/2014

When Donnie finds himself in a compromising situation, he calls Pierce for help. As the evidence begins to stack against Donnie, Pierce and Moretti struggle with their own fears and doubts, as they work to solve the case. During the chaos, Pierce must deal with his father after he assaults someone at the assisted living facility.

Directors: LeVar Burton
Watch Now:Amazon
Light (2)
star
7.86
1375 votes

#2 - Light (2)

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 9/17/2012

Moretti learns that there may be some truth to Pierce's conspiracy theory. Pierce's new doctor forces him to face the truth about Natalie.

Directors: Kenneth Biller
Watch Now:Amazon
Cipher
star
7.77
1497 votes

#3 - Cipher

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/30/2012

Pierce tries to crack a coded message left in a newspaper by someone who may be connected to a murder. But time isn't on his side as another victim's life could be in danger.

Directors: Deran Sarafian
Writer: Jerry Shandy
Watch Now:Amazon
Prologue
star
7.73
765 votes

#4 - Prologue

Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 8/5/2014

After a missing FBI agent turns up dead, Pierce is forced to face the one case he was never able to solve. When they discover that the killer is still out there, Pierce agrees to help Moretti, against the wishes of his therapist, Dr. Rosenthal, who believes it will only exacerbate Pierce’s condition.

Directors: Alrick Riley
Watch Now:Amazon
Shadow (1)
star
7.73
1421 votes

#5 - Shadow (1)

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 9/10/2012

A student tips off Pierce about a potential conspiracy to cover up the murder of a U.S. Senator.

Directors: Kenneth Biller
Writer: Mike Sussman
Watch Now:Amazon
Obsession
star
7.72
1058 votes

#6 - Obsession

Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 3/18/2014

Pierce's mental stability is questioned and his job threatened when he is accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend, Caroline Newsome. As the situation escalates, Moretti works to find the real stalker with help from a visiting inspector from Canada.

Watch Now:Amazon
Warrior (2)
star
7.71
1130 votes

#7 - Warrior (2)

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 8/27/2013

Morretti faces criminal charges after taking things into her own hands while working on a dangerous case. Pierce and Donnie strive to clear her name, but as conflicting evidence builds, even Kate begins to question her own innocence

Directors: Kenneth Biller
Writer: Amanda Green
Watch Now:Amazon
The Messenger
star
7.67
1511 votes

#8 - The Messenger

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/6/2012

When a young man in a cult claims to be hearing the word of God, Pierce must determine if it's actually the word of God or a life-threatening neurological condition. Pierce and Moretti must also figure out if his murder is linked to his drug past or his new life with an organization that may be scamming people out of their life savings. Roger Bart guest-stars as Ethan Kendrick, a high-powered IRS agent looking into the finances of the organization. Meanwhile, the university gives Pierce an award for his research.

Watch Now:Amazon
Romeo (1)
star
7.67
519 votes

#9 - Romeo (1)

Season 3 - Episode 14 - Aired 3/10/2015

After a student is found murdered, Pierce tries to find the killer while defending the victim's boyfriend, who is believed to be mentally ill and guilty of the crime. Meanwhile, Pierce must confront his feelings as Kate and Donnie prepare for their wedding day.

Directors: Kenneth Biller
Writer: Amanda Green
Watch Now:Amazon
86'd
star
7.63
1559 votes

#10 - 86'd

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/23/2012

Pierce and Moretti race to find clues when a serial killer from 1986 begins killing again. They catch a break when they learn that one of the victims is actually alive. Moretti's dad, one of the investigators on the original case, offers his daughter advice. Pamela Reed also guest-stars as the mother of the surviving victim, while Armin Shimerman is the victim's psychologist.

Directors: Deran Sarafian
Watch Now:Amazon
Blindness
star
7.63
1189 votes

#11 - Blindness

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/9/2013

When a series of bizarre public murders occur, Pierce realizes that the killer is trying to send a message about inattentional blindness, but Donnie doubts this theory. But Pierce has a trick up his sleeve that can prove his point, and they must scramble to piece together the clues before the clever killer can make any more examples out of innocent victims.

Directors: Jeff Woolnough
Writer: Nicki Paluga
Watch Now:Amazon
Cobra
star
7.63
1024 votes

#12 - Cobra

Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 3/11/2014

Tensions arise between the CIA and FBI after Pierce receives a tip that the CIA might be assassinating U.S. citizens. Things become more complicated when one of Pierce's close friends is murdered. Meanwhile, Moretti tries to overcome her trust issues with Donnie.

Watch Now:Amazon
Run (2)
star
7.60
585 votes

#13 - Run (2)

Season 3 - Episode 15 - Aired 3/17/2015

When Moretti goes missing the day of her wedding, Pierce and Donnie set off in pursuit of the runaway bride. They soon learn that Kate has been abducted by a dangerous person from Pierce's own past. Now, Pierce and Donnie must risk everything to save Moretti before it's too late.

Directors: Kenneth Biller
Watch Now:Amazon
Silence
star
7.58
753 votes

#14 - Silence

Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 8/12/2014

Donnie and Moretti are caught in the crossfire when a sniper shoots up the lobby of the Federal Building. When Pierce determines that the shooter is afraid of Extreme Low Frequency radio waves, he and Moretti take a trip to the Quiet Zone in Virginia, where they think the shooter is hiding out. Meanwhile, an alluring woman named Shelby Buchanan courts Donnie to run for political office.

Directors: LeVar Burton
Writer: Raf Green
Watch Now:Amazon
Brotherhood
star
7.58
1047 votes

#15 - Brotherhood

Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 3/4/2014

Pierce and Lewicki are caught off guard when Lewicki’s brother Kenny shows up unannounced. In an unwelcome turn of events, Kenny is named the key suspect in a homicide case, leaving Pierce torn between helping a friend and serving justice. Meanwhile, Lewicki is approached with a tantalizing offer that makes him question Pierce’s loyalty to him.

Watch Now:Amazon
Painless
star
7.57
913 votes

#16 - Painless

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/24/2014

When a prosecutor mysteriously drops dead in the middle of a courtroom, Pierce and Moretti go on the hunt for a killer. Meanwhile, Moretti and Donnie make some decisions about their future.

Directors: Eric McCormack
Writer: Jason Ning
Watch Now:Amazon
Curveball
star
7.57
1011 votes

#17 - Curveball

Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 2/25/2014

With the help of his hallucination, Hall of Famer Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown, Pierce fights for an autistic teen under interrogation for murder. Meanwhile, Dean Haley turns on the charm in order to convince a neuroscience prodigy to attend CLMU.

Directors: Greg Beeman
Writer: Jason Ning
Watch Now:Amazon
Inconceivable
star
7.57
798 votes

#18 - Inconceivable

Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 7/22/2014

When an infant is reported stolen, Moretti hunts down the kidnapper and makes a very bizarre discovery. As Pierce and Moretti investigate a related murder, they find that there might be another child out there who needs their help. Meanwhile, Donnie and Moretti discuss their future together when Donnie looks into buying a house in the suburbs.

Directors: Jeff Woolnough
Writer: Nicki Paluga
Watch Now:Amazon
Mirror
star
7.57
489 votes

#19 - Mirror

Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 3/3/2015

Pierce and Moretti uncover an international scandal while investigating the murders of a Bangladeshi diplomat and a Chicago reporter. Distracted by the case, Moretti struggles with preparations for her upcoming wedding to Donnie and turns to Pierce for help.

Directors: Elodie Keene
Writer: Katie Gruel
Watch Now:Amazon
Paris
star
7.56
954 votes

#20 - Paris

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/17/2014

Dr. Daniel Pierce’s picture-perfect new life in Paris is suddenly turned upside down after he is approached by the FBI legat to help with a dangerous international case. Meanwhile, his assistant Max Lewicki and Dean Paul Haley plot to get Pierce to return to Chicago.

Directors: Kenneth Biller
Watch Now:Amazon
Toxic
star
7.56
1179 votes

#21 - Toxic

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/16/2013

Pierce accepts an invitation to work on a case from a renowned environmental activist concerning a chain of abnormal neurological reactions in a group of young girls. However, upon examining the girls, Pierce discovers that a dark secret is at the root of their ailments. Meanwhile, Moretti questions Pierce’s motives in working on a case without her.

Directors: Jeff Woolnough
Watch Now:Amazon
Eternity
star
7.56
901 votes

#22 - Eternity

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 7/15/2014

When renowned neuroscientist Landon Jennings is found dead, Moretti and Pierce must figure out how someone could have gained access to his impenetrable study in order to kill him. Lewicki finds himself with twice the work when Pierce’s father James moves in with them.

Directors: Jeff Woolnough
Watch Now:Amazon
Pilot
star
7.55
2117 votes

#23 - Pilot

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/9/2012

Neuroscience professor Daniel Pierce (Eric McCormack) is recruited by a former student, FBI Agent Kate Moretti (Rachael Leigh Cook), to help out on a case involving the death of a pharmaceutical executive. But Daniel's schizophrenic hallucinations could potentially derail the investigation.

Directors: Alan Poul
Watch Now:Amazon
Kilimanjaro
star
7.54
1309 votes

#24 - Kilimanjaro

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 9/3/2012

Moretti and Pierce are called upon to solve a crime in their own backyard when a college student is killed in her dorm room. Pierce is forced into the uncomfortable situation of interacting on a personal level with more than one of his students, which forces him to confront difficult truths about his own past. The case comes just as Moretti is beginning to re-evaluate her relationship with Dr. Hathaway.

Directors: Tawnia McKiernan
Writer: Amanda Green
Watch Now:Amazon
Nemesis
star
7.53
1309 votes

#25 - Nemesis

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 8/27/2012

Pierce must take a deep look into his own life when he is brought into a case involving a schizophrenic. Meanwhile, Moretti stops at nothing to impress her new boss at the FBI. Guest star Tom Sizemore plays a top-level Irish mobster, while guest star Edward Furlong plays a would-be tough guy who may have played a crucial role in the crime.

Writer: Amanda Green
Watch Now:Amazon