The WORST episodes of Perception

Every episode of Perception ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst 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: 9/8/2024Network: TNT (US)Status: Ended
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Brainstorm (2)
star
7.30
504 votes

#1 - Brainstorm (2)

Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 2/17/2015

Daniel's father and his friend Dean Haley are faced with the decision on whether to allow Pierce to undergo a high-risk surgery for his traumatic injury. Daniel works on solving a different kind of murder case.

Directors: Andrew Bernstein
Writer: Jason Ning
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Possession
star
7.37
896 votes

#2 - Possession

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/8/2014

Moretti calls on Pierce to examine Elena Douglas, a woman who has confessed to murder and claims to be possessed by the Devil. Meanwhile, Donnie and Moretti’s wedding plans hit a bump in the road.

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Alienation
star
7.41
1149 votes

#3 - Alienation

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

Pierce and Moretti take on an extraterrestrial case when a woman reports that aliens have abducted her husband. When Pierce and Moretti arrive to investigate, however, they make a startling discovery. Meanwhile, things heat up between Pierce and his real-life girlfriend, Caroline, but his relationship could be jeopardized if he can't get his imaginary girlfriend, Natalie, out of his mind.

Directors: Greg Beeman
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Wounded (1)
star
7.41
1147 votes

#4 - Wounded (1)

Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 8/20/2013

Donnie tries to help a war hero suffering from a neurological disorder, but what starts out as a good deed ends up having major implications. Pierce gets an unexpected surprise when a fling from his past shows up.

Directors: Kenneth Biller
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Ch-Ch-Changes
star
7.42
1116 votes

#5 - Ch-Ch-Changes

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/25/2013

FBI Agent Kate Moretti asks Dr. Daniel Pierce to determine the mental competency of a man being retried for murder. But the trial takes a shocking and unexpected turn when Pierce’s findings question whether the person standing trial is the same person he was six years ago. Meanwhile, Moretti is unpleasantly surprised to discover that the Assistant U.S. Attorney prosecuting the case is her soon-to-be-ex-husband Donnie Ryan.

Directors: Greg Beeman
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Lovesick
star
7.42
1436 votes

#6 - Lovesick

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 8/20/2012

Pierce is called upon to help the FBI investigate the murder of a therapist. Moretti spends more time with Professor Hathaway. And Dean Haley uses Pierce as bait to get a wealthy alumni's widow to fund a new building.

Directors: Greg Beeman
Writer: Jason Ning
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Bolero
star
7.45
818 votes

#7 - Bolero

Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 7/29/2014

After Pierce witnesses a gallery owner die during a seizure caused by a video installation, he convinces Moretti that it was actually a murder. Their search for the killer puts them in the middle of a brazen art heist. As Pierce works on the case, he is forced to re-examine his relationship with Natalie.

Directors: Alrick Riley
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Shiver
star
7.47
904 votes

#8 - Shiver

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/1/2014

After a young victim with a developmental disorder is taken hostage in a bank robbery, Moretti brings in Pierce to interview the boy. When they finally track down the culprits, they discover the case is about much more than money. Meanwhile, Pierce’s estranged father James pays him a visit.

Writer: Raf Green
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Asylum
star
7.47
1085 votes

#9 - Asylum

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 8/13/2013

Pierce investigates a gruesome stabbing at a psychiatric hospital. Guided by his hallucination of Sigmund Freud, Pierce becomes convinced the hospital is full of dark secrets.

Directors: Greg Beeman
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Neuropositive
star
7.49
1056 votes

#10 - Neuropositive

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 8/6/2013

When Moretti receives a deathbed confession about the hit-and-run murder of a teenager from 1992, she calls on Pierce to determine the ailing man's credibility. The case becomes complicated, however, when the alleged killer's physician, Dr. Hutchins, reveals that his patient’s tumor has mysteriously disappeared. Pierce and Moretti must dig deeper into the past to uncover the truth behind a shocking series of apparent homicides.

Directors: Andrew Bernstein
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Faces
star
7.50
1693 votes

#11 - Faces

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/16/2012

Pierce is enlisted to help crack the case of a murdered mail-order bride. A twist marks the investigation when it's discovered the prime suspect suffers from an unusual condition. Elsewhere, Moretti is drawn to a handsome new professor.

Directors: Greg Beeman
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Caleidoscope
star
7.51
1133 votes

#12 - Caleidoscope

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 7/23/2013

Pierce and Morretti plunge into virtual reality to solve the murder of Kurt Simpson, a man who spent most of his time in a massive multiplayer online game called Caleidoscope. After creating an avatar of himself to investigate the crime, Pierce struggles more than ever to distinguish between reality and fantasy.

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Meat
star
7.51
494 votes

#13 - Meat

Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/24/2015

Moretti goes undercover to investigate the brutal murders of meat-company owners. Meanwhile, Pierce contemplates making a personal confession to Moretti.

Directors: Andrew Bernstein
Writer: Nicki Paluga
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Defective
star
7.52
1067 votes

#14 - Defective

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 7/30/2013

A new brain device to control tremors seems to have a defect that turns out to be far more serious than a technical malfunction, and Pierce partners with Donnie to investigate. Their unlikely alliance is tested when the case escalates to murder. Meanwhile, Lewicki learns a valuable lesson about dating.

Directors: Andrew Bernstein
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Nemesis
star
7.52
1306 votes

#15 - 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:AmazonApple TV
Kilimanjaro
star
7.53
1306 votes

#16 - 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:AmazonApple TV
Pilot
star
7.55
2113 votes

#17 - 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:AmazonApple TV
Eternity
star
7.56
899 votes

#18 - 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:AmazonApple TV
Toxic
star
7.56
1177 votes

#19 - 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:AmazonApple TV
Paris
star
7.56
952 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:AmazonApple TV
Mirror
star
7.57
487 votes

#21 - 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:AmazonApple TV
Inconceivable
star
7.57
796 votes

#22 - 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:AmazonApple TV
Curveball
star
7.57
1009 votes

#23 - 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:AmazonApple TV
Painless
star
7.57
911 votes

#24 - 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:AmazonApple TV
Brotherhood
star
7.58
1045 votes

#25 - 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:AmazonApple TV