The BEST episodes of Transparent

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

Mort gathers his three adult kids – Ali, Sarah and Joshua – for a talk about the future, but everyone is shocked to learn that it’s not a financial inheritance at stake, but rather the complex legacy of a secret life as a trans woman. Everyone’s relationship – to the world, themselves, each other, through the lens of boundaries, intimacy, sex and gender – is about to change.

Last Updated: 1/3/2024Network: Prime VideoStatus: Ended
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Exciting and New
star
8.20
327 votes

#1 - Exciting and New

Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 9/23/2016

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.

Directors: Marta Cunningham
Watch Now:Amazon
To Sardines and Back
star
8.12
337 votes

#2 - To Sardines and Back

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/23/2016

Relationships are tested as the Pfefferman family gather for Maura's birthday. Sarah confronts Buzzy on temple board politics and Maura makes a big announcement, experiencing pushback from both Vicki and Shelly. The night culminates in a game of Sardines, forcing tense situations into tight spaces.

Directors: Joey Soloway
Watch Now:Amazon
Grey Green Brown & Copper
star
8.11
371 votes

#3 - Grey Green Brown & Copper

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/10/2015

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.

Directors: Joey Soloway
Watch Now:Amazon
Why Do We Cover The Mirrors?
star
8.10
538 votes

#4 - Why Do We Cover The Mirrors?

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 9/26/2014

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. Just when they thought there were no more secrets, the family busts out a few more.

Directors: Joey Soloway
Writer: Joey Soloway
Watch Now:Amazon
The Open Road
star
8.08
296 votes

#5 - The Open Road

Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 9/23/2016

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.

Directors: Joey Soloway
Watch Now:Amazon
Oh Holy Night
star
7.99
323 votes

#6 - Oh Holy Night

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 9/23/2016

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.

Directors: Stacie Passon
Watch Now:Amazon
Just the Facts
star
7.90
343 votes

#7 - Just the Facts

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/23/2016

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.

Directors: Silas Howard
Watch Now:Amazon
Off the Grid
star
7.86
300 votes

#8 - Off the Grid

Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 9/23/2016

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.

Directors: So Yong Kim
Watch Now:Amazon
Elizah
star
7.85
349 votes

#9 - Elizah

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/23/2016

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.

Directors: Joey Soloway
Writer: Joey Soloway
Watch Now:Amazon
Symbolic Exemplar
star
7.80
561 votes

#10 - Symbolic Exemplar

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 9/26/2014

Josh goes on a date with Raquel. Ali explores her feminine side with a TA from Gender Studies class. The kids turn out for Maura's performance in a talent show, but her delight quickly turns to dejection.

Directors: Joey Soloway
Watch Now:Amazon
Man on the Land
star
7.80
409 votes

#11 - Man on the Land

Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/10/2015

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.

Directors: Joey Soloway
Watch Now:Amazon
The Wilderness
star
7.80
574 votes

#12 - The Wilderness

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 9/26/2014

As they struggle to come to terms with Maura, Josh looks for answers from a rabbi, and Ali looks for answers in a Gender Studies class with Syd. Sarah is left to answer questions from her own kids, who meet Maura for the first time.

Directors: Joey Soloway
Watch Now:Amazon
If I Were a Bell
star
7.76
313 votes

#13 - If I Were a Bell

Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 9/23/2016

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.

Directors: Andrea Arnold
Writer: Our Lady J
Watch Now:Amazon
House Call
star
7.76
141 votes

#14 - House Call

Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 9/22/2017

Feeling compelled to learn more about herself in Israel, Ali stays back as the rest of the family returns to Los Angeles. Sarah, Len, and Lila reevaluate their complicated relationship. Josh confronts his sex and love issues head on. Maura and Davina reclaim the Pfefferman house from an unwanted guest.

Directors: Rhys Ernst
Watch Now:Amazon
Kina Hora
star
7.74
476 votes

#15 - Kina Hora

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 11/29/2015

Sarah and Tammy are getting married, while Maura and Ali are visited by ghosts from the past and Josh and Rabbi Raquel can't hide their big news.

Directors: Joey Soloway
Writer: Joey Soloway
Watch Now:Amazon
Flicky-Flicky Thump-Thump
star
7.73
428 votes

#16 - Flicky-Flicky Thump-Thump

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 12/10/2015

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.

Directors: Joey Soloway
Watch Now:Amazon
When the Battle Is Over
star
7.73
349 votes

#17 - When the Battle Is Over

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/23/2016

After a health scare, Maura confronts death and her relationship to her body. Sarah hopes to join the MidCity Temple board. Shelly plans a onewoman show with Buzzy. Dissatisfied with their lives, Josh and Ali play married couple.

Directors: Silas Howard
Writer: Jessi Klein
Watch Now:Amazon
Best New Girl
star
7.73
555 votes

#18 - Best New Girl

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 9/26/2014

In a flashback, Mort escapes with a friend to a cross-dressing retreat in the woods, and becomes captivated with a very accepting woman. Left alone after cancelling her Bat Mitzvah, 13-year-old Ali finds trouble with an older man at the beach.

Directors: Joey Soloway
Watch Now:Amazon
Cool Guy
star
7.72
158 votes

#19 - Cool Guy

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/22/2017

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.

Directors: Sarah Gavron
Writer: Gabe Liedman
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Wedge
star
7.71
580 votes

#20 - Wedge

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 9/26/2014

When Shelly's husband goes missing, Sarah, Josh and Ali set out to find him but 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.

Directors: Nisha Ganatra
Watch Now:Amazon
Looking Up
star
7.70
535 votes

#21 - Looking Up

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 9/26/2014

Maura finds solace with ex-wife, Shelly, and the two hatch a plot to help Ed realize his wishes. Sarah spends time with her ex-husband and begins to question their breakup. Raquel finally breaks through to Josh. When all members of the family are summoned to Shelly's, they are in for a few surprises.

Directors: Nisha Ganatra
Watch Now:Amazon
New World Coming
star
7.66
450 votes

#22 - New World Coming

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/10/2015

Josh and Raquel ask Colton to move in; Maura and Ali meet a feminist scholar—and Maura's former nemesis—at UCLA; Sarah launches a sexual fantasy life with a domineering figure from her past.

Directors: Marielle Heller
Watch Now:Amazon
They Is on the Way
star
7.66
148 votes

#23 - They Is on the Way

Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 9/22/2017

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.

Directors: Joey Soloway
Watch Now:Amazon
The Letting Go
star
7.65
789 votes

#24 - The Letting Go

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/26/2014

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 to her ex-girlfriend. Josh pays a visit to his ex-babysitter. Ali gets closer to her trainer.

Directors: Joey Soloway
Writer: Joey Soloway
Watch Now:Amazon
Moppa
star
7.64
576 votes

#25 - Moppa

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/26/2014

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 about his long-time relationship with Rita.

Directors: Nisha Ganatra
Watch Now:Amazon