The best episodes of Transparent
Ranked by viewer rating, highs first. Lit marks on the season rail place this list across the run. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
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.
- 02
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.
- 03
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.
- 04
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.
- 05
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.
- 06
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.
- 07
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.
- 08
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.
- 09
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.
- 10
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.
- 11
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.
- 12
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.
- 13
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.
- 14
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.
- 15
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.
- 16
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.
- 17
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.
- 18
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.
- 19
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.
- 20
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.
- 21
I Never Promised You a Promised Land
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.
- 22
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.
- 23
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.
- 24
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 Davis reclaim the Pfefferman house from an unwanted guest.
- 25
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.
Shows like Transparent
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Shameless is a fiercely engaging and fearlessly twisted series.
