best episodes of 12 Monkeys poster

The provocative story of Cole, a time traveler from a decimated future in a high-stakes race against the clock. Utilizing a dangerous and untested method of time travel, he journeys from 2043 to the present day on a mission to locate and eradicate the source of a deadly plague that will all but annihilate the human race.

4 Seasons
47 Episodes
Ended
Sci-Fi & Fantasy Drama
Cast & Characters
episode image The Beginning (2)
9.6/10 (2058 votes)

#1 The Beginning (2)

S4:E11

When all hope is lost, Cole must complete his cycle so that his younger self will one day arrive at the end with the answer.

episode image One Minute More
9.3/10 (1261 votes)

#2 One Minute More

S4:E9

The beginning of the end as Cole and Cassie embark on their final mission.

episode image The Beginning (1)
9.3/10 (1344 votes)

#3 The Beginning (1)

S4:E10

The final battle against the Witness as the fate of time and mankind hangs in the balance. All the pieces finally come together to mark the end of the beginning.

episode image Witness
9.2/10 (1325 votes)

#4 Witness

S3:E10

The final battle with the Witness begins.

episode image Lullaby
9.1/10 (1474 votes)

#5 Lullaby

S2:E8

Jones comes to the disheartening realization that time travel is humanity's true enemy and that as its architect she needs to be stopped, and so she sends Railly back to the year 2020 with orders to undo all of it.

episode image Memory of Tomorrow
9.1/10 (1401 votes)

#6 Memory of Tomorrow

S2:E13

Cole and Railly have finally found peace living in the past. When a mysterious woman with apocalyptic visions of the future tells Cole it's not over, he must do the unthinkable to save the world... and the woman he loves.

episode image Thief
9.1/10 (1161 votes)

#7 Thief

S3:E9

The reason why the Witness wants to destroy time and all reality is revealed.

episode image Blood Washed Away
9.0/10 (1280 votes)

#8 Blood Washed Away

S2:E12

Cole and Railly attempt to stop the final paradox in the past while Ramse, Jennifer and Deacon struggle to survive the apocalypse in a last ditch effort to find the Witness.

episode image Resurrection
8.8/10 (1228 votes)

#9 Resurrection

S2:E11

With the temporal facility on the verge of destruction, Cole and Jones find themselves in the middle of a coup. After a violent encounter ends in an unexpected tragedy, Cole is sent back to 1957 in a last-ditch effort to save humanity while the rest embark on a caravan across the apocalypse to find Titan -- the stronghold of the Witness.

episode image After
8.8/10 (903 votes)

#10 After

S4:E5

A clue to breaking the cycle leads Cole and Cassie to the 1960s. Christopher Lloyd returns as Zalmon Shaw, a devoted follower of the Witness.

episode image Die Glocke
8.8/10 (961 votes)

#11 Die Glocke

S4:E6

The team infiltrates a Nazi gala to steal an artifact known as 'Die Glocke'. Their operation comes undone when French Resistance interferes and an unexpected guest arrives.

episode image Demons
8.8/10 (906 votes)

#12 Demons

S4:E8

Everything changes when the team finally climbs the steps... and rings the bell in the Middle Ages.

episode image Nurture
8.7/10 (934 votes)

#13 Nurture

S3:E7

Cole and Railly find themselves at opposite ends of an unspeakable decision. Jones grows suspicious while Railly turns to an emotional ally for advice. All hell breaks loose during a massive fire-fight.

episode image Brothers
8.6/10 (969 votes)

#14 Brothers

S3:E4

Ramse and Cole splinter to 2007 expecting either a trap - or a final chance to kill The Witness. But when Cole discovers a heartbreaking truth, he’ll discover that the mission was both.

episode image Paradox
8.5/10 (1423 votes)

#15 Paradox

S1:E12

With Cole dying from the effects of time-travel, Railly must find the one person who can save him.

episode image Causality
8.5/10 (968 votes)

#16 Causality

S3:E5

Out of time and in need of answers, Jennifer and Deacon are sent to 1989 to steal the a sacred document. Can Railly and Cole get to the Word first before it reveals the one secret they want kept?

episode image 45 RPM
8.5/10 (840 votes)

#17 45 RPM

S4:E3

Cassie travels back in time to confront a younger Olivia; Cole helps Jennifer find the meaning behind her final Primary vision.

episode image Daughters
8.5/10 (855 votes)

#18 Daughters

S4:E7

Jones sends Hannah back in time to 2007 on a personal mission that could be the key to everything.

episode image Arms of Mine
8.4/10 (1355 votes)

#19 Arms of Mine

S1:E13

Cole and Railly attempt a final confrontation with their closest enemies, while Jones faces a new threat to all that she's accomplished.

episode image Guardians
8.4/10 (887 votes)

#20 Guardians

S3:E2

While searching for Jennifer Goines in post-WWI France, Cole and Jones encounter a dangerous group of time- travelers - the Guardians.

episode image Masks
8.4/10 (891 votes)

#21 Masks

S3:E8

Former friends, now enemies, race to find the Witness in 1904, who, at last, reveals his face.

episode image The Keys
8.3/10 (1492 votes)

#22 The Keys

S1:E7

Cole, Dr. Railly and Aaron strive to stop the virus from being deployed as a bioweapon in Chechnya.

episode image Shonin
8.3/10 (1359 votes)

#23 Shonin

S1:E11

Cole splinters to Tokyo, 1987 in a last chance effort to stop the Army of the 12 Monkeys.

episode image Emergence
8.3/10 (1026 votes)

#24 Emergence

S2:E4

When Cole and Cassie are stranded in 1944, Jones must turn to the person she trusts the least to bring them home -- Ramse. For Ramse, this mission will give him a chance to atone for his sins -- but can he mend the broken relations between Cole and Railly? Meanwhile, Jones visits Old Jennifer Goines to explore the true nature of Time - and the Twelve’s method to destroy it.

episode image Meltdown
8.3/10 (1028 votes)

#25 Meltdown

S2:E7

Cole faces the Witness as Cassie's hallucinations evolve; deadly visitors from the past arrive when the time machine malfunctions and begins tearing apart time and space.

episode image Mother
8.3/10 (952 votes)

#26 Mother

S3:E1

In the apocalypse of 2163, a desperate Cole searches for Titan. Meanwhile, a captive Railly is faced with an impossible choice as the 12 Monkeys await the arrival of The Witness.

episode image Nature
8.3/10 (857 votes)

#27 Nature

S3:E6

In 1953, Cole and Railly reunite with Agent Gale at the birth of the Army of the 12 Monkeys.

episode image The End
8.2/10 (908 votes)

#28 The End

S4:E1

The final conflict with the Army of the 12 Monkeys begins when the Witness returns to Project Splinter.

episode image Ouroboros
8.2/10 (841 votes)

#29 Ouroboros

S4:E2

Travelers come face to face with ghosts from their past when they find themselves maneuvering around their own timelines.

episode image Legacy
8.2/10 (807 votes)

#30 Legacy

S4:E4

Team Splinter goes back in time to the wild, wild frontier in search of a weapon to destroy the Witness.

episode image Primary
8.1/10 (1076 votes)

#31 Primary

S2:E2

Cole gets stranded in 2016 after an attempt to destroy the virus changes the future. Jones and Railly deal with the consequences of the changed timeline.

episode image One Hundred Years
8.1/10 (1029 votes)

#32 One Hundred Years

S2:E3

Despite the growing tension between them, Cole and Cassie time travel to New York during World War II to track down a dangerous member of the Twelve.

episode image Bodies of Water
8.1/10 (991 votes)

#33 Bodies of Water

S2:E5

In the present, Cassie and Jennifer Goines run from the 12 Monkeys; in 2044, Cole and Ramse face off against Deacon.

episode image Immortal
8.1/10 (983 votes)

#34 Immortal

S2:E6

Cole and Ramse travel to 1970s New York City to prevent the Twelve from murdering a Vietnam veteran with a connection to the Witness.

episode image Fatherland
8.1/10 (974 votes)

#35 Fatherland

S2:E10

Cole has his loyalty tested when Ramse and Railly go rogue, embarking on an unsanctioned mission that sends them to 1961 East Berlin. Once there, they have murder on their minds as they search for an unscrupulous German doctor who knows the location of "The Witness."

episode image Enemy
8.1/10 (851 votes)

#36 Enemy

S3:E3

Bonds of trust are tested when Ramse returns to the facility with an old enemy held captive. How far will Cole and Jones go for the answers they need?

episode image Hyena
8.0/10 (959 votes)

#37 Hyena

S2:E9

To save the last Primary, Cole must turn to a mortal enemy. Plus: Jennifer Goines, radical revolutionary?

episode image The Night Room
7.9/10 (1452 votes)

#38 The Night Room

S1:E5

Cole and Dr. Railly face off with the Army of the 12 Monkeys when both discover the Night Room –- an off-site, black ops lab that houses the virus that will one day destroy the world.

episode image The Red Forest
7.9/10 (1427 votes)

#39 The Red Forest

S1:E6

When the tragic events of the Night Room create an alternate reality in 2043, Cole risks his future.

episode image Year of the Monkey
7.9/10 (1157 votes)

#40 Year of the Monkey

S2:E1

Cole and Ramse repair their broken friendship while on the run; Railly and Jones navigate an uncertain future in 2043.

Cast & Chracters

character image James Cole

James Cole

Actor: Aaron Stanford
character image Cassandra Railly

Cassandra Railly

Actor: Amanda Schull
character image Katarina Jones

Katarina Jones

Actor: Barbara Sukowa
character image Jennifer Goines

Jennifer Goines

Actor: Emily Hampshire
character image Olivia Kirschner

Olivia Kirschner

Actor: Alisen Down
character image Deacon

Deacon

Actor: Todd Stashwick

The highest rated episode of 12 Monkeys is "The Beginning (2)" (S4E11) with a rating of 9.60.

This episode received 2,058 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Cassandra Complex" (S1E3) with a rating of 7.50.

This episode received 1,635 votes.

The highest rated episode is "Paradox" (S1E12) with a rating of 8.50.

This episode received 1,423 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Cassandra Complex" (S1E3) with a rating of 7.50.

This episode received 1,635 votes.

The highest rated episode is "Lullaby" (S2E8) with a rating of 9.10.

This episode received 1,474 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Year of the Monkey" (S2E1) with a rating of 7.90.

This episode received 1,157 votes.

The highest rated episode is "Witness" (S3E10) with a rating of 9.20.

This episode received 1,325 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Enemy" (S3E3) with a rating of 8.10.

This episode received 851 votes.

The highest rated episode is "The Beginning (2)" (S4E11) with a rating of 9.60.

This episode received 2,058 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "The End" (S4E1) with a rating of 8.20.

This episode received 908 votes.

Name Department Job
Charles Roven Production Executive Producer
Nathaniel Smith Production Co-Producer
Richard Suckle Production Executive Producer
Sean Tretta Production Producer
Terry Matalas Production Executive Producer
David Webb Peoples Writing Original Film Writer
Janet Peoples Writing Original Film Writer

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