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Best Pachinko Episodes, Ranked

All 16 episodes of Pachinko scored and sorted — from the 9.6/10 high of S1E7 to the 8.7/10 of S2E1.

By Mira Vance · Editor & Lead Reviewer

Our rating: 9.05/10 average across 16 episode reviews (best 9.6, lowest 8.7).

Pachinko runs hot the whole way through — nothing dips below 8.7, and the spread across 16 episodes is less than a full point. But the shape of each season is different, and that’s the story.

Season 1 saves its peak for last. S1E7 “The Origin Story That Reframes the Whole Series” (9.6) is the high point of the entire run, the episode that goes back and recontextualizes everything you thought the show was about. The finale, S1E8 “The Grandmothers Speak and the Season Ends in Their Voices” (9.4), follows close behind by handing the closing minutes to the women who carried the family. Before that climb, the first season holds a remarkably even 9.0 line, with S1E4 “A suit that doesn’t fit, a song that does” (9.2) the standout in the middle stretch.

Season 2 is choppier. It opens at its lowest with S2E1 (8.7), still rationing hope after the leaflet falls, then jumps to its best with S2E2 (9.2), where Solomon learns to weaponize the dead. The back half slides: S2E7 “A watch changes hands, a marriage releases its hold” (8.7) is the other floor of the series.

Put plainly: Season 1 is the more consistent and higher-climbing run, finishing where it’s strongest; Season 2 trades that steadiness for sharper swings.

Season 1: 9.1Season 2: 9.0
678910S1E1: 9.0/10S1E2: 8.9/10S1E3: 9.0/10S1E4: 9.2/10S1E5: 9.0/10S1E6: 9.0/10S1E7: 9.6/10S1E8: 9.4/10S2E1: 8.7/10S2E2: 9.2/10S2E3: 9.1/10S2E4: 9.1/10S2E5: 9.0/10S2E6: 8.9/10S2E7: 8.7/10S2E8: 9.0/10
Every episode scored on tension, payoff, and rewatch value. Hover a point for the episode.
RankEpEpisodeScore
1S1E7The Origin Story That Reframes the Whole Series9.6
2S1E8The Grandmothers Speak and the Season Ends in Their Voices9.4
T-3S1E4A suit that doesn't fit, a song that does9.2
T-3S2E2A father comes home to die and a grandson learns to weaponize the dead9.2
T-5S2E3A kite goes up, a bomber drones in, and Sunja chooses neither man9.1
T-5S2E4A barn becomes a country, a phone call settles a life9.1
T-7S1E1A girl is born under occupation, a grandson tries to outrun it9.0
T-7S1E3A pregnancy, a refusal, a man already married9.0
T-7S1E5Osaka arrives, and so does the long ache9.0
T-7S1E6A son is named, a self is split in two9.0
T-7S2E5An empire ends, a household reorganizes around the man it was built to deny9.0
T-7S2E8A Son Walks Off the Page and a Mother Names the Shadow9.0
T-13S1E2A shirt worn once, a name worth one billion yen8.9
T-13S2E6A Waseda acceptance and a leveraged photograph8.9
T-15S2E1A leaflet falls on Osaka and the family begins to ration its hope8.7
T-15S2E7A watch changes hands, a marriage releases its hold8.7

Scores reflect our episode reviews. Tap any episode to read the full review, or browse the whole Pachinko season recap from the top.