best episodes of The Knick poster

Set in downtown New York in 1900, 'The Knick' is centered on the Knickerbocker Hospital and its staff, notably Dr. John Thackery, the hospital's brilliant chief surgeon who pushes medicine's boundaries, pioneering new procedures despite a severe drug addiction.

2 Seasons
20 Episodes
Canceled
Drama
Cast & Characters
episode image This Is All We Are
9.3/10 (1384 votes)

#1 This Is All We Are

S2:E10

Thackery ignores Zinberg's advice at Mt. Sinai and undertakes a risky, alternative course of action; Cornelia confronts Henry about the family business; Barrow's actions at the hospital construction site are called into question; Gallinger ponders a job opportunity; and Cleary steadfastly refuses to give up on Harriet.

episode image Get the Rope
9.1/10 (1557 votes)

#2 Get the Rope

S1:E7

The stabbing of a cop by a black man stirs up racial tension on the street and in the Knick, forcing Thackery and Edwards to take action. Everett returns to work and a changed OR. Barrow fears for Junia’s safety. Cornelia is impressed with Edwards’ ingenuity and Lucy is escorted home.

episode image Crutchfield
8.9/10 (1301 votes)

#3 Crutchfield

S1:E10

Refusing to collaborate with Dr. Zinberg on blood-transfusion research, an increasingly paranoid Thackery pushes himself to the limit, and beyond, in an effort to “solve the riddle” and beat his rival. Cornelia and Edwards arrive at a crossroads; Barrow trades one creditor for another; Lucy requests Bertie’s help. With the Knick in the midst of yet another crisis, Robertson calls for a vote.

episode image Do You Remember Moon Flower?
8.7/10 (887 votes)

#4 Do You Remember Moon Flower?

S2:E9

Thackery and Capt. Robertson's connection and how the doctor arrived at the Knick, are revealed; the problems between Edwards and Gallinger come to a head after a medical-board hearing about Gallinger's vasectomies. Later, Cleary and Harriet engage in a joint business venture; Lucy shares memories with her father; Barrow realizes the rising costs of living well; and Cornelia and Henry face a family crisis.

episode image Start Calling Me Dad
8.6/10 (1284 votes)

#5 Start Calling Me Dad

S1:E6

After testing out a new procedure, Thackery and Bertie vow to reverse a series of failures in the operating theatre. Euphoric after helping Speight, Cornelia finds herself less than enthusiastic about her status as the future Mrs. Phillip Showalter. Thackery entertains a salesman’s pitch; Everett considers how to help Eleanor with her grief; Barrow haggles over used merchandise. Edwards finds his clinic, and his career, in jeopardy after a surprise encounter.

episode image Not Well At All
8.5/10 (876 votes)

#6 Not Well At All

S2:E8

Thackery attempts a new cure in the inebriation ward; Brockhurst demands his "girls" be returned; Gallinger and his wife's relationship and Bertie's relationship with Genevieve go off in surprising directions. Later, Cornelia shows evidence of the company's wrongdoing to Henry; Barrow's marriage troubles come to a head; and Thackery performs plastic surgery on Abby.

episode image There Are Rules
8.4/10 (880 votes)

#7 There Are Rules

S2:E6

Faced with a quandary, Bertie decides to take matters into his own hands at Mt. Sinai, enlisting Algernon to help. Thackery investigates the efficacy of hypnosis, and takes an interest in a pair of conjoined twins. Lucy lobbies Henry for a gala invitation. Cornelia visits the brother of a deceased immigrant with ties to Speight. Gallinger dines with an unwelcome guest. Barrow previews a new home for Junia. Harriet agrees to make a change.

episode image Method and Madness
8.3/10 (1773 votes)

#8 Method and Madness

S1:E1

In the series premiere of this medical drama set in a 1900s New York City hospital, accomplished Dr. John W. Thackery is named chief surgeon and is pressured by a major benefactor to hire a black doctor as his top assistant.

episode image The Golden Lotus
8.3/10 (1125 votes)

#9 The Golden Lotus

S1:E9

A late-night crime sheds unfavorable light on the Knick, forcing Robertson to come up with hush money. Lucy goes to extremes to get drugs for an increasingly desperate Thackery, whose plea for an advance from a seller of patent medicines falls on deaf ears. Gallinger despairs as Eleanor’s behavior becomes more erratic; Cornelia and Edwards proffer different solutions to a shared dilemma.

episode image You're No Rose
8.3/10 (955 votes)

#10 You're No Rose

S2:E2

Dr. Thackery makes a move to return to The Knick, which the board frowns upon. Cornelia gets Cleary to do a dirty job, but it comes with a cost. Robertson makes a push for a new subway initiative. Barrow drives up construction costs. Lucy receives a surprise visitor from home.

episode image Williams and Walker
8.3/10 (862 votes)

#11 Williams and Walker

S2:E7

Fighting his nerves, Thackery readies himself to attempt to separate Zoya and Nika in front of a packed audience. After getting a surprise gift from her father-in-law, Cornelia attends a gala charity ball for the new Knick with other familiar guests. Barrow gets rid of a threat. Opal spoils the Robertsons’ good mood. Algernon gets a long-overdue spotlight in the surgical theater, but complications ensue.

episode image They Capture the Heat
8.2/10 (1190 votes)

#12 They Capture the Heat

S1:E5

Barrow can alleviate a debt if he treats one of Collier's wounded men and also urges Capt. Robertson to buy one of Thomas Edison's new inventions. Meanwhile, Algernon tries a new approach to hernia surgery, the health of Everett and Eleanor's baby worsens, and Sister Harriet and Cleary head to Chinatown.

episode image Working Late a Lot
8.2/10 (1117 votes)

#13 Working Late a Lot

S1:E8

Already on edge due to a city-wide run on cocaine, Thackery worries that Dr. Levi Zinberg, a Jewish surgeon and inventor, will steal his spotlight at the next New York Surgical Society presentation. Bertie continues his courtship of Lucy while staving off his father’s persistent demands that he leave the Knick. Cornelia, Speight and Bertie go to court in an attempt to keep “Typhoid Mary” Mallon quarantined. Gallinger tries to get Eleanor to move past her grief.

episode image Ten Knots
8.2/10 (1056 votes)

#14 Ten Knots

S2:E1

The hospital readies for its move uptown, while Dr. Edwards makes a play to be named permanent chief of surgery and Dr. Gallinger heads over to Cromartie Hospital in hopes of getting Dr. Thackery to come back to work. Bertie rebuffs Lucy's attempt to make amends. Ping Wu demands his prostitutes be given regular medical checkups. Speight tracks a new plague. Cornelia ministers to a quarantined San Francisco neighborhood.

episode image Wonderful Surprises
8.2/10 (888 votes)

#15 Wonderful Surprises

S2:E4

Abby’s worsening condition persuades Thackery to test out his novel syphilis treatment. Edwards comes clean to Opal, but does not get the response he expects. Cleary makes a last-ditch effort to raise funds for Harriet as her date in court arrives. Bertie undergoes physical training. Barrow loses a sponsor. Gallinger’s prejudices are reinforced. Cornelia probes a suspicious death. Lucy laments her lot in life.

episode image Whiplash
8.2/10 (884 votes)

#16 Whiplash

S2:E5

A subway explosion leads to an influx of patients at The Knick, but little margin for profit. Pursued by Henry, Lucy takes to heart advice from one of Ping Wu’s girls. An addict’s misfortune gives Thackery an ideal test case for his latest theory on addiction. Bertie submits his adrenalin research to Zinberg. Cornelia gets a new clue in Speight’s death. Barrow repays a debt but gets no credit. Genevieve charms the Chickerings. Harriet finds herself a boarding-house pariah.

episode image Where's the Dignity?
8.0/10 (1206 votes)

#17 Where's the Dignity?

S1:E4

During surgery, Thackery's hand is forced by Algernon, which irks Gallinger. A recovering Abigail regrets her involvement with Thackery and Sister Harriet and Cleary make a couple of deals. Meanwhile, Bertie receives a scolding from his physician father who is unhappy with his son's career path and Lucy becomes privy to Thackery's secrets.

episode image The Best with the Best to Get the Best
8.0/10 (900 votes)

#18 The Best with the Best to Get the Best

S2:E3

Thackery enlists Edwards to help him test a new hypothesis. After rejecting Robertson’s advances at The Knick, Lucy learns that confession isn’t always good for the soul. Young journalist Genevieve Everidge works on a story about one of Thackery’s rivals. Cornelia is dismayed by the limits of her husband’s sympathies. Barrow faces a new adversary at Tammany Hall. Gallinger is intrigued by a discussion of eugenics at a class reunion. Edwards deals with a surprise visitor.

episode image Mr. Paris Shoes
7.9/10 (1407 votes)

#19 Mr. Paris Shoes

S1:E2

Already fuming over the hospital's faulty new electrical system, Thackery tasks Herman Barrow, the Knick's crooked superintendent, to deliver more cadavers so that he and his team can test out novel surgical procedures. With more patients dying, Edwards offers to share a procedure he learned in France, but is rebuffed by Thackery and Gallinger. Robertson addresses a typhoid-fever outbreak, Elkins is taken into Thackery's confidence and Sister Harriet breaks a taboo. Edwards finds an alternative way to perform his duties.

episode image The Busy Flea
7.9/10 (1294 votes)

#20 The Busy Flea

S1:E3

Thackery weighs performing surgery on a former flame, and orders Gallinger and Chickering to experiment on pigs. Barrow goes the extra yard to square a debt. After a bad day at work, Edwards takes out his frustrations at a local bar. Robertson is relieved when her pleas about treating a patient with typhoid fever are finally heard.

Cast & Chracters

character image Dr. John Thackery

Dr. John Thackery

Actor: Clive Owen
character image Dr. Algernon Edwards

Dr. Algernon Edwards

Actor: André Holland
character image Herman Barrow

Herman Barrow

Actor: Jeremy Bobb
character image Cornelia Robertson

Cornelia Robertson

Actor: Juliet Rylance
character image Lucy Elkins

Lucy Elkins

Actor: Eve Hewson
character image Dr. Bertram “Bertie" Chickering, Jr.

Dr. Bertram “Bertie" Chickering, Jr.

Actor: Michael Angarano
character image Sister Harriet

Sister Harriet

Actor: Cara Seymour
character image Dr. Everett Gallinger

Dr. Everett Gallinger

Actor: Eric Johnson
character image Tom Cleary

Tom Cleary

Actor: Chris Sullivan

The highest rated episode of The Knick is "This Is All We Are" (S2E10) with a rating of 9.30.

This episode received 1,384 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Mr. Paris Shoes" (S1E2) with a rating of 7.90.

This episode received 1,407 votes.

The highest rated episode is "Get the Rope" (S1E7) with a rating of 9.10.

This episode received 1,557 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Mr. Paris Shoes" (S1E2) with a rating of 7.90.

This episode received 1,407 votes.

The highest rated episode is "This Is All We Are" (S2E10) with a rating of 9.30.

This episode received 1,384 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "The Best with the Best to Get the Best" (S2E3) with a rating of 8.00.

This episode received 900 votes.

Name Department Job
Howard Cummings Art Production Design
Laura Ballinger Art Art Direction
Regina Graves Art Set Decoration
Ellen Mirojnick Costume & Make-Up Costume Design
Carmen Cuba Production Casting
Gregory Jacobs Production Executive Producer
Jack Amiel Production Executive Producer
Michael Begler Production Executive Producer
Steven Soderbergh Production Executive Producer
Cliff Martinez Sound Original Music Composer

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