MacGyver and the team are in Malaysia to extract a terrorist group’s money man, Ralph, who holds key intel on an impending attack. But the mission goes south when the man is shot, and now, with only a driver’s license and hand sanitizer available, MacGyver must keep Ralph alive in order to learn the terrorists’ plans.
Mac and Jack partner with older versions of themselves, a Russian bomb programmer and his estranged handler, to shut down a Soviet-era warhead in Moscow. But when the antiquated computer needed to disable the warhead becomes inoperable, Mac must find a way to fix it with only duct tape and wire in time to prevent a new Cold War.
Mac and the team have no time to reminisce while visiting Mac’s and Bozer’s hometown when they immediately start searching for a kidnapped prodigy from Mac’s old middle school, Valerie. With just pliers and speaker wire available, Mac works doggedly to rescue the young genius he has so much in common with.
On the way back from capturing a war criminal, Mac and Jack’s helicopter crashes in a remote area of Kazakhstan, injuring their pilot and allowing their prisoner to escape with Jack’s gun. Using a large blade and a water bottle, MacGyver must get help as the pilot’s condition worsens and before the war criminal takes them as prisoners.
While tracking down the dangerous fugitive Aaron Deckard, Mac and Jack face the notorious Colton family of bounty hunters who already kidnapped their mark. Now, using a hook and a car cable, Mac must extract the criminal from the Colton’s, who are unaware of the deadly situation they’re in. Also, Bozer and Riley try to hack into Jack’s CIA file to find out about his history with Matty.
Bozer’s first overseas mission goes terribly wrong when Mac and the team are blamed for a terrorist bombing and the Phoenix Foundation is forced to disavow them. Using a ruler and coconut oil to make disguises, the team must avoid authorities and clear their names without any support from back home.
When Mac and the team travel to Hawaii to aid in earthquake relief efforts, they team up with Chin and Kono from the Five-0 task force to rescue a group of government scientists trapped in a building. However, as they work on the complicated rescue, a group using the chaos as a distraction aims to steal the top-secret weaponry from the scientists.
When MacGyver and Jack “steal” a priceless painting, using a table cloth and a shoe lace, in order to draw an infamous stolen art dealer out of hiding, they wind up getting conned out of the painting by the dealer’s team. Also, Riley’s estranged father, Elwood, asks to be part of her life, and Matty sends Bozer to a spy training camp.
When 32 college students are stranded on a research ship in the Arctic Ocean with no heat and erupting fires, Mac develops an emotional connection to the group leader, via video chat, as he relays how to stay alive as they await a rescue ship. Also, Jack kidnaps Elwood to find out what scam he’s up to next, and Bozer’s feelings toward Leanna grow stronger.
When Mac and Jack are trapped inside Mac’s house, which his nemesis, The Ghost, has rigged with explosives, Mac uses a karaoke mic and an audio transformer to let the team know that this bomb is a distraction for a bigger one. Also, through flashbacks, Mac and Jack’s contentious first meeting unfolds.
While Mac participates in a challenge for government operatives to create robotic combat machines, Mac must help his biggest competitor, Allie, when her vehicle is hacked and heads to the Pentagon. Also, Jack attends his high school reunion, hoping for a showdown with his old rival who beat him out for homecoming king.
MacGyver, Riley, Bozer and Leanna go undercover on a college campus to smoke out a deep-cover operative who is recruiting students to carry out deadly attacks around the world. Also, Jack joins bounty hunter Billy Colton in the hunt for a bail jumper but is concerned when he finds out Billy offered Riley a job.
MacGyver and Riley, with the help of Vasil, a distraught father, must find a way to drive a tanker filled with liquid oxygen through a region occupied by rebels and deliver it to a children’s hospital before they run out. Also, Riley helps MacGyver decide whether or not to allow his father back into his life.
When Oversight’s attempt to capture a drug cartel’s leader goes bad, MacGyver and Jack rush to Mexico to pull their boss out while racing through the heart of the country during Dia de Muertos celebrations. Also, Bozer and Riley use Halloween as a distraction to gather intel on a man accused of treason.
Mac and Jack hit the road for a weekend of relaxation in Las Vegas, but their mini-vacation is cut short when someone from their past abducts them and locks them in a concrete room. Also, Matty tasks Riley, Bozer and Leanna with stealing a diamond encoded with terrorist intel from a princess in Milan.
When MacGyver takes Riley and Bozer into the wilderness for a weekend of survival training, things take a turn when they run into a violent group of criminals who are searching the rugged backcountry for a lost crate of money. Also, Jack and Matty go on a road trip to place Ethan and his family in witness protection.
An international crime boss offers Matty a deal she can’t refuse – he’ll surrender himself into her custody if he’s allowed to return to the United States to watch his daughter walk down the aisle. MacGyver and team crash the wedding to ensure the crime lord doesn’t run, only to discover they’re not the only ones lying in wait at the event.
Matty’s ex-husband, Ethan, asks her for help when a criminal organization, S-Company, kidnaps his wife and daughter, forcing Matty to decide if she’s willing to commit treason in order to help him save his family. Also, Riley joins Billy Colton and Mama Colton on a mission to Paris and makes a heartbreaking discovery.