The Rifleman: Season 5
Season 5 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of The Rifleman Season 4.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 5 Progress Shield
Waste (1)
Oct 1, 1962 · 30 min
Marshal Torrance is heading home from a cattle sale with Lucas and Mark when the old lawman mysteriously disappears. They trace him to a nearby Mexican ghost town. (Part 1 of 2)
Waste (2)
Oct 8, 1962 · 30 min
Conclusion. After Alphonso's wife gives birth, the bandits holding Marshal Torrance relax their guard, enabling Lucas and Mark to rescue the old man.
Lou Mallory
Oct 15, 1962 · 30 min
Red-headed Lou Mallory arrives in North Fork and soon arouses the townpeople's suspicions.
Quiet Night, Deadly Night
Oct 22, 1962 · 30 min
Townspeople brace for the worst when a new girl arrives—with symptoms of smallpox.
Death Never Rides Alone
Oct 29, 1962 · 30 min
A gunslinger rides into North Fork for a meeting with Lucas.
I Take This Woman
Nov 5, 1962 · 30 min
Lou looks for a way out when the man her dying father promised her to arrives.
The Assailants
Nov 12, 1962 · 30 min
An assassination plot unfolds as four gunmen disguised as cavalrymen enter North Fork. Their target: Sen. Jim Borden. Their weapon: a Gatling gun.
Mark's Rifle
Nov 19, 1962 · 30 min
Sharpshooter Marty Blair tries to persuade Lucas to buy Mark a rifle.
The Most Amazing Man
Nov 26, 1962 · 30 min
Fast-draw artist Wade Randall is less than anxious to display his prowess.
Squeeze Play
Dec 3, 1962 · 30 min
A speculator will stop at nothing to grab Lucas's land.
The Anvil Chorus
Dec 17, 1962 · 30 min
A blacksmith-turned-deputy sets the stage for trouble when he demands that all townspeople turn in their weapons.
Conflict
Dec 24, 1962 · 30 min
Lucas's self-confidence begins to slip away when he misses an easy shot.
The Sidewinder
Jan 21, 1963 · 30 min
Gridley Mau is gunning for Lucas, who killed his father during an attempted robbery.
The Sixteenth Cousin
Jan 28, 1962 · 30 min
A Japanese nobleman seeks revenge when his servant is insulted.
Hostages to Fortune
Feb 4, 1963 · 30 min
At Halloween, rustlers take advantage of the seasonal disguises to raid a cattle ranch.
And the Devil Makes Five
Feb 11, 1963 · 30 min
A snake crawls into Lucas's bed, and Mark must lure it away before it strikes.
End of the Hunt
Feb 18, 1963 · 30 min
Lucas is thrown into jail to stop him from murdering an old enemy.
The Bullet
Feb 25, 1963 · 30 min
Lucas is baffled when the marshal of a neighboring town refuses to hold a gambler who just attempted murder.
Requiem at Mission Springs
Mar 4, 1963 · 30 min
Lucas begins a trek to find a cure for Mark, who is paralyzed after a bad fall.
The Guest
Mar 11, 1963 · 30 min
New arrival Mario Arsatti becomes very friendly with Lucas, but this turns out to be merely pleasure before business: he's been hired to kill Lucas.
Old Man Running (aka The Wanted Man)
Mar 18, 1963 · 30 min
Lucas, who blames his wife's death on his father-in-law, refuses to help the old man elude gunmen.
Which Way'd They Go?
Apr 1, 1963 · 30 min
The notoriously lazy Jackman brothers discover their mortgage has been foreclosed.
Old Tony
Apr 8, 1963 · 30 min
Mark and his girlfriend Laurie discover that an old hermit is very lonely.