Cold Case backdrop
Cold Case poster
Crime
Drama
Mystery

The Best Episodes of Cold Case

Every episode of Cold Case ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Cold Case!

The Best Episodes of Cold Case

The Philadelphia homicide squad's lone female detective finds her calling when she is assigned cases that have never been solved. Detective Lilly Rush combines her...

Filter By Season7

  1. 8.7/10(701 votes)

    #1 - A Perfect Day

    Loading...
    S3:E9

    When a fisherman finds evidence of a young girl's death washed up on a shore in New Jersey, Lilly re-opens the 1965 case of 4-year-old child who had a seemingly abusive mother.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Roxann Dawson
    Writer:Veena Sud
  2. 8.6/10(683 votes)

    #2 - Mind Hunters

    Loading...
    S2:E9

    The headless torso of a woman who disappeared in 1985, on the same day she filed domestic-abuse charges against her husband, is found by hikers in a wildlife preserve. The investigation quickly leads to the grisly discovery of 8 more decapitated bodies, the victims of a serial killer.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Kevin Bray
    Writer:Veena Sud
  3. 8.6/10(531 votes)

    #3 - Death Penalty: Final Appeal

    Loading...
    S3:E20

    The 1994 case of a raped and murdered 16-year-old girl is re-opened when Det. Jeffries gets a call from a prisoner on death-row -- scheduled to be executed in just three days.

    0 Comments
    View all
  4. 8.6/10(882 votes)

    #4 - Forever Blue

    Loading...
    S4:E10

    The team re-investigates the 1968 death of a policeman who was shot in his patrol car. The case was then ruled as a drug bust gone bad, but new evidence now reveals the victim may have been romantically involved with his partner.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Writer:Tom Pettit
  5. 8.5/10(822 votes)

    #5 - Best Friends

    Loading...
    S2:E22

    When an old truck containing human bones is pulled from the Delaware River, the team re-opens the case of a missing and possibly murdered girl who disappeared unexpectedly in 1932.

    0 Comments
    View all
  6. 8.5/10(578 votes)

    #6 - The Woods

    Loading...
    S2:E23

    The discovery of nine human skulls leads Rush (Kathryn Morris) back to George Marks, the serial killer she was unable to incriminate months earlier, and who walked away a free man. As the detectives reinvestigate his mother's murder from 1972, George is forced to emerge from hiding to face Rush again. This time, their very lives are at stake in their final showdown.

    0 Comments
    View all
  7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of Cold Case

    READ
  8. 8.5/10(804 votes)

    #7 - Rampage

    Loading...
    S4:E1

    Lilly investigates a 1995 shooting spree at a mall in which two teen boys killed 15 people before committing suicide. The case is reopened when a video of the crimes is found and it suggests that a third shooter was involved. Elsewhere, Stillman asks Valens to investigate whether Valens' brother may have been molested by a boxing coach in the 1980s.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Writer:Veena Sud
  9. 8.5/10(571 votes)

    #8 - Fireflies

    Loading...
    S4:E8

    The 1975 disappearance of an 8-year-old girl who was never found is reinvestigated after a note written by the girl shortly before she vanished turns up. Their friendship rattled many in the predominantly white neighborhood and the girls quickly became targets of hatred.

    0 Comments
    View all
  10. 8.5/10(655 votes)

    #9 - Shuffle, Ball Change

    Loading...
    S4:E17

    When a body is found in a dumpster, the team re-opens the 1984 case of a murdered teenage boy who wanted to become a dancer against his father's wishes.

    0 Comments
    View all
  11. 8.4/10(823 votes)

    #10 - A Time to Hate

    Loading...
    S1:E7

    Lilly investigates the case of Daniel Holtz, a college baseball player who was found beaten to death in an alley behind a gay bar in 1964. Daniel's mother comes to Lilly in the hopes that his killer can be brought to justice before she dies. Lilly discovers the maltreatment gay victims received in the 60's, when her investigation discloses that it may have been a policeman's nightstick that made the lethal blows.

    0 Comments
    View all
  12. 8.4/10(681 votes)

    #11 - The Sleepover

    Loading...
    S2:E6

    Lilly reopens a 1990 murder case, in which a prep-school girl was found dead in a local swimming hole, after a present-day victim with similar markings is discovered at the same place. The investigation reveals that the victim of the earlier crime was routinely tormented by a trio of classmates who invited her to a sleepover the night she was killed.

    0 Comments
    View all
  13. 8.4/10(579 votes)

    #12 - Strange Fruit

    Loading...
    S2:E19

    The unsolved 1963 murder of a black teenager, whose body was discovered by the then-young Will Jeffries, is reopened.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Paris Barclay
    Writer:Veena Sud
  14. 8.4/10(573 votes)

    #13 - Boy Crazy

    Loading...
    S5:E9

    The team re-opens the 1963 case of teenage girl who was then thought to have committed suicide. Now, new evidence leads them to believe the girl might have been murdered for acting and dressing like a boy.

    0 Comments
    View all
  15. 8.4/10(436 votes)

    #14 - The Road

    Loading...
    S5:E15

    The team re-investigates the suspected 2007 murder of a bride-to-be who was kidnapped on the day of her engagement party. Lilly and Scotty travel to West Virginia to escort the prime suspect to Philly, and on their way back, they hear his side of the story.

    0 Comments
    View all
  16. 8.3/10(654 votes)

    #15 - The Letter

    Loading...
    S1:E13

    Rush and Valens re-open the case of a 25-year-old black woman, who was murdered in 1939, after the woman's granddaughter comes forward with new information. The woman was assumed to be a prostitute murdered by a client, but letters written by the victim indicate that she was afraid of a milkman.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Tim Hunter
    Writer:Veena Sud
  17. 8.3/10(748 votes)

    #16 - Daniela

    Loading...
    S2:E3

    Lilly and Valens reopen a presumed homicide from 1979 in which an unidentified victim's blood-drenched shoes, underwear and sheets were found in a trash bag, but no body. The investigation begins when a battered wife accuses her husband of murdering a girl in 1979 and brings in an amateur film from the time that supposedly shows him committing the crime.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:David Barrett
    Writer:Veena Sud
  18. 8.3/10(669 votes)

    #17 - Wishing

    Loading...
    S2:E15

    Lilly investigates the 1993 death of a mentally challenged teen who was hit by a train, after drawings appear on his grave that indicate foul play might have been involved.

    0 Comments
    View all
  19. 8.3/10(469 votes)

    #18 - Stalker

    Loading...
    S4:E24

    In the fourth season finale, a hostage situation arises when the entire team is held captive while they're investigating the 2006 killings of a family who had just moved into a new house.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Writer:Veena Sud
  20. 8.3/10(324 votes)

    #19 - Flashover

    Loading...
    S7:E17

    Realizing that the missing Vera has finally hit rock bottom, his worried team members hope that a new twist to a 2006 arson case, which he was secretly obsessing about in recent weeks, might supply leads to his whereabouts.

    0 Comments
    View all
  21. 8.2/10(740 votes)

    #20 - Fly Away

    Loading...
    S1:E8

    When a young woman, Rosie (Laura Regan), wakes up from a coma, Lilly re-opens the fall in which her 6-year-old daughter Toya (Aynsley Lemon) died. Things get complicated when the mother remembers very little of that night, and Lilly feels especially motivated to find the killer, as Rosie was poor and living on welfare, reminding Lilly of her own past, and giving her an emotional bond to Rosie.

    0 Comments
    View all
  22. 8.2/10(687 votes)

    #21 - Boy in the Box

    Loading...
    S1:E14

    The 1958 death of an unknown 6-year-old boy found in a field inside a cardboard box is reinvestigated after a small suitcase with the child's picture and his old cowboy hat is left in front of a church. The new probe reveals that the rowdy boy lived at a Catholic-run orphanage and was adopted two days before his suspicious demise.

    0 Comments
    View all
  23. 8.2/10(529 votes)

    #22 - Saving Sammy

    Loading...
    S4:E5

    Lilly re-opens a 2003 case in which an autistic boy's parents were shot in their car when Joseph brings her information that the boy might have seen the killer.

    0 Comments
    View all
  24. 8.2/10(452 votes)

    #23 - Justice

    Loading...
    S5:E10

    The team re-opens the 1982 case of a well-liked young man who was shot to death after being accused of date rape by several female college students.

    0 Comments
    View all
  25. 8.2/10(476 votes)

    #24 - Andy in C Minor

    Loading...
    S5:E14

    After traces of blood linked back to a missing teen are found, the team re-investigates the 2006 case of a boy who disappeared from a high school for deaf children.

    0 Comments
    View all
  26. 8.2/10(361 votes)

    #25 - Officer Down

    Loading...
    S6:E17

    The team has to cope with their own emotions as they search for the shooter responsible for Jeffries' shooting.

    0 Comments
    View all

Best Episodes Summary

"A Perfect Day" is the best rated episode of "Cold Case". It scored 8.7/10 based on 701 votes. Directed by Roxann Dawson and written by Veena Sud, it aired on 11/27/2005. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Mind Hunters".