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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!

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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 natural instincts with the updated technology available today to bring

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Cold Case Season 6 Episode 23 - Into the Blue (2)
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #1 - Into the Blue (2)

    S6:E23

    The investigation into the female cadet's murder continues. As the team finds more and more clues, the killer tries to stop the investigation to remain hidden.

    Director:Jeannot Szwarc
    Writers:Jennifer M. Johnson, Greg Plageman

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  2. Cold Case Season 7 Episode 22 - Shattered
    9.5/10(2 votes)

    #2 - Shattered

    S7:E22

    Valens partners with Rush to locate her abducted, drug-addicted sister, while Jeffries tries to bring justice to the case of a murdered teenaged girl that has haunted him for 17 years.

    Director:Jeannot Szwarc
    Writers:Elwood Reid, Greg Plageman

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  3. Cold Case Season 5 Episode 18 - Ghost of My Child
    9.0/10(1 votes)

    #3 - Ghost of My Child

    S5:E18

    A drug addict mother, who lost her son in an apartment fire in 2005, comes forth claiming she just saw the same child in the park.

    Director:Roxann Dawson
    Writer:Liz W. Garcia

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  4. Cold Case Season 6 Episode 8 - Triple Threat
    9.0/10(1 votes)

    #4 - Triple Threat

    S6:E8

    Lilly and the team look into a 1989 case involving a Russian opera singer. Vera has a strong recollection of the case being a rookie in the department at the time.

    Director:Kevin Bray
    Writer:Kathy Ebel

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  5. Cold Case Season 6 Episode 22 - The Long Blue Line (1)
    9.0/10(1 votes)

    #5 - The Long Blue Line (1)

    S6:E22

    The team re-opens the case of the first ever female cadet in a local military school who was murdered in 2005.

    Director:Roxann Dawson
    Writers:Jennifer M. Johnson, Greg Plageman

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  6. Cold Case Season 7 Episode 6 - Dead Heat
    9.0/10(2 votes)

    #6 - Dead Heat

    S7:E6

    The 1986 murder of a jockey is investigated after his body is discovered in a mass grave for horses. The victim disappeared shortly after losing a race that he had planned to be his finale before retiring.

    Director:Nathan Hope
    Writer:Adam Glass

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Cold Case

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  7. Cold Case Season 7 Episode 20 - Free Love
    9.0/10(1 votes)

    #7 - Free Love

    S7:E20

    Rush and FBI agent Ryan Cavanaugh discover their attraction for one another while investigating the 1969 murder of a GI at Woodstock, and Vera helps his married ex-girlfriend, Megan, after sentimental jewelry is stolen from her home.

    Director:Jeffrey G. Hunt
    Writer:Denise Thé

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  8. Cold Case Season 1 Episode 22 - The Plan
    8.8/10(10 votes)

    #8 - The Plan

    S1:E22

    The 1999 drowning death of a military academy's swim coach, which was originally ruled as accidental, is reinvestigated after the homicide division receives a note that suggests it was murder. Back at the office, Valens searches for Elisa after she goes missing.

    Director:Agnieszka Holland
    Writer:Veena Sud

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  9. Cold Case Season 1 Episode 12 - Glued
    8.7/10(10 votes)

    #9 - Glued

    S1:E12

    Det. Stillman asks Lilly to re-open a case he couldn't solve, wherein an 8-year-old boy, Tim Barnes, was murdered in 1980. The prime suspects included a catholic priest, three glue-sniffing teenagers, one elusive suspect, and the boy's own parents.

    Director:Peter Markle
    Writer:Tyler Bensinger

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  10. Cold Case Season 2 Episode 10 - Discretion
    8.7/10(6 votes)

    #10 - Discretion

    S2:E10

    The team re-opens the 2000 case of a prominent Puerto Rican assistant district attorney when rumors about his connection to a large amount of money gone missing at the time of his death start to circulate. However, his widow insists that the claims are not true. The re-investigation reveals that the victim was prosecuting a murder trial and the man convicted for the crime after his death may possibly be innocent.

    Director:James Whitmore Jr.
    Writer:Henry Robles

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  11. Cold Case Season 4 Episode 21 - Torn
    8.7/10(3 votes)

    #11 - Torn

    S4:E21

    The team re-investigates their oldest cold case yet, the 1919 murder of a young woman who was a passionate advocate for women's right to vote.

    Director:Kevin Bray
    Writer:Tyler Bensinger

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  12. Cold Case Season 6 Episode 18 - Mind Games
    8.7/10(3 votes)

    #12 - Mind Games

    S6:E18

    The team suspect a 2004 arson that killed a psychiatrist may have been caused by her former patient.

    Director:Donald E. Thorin Jr.
    Writer:Gavin Harris

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  13. Cold Case Season 2 Episode 2 - Factory Girls
    8.6/10(8 votes)

    #13 - Factory Girls

    S2:E2

    On the eve of the 60-year reunion of women who worked in a weapons factory during World War II, Lilly is asked to re-investigate the death of Alice Miller, one of the worker girls. The death was deemed accidental at the time, but her friend pleads to Lilly to look closer into the case.

    Director:David Von Ancken
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Cold Case Season 2 Episode 4 - The House
    8.5/10(8 votes)

    #14 - The House

    S2:E4

    When human remains are found outside a former state prison, the team re-opens the 1968 case of a dead inmate, murdered on the night Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Concert was broadcast to prisons throughout the country. However, when it's revealed that the bones don't belong to the person everyone had assumed, the team must start the probe anew by first identifying who the victim was.

    Director:Alex Zakrzewski
    Writer:Sean Whitesell

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  15. Cold Case Season 3 Episode 14 - Dog Day Afternoons
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #15 - Dog Day Afternoons

    S3:E14

    The case of a female bank teller shot to death in her work in 2000 is reopened when the same bank is robbed again by perpetrators wearing identical masks and equipped with identical weapons as six years earlier.

    Director:Craig Ross Jr.
    Writer:Sean Whitesell

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  16. Cold Case Season 3 Episode 17 - Superstar
    8.5/10(4 votes)

    #16 - Superstar

    S3:E17

    When a poison-soaked towel turns up at the station, Lilly re-opens the 1973 case of a murdered female college tennis star.

    Director:Bill Eagles
    Writers:Jason Tracey, Craig S. O'Neill

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  17. Cold Case Season 3 Episode 21 - The Hen House
    8.5/10(4 votes)

    #17 - The Hen House

    S3:E21

    The 1945 case of a murdered newspaper reporter is reopened when new evidence suggests that the woman was thrown in front of a passing train by someone she knew.

    Director:David Von Ancken
    Writer:Craig Turk

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  18. Cold Case Season 4 Episode 17 - Shuffle, Ball Change
    8.5/10(4 votes)

    #18 - Shuffle, Ball Change

    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.

    Director:Mark Pellington
    Writer:Liz W. Garcia

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  19. Cold Case Season 6 Episode 14 - The Brush Man
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #19 - The Brush Man

    S6:E14

    When human remains are found in a duck pond, the team reopens the 1967 murder of a brush salesman.

    Director:Roxann Dawson
    Writer:Elwood Reid

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  20. Cold Case Season 6 Episode 17 - Officer Down
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #20 - Officer Down

    S6:E17

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

    Director:Alex Zakrzewski
    Writer:Christopher Silber

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  21. Cold Case Season 7 Episode 21 - Almost Paradise
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #21 - Almost Paradise

    S7:E21

    Rush tries to ignore her father's appeals to give her troublemaker sister another chance after she suddenly resurfaces.

    Director:Alex Zakrzewski
    Writers:Christopher Silber, Adam Glass

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  22. Cold Case Season 4 Episode 8 - Fireflies
    8.4/10(5 votes)

    #22 - Fireflies

    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.

    Director:Marcos Siega
    Writer:Erica Shelton Kodish

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  23. Cold Case Season 1 Episode 14 - Boy in the Box
    8.3/10(10 votes)

    #23 - Boy in the Box

    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.

    Director:Karen Gaviola
    Writer:Meredith Stiehm

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  24. Cold Case Season 1 Episode 20 - Greed
    8.3/10(8 votes)

    #24 - Greed

    S1:E20

    The team reopens the 1985 case of a wealthy stock broker. At the time it was deemed that Charles Danville was killed when someone attempted to steal his car, but new evidence suggests that he may, in fact, have been murdered.

    Director:Karen Gaviola
    Writer:Stacy Kravetz

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  25. Cold Case Season 2 Episode 8 - Red Glare
    8.3/10(6 votes)

    #25 - Red Glare

    S2:E8

    The 1953 murder of a white school teacher, a communist sympathizer who was involved in civil-rights issues, is reopened after the victim's youngest son asks for it to be reinvestigated. The probe reveals that the slain man was killed on the same day that the Rosenbergs were executed and was set to testify the next day before the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

    Director:Tim Matheson
    Writers:Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin

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Best Episodes Summary

"Into the Blue (2)" is the best rated episode of "Cold Case". It scored 10/10 based on 1 votes. Directed by Jeannot Szwarc and written by Jennifer M. Johnson, Greg Plageman, it aired on 5/10/2009. This episode scored 0.5 points higher than the second highest rated, "Shattered".