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The Worst Episodes of Cold Case

Every episode of Cold Case ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst 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 Worst Episode
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    Cold Case Season 5 Episode 6 - Wunderkind
    5.0/10(412 votes)

    #1 - Wunderkind

    S5:E6

    The team re-opens the 2002 case of a 14-year-old math whiz whose half-brother exploited his unusual talents: card counting and safe cracking.

    Director:Kevin Bray
    Writer:Greg Plageman

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  2. Cold Case Season 4 Episode 7 - The Key
    5.7/10(514 votes)

    #2 - The Key

    S4:E7

    The 1979 murder of a schoolteacher who was stabbed to death in a wooded area is reopened when the victim's bloodstained jacket is found stuffed in a tree trunk with a happy-face key chain in a pocket. The case was originally investigated by Jeffries when he was a rookie detective.

    Director:David Barrett
    Writer:Jennifer M. Johnson

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  3. Cold Case Season 5 Episode 9 - Boy Crazy
    5.8/10(635 votes)

    #3 - Boy Crazy

    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.

    Director:Holly Dale
    Writer:Joanna Lovinger

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  4. Cold Case Season 2 Episode 7 - It's Raining Men
    6.3/10(657 votes)

    #4 - It's Raining Men

    S2:E7

    An HIV-positive gay man asks Rush and Valens to re-investigate the case of his dead partner who died of strangulation in 1983. Not only was the victim outspoken in his views about AIDS education within the 1980's secretive gay community, he was also the member of a very prominent family, disowned by his father for his sexual orientation.

    Director:Paul Holahan
    Writer:Jan Oxenberg

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  5. Cold Case Season 4 Episode 10 - Forever Blue
    6.3/10(963 votes)

    #5 - Forever Blue

    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.

    Director:Jeannot Szwarc
    Writer:Tom Pettit

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  6. Cold Case Season 2 Episode 22 - Best Friends
    6.4/10(906 votes)

    #6 - Best Friends

    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.

    Director:Mark Pellington
    Writer:Liz W. Garcia

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  7. Cold Case Season 6 Episode 19 - Libertyville
    6.5/10(364 votes)

    #7 - Libertyville

    S6:E19

    The team re-investigates the 1958 case of a newlywed real estate developer when new evidence suggests his body might have been moved after he was killed.

    Director:Marcos Siega
    Writer:Kathy Ebel

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  8. Cold Case Season 1 Episode 23 - Lover's Lane
    6.6/10(653 votes)

    #8 - Lover's Lane

    S1:E23

    When DNA evidence reveals that a wrong man was convicted for killing 15-year-old Eve Kendall back in 1986, the team re-opens her case in an attempt to find the real killer.

    Director:Nelson McCormick
    Writer:Meredith Stiehm

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  9. Cold Case Season 1 Episode 13 - The Letter
    6.7/10(762 votes)

    #9 - The Letter

    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.

    Director:Tim Hunter
    Writer:Veena Sud

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  10. Cold Case Season 1 Episode 7 - A Time to Hate
    6.9/10(939 votes)

    #10 - A Time to Hate

    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.

    Director:Deran Sarafian
    Writer:Jan Oxenberg

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  11. Cold Case Season 6 Episode 2 - True Calling
    7.0/10(412 votes)

    #11 - True Calling

    S6:E2

    The 1991 death of an inner-city schoolteacher is reinvestigated when new evidence indicates she may have been murdered instead of dying accidentally during a carjacking that got out of control.

    Director:Paris Barclay
    Writer:Christopher Silber

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  12. Cold Case Season 7 Episode 10 - Iced
    7.0/10(317 votes)

    #12 - Iced

    S7:E10

    The 1980 murder of a minor-league hockey player is investigated. The victim was killed on his team's home rink the night the U.S. hockey team defeated the Soviet Union in the Olympic Games.

    Director:Peter Medak
    Writer:Taylor Elmore

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  13. Cold Case Season 7 Episode 12 - The Runaway Bunny
    7.0/10(350 votes)

    #13 - The Runaway Bunny

    S7:E12

    The 1974 murder of a private investigator is probed after his body is discovered in the cement foundation of a demolished building. The investigation reveals the victim uncovered damaging information about his last few clients and that he hired a tough associate to provide muscle during his final investigation.

    Director:John Finn
    Writer:Elwood Reid

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  14. Cold Case Season 7 Episode 16 - One Fall
    7.0/10(333 votes)

    #14 - One Fall

    S7:E16

    The 1986 murder of a dock worker who moonlighted as a wrestler is investigated. Meanwhile, Valens follows a lead that could result in the capture of his mother's rapist.

    Director:Donald E. Thorin Jr.
    Writer:Ryan Farley

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  15. Cold Case Season 1 Episode 4 - Churchgoing People
    7.1/10(826 votes)

    #15 - Churchgoing People

    S1:E4

    Lilly re-investigates the case of a murdered church organist, when his Alzheimer's-stricken widow begins having flashbacks of the night in question.

    Director:Mark Pellington
    Writer:Meredith Stiehm

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  16. Cold Case Season 2 Episode 16 - Revenge
    7.3/10(551 votes)

    #16 - Revenge

    S2:E16

    Lt. Stillman's priest informs him of a long ago confession where a man confessed being involved in the 1998 kidnapping of a 9-year old boy. The case is reopened with this new lead, and it turns out the truth is closer to home.

    Director:David Von Ancken
    Writers:Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin

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  17. Cold Case Season 5 Episode 1 - Thrill Kill
    7.3/10(513 votes)

    #17 - Thrill Kill

    S5:E1

    Recovered from the shooting, Lilly wants to convince her boss that she's ready to get back to work. The team re-opens the 1994 case of three 10-year-old kids who were beaten to death when Lilly suspects the teens convicted of the killings may have been wrongfully incarcerated.

    Director:Alex Zakrzewski
    Writer:Veena Sud

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  18. Cold Case Season 5 Episode 2 - That Woman
    7.3/10(521 votes)

    #18 - That Woman

    S5:E2

    After a piece of clothing belonging to a murder victim is found, the team re-opens the 1998 case of a high school girl who had a reputation for being promiscuous.

    Director:Roxann Dawson
    Writer:Liz W. Garcia

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  19. Cold Case Season 5 Episode 13 - Spiders
    7.3/10(446 votes)

    #19 - Spiders

    S5:E13

    The team re-opens the 1998 case of a murdered 17-year-old girl when her father is arrested for beating another child.

    Director:John Peters
    Writer:Liz W. Garcia

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  20. Cold Case Season 7 Episode 13 - Bombers
    7.3/10(322 votes)

    #20 - Bombers

    S7:E13

    The 1983 murder of a graffiti artist who died after spray paint was forced down his throat is investigated. Meanwhile, new details emerge about the person who mugged Valen's mother; and Lilly faces additional legal hurdles thrown her way by Moe.

    Director:Janice Cooke
    Writer:Denise Thé

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  21. Cold Case Season 7 Episode 14 - Metamorphosis
    7.3/10(363 votes)

    #21 - Metamorphosis

    S7:E14

    The 1971 death of a teen aerialist who fell during a dangerous circus performance is investigated. New evidence suggests her fall wasn't an accident.

    Director:Chris Fisher
    Writers:Danny Pino, Adam Glass

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  22. Cold Case Season 5 Episode 4 - Devil Music
    7.4/10(470 votes)

    #22 - Devil Music

    S5:E4

    The team re-investigates the 1953 case of a talented 19-year-old rock'n'roll singer when new evidence comes forth, suggesting he wasn't killed in the place where his body was found.

    Director:Chris Fisher
    Writer:Kate Purdy

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  23. Cold Case Season 3 Episode 6 - Saving Patrick Bubley
    7.5/10(570 votes)

    #23 - Saving Patrick Bubley

    S3:E6

    When a mother of five loses her fourth son to gang violence, Lilly sets out the save the youngest, reopening one of her first cases on the homicide squad.

    Director:Marcos Siega
    Writers:Karin Lewicki, Tyler Bensinger

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  24. Cold Case Season 4 Episode 24 - Stalker
    7.5/10(521 votes)

    #24 - Stalker

    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.

    Director:Alex Zakrzewski
    Writer:Veena Sud

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  25. Cold Case Season 5 Episode 3 - Running Around
    7.5/10(488 votes)

    #25 - Running Around

    S5:E3

    When the victim's younger sister comes looking for her, the team re-opens the 2006 case of a missing Amish girl who was murdered while she was in Philadelphia experiencing the Amish rite of passage called "rumspringa".

    Director:Holly Dale
    Writer:Jennifer M. Johnson

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Wunderkind" is the worst rated episode of "Cold Case". It scored 5/10 based on 412 votes. Directed by Kevin Bray and written by Greg Plageman, it aired on 10/28/2007. This episode scored 0.7 points lower than the second lowest rated, "The Key".