CrimeDramaNBC

The Best Episodes of Law & Order Season 5

Every episode of Law & Order Season 5 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Law & Order Season 5!

Binge this in 18h 5m·Peaking at 8.2/10
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons26

All1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Law & Order Season 5 Episode 5 - White Rabbit
    8.2/10(478 votes)

    S5:E5

    A routine investigation uncovers evidence that leads Briscoe and Logan to a long-time fugitive, a radical Vietnam War opponent on the run since a 1971 burglary that left a policeman dead.

    Director:Steven Robman
    Writers:Morgan Gendel, Ed Zuckerman

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 20 - Bad Faith
    8.2/10(406 votes)

    S5:E20

    Logan relives unhappy childhood memories when a friend is found dead, a presumed suicide, until the investigation reveals recent contact with a former priest, with a history of pedophilia.

    Director:Dann Florek
    Writer:René Balcer

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 10 - House Counsel
    8.1/10(442 votes)

    S5:E10

    The killing of a man who had served as a juror in a mob trial leads to a battle of wills between McCoy and his long-time friend, the suspect's attorney.

    Director:James Quinn
    Writers:Michael S. Chernuchin, Barry M. Schkolnick

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 2 - Coma
    8.0/10(463 votes)

    S5:E2

    A comedy-club owner comes under suspicion for having shot his wife, now comatose with a bullet in her head, after it's discovered he was abusive and she was about to divorce him.

    Director:Jace Alexander
    Writer:Ed Zuckerman

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 6 - Competence
    8.0/10(440 votes)

    S5:E6

    When Lt. Van Buren is the victim of an attempted holdup by two teens, she fires her gun and kills one of them, and the detectives are faced with the fact that she shot an unarmed child in the back.

    Director:Fred Gerber
    Writers:Mark B. Perry, Michael S. Chernuchin

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 13 - Rage
    8.0/10(457 votes)

    S5:E13

    A Wall Street broker accused of murdering his mentor uses the defense of ""black rage"" in court.

    Director:Arthur W. Forney
    Writer:Michael S. Chernuchin

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 BEST Episodes of Law & Order

    READ
  7. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 19 - Cruel and Unusual
    8.0/10(406 votes)

    S5:E19

    The death of an autistic youth in custody reveals a multitude of unusual and possibly illegal therapies being used, but also parents reluctant to pursue a prosecution.

    Director:Matthew Penn
    Writers:René Balcer, Michael S. Chernuchin

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  8. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 1 - Second Opinion
    7.8/10(459 votes)

    S5:E1

    A woman's death exposes an unorthodox method of treating cancer that Executive Assistant DA McCoy intends to prove is negligent homicide.

    Director:Edwin Sherin
    Writers:Jeremy R. Littman, Michael S. Chernuchin

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 8 - Virtue
    7.8/10(428 votes)

    S5:E8

    McCoy uses a charge of ""larceny by extortion"" against a councilman, whose former colleague claims he demanded sex in exchange for a law-firm partnership.

    Director:Martha Mitchell
    Writers:Mark B. Perry, Jeremy R. Littman

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  10. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 12 - Progeny
    7.8/10(407 votes)

    S5:E12

    The investigation into the killing of an abortion clinic doctor leads to an activist group led by a former priest.

    Director:Don Scardino
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  11. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 14 - Performance
    7.8/10(437 votes)

    S5:E14

    Briscoe and Logan set out to identify the apparent victim in a snuff film, but find her alive and really the victim of a points-for-sex club at her prestigious high school.

    Director:Martha Mitchell
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  12. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 22 - Switch
    7.8/10(408 votes)

    S5:E22

    Suspects in a psychiatrist's murder include the victim's ex-husband, a patient suffering from multiple-personality disorder and her obstructive father.

    Director:Christopher Misiano
    Writers:Jeremy R. Littman, Sibyl Gardner

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  13. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 18 - Privileged
    7.7/10(380 votes)

    S5:E18

    The investigation into a double murder leads to a young alcoholic whose family once lived in the victims' house and who had admitted to his AA group that he's had nightmares about killings.

    Director:Vincent Misiano
    Writers:Jeremy R. Littman, Suzanne O'Malley

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  14. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 7 - Precious
    7.6/10(408 votes)

    S5:E7

    When Briscoe and Logan suspect that a missing infant may have been murdered by her parents rather than kidnapped, they uncover a terrible family secret which hides a mentally ill serial killer.

    Director:Constantine Makris
    Writers:René Balcer, I.C. Rapoport

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  15. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 15 - Seed
    7.6/10(436 votes)

    S5:E15

    A routine investigation into a woman's death leads Briscoe and Logan to a fertility doctor guilty of unethical practices, but who cannot apparently be touched because of confidentiality rules, and patient reluctance to talk.

    Director:Don Scardino
    Writers:Michael S. Chernuchin, Janis Diamond

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  16. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 17 - Act of God
    7.6/10(394 votes)

    S5:E17

    A bomb at a construction site kills a 12-year-old boy, and the suspects include the bankrupt contractor and a jealous husband.

    Director:Constantine Makris
    Writers:Ed Zuckerman, Walter Dallenbach

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  17. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 21 - Purple Heart
    7.6/10(378 votes)

    S5:E21

    The investigation into a taxi driver's murder involves a loan shark, a forged check, a missing plumber and the victim's wife.

    Director:Arthur W. Forney
    Writers:Morgan Gendel, William N. Fordes

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  18. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 23 - Pride
    7.6/10(416 votes)

    S5:E23

    A gay city councilman is murdered and the trail leads to a bigoted rival politician and a male prostitute.

    Director:Edwin Sherin
    Writers:Ed Zuckerman, Gene Ritchings

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  19. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 4 - Family Values
    7.5/10(443 votes)

    S5:E4

    After it's determined that a wealthy woman did not commit suicide but was murdered, the detectives question both her first and second husbands and her teenage daughter.

    Director:Constantine Makris
    Writers:René Balcer, William N. Fordes

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  20. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 3 - Blue Bamboo
    7.4/10(408 votes)

    S5:E3

    The killing of a Japanese nightclub owner who was visiting New York leads to the arrest of a singer who once worked for the deceased, and whose lawyer uses the ""battered-woman syndrome"" as a defense.

    Directors:René Balcer, Don Scardino
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  21. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 9 - Scoundrels
    7.4/10(388 votes)

    S5:E9

    Among the suspects in a lawyer's murder are a swindler, who conned a woman out of her family fortune, and the woman's once-wealthy son.

    Director:Marc Laub
    Writers:Ed Zuckerman, Charles C. Mann

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  22. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 16 - Wannabe
    7.4/10(394 votes)

    S5:E16

    The shooting of a board member of an exclusive private school leads to a blue-collar family and a classist system.

    Director:Lewis Gould
    Writers:René Balcer, I.C. Rapoport

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  23. Law & Order Season 5 Episode 11 - Guardian
    7.3/10(389 votes)

    S5:E11

    After the body of a young female junkie is identified as the daughter of a wealthy family, Briscoe and Logan try to find out who left her to die in the yard of a day-care center.

    Director:Christopher Misiano
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Season 5 Ratings Summary

"White Rabbit" is the best rated episode of Law & Order season 5. It scored 8.2/10 from 478 votes. Directed by Steven Robman and written by Morgan Gendel, Ed Zuckerman, it aired on October 19, 1994.