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The Worst Episodes of Law & Order

Every episode of Law & Order ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Law & Order!

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In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    Law & Order Season 21 Episode 5 - Free Speech
    6.2/10(555 votes)

    S21:E5

    Bernard and Cosgrove investigate the murder of a congressional candidate. ADAs Price and Maroun contend with an extremist plot hellbent on thwarting the candidate's agenda by any means necessary.

    Director:Alex Hall
    Writer:Rick Eid

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  2. Law & Order Season 21 Episode 10 - Black and Blue
    6.4/10(380 votes)

    S21:E10

    The murder of an off-duty NYPD detective threatens to tear the city apart; Cosgrove mourns the loss of a friend and asks Capt. Benson for help solving the case; McCoy and Price disagree on how to prosecute the culprit.

    Director:Eriq La Salle
    Writer:Rick Eid

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  3. Law & Order Season 24 Episode 16 - Folk Hero
    6.4/10(437 votes)

    S24:E16

    When a murder suspect becomes an underground hero, Brady seeks help from a former colleague to track down a culprit who seems to be in multiple locations. Baxter, Price and Maroun disagree on the best way forward when public interest heightens.

    Directors:Carlos Bernard, Carlo Bernard
    Writers:Rick Eid, Scott Gold

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  4. Law & Order Season 21 Episode 2 - Impossible Dream
    6.5/10(570 votes)

    S21:E2

    The COO of a major tech company is found murdered in Central Park. Price and Maroun work to untangle a web of deceit to expose a cunning narcissist.

    Director:Michael Pressman
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Law & Order Season 21 Episode 1 - The Right Thing
    6.6/10(1113 votes)

    S21:E1

    Newly acquainted partners Bernard and Cosgrove investigate the murder of a notorious entertainer. A dispute over throwing out a confession creates a rift in the DA's office.

    Director:Jean de Segonzac
    Writers:Dick Wolf, Rick Eid

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  6. Law & Order Season 21 Episode 7 - Legacy
    6.6/10(403 votes)

    S21:E7

    Bernard and Cosgrove are confronted with several suspects in the shooting of a headmaster at an elite private school. A teenager's life hangs in the balance as Price and Maroun debate who's more culpable - the shooter or the enabler.

    Director:Sarah Boyd
    Writer:Pamela J. Wechsler

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  7. Law & Order Season 23 Episode 1 - Freedom of Expression
    6.7/10(469 votes)

    S23:E1

    In the wake of a murder on campus, the line between free speech and hate speech at a university is examined.

    Director:Alex Hall
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Law & Order Season 24 Episode 18 - Inherent Bias
    6.7/10(261 votes)

    S24:E18

    A rising basketball star is shot dead, leaving the squad in a desperate scramble for leads. When the capture of a suspect doesn't go as planned, Shaw and Riley each take a firm stand on what they believe they witnessed.

    Director:Nestor Carbonell
    Writers:Art Alamo, Jolie Huang

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  9. Law & Order Season 22 Episode 19 - Private Lives
    6.8/10(307 votes)

    S22:E19

    Cosgrove and Shaw investigate the murder of a family physician whose outspoken politician wife suspects she was the intended target. Price and Maroun's case hangs in the balance when the defense calls one of the doctor's young patients to testify as a witness.

    Director:Nestor Carbonell
    Writer:Art Alamo

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  10. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 21 - Doubles
    6.9/10(373 votes)

    S4:E21

    An assailant breaks the wrist of a tennis player prior to a tournament, and a competitor is among the suspects.

    Director:Edwin Sherin
    Writers:René Balcer, Michael S. Chernuchin

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  11. Law & Order Season 11 Episode 10 - Whose Monkey is it Anyway?
    6.9/10(334 votes)

    S11:E10

    The death of a lab technician and the abduction of 17 infected monkeys lead to a trial involving the treatment of research animals.

    Director:Vincent Misiano
    Writer:William M. Finkelstein

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  12. Law & Order Season 12 Episode 8 - The Fire This Time
    6.9/10(310 votes)

    S12:E8

    When a building is set ablaze, a girl must be identified despite her fatal burns. Through further investigation, it turns out that an extreme environmentalist group struck the match...

    Director:David Platt
    Writer:David Black

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  13. Law & Order Season 12 Episode 21 - Foul Play
    6.9/10(271 votes)

    S12:E21

    The investigation into the death of a private investigator uncovers corruption, deceit, and immigration fraud in a Youth Baseball League whose manager will go to any lengths to win.

    Director:Richard Dobbs
    Writers:Richard Sweren, Stuart Feldman

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  14. Law & Order Season 14 Episode 8 - Embedded
    6.9/10(338 votes)

    S14:E8

    After a reporter accused of causing the deaths of soldiers with whom he was embedded in Iraq by reporting on their troop movements is shot and wounded on the eve of his return to the front, the ballistics report indicates that the gun belonged to one of the dead soldiers, leading the detectives to uncover who brought the gun back from the front and committed the crime.

    Director:Edwin Sherin
    Writer:Craig Turk

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  15. Law & Order Season 21 Episode 6 - Wicked Game
    6.9/10(415 votes)

    S21:E6

    When a young man is found dead of an apparent overdose, Dixon fiercely pursues a homicide investigation as an old unsolved case comes back to haunt her. Price and Maroun risk putting a witness in harm's way to expose their suspect.

    Director:Alex Hall
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Law & Order Season 21 Episode 8 - Severance
    6.9/10(327 votes)

    S21:E8

    When the CFO of a Fortune 500 company is found strangled in her home, Bernard and Cosgrove work to connect multiple dead ends to find her killer. The prosecution is faced with an uphill battle as McCoy and Price butt heads over a choice that could cost them the case.

    Director:Yangzom Brauen
    Writer:Art Alamo

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  17. Law & Order Season 21 Episode 9 - The Great Pretender
    6.9/10(331 votes)

    S21:E9

    Bernard and Cosgrove must sift through fact and fiction to find the killer of a young Manhattan socialite. The murder trial takes a turn that becomes personal for Price and puts Maroun in a compromising situation.

    Director:Alex Hall
    Writers:Rick Eid, Pamela J. Wechsler

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  18. Law & Order Season 24 Episode 17 - A Perfect Family
    6.9/10(260 votes)

    S24:E17

    When a student is thrown to her death, Riley zeros in on a family secret to piece together her last moments. Price and Maroun must rely on the eyewitness account of a young child to determine if an unlikely suspect should be charged with murder.

    Director:Michael Smith
    Writers:Rick Eid, Jennifer Vanderbes

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  19. Law & Order Season 7 Episode 9 - Entrapment
    7.0/10(370 votes)

    S7:E9

    The case against Huey Tate, a young man accused of shooting the well-known leader of the African-American Congress comes undone when the New York authorities learn that their chief witness was once an informant for the FBI, and is still under their protection.

    Director:Matthew Penn
    Writers:René Balcer, Richard Sweren

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  20. Law & Order Season 10 Episode 20 - Untitled
    7.0/10(345 votes)

    S10:E20

    A wealthy woman, who is a patron of the arts, is found dead in her apartment and the ensuing investigation leads to a suspect whose violence was spurred by a painting similar to the crime scene.

    Director:Jace Alexander
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Law & Order Season 12 Episode 6 - Formerly Famous
    7.0/10(331 votes)

    S12:E6

    The shooting death of a former singer's wife leads the detectives to investigate his manager and sons after his explanation of the events surrounding her death have no credibility.

    Director:Richard Dobbs
    Writers:Marc Guggenheim, Wendy Battles

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  22. Law & Order Season 24 Episode 13 - In God We Trust
    7.0/10(237 votes)

    S24:E13

    A young lawyer with a secret past is found dead. Price and Baxter debate the pros and cons of prison as a punishment versus alternative justice options.

    Director:John Behring
    Writer:Jennifer Vanderbes

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  23. Law & Order Season 3 Episode 20 - Securitate
    7.1/10(373 votes)

    S3:E20

    When a Romanian immigrant kills, his lawyer announces he will plead his client "not guilty due to cultural insanity" claiming the man had been conditioned to violence in his homeland.

    Director:James Hayman
    Writers:Joe Reinkemeyer, Matt Kiene

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  24. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 18 - Wager
    7.1/10(361 votes)

    S4:E18

    Briscoe and Logan bet that the killing of a star athlete's father is linked to gambling debts and threats to the baseball player's family.

    Director:Edwin Sherin
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Law & Order Season 8 Episode 13 - Castoff
    7.1/10(408 votes)

    S8:E13

    The street murder of a woman who worked with underprivileged kids takes a turn towards the bizarre when the detectives uncover she had a predilection for kinky sex, and that one of her current partners appears to be a serial killer, who offers an overexposure to television violence as his defense during his trial.

    Director:Gloria Muzio
    Writers:David Black, Harold Schechter

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Free Speech" is the worst rated episode of "Law & Order". It scored 6.2/10 based on 555 votes. Directed by Alex Hall and written by Rick Eid, it aired on 4/7/2022. This episode scored 0.2 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Black and Blue".