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The Best Episodes of Oz

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

The daily lives of prisoners in Emerald City, an experimental unit of the Oswald Maximum Security Prison where ingroups - Muslims, Latinos, Italians, Aryans -...
Genres:CrimeDrama
Network:HBO

Best Episodes Summary

"Gray Matter" is the best rated episode of "Oz". It scored 8.5/10 based on 4 votes. Directed by Brian Cox and written by Tom Fontana, it aired on 8/9/2000. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Famous Last Words".

  • Gray Matter
    8.5/104 votes
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    #1 - Gray Matter

    Season 4 Episode 5 - Aired 8/9/2000

    Things get a bit lively on death row after Shirley Bellinger's execution-- Miles begins painting a self-portrait, Ginzburg's health deteriorates from AIDS and Deyell severely injures himself. Mobay's ordered to kill someone as a final test of his loyalty and a new prisoner, whom Mobay's familiar with, makes the perfect victim. A call stirs McManus' emotions again. New inmate Supreme Allah arrives creating tension and uneasiness for Arif. On his way to his son's funeral, Beecher asks Keller an intimate question. A changed Rebadow asks for permission from Morales to kill again. After a fight with the gangsters, Cyril's put on heavier sedatives. For Ryan O'Reilly, he gets the cell phone after ratting to Hoyt and he also meets Dr. Nathan's attacker.

    Director: Brian Cox

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • Famous Last Words
    8.5/104 votes
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    #2 - Famous Last Words

    Season 4 Episode 16 - Aired 2/25/2001

    In the Season Four finale, Hill discovers where his true allegiances lie. Redding's plot to use the Colonel against Morales has an unexpected outcome. Cloutier runs into trouble from his church on the outside and his parishioners in Oz. White gets a little too close to McManus. Beecher's agony about his parole hearing leads to a shocking climax.

    Director: Adam Bernstein

    Writer: Tom Fontana, Sean Whitesell

  • Works of Mercy
    8.2/104 votes
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    #3 - Works of Mercy

    Season 4 Episode 4 - Aired 8/2/2000

    The kidnapping of Beecher's children has everyone upset and Beecher inconsolable. Schillinger gets questioned and of course, claims to know nothing about the deed. Beecher decides to initiate his own investigation. Soon after, a package with horrendous contents arrives for Beecher. Meanwhile, Oz prepares for Shirley Bellinger's hanging as the death penalty protests continue. A visit from the Cardinal creates mixed feelings for Sister Pete and Father Ray. Said announces good and bad news in the state's decision for the inmates. Another Rebadow prediction comes chillingly true. O'Reily's still searching for that elusive cell phone and Dr. Nathan asks Glynn for permission to return to work earlier than expected.

    Director: Adam Bernstein

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • Visitation
    8.0/104 votes
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    #4 - Visitation

    Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 1/6/2002

    A ribbon cutting ceremony, complete with the Governor doing the honors, signals the opening of a newly constructed Oz. Warden Glynn doesn't resign but he's more battle weary. White, Alvarez and other inmates in solitary are temporarily transferred to Em City while repairs are being made. As Schillinger and Robson recover from their wounds, they begin planning revenge on the Muslims. Conversely, Said plans to plead guilty for the attempted murder of Robson & Schillinger. The fate of Rev. Cloutier is revealed and inmates expecting visits from family members get shocking news.

    Director: Alex Zakrzewski

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • To Your Health
    7.9/108 votes
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    #5 - To Your Health

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 8/11/1997

    Three generations of Alvarezes—all prisoners at Oz—are united when the partiarch, Ricardo, is found face down in his cell, suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Meanwhile, Beecher, who as Schillinger's "prag" has been forced to wear women's clothes, flips out after taking PCP.

    Director: Alan Taylor

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • A Town Without Pity
    7.8/105 votes
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    #6 - A Town Without Pity

    Season 4 Episode 7 - Aired 8/23/2000

    Ryan and Howell get frisky. After leaving the hole and apologizing to Busmalis for the stabbing Rebadow suffers an attack due to a brain tumor. Busmalis reacts by doing what he does best--start another tunnel. Unbeknownst to the doctors and everyone else, Cyril's recovering psychologically more than he can actually show. Arif confesses to Said about his own demons and asks for forgiveness and help. Said plots with McManus to end Querns' and Adebisi's control. Hank Schillinger beats the kidnapping rap and once Beecher finds out, he plots with Pancamo for revenge. After Keller reveals his plot to kill him, Eli Zabitz asks Schillinger for protection. Schillinger agrees but sends Robson to eliminate Zabitz instead. Hughes, now raging beyond sensibility, makes an attempt on Devlin's life at a press conference. Keller and Father Ray have an intense discussion about Beecher.

    Director: J. Miller Tobin

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • You Bet Your Life
    7.8/104 votes
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    #7 - You Bet Your Life

    Season 4 Episode 8 - Aired 8/30/2000

    After Hughes's attack on Devlin, Glynn withdraws from the race. Alvarez is still on the loose. Supreme Allah gets an unwanted surprise.

    Director: Adam Bernstein

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • Revenge is Sweet
    7.8/105 votes
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    #8 - Revenge is Sweet

    Season 4 Episode 11 - Aired 1/21/2001

    Robson and Hoyt tell Rev. Cloutier to back off of Schillinger. Schillinger and Beecher have their first counseling interaction session. Tidd continues to get close to Said by defending Arif in a fight. Arif goes to Said and pleads Tidd's case to accept him into their Muslim group. Busmalis requests that he and his girlfriend be married. Glynn hosts the Warden's conference and is given an update on Hughes by Querns. Glynn soon has Hughes transferred to Oz's cops unit so he can protect him. This unit is also where Johnny Basil (Mobay) is locked up. Keller's old buddy Ronnie gets close to Beecher causing Keller to get jealous. Ronnie's offered a sentence reduction in exchange for corroborating evidence of Keller's involvement in some past murders. Beecher finds this out and warns Keller, who doesn't believe him. Keller question's Ronnie about the matter and then, comes up with his own solution. Em City inmates are selected for drug testing experiment that promises to age the person quickly therefore reducing their actual time spent in prison.

    Director: Goran Gajić

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • Laws of Gravity
    7.8/104 votes
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    #9 - Laws of Gravity

    Season 5 Episode 2 - Aired 1/13/2002

    Alvarez and Guerra come up with a new way to settle their beef -- Guerra will stab Alvarez in the shoulder without killing him. Morales questions Guerra's decision to do this while he attempts to grieve for his sister. Rebadow gets more bad news about his grandson which prompts him to search for alternatives. Montgomery asks for more hush money from Ryan so Ryan devises a plan to have Montgomery eliminated. Officer Brass returns to Oz to get facts on who attacked him. Ellie O'Connor arrives as the Governor's liaison to Oz only past memories of her failed marriage to McManus return. Schibetta returns and Schillinger shanks Pancamo after learning that he had Hank killed. McManus makes an offer to Said and White to hopefully curb White's erratic and sometimes bizarre behavior. Ryan's mom, Suzanne Fitzgerald comes to Oz to instruct inmates in performance arts.

    Director: Rob Morrow

    Writer: Tom Fontana, Sean Whitesell

  • Sonata de Oz
    7.8/104 votes
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    #10 - Sonata de Oz

    Season 6 Episode 3 - Aired 1/19/2003

    Schillinger has a disappointing visit with his "hero", Mayor Loewen. Glynn has to face up to the truth when Oz loses its first prisoner to toxic poisoning. Down in solitary, Officer Brass gets some quality one-on-one time with Morales. Cyril undergoes a round of unusual therapy, and Said gets more than he bargained for in leading the Muslims into a new business venture.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Tom Fontana, Sunil Nayar

  • Junkyard Dawgs
    7.8/104 votes
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    #11 - Junkyard Dawgs

    Season 6 Episode 7 - Aired 2/16/2003

    Three new inmates arrive, one of whom is close to the O'Reilys; Busmalis and Rebadow prove to be "true Romeos"; the Keller-Beecher-Schillinger triangle gets more pointed; and an awards banquet ends in a fateful discovery.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • The Routine
    7.6/1019 votes
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    #12 - The Routine

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 7/12/1997

    In the "Emerald City" experimental unit of Oswald State Penitentiary, we meet some of the diverse inmates who live within a pecking order of Homeboys, Latinos, Muslims, Irish, Aryans, and Wiseguys. No clear-cut leader emerges—with the possible exception of Kareem Saïd, a Muslim author who preaches non-violence and abstinence. Saïd's arrival doesn't prevent a short-fused Mafia inmate named Dino Ortolani from ticking off just about everybody—a habit that ends up burning him.

    Director: Darnell Martin

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • Visits, Conjugal and Otherwise
    7.6/1013 votes
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    #13 - Visits, Conjugal and Otherwise

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 7/14/1997

    With Schibetta and the prison brass in a race to uncover Ortolani's killer (for very different reasons), we see how inmates react to visits from both their wives and, in one case, family members who are also in prison.

    Director: Nick Gomez

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • Straight Life
    7.5/1011 votes
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    #14 - Straight Life

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 8/4/1997

    The infiltration of drugs into Oz has reached unprecedented levels, and the undercover efforts of McManus and Glynn to find out who's smuggling them in backfires in a deadly way. Despite a lockdown in Emerald City, the drugs continue to trickle in—and the blame shifts from prisoners to corrupt officials.

    Director: Leslie Libman, Larry Williams

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • A Game of Checkers
    7.5/1010 votes
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    #15 - A Game of Checkers

    Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 8/25/1997

    Beecher is released from the hole and Schillinger is left eyeless and weak. A riot breaks out after two white punks get into a fight over checkers. Frustration, sexuality, hate, revenge, racism all rear their ugly heads, causing the violence to escalate.

    Director: Jean de Segonzac

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • Impotence
    7.5/104 votes
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    #16 - Impotence

    Season 5 Episode 8 - Aired 2/24/2002

    Robson returns from solitary to discover he's been kicked out of the "Brotherhood" and moved to another cell. McManus tells Glynn he'll write a letter supporting Alvarez's bid for parole. Problem is, Alvarez attacks one of the parole board members and gets thrown back into solitary. Dr. Nathan's guilt worsens as Chucky slips into a coma from the septic infection. Schillinger tells new inmate Cutler he has to kill a black inmate to join the "Brotherhood" and Cutler selects Said as his victim. White's gets this information and goes to protect Said only they get into a tussle and Cutler almost dies. Rebadow gets to go see his dying grandson only to have to return later for the boy's funeral. Busmalis gets a letter from Norma who wants to visit. She does and brings surprising news. Beecher moves to make a confession during the interaction session. The result? Schillinger gets convicted of rape and is transferred to solitary indefinitely. Father Meehan touches a nerve with Ryan and forces him to acknowledge a childhood incident that scarred Ryan for life. A stabbing intended for Redding, claims an innocent inmate instead.

    Director: Alex Zakrzewski

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • A Failure to Communicate
    7.5/104 votes
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    #17 - A Failure to Communicate

    Season 6 Episode 4 - Aired 1/26/2003

    Glynn receives some good and bad news on the toxic-poisoning case. Meanwhile, Rebadow's relationship with Stella hits a snag; Keller and Beecher work out a mutually beneficial arrangement; Poet and Redding nearly come to blows; Hoyt is transferred from Death Row; and Robson finally gets some redemption.

    Director: David Von Ancken

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • Family Bizness
    7.4/105 votes
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    #18 - Family Bizness

    Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 8/10/1998

    With their enmity at a boiling point, Adebisi poisons Schibetta -- but not fatally. Now that his brother has turned himself in for murder, Glynn no longer owes Schibetta any favors. Sister Peter Marie figures out that Giles witnessed who killed her husband. Poet, now a published author, gets his parole, but Governor Devlin still takes away funds from McManus's high-school equivalency program. When Beecher learns his wife committed suicide, Keller offers comfort, but his advances are rebuked. Meanwhile O'Reily is in love with Dr. Nathan, and gets his brother Cyril to have her husband killed.

    Director: Kathy Bates

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • Plan B
    7.3/109 votes
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    #19 - Plan B

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 8/18/1997

    A recovered Saïd ostracizes Mershah for turning his back on him when he was dying—and orders the rest of the Muslims to do the same. Impressed by Saïd's power, Groves makes a deadly decision in his honor. Meanwhile, Beecher, transformed by prison life, finally gets revenge on Schillinger.

    Director: Darnell Martin

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • God's Chillin'
    7.2/1012 votes
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    #20 - God's Chillin'

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 7/21/1997

    As friction grows in the wake of increasing deaths, Schibetta, Saïd, and Keane are brought together by Glynn, who tells them to keep their respective groups quiet or else he'll lock the prison down. The tension increases following a visit from Governor Devlin, who was responsible for the ban on smoking and conjugal visits.

    Director: Jean de Segonzac

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • Escape from Oz
    7.2/106 votes
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    #21 - Escape from Oz

    Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 8/31/1998

    Wittlesey is transferred to Gen Pop and replaced by Karl Metzger, a Nazi. Mack and another Aryan try to escape through Busmalis and Rebadow's tunnel but the tunnel collapses and kills the two Aryans. Hill gets the idea of escaping Oz by hiding in a coffin. Sippel re-enters Oz because he can't deal with life on the outside, but Schillinger crucifies him -- literally. Alvarez gouges out Rivera's eyes and is put in solitary for life. Needing a blood transfusion for Rivera, Dr. Nathan finds that only O'Reily has the same blood type; he agrees to donate in exchange for getting his brother Cyril near him. Keller and Schillinger reveal their sordid plan of deceit to Beecher while breakingv both his arms and legs. Fortune teller Kipkemei Jara gives Adebisi hope of a new life; but he is murdered by Wangler on orders from Antonio Nappa. The grief this causes Adebisi lands him in the psych ward. Said is pardoned by Governor Devlin, but refuses choosing to return to Em City instead.

    Director: Jean de Segonzac

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • The Truth and Nothing But...
    7.2/106 votes
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    #22 - The Truth and Nothing But...

    Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 7/14/1999

    In addition to the name change to "Oswald State Correctional Facility," more changes abound. Newbies Coyle, Kahn, and Ricardo arrive and partner up with Wangler, Said, and Hernandez respectively. Adebisi's "recovery" prompts a return. Clayton Hughes, son of a past Oz guard who came through the ranks with Glynn, asks Glynn to hire him. Meanwhile new Officer Howell, gets friendly with McManus. A managed health care company takes over Oz's infirmary, to Dr. Nathan's disgust and Alvarez's detriment. Cyril O'Reily still has nightmares about being raped by Schillinger and Ryan schemes on revenge. Said develops an unlikely alliance as he starts a hunger fast in response to McManus rejecting his request for food in his cell during his holy season. Keller confesses his part in setting up Beecher and is immediately taken into protective custody. Beecher gets some oh-so-sweet revenge.

    Director: Nick Gomez

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • Obituaries
    7.2/105 votes
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    #23 - Obituaries

    Season 4 Episode 2 - Aired 7/19/2000

    Mobay has his first meeting with Adebisi. Glynn fires McManus after Tim makes a foolish outburst during the slain CO's memorial service. Sister Pete still wrestles with ending her service as a nun. Beecher's dad pays a visit and gives an update. Schillinger is visited by his other son, Hank. Said's decision to help Cramer secure a new trial is met with strong opposition by the Muslims. Poet grieves and ponders his next move now that Wangler and Pierce are dead. O'Reily's plan to get the cell phone backfires and results in another inmate's death. Bellinger returns to Oz to await her impending execution.

    Director: Kenneth Fink

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • Cuts Like a Knife
    7.2/106 votes
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    #24 - Cuts Like a Knife

    Season 4 Episode 12 - Aired 1/28/2001

    O'Reily regrets getting Cyril involved with the trial drug when it starts taking effect. Meanwhile, Giles's request for an unusual method of execution creates controversy and the Chinese refugees are deported...but not before plotting revenge on Morales.

    Director: Steve Buscemi

    Writer: Tom Fontana

  • Even the Score
    7.2/104 votes
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    #25 - Even the Score

    Season 4 Episode 15 - Aired 2/18/2001

    McManus finds he is unable to turn his back on White. Beecher tells the parents of the young girl he killed that he's up for parole. Howell tries to blackmail O'Reily so she can get to Cyril, but he throws her for a loop--and then O'Reily is thrown himself by a family secret.

    Director: J. Miller Tobin

    Writer: Tom Fontana, Sunil Nayar, Sean Whitesell