Profiler backdrop
Crime•Drama

The Worst Episodes of Profiler

Every episode of Profiler ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Profiler!

Binge this in 3d 11h•Peaking at 9.0/10

Rachel Burke is a criminal profiler, one of the best, actually. She, along with a sophisticated team of specialists on the FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force in Atlanta, investigates crimes throughout the country. Together, they solve the

Airs on
NBC
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons4

All1234

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
    Click to reveal
    Profiler Season 1 Episode 2 - Ring of Fire
    6.0/10(1 votes)

    #1 - Ring of Fire

    S1:E2

    Dr. Sam Waters (Ally Walker) joins the newly formed Violent Crimes Task Force, led by her mentor, Bailey Malone (Robert Davi), to probe a string of well-publicized arson fires in the South, until her anonymity is shattered -- providing Jack-of-all-trades, her murderous stalker, more clues to her whereabouts. As a result, Sam is forced to move with her daughter (Caitlin Wachs) and her best friend, Angel (Erica Gimpel), while she uses her skills to compose a profile of the self-destructive arsonist (Seth Peterson). John Diehl guest-stars

    Director:Peter O'Fallon
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. Profiler Season 2 Episode 15 - Breaking Point
    6.0/10(1 votes)

    #2 - Breaking Point

    S2:E15

    A desperate father kidnaps Sam's roommate Angel in a last ditch effort to save his son from the electric chair. The man's son has recently been convicted of murder committed during a robbery. The father believes his son to be an innocent bystander and wants Sam and the VCTF to prove it. To save Angel, Sam and the VCTF investigate the case and find little, at first, to prove the man correct. The father gives them the names of two potential suspects and Sam interrogates both. She also talks with the incarcerated son. Her discussions, along with forensic evidence, lead Sam to determine the son is in fact innocent of the murder, but is unfortunately an accomplice in the robbery. Once she knows the truth, Sam is faced with the difficult task of telling the father what he least wants to hear, that his son is indeed guilty of a crime.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. Profiler Season 3 Episode 4 - Double Vision
    6.0/10(1 votes)

    #3 - Double Vision

    S3:E4

    Twelve residents of a small Alabama town have mysteriously disappeared. When one of the missing is found dead, the VCTF begins an investigation. Once on scene, Sam is confounded by the evidence retrieved. Whereas some evidence points to a domineering, controlling pathology, other evidence points to a more passive, sub-servient one. When Bailey pressures her to narrow her profile, Sam's anxiety builds and she begins to question her own abilities. Later, it is determined that there are two killers working together as a team- thus the reason for the conflicting profiles. One driven by the need for power and the other driven by his hero worship of his companion, the two have set out on a killing spree. Once the realization is made that there are two killers, Sam is greatly relieved to find out that her intuitive skills are still intact.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. Profiler Season 1 Episode 3 - Unholy Alliance
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #4 - Unholy Alliance

    S1:E3

    Sam investigates a series of murders which bear striking similarities to the methods of a killer (Benjamin Mouton) whom Bailey put in prison 10 years earlier. Sam suspects that the real culprit is still free, and through her gifted insight, she finds clues in the ancient I Ching art of divination that lead her to a high-ranking military officer (Carmen Argenziano), who may be protecting the slayer (Ian Patrick Williams).

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. Profiler Season 1 Episode 4 - I'll Be Watching You
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #5 - I'll Be Watching You

    S1:E4

    Dr. Sam Waters and the Violent Crimes Task Force must find a twisted assassin (Jason Rainwater) before he kills a celebrated political candidate (Casey Biggs), but Sam is distracted by new evidence that could locate her murderous stalker, known as ""Jack-of-all-trades."" Relying on audio clues from a recording, the hopeful FBI agents zero in on a Baltimore church which they believe to be Jack's lair. Robert Davi co-stars as Bailey Malone. .

    Director:John Harrison
    Writer:Lawrence Hertzog

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. Profiler Season 1 Episode 5 - Unsoiled Sovereignty
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #6 - Unsoiled Sovereignty

    S1:E5

    A series of bomb blasts at power plants draw Dr. Sam Waters and the task force to Pittsburgh, where Sam meets a charming bomb squad dismantler (guest star A. Martinez, ""LA Law""), and the flirtatious pair quickly form a romantic bond. Even so, their primary focus remains on targeting a deranged man (guest star Ron LaBelle), with an obsessive fetish for cleanliness, whose masterwork blast is timed to poison the city's water supply in just hours. Robert Davi co-stars.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 BEST Episodes of Profiler

    READ
  7. Profiler Season 1 Episode 8 - Cruel and Unusual
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #7 - Cruel and Unusual

    S1:E8

    Sam and the team investigate a series of bizarre slayings whose victims were connected to the trial of a charming murderer (guest star Gary Stretch) sentenced to die within days. One of her prime suspects is a lovestruck protester (guest star Kim Darby) who leads a candlelight watch outside the prison while appeals are filed to halt the execution. Elsewhere, the serial killer known as Jack-of-all-trades assembles a roulette wheel with pictures of the entire VCTF unit -- and one spin will determine his next victim.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  8. Profiler Season 1 Episode 9 - The Sorcerer's Apprentice
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #8 - The Sorcerer's Apprentice

    S1:E9

    When Native American chiefs are ritually murdered on the reservation, Sam and the team tiptoe around local suspicions and superstitions as the locals blame a 1,000-year-old spirit -- the Nacazanti -- and a perplexed Sam consults a tribal wise man (guest star Russell Means) to narrow the list of suspects. Back in the city, serial killer Jack-of-all-trades has an extra trump card after stealing Bailey's all-access FBI identification card.

    Director:Lewis Teague
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. Profiler Season 1 Episode 11 - Doppelganger
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #9 - Doppelganger

    S1:E11

    Sam confronts inmate Arthur deRhodes (guest star Edward Albert, ""Beauty and the Beast""), a former adversary and serial slayer whom she helped put in a prison for the criminally insane years before, over a recent murder that bears striking similarities to his modus operandi. However, when another ritualistic murder occurs, Sam wonders whether the culprit could possibly be the clever deRhodes -- or a copycat killer. All bets are off when deRhodes eventually escapes, and no one is safe -- especially Sam. Robert Davi also stars.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  10. Profiler Season 1 Episode 17 - Crisis
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #10 - Crisis

    S1:E17

    Sam is taken hostage by a zealous anti-nuclear scientist (guest star Robert Sampson) and a cadre of steely commandos after they capture a banquet room full of Washington, D.C. brass, and vow to kill them unless the President agrees to meet their demands to ban the bomb. When Bailey and the task force attack, the terrorists escape and are cornered in an airplane hanger, where a desperate Sam tries to ""profile"" the anguished scientist -- hoping to find a common bond that might save both their lives. A Martinez, Julian McMahon co-star

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  11. Profiler Season 1 Episode 20 - Into the Abyss
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #11 - Into the Abyss

    S1:E20

    A burned-out Sam takes somber note of a psychic-turned-author (guest star Leland Crooke) whose cooperation with police in solving serial murders has taken a heavy toll on his emotional stability -- and worst of all, he's targeted by a serial slayer (guest star Dayna Gladstone) intent on putting him out of his misery. Back at the command center, John chafes under Bailey's strict policy and hard-nosed code of secrecy. Bailey has more problems at home when he attempts to rein in his trouble-prone teenaged daughter (Heather McComb).

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  12. Profiler Season 2 Episode 1 - Ambition in the Blood
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #12 - Ambition in the Blood

    S2:E1

    AKA The Protean Man As Bailey (Robert Davi) clings to life in an Atlanta hospital, Sam and the team are forced to take on a high profile case involving an international serial killer. The murderer, named Ashok Dupree, has escaped from an Indian prison and come to the U.S. for the purpose of killing a celebrity, so that he too can become world renown. While working to bring the killer to justice, Sam (Ally Walker) must convince herself and the Atlanta PD that she is innocent of the murder that Jack actually committed in the finale of last season. Also, John (Julian McMahon) decides to return to the VCTF, and Bailey's daughter, Frances (Heather McComb), now on the run, contacts John to check on her father's condition.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  13. Profiler Season 2 Episode 2 - Primal Scream
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #13 - Primal Scream

    S2:E2

    Four people have been brutally beaten to death in Atlanta. The VCTF is called in to investigate the seemingly random murders. Though there are no eyewitnesses, people near the crime scenes recall hearing an eerie wailing sound right around the time of the murder. Sam (Ally Walker) soon discovers another connection, all the murders happened in the rain. The team consults with a psychologist who specializes in seasonal disorders. He informs them of a syndrome where people become extremely violent in response to certain types of weather. Meanwhile, Jack waits at a prison gate for Sharon Lesher (Traci Lords), a violent felon, who is being released on parole. Later, he takes her back to his lair and it becomes clear this is the beginning of an ""unholy alliance."" Back in Atlanta, Bailey (Robert Davi) laments the fact that the police plan to charge his daughter Frances (Heather McComb) with attempted murder once they determine her whereabouts. Sam and the team interrogate suspects prone to fi

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  14. Profiler Season 2 Episode 9 - Birthright
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #14 - Birthright

    S2:E9

    A killer's belief he was switched at birth leads him to kill those he feels stole his identity. Two men, born at the same time and in the same hospital as the killer, are brutally murdered. The VCTF is called in once the link between the two victims is established. Evidence leads the team to an insane woman who believes her baby was switched at birth. The woman swears the badly deformed baby she was given in the hospital, was actually the child of someone else. She was never able to prove that charge, and unfortunately for the baby given to her, she was a cruel and abusive parent. Sam quickly determines the killer is the product of this abuse. When the team and, accidentally, the killer learn that the mother's claim was proven invalid, Sam profiles the murderer will go after the one living health worker responsible for giving him over to a life of cruelty. Meanwhile, Jack kills his mother's butler once he learns the man has been following him at his mother's behest. Sam is concerned ab

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  15. Profiler Season 2 Episode 11 - Ties That Bind
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #15 - Ties That Bind

    S2:E11

    Ritualized murders are occurring in Atlanta and in neighboring states. The victims are stabbed and their homes are vandalized with gang-like graffiti. The VCTF is called in and their investigation soon focuses on the son of two of the victims. His calm, dispassionate demeanor suggests to Sam that the man may be a suspect in his own parents' murder. Further investigation reveals that the son is under the influence of a ""Heaven's Gate""-like cult. Sam goes undercover to infiltrate the cult, but is deemed her unworthy for their collective. Sam theorizes that the cult's leader is making his disciples kill their families in order to prove their loyalty to him. The team sets up a sting to capture the leader, but are foiled when the cult's member, aware the VCTF is closing in, commit mass suicide by blowing up their compound. Frances causes discord between John and Bailey.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  16. Profiler Season 2 Episode 14 - Every Five Minutes
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #16 - Every Five Minutes

    S2:E14

    A serial rapist is terrorizing women in the Florida Panhandle. Sam and the VCTF are called in to investigate. The victims are able to provide the team with a number of clues which Sam uses to form her profile of the assailant. In the midst of the investigation, Sam butts heads with a local female sheriff. The woman continuously criticizes the VCTF's handling of the case and more importantly, their handling of the victims. In an emotional scene, Sam confronts the deputy and eventually learns the woman was once a rape victim herself. The two bond when they realize they both know what it is like to be the object of a deranged man's obsession. Meanwhile back in Atlanta, John and Marcus get a hot tip on the fugitive, Sharon Lesher. Desperate for cash, she has made it know on the street that she is looking for one of her old partners in crime. The episode concludes with the team springing a trap for Jack's ""Jill."" Sam corners Sharon as she tries to escape and momentarily wrestles with the id

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  17. Profiler Season 3 Episode 8 - Home for the Homicide
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #17 - Home for the Homicide

    S3:E8

    It's 'Party of Five' run amok when the youngest member of an orphaned clan kills to keep his dysfunctional family together. The first murder occurs when they young man kills the boyfriend his sister is considering marrying. Her marriage would result in her leaving the family and that would be unacceptable. Throughout the episode, other people who pose such threats are quickly dispatched. Sam profiles the killer is someone who has felt loss and who is desperately trying to hold on to something he values. The VCTF eventually discover this decidedly unconventional family and at first, mistakenly believe the physically abusive eldest brother is the killer. Sam soon realizes, however, that there is another, more emotionally immature force at work. Bailey realizes his ex-wife is seriously involved and considering remarriage. Chloe is upset when Sam invites her new boyfriend, Paul, over for Christmas.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  18. Profiler Season 3 Episode 16 - Burnt Offerings
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #18 - Burnt Offerings

    S3:E16

    Sam and the team try to catch a mystic arsonist on the loose in Atlanta. Sam profiles that he apparently risks his own life by setting the fires himself on the spot. After a red herring lead involving a photographer always on the scene of the fires, Sam and the team find graffiti messages on walls of the burned out buildings in Farsi meaning ‘fire god.‘ The man is apparently seeking a ‘chosen one‘ immune to fire in order take him to the afterlife to meet his deceased wife. Meanwhile, Sam is worried about Chloe when she becomes emotionally withdrawn when one of her classmates becomes a victim in one of the fires.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  19. Profiler Season 3 Episode 17 - Three Carat Crisis
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #19 - Three Carat Crisis

    S3:E17

    Sam and Bailey get caught up in a jewel heist by a trio of mentally unbalanced crooks, named Randy, Kate and Stevie, that quickly turns into a hostage situation within the jewelry store. They struggle to profile the perpetrators and their relationships with one another before any lives are lost. While Sam tries to reason with the ringleader, Randy, to give up, John quarrels with the overzealous police commander outside who wants to catch or kill all the perpetrators even if it means that all hostages will be killed.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  20. Profiler Season 3 Episode 18 - Seduction
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #20 - Seduction

    S3:E18

    George and Sam go undercover as IRS agents at Borden & Associates, a management office in Palm Beach, Florida, because five of the clientele have been murdered with one finger from their left hand missing. As Sam profiles the most likely suspect, Bobby O'Hara, whom shows a strong interest in her, the firms shadowy security chief, Leo Cantrell, becomes suspicious of Sam's true identity. Meanwhile, Kevin Miller, an arrogant FBI agent working the case, complicates the investigation much to Bailey's worry for Sam's safety and Miller's indifference to otherwise, while John works with the local police detective, Lt. Cynthia Ford, in discovering the bodies.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  21. Profiler Season 3 Episode 21 - What's Love Got to Do with It?
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #21 - What's Love Got to Do with It?

    S3:E21

    Sam and Bailey work with FBI field agent Susan Marsh whom is tracking Robert Lee Gregg, a conservative civic leader in Atlanta whom is suspected in the killing of six gay men. But their investigation is happened by Susan's former boyfriend, Richard Russell, whom is stalking her. Susan insists she's in control of the situation, but Bailey thinks otherwise when her boyfriend is found murdered and Russell is a suspect. Things get worse when Russell targets Bailey and his ex-wife Janet whom are now back together. Meanwhile, Sam leaves the investigation and travels to Miami to investigate the disappearance of a local man who may be connected to the Gregg killings, and she finds herself being perused by Mario Monagno (from the 'Heads, You Lose' episode) whom still wants to date her.

    Director:Richard Compton
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  22. Profiler Season 4 Episode 1 - Reunion (1)
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #22 - Reunion (1)

    S4:E1

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  23. Profiler Season 4 Episode 9 - Quid Pro Quo
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #23 - Quid Pro Quo

    S4:E9

    Rachel and the VCTF team search for a serial killer (guest star Greg Kean) who strangles women with knots of their own hair, but when the latest victim proves to be the daughter of powerful mob boss James Perrone (guest star Ray Wise), the FBI profiler must gain the grieving father's confidence to learn more about her habits. Meanwhile, Rachel is under pressure from the Bureau's Organized Crime Division to take advantage of her access to Perrone and wear a wire to trick him into confessing to a fellow mobster's murder, thereby ending a lengthy investigation.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  24. Profiler Season 4 Episode 14 - Paradise Lost
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #24 - Paradise Lost

    S4:E14

    Rachel, Bailey and the team head to Yosemite National Park where a maniac brutally killed a mother and her two daughters, and while circumstantial evidence points to a local outlaw biker (guest star Douglas Bennett), Rachel constructs a different suspect profile -- one who feels remorse and might have sibling issues. Meanwhile, George's lingering substance abuse problem causes a dangerous embarrassment for Bailey and the VCTF just as an attractive Congresswoman (guest star Erin Gray, ""Silver Spoons"") begins an investigation of the unit, and she is most impressed by Bailey. Back at home, Rachel's budding romance with her brother's (guest star Raphael Sbarge, ""Message In A Bottle"") drug counselor (guest star Joe Flanigan, ""Providence"") hits a snag.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  25. Profiler Season 4 Episode 15 - The Long Way Home
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #25 - The Long Way Home

    S4:E15

    A tormented Rachel must push aside her personal nightmares when she realizes that a disturbed child slayer (guest star Harry Groener, ""Buffy The Vampire Slayer""), whom she could not convict as a prosecutor years before, has resumed kidnapping young girls and putting them in gilded cages where he worships them as virginal ""princesses."" At the same time, Rachel is troubled by the sudden disappearance of her drug-addicted brother (guest star Raphael Sbarge) from a halfway house and her romantic relationship with therapist Tom (guest star Joe Flanigan, NBC's ""Providence"") enters a new stage. Also, George frets about the hot shot computer whiz (guest star Judith Moreland) who's temporarily replaced him while he's on leave due to his own struggle with narcotics.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Worst Episodes Summary

"Ring of Fire" is the worst rated episode of "Profiler". It scored 6/10 based on 1 votes. Directed by Peter O'Fallon and written by Unknown, it aired on 9/28/1996. This episode scored 0.0 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Breaking Point".