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The Best Episodes of The Equalizer Season 1

Every episode of The Equalizer Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The Equalizer Season 1!

Robert McCall is a former agent of a secret government agency who is now running his own private crime fighting operation where he fashions himself as "The Equalizer." It is a service for victims of the system who have exhausted all possible means of seeking justice and have nowhere to go. McCall promises to even out the odds for them.

Genres:Action & AdventureCrimeDrama
Network:CBS

Season 1 Ratings Summary

The best episode of "The Equalizer" season 1 is "Pilot: The Equalizer", rated 7.7/10 from 216 user votes. It was directed by Rod Holcomb and written by Michael Sloan. "Pilot: The Equalizer" aired on 9/18/1985 and is rated 0.4 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "China Rain".

  • Pilot: The Equalizer
    7.7/10 216 votes

    #1 - Pilot: The Equalizer

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/18/1985

    A former government agent offers his services to people facing problems too big for them to handle, such as a woman being stalked by a psychopath and a man who learns of a blackmail scheme involving government officials.

    Director: Rod Holcomb

    Writer: Michael Sloan

  • China Rain
    7.3/10 168 votes

    #2 - China Rain

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/25/1985

    McCall comes to the aid of a housekeeper when kidnappers grab her son by mistake.

    Director: Richard Compton

    Writer: Joel Surnow, Maurice Hurley, Victor Hsu

  • The Defector
    7.2/10 148 votes

    #3 - The Defector

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 10/2/1985

    McCall helps a double agent defect and a young boy stand up to bullies.

    Director: Rod Holcomb

    Writer: Heywood Gould

  • The Lock Box
    7.6/10 155 votes

    #4 - The Lock Box

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/9/1985

    McCall helps a man whose daughter has been abducted by a pimp who services covert government operations.

    Director: Russ Mayberry

    Writer: Frank Military, Joel Surnow, Maurice Hurley

  • Lady Cop
    7.5/10 144 votes

    #5 - Lady Cop

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/16/1985

    A crooked cop is willing to murder to ensure that his new partner won't blow the whistle on his operations.

    Director: Russ Mayberry

    Writer: Joel Surnow, Maurice Hurley

  • The Confirmation Day
    7.1/10 123 votes

    #6 - The Confirmation Day

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 10/23/1985

    McCall helps a former showgirl convinced someone is stalking her and a boy whose father helped steal antiques now wanted by two separate parties.

    Director: Richard A. Colla

    Writer: N/A

  • The Children's Song
    7.3/10 136 votes

    #7 - The Children's Song

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 10/30/1985

    Father and son protect a girl from would-be rapists intent on killing the only witness to a murder.

    Director: Richard Compton

    Writer: Joel Surnow, Maurice Hurley

  • The Distant Fire
    7.1/10 117 votes

    #8 - The Distant Fire

    Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/6/1985

    A hit man wants help to prevent another killer from murdering a woman both McCall and the hitman once loved.

    Director: Alan Metzger

    Writer: Joel Surnow, Maurice Hurley

  • Mama's Boy
    7.2/10 122 votes

    #9 - Mama's Boy

    Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/13/1985

    A career woman wants McCall's aid in ending her son's fascination with a charismatic drug dealer.

    Director: James Sheldon

    Writer: Heywood Gould

  • Bump and Run
    7.5/10 125 votes

    #10 - Bump and Run

    Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 11/20/1985

    Muggers seek revenge on a student who injured one of them while escaping, and a vigilante killer pins McCall's ad to his victims.

    Director: Richard Compton

    Writer: Joel Surnow, Maurice Hurley

  • Desperately
    7.7/10 107 votes

    #11 - Desperately

    Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 12/4/1985

    A lonely, neglected wife gets more than she wanted when she considers a fling and ends up witnessing a murder.

    Director: Donald Petrie

    Writer: Charles Grant Craig

  • Reign of Terror
    6.9/10 115 votes

    #12 - Reign of Terror

    Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 12/11/1985

    The new doctor at a local clinic refuses to give gang members drugs as `rent' for using their turf.

    Director: Richard Compton

    Writer: Steve Bello

  • Back Home
    7.8/10 106 votes

    #13 - Back Home

    Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 12/18/1985

    A banker is harassing tenants of a potentially valuable property and planning to murder his wife.

    Director: Alan Metzger

    Writer: Joel Surnow, Maurice Hurley

  • Out of the Past
    7.8/10 113 votes

    #14 - Out of the Past

    Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 1/15/1986

    An ex-con is harassing the man whose testimony put him away-the man now married to McCall's former wife.

    Director: Richard Compton

    Writer: Cyrus Nowrasteh

  • Dead Drop
    7.6/10 117 votes

    #15 - Dead Drop

    Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 1/22/1986

    McCall assembles some old friends to protect a man marked for murder for no apparent reason.

    Director: Donald Petrie

    Writer: Joel Surnow, Maurice Hurley

  • Wash Up
    7.3/10 101 votes

    #16 - Wash Up

    Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 1/29/1986

    A window washer witnesses the murder of his pro-union partner by their anti-union boss, who has his own witnesses to back his self-defense claim.

    Director: Richard Compton

    Writer: Mark Frost

  • Torn
    7.8/10 110 votes

    #17 - Torn

    Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 2/5/1986

    McCall tries to divide his time between defending a woman from her abusive husband and settling with an old enemy.

    Director: Russ Mayberry

    Writer: Carleton Eastlake

  • Unnatural Causes
    7.4/10 105 votes

    #18 - Unnatural Causes

    Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 2/12/1986

    McCall's on the trail of a serial killer, leaving him little time for an actress fallen into the wrong crowd.

    Director: Alan Metzger

    Writer: Scott Shepherd, Susan Woollen

  • Breakpoint
    8.0/10 124 votes

    #19 - Breakpoint

    Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 2/19/1986

    McCall is among those taken hostage by terrorists seeking a Middle Eastern philanthropist.

    Director: Russ Mayberry

    Writer: Don Carlos Dunaway, Scott Shepherd

  • No Conscience
    7.3/10 95 votes

    #20 - No Conscience

    Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 3/5/1986

    A womanizer is abducted and threatened with death if he doesn't give his captors what they want-but he can't figure out what.

    Director: Richard Compton

    Writer: Mark Frost

  • Unpunished Crimes
    7.7/10 96 votes

    #21 - Unpunished Crimes

    Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 4/1/1986

    McCall is hired by an inventor whose designs were stolen by a huge corporation headed by a ruthless executive.

    Director: Alan Metzger

    Writer: Grenville Case, John Burke

  • Pretenders
    7.4/10 101 votes

    #22 - Pretenders

    Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 4/8/1986

    An aspiring reporter, desperate for a scoop that will get her notice and a promotion, becomes convinced that something big is happening right in the next apartment.

    Director: Richard Compton

    Writer: Scott Shepherd