The Worst Episodes of The Shield
Every episode of The Shield ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of The Shield!
The story of an inner-city Los Angeles police precinct where some of the cops aren't above breaking the rules or working against their associates to both keep the streets safe and their self-interests intact.
Lowest Rated Episodes Summary
The worst episode of "The Shield" is "Grave", rated 7.3/10 from 2119 user votes. It was directed by Paris Barclay and written by Kurt Sutter. "Grave" aired on 3/22/2005 and is rated 0.1 point(s) lower than the second lowest rated, "Co-Pilot".
7.3/10 2,119 votes#1 - Grave
Season 4 Episode 2 - Aired 3/22/2005
Mackey tries to help an old acquaintance find a wayward teenager, but the search quickly turns ugly when the missing teen appears to have been involved in a shoot-out. Meanwhile, Shane heads out into the field with his new partner Army, teaching him shady police tactics and seeing how far he'll go to be partnered up. Plus, Aceveda spends his last day trying to bury Vic for good, which makes things difficult for Rawling trying to take his place.
Director: Paris Barclay
Writer: Kurt Sutter
7.4/10 2,290 votes#2 - Co-Pilot
Season 2 Episode 9 - Aired 3/4/2003
Flashback to the first day of the barn. Under pressure to get results, Vic and his new Strike Team make an impression on the streets. Dutch and Claudette realize they make a good team, and David discovers he doesn't have as much power as he thought he would.
Director: Peter Horton
Writer: Glen Mazzara, Shawn Ryan
7.4/10 2,146 votes#3 - Bang
Season 4 Episode 3 - Aired 3/29/2005
With Farmington on the brink of a gang war, Monica and Vic race to find the catalyst and stop the bloodshed, enlisting Antwon's help along the way. Still in the doghouse, Dutch decides to take action in thawing the relationship between Claudette and the D.A. Danny and Julien get up close and personal with the Farmington 1-Niners, while Monica looks to Vic for support when the implementation of her property seizure policy challenges her morality.
Director: Guy Ferland
Writer: Scott Rosenbaum
7.6/10 2,706 votes#4 - The Spread
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 3/26/2002
In a routine sweep, the Barn's detectives divvy up warrants. But when they cast their nets, they bring up far bigger fish than expected. While Vic holds a basketball star hostage to influence the outcome of an upcoming game, Dutch and Claudette nab an egotistical rapist out to impregnate as many women as possible.
Director: Clark Johnson
Writer: Glen Mazzara
7.6/10 2,179 votes#5 - The Cure
Season 4 Episode 1 - Aired 3/15/2005
Vic is no longer the cop he used to be, acting adrift after his past actions have caught up to him. The strike team has been dissolved, leaving Mackey to menial busts that keep him off the streets. When Aceveda moves on to his new City Council position, Captain Monica Rawling takes over the Barn and empowers Vic to implement her controversial anti-gang policies.
Director: Scott Brazil
Writer: Glen Mazzara
7.6/10 2,147 votes#6 - Doghouse
Season 4 Episode 4 - Aired 4/5/2005
When Monica puts Vic on the trail of an escaped fugitive in Farmington, he must continue to prove his worth while playing it straight. Claudette gets suspicious of the D.A's motives when she and Dutch are assigned to investigate a major drug dealer who ends up being a minor offender. David seeks an illicit outlet for the troubling feelings caused by his rape. Vic decides to bring Shane closer as his fears about Shane's connection to Antwon Mitchell rise.
Director: Dean White
Writer: Adam Fierro
7.7/10 2,607 votes#7 - Dawg Days
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 4/2/2002
Vic attempts to broker a peace agreement between two rival rappers after a dispute over an up-and-coming singer's success erupts in a gang war. Danny is attacked after identifying a shooter, Julien helps a woman whose son's body has been stolen, and Dutch and Claudette search for a missing migrant worker.
Director: Stephen Gyllenhaal
Writer: Kevin Arkadie
7.7/10 2,416 votes#8 - Throwaway
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 5/7/2002
A planted gun in a truck-jacking case causes complications for the Strike Team, and Lem attempts to set things right. Meanwhile, the rift between Danny and Julien deepens, causing Aceveda to intervene, and Claudette deals with the mess of her family during a visit from her father and daughter.
Director: Leslie Libman
Writer: Kevin Arkadie
7.7/10 2,220 votes#9 - Bottom Bitch
Season 3 Episode 3 - Aired 3/23/2004
A prostitute seeks the help of the police in her quest to bring down her pimp. Claudette assigns Vic against his wishes to the case, which puts him on the verge of going over the edge. Dutch uncovers a disturbing trend of rapes and a politician is arrested for solicitation.
Director: Scott Brazil
Writer: Scott Rosenbaum, Adam Fierro
7.7/10 2,081 votes#10 - Insurgents
Season 4 Episode 6 - Aired 4/19/2005
Vic and Monica stake a deal with the DEA to shut down Mitchell's tar heroin operation. When the bust comes up empty, Vic's suspicions of Shane grow, until Shane proves himself by coming up with a key piece of evidence that reveals a large stash of tar being stored at a local church. Meanwhile, Dutch and Claudette's friendship continues to feel strain as they try to tie a young woman's murder to a suspected serial killer. Plus, Julien takes a stand against Monica's policy, then goes to David for support when she suggests he consider transferring out of Farmington.
Director: Vondie Curtis-Hall
Writer: Sarah Fain, Elizabeth Craft
7.7/10 2,128 votes#11 - A Thousand Deaths
Season 4 Episode 11 - Aired 5/31/2005
Vic and the Strike Team use their leverage on the One-Niners to track down anyone involved with the cop killings. Their hunt leads them down an unexpected path with the Russian mob. Monica puts pressure on the team to come clean about any of their dealings with Antwon. Dutch and Claudette investigate a gang shooting and soon realize their key witness is close to the Barn, and has something to hide.
Director: Stephen Kay
Writer: Adam Fierro
7.7/10 2,081 votes#12 - The Math of the Wrath
Season 6 Episode 8 - Aired 5/22/2007
Vic learns about his true status at the Barn from Hiatt. Shane gets involved with the daughter of an Armenian mob boss. Claudette begins to question Hiatt's loyalty.
Director: Rohn Schmidt
Writer: Charles H. Eglee
7.8/10 2,804 votes#13 - Our Gang
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 3/19/2002
Following the murder of Terry, the Internal Affairs Division begins an investigation into his death, while Aceveda begins his own. Meanwhile, Dutch and Claudette investigate the shooting of a churro vendor that ends in the Barn's detectives busting up a gang initiation.
Director: Gary Fleder
Writer: Shawn Ryan
7.8/10 2,185 votes#14 - Blood and Water
Season 3 Episode 2 - Aired 3/16/2004
Tension within the group begins to mount as the Strike Team attempt to rectify a mistake Vic made when he decided to use some of the cash from the stolen money train during a botched gun-running sting. Meanwhile, Dutch and Claudette seek the help of a college honor student named Esteban who was the only survivor in the murder of two latin gang members, one of them being his close friend.
Director: Clark Johnson
Writer: Charles H. Eglee, Kim Clements
7.8/10 2,166 votes#15 - Posse Up
Season 3 Episode 6 - Aired 4/13/2004
When the ex-wife and child of Julien's former partner, Tommy, are murdered, Tommy becomes a suspect, prompting Julien to team up with Mackey to conduct their own investigation. Elsewhere, Shane goes undercover to catch a group attacking gay prostitutes, and Claudette and Dutch investigate a rape case against Aceveda's orders.
Director: Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Writer: Charles H. Eglee, Kim Clements
7.8/10 2,079 votes#16 - Riceburner
Season 3 Episode 12 - Aired 5/25/2004
When Aceveda assigns The Strike Team to serve a high risk warrant against a mob killer to service his political agenda, they find themselves embroiled in a hostile struggle with the Korean community. Now the Team must find out how to put an end to the situation before they end up casualties of a racial fued. Meanwhile, one of Vic's informants works with Danny on finding stolen chairs, while having eyes for her.
Director: Scott Brazil
Writer: Scott Rosenbaum, Adam Fierro
7.8/10 2,157 votes#17 - Hurt
Season 4 Episode 7 - Aired 4/26/2005
Just as Monica and Vic get close to a big break in the Garage Sting, Chief Phillips unexpectedly hands over the bust to the Organized Crime Unit. He blames the decision on an emerging PR scandal involving a videotape of Vic at the church bust that was leaked to the Assistant Chief through Aceveda's office. Vic uses his leverage with the Byz Lats to find a Russian mob leader before the mobster flees the country. Monica threatens two foster care social workers with jail after a young girl is found close to death in her foster home, then tells Julien if he doesn't put in for a transfer, she'll request one for him herself.
Director: Nick Gomez
Writer: Scott Rosenbaum
7.8/10 2,156 votes#18 - Jailbait
Season 5 Episode 3 - Aired 1/24/2006
The Strike Team tries to develop a strategy to deflect the Internal Affairs investigation as Vic finally comes face to face with Kavanaugh. Meanwhile, Tina goes undercover to help take down a sex-trafficking ring; and friction between Claudette and Dutch deepens when she reopens one of their past cases.
Director: Stephen Kay
Writer: Scott Rosenbaum, Glen Mazzara
7.8/10 2,021 votes#19 - Snitch
Season 7 Episode 2 - Aired 9/9/2008
As a local gang war heats up, Vic positions himself as a valuable commodity to the warring parties; Corrine and Cassidy confront Vic.
Director: Gwyneth Horder-Payton
Writer: Gary Lennon
7.9/10 2,463 votes#20 - Pay in Pain
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 4/23/2002
Vic's relationship with Shane becomes even more complicated when the pair team up with a detective from another precinct to investigate the murder of several gang member. Meanwhile, Dutch and Claudette bring in a psychic on a complaint from the son of one of her clients.
Director: D. J. Caruso
Writer: Shawn Ryan
7.9/10 2,383 votes#21 - Carnivores
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 5/21/2002
Vic and the Strike Team mediate a dispute between Rondell Robinson and the Nation of Islam, while Dutch and Claudette investigate a brutal home invasion in the district's Korean community.
Director: Scott Brazil
Writer: Glen Mazzara, Kevin Arkadie
7.9/10 2,177 votes#22 - Safe
Season 3 Episode 7 - Aired 4/20/2004
Vic and the Strike Team decide to take risky measures to protect themselves from being linked to the Money Train heist. Unfortunately, their plan is interrupted when one of Vic's open cases is suddenly linked to a Narco Corrido song.
Director: Peter Horton
Writer: Adam Fierro
7.9/10 2,186 votes#23 - Cracking Ice
Season 3 Episode 8 - Aired 4/27/2004
An oversight puts Waylon and Trish in serious danger during an undercover job and Claudette is to blame. Meanwhile, Tommy makes a drastic decision when he realizes nobody in the Barn can help him get back on the job.
Director: Guy Ferland
Writer: Diego Gutierrez, Charles H. Eglee
7.9/10 2,159 votes#24 - String Theory
Season 4 Episode 9 - Aired 5/17/2005
Monica orders her units to turn the streets of Farmington inside-out when two officers mysteriously disappear after answering a 911 call. Shane tries to make amends with his old crew after Vic agrees to help him get out from under Antwon, but things don't work out as planned. Dutch and Claudette convince Monica to let them take active roles in the case of the missing officers, but soon find themselves at a dead end with the only witness being clinically insane.
Director: Philip G. Atwell
Writer: Charles H. Eglee, Shawn Ryan
7.9/10 2,189 votes#25 - Rap Payback
Season 5 Episode 6 - Aired 2/14/2006
As the Strike Team is preoccupied with gang violence, Kavanaugh decides to make the Barn his base of operations. An evasive serial killer from Dutch and Claudette’s past reenters their life. Meanwhile, additional strain is placed on their working relationship when Tina learns something personal about Julien.
Director: Michael Chiklis
Writer: Charles H. Eglee, Ted Griffin