Which are the 10 best FBI: Most wanted episodes, ranked?

Dick Wolf’s FBI franchise on CBS includes the compelling FBI: Most Wanted, which packs a punch in terms of incredible and captivating episodes.

TV legend Dick Wolf’s latest project is CBS’s FBI franchise. Soon after the inception of the original series, the franchise began to expand, with FBI: Most Wanted currently in its fifth season.

FBI: Most Wanted follows the members of the FBI’s Fugitive Task Force as they hunt down criminals who have fled justice. The series is incredibly fast-paced and seamlessly blends high-octane action with dramatic and cerebral cases. However, newcomers will find that some episodes stand out more than others in terms of executing this vision.

10. “Inheritance” Sees the Team Racing to Find a Killer Con Woman

Season 3, Episode 21
IMDb Rating 7.7/10
“Inheritance” centers on a young con woman who has turned from grifting to murder to conceal her past. The episode wraps itself in layers that the team must pull away to uncover the identity of the woman they are chasing before more people die.

Notably, the episode embraces the smoke and mirrors that come with a con woman living multiple lives, and it fits seamlessly with the chase for the killer. Occasionally the episode stumbles trying to balance the reveals about the subject and keep the chase’s pace, but more often than not it holds steady.

9. “Gold Diggers” Incorporates a Treasure Hunt

Season 4, Episode 4
IMDb Rating 7.3/10
“Gold Diggers” has the FBI’s Fugitive Task Force on the trail of a modern-day treasure hunt after a professor with connections to a Civil War-era treasure is murdered. The treasure/manhunt pair well and are able to match each other’s pace in terms of action.

This episode tends to skew towards action over story, even though the treasure hunt angle is a compelling watch. However, it misses the dose of cerebral edge found in the climaxes of other FBI franchise episodes.

8. “Processed” Explores the Dark Side of Psychiatry

Season 4, Episode 9
IMDb Rating 7.8/10
“Processed” is an episode that leans hard into the twisted stories for which Dick Wolf is known. It centers on the kidnapping of a celebrity child psychiatrist known to specialize in family-based trauma. The episode also touches on mental manipulation that bleeds into how the story is told with consistent reveals and plot twists.

“Processed” goes in heavy with the personal reveals relating to the subjects involved in the case, and this can cause the action to lose its rhythm as it constantly jerks itself around based on personal reveals instead of natural flow.

7. “Execute” Has Some of the Most Bizarre Crimes Yet

Season 2, Episode 2
IMDb Rating 7.6/10
“Execute” follows the Fugitive Task Force as they hunt down a tech-savvy killer who hacked a car to kill a family. The massive implications of a fugitive so gifted he can turn any piece of technology into a murder weapon raise the stakes for this manhunt to be successful as soon as possible.

“Execute” incorporates a lot of hot-button tech topics and elements of online culture that demonstrate how the internet can be misused by a psychopathic mind. The episode also draws a foil between Agent Hana Gibson and the fugitive, and the dual-personality exploration adds another dynamic that fleshes out the action on both sides of the chase.

6. “Greatest Hits” Is an Even Darker Twist on the Genre

Season 3, Episode 20
IMDb Rating 7.9/10
“Greatest Hits” incorporates a historical element to the standard fugitive-hunt format by including a criminal hyperfixated on murders committed by an ’80s mobster. The fugitive is recreating these murders, which causes the team to draw on the old case agent and a true-crime podcast to help solve the case.

This episode takes a darker approach to the rising popularity of true crime-based media, which would hold the focus of the audience and has the signature Dick Wolf element of incorporating popular social topics into his storylines.

5. “Dysfunction” Has a Victim Keeping Secrets

Season 2, Episode 6
IMDb Rating 7.8/10
“Dysfunction” is an episode where nothing is as it seems. The team enters a manhunt believing they’re dealing with a double homicide and abduction, but things take a dark turn while they’re pursuing the fugitives. This massive plot twist involving one of the presumed hostages changes the entire landscape of the case.

Having the perceptions of the supposed victim and supposed kidnapper change in the episode keeps the viewer on edge and ramps up the tension for the manhunt as it approaches its conclusion.

4. “Prophet” Has a Cult Leader and His Followers on the Run

Season 1, Episode 6
IMDb Rating 7.6/10
“Prophet” sees the team on the hunt for members of a cult and their charismatic and sociopathic leader after a brutal multiple homicide. The cult dynamic in this episode makes for incredibly compelling scenes from the fugitive side of the chase, as many of the members are young people being exploited and manipulated.

The latter half of the episode incorporates a shocking plot twist that reveals a darker aspect of the cult leader and leaves fans reeling. This shocking reveal going into the final makes for a dramatic finish.

3. “Grudge” Tackles a Faceless Cyberstalker

Season 1, Episode 13
IMDb Rating 7.6/10
“Grudge” has the team starting at a disadvantage while chasing after an unknown cyberstalker who escalates to murdering two people in his quest to ruin the life of a man and his pregnant wife. The anonymous nature of the fugitive puts the team at a deficit as they try to figure out the identity before he can kill again.

The stalker aspect of the case spreads out beyond the stalker’s fixation on the primary target and his family. His machinations are boundless, as he’s willing to target anyone to advance his crimes. A separate stalker storyline is also in play with one of the agents on the case, which raises awareness for this underreported and underprosecuted crime.

2. “Predators” Is a Brutal Episode

Season 1, Episode 8
IMDb Rating 7.8/10
“Predators” is an incredibly depraved episode that features a Bonnie and Clyde-esque pair of serial killers with a penchant for assaulting and killing young blonde girls. The relentlessness and brutality of these crimes rock the team to the core, and they have to use every ounce of inner strength to focus on bringing the pair to justice.

The shocking nature of this episode has the team reeling, and viewers are left in a similar lurch as they try to make sense of what’s unfolding on the screen. The fight for justice and resounding victory at the end of the episode is met with overwhelming relief as this case is finally solved. The team was truly tested, and it only made the victory more impactful.

1. “Caesar” Is an Iconic Episode for the Franchise as a Whole

Season 1, Episode 4
IMDb Rating 7.2/10
“Caesar,” like the episode’s namesake, is about the rise and fall of a Titan-esque leader. A calculating gangster kills the old leader of her gang and takes the reigns in order to go on a quest for power that she never had. When things begin to escalate, Agent Barnes reactivates an old undercover alias to get close to the fugitive and end her reign.

This episode incorporates numerous elements without feeling too overwhelming. The manhunt keeps a good adrenaline-fueled pace, and the psyche of the fugitive is incredibly compelling. The added undercover element also provides a good personal window into the life of Agent Barnes, so “Caesar” checks all the right boxes.