Law & Order: Criminal Intent

10 Best Episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent - Season 4

The third installment of the β€œLaw & Order” franchise takes viewers deep into the minds of its criminals while following the intense psychological approaches the Major Case Squad uses to solve its crimes.

Written by Sophie and last updated on feb 04, 2023.

PS: The following content contains spoilers!

PPS: I will admit that parts of this page was written with the help of AI - it makes my work so much easier to not start from a blank page!

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Law & Order: Criminal Intent - S4E1

#15 - Semi-Detached (Season 4 - Episode 1)

The investigation into the deaths of a shock jock and the housekeeper who supplied the pain killers to which he was once addicted leads Goren and Eames to a detox clinic staff member whose mental illness hits Goren close to home.

The episode was rated 7.49 from 94 votes.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent - S4E11

#14 - Gone (Season 4 - Episode 11)

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Goren matches wits with a one-time chess prodigy who has become a fugitive when the body of a young woman is found tossed in the trash.

The episode was rated 7.51 from 71 votes.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent - S4E16

#13 - Ex Stasis (Season 4 - Episode 16)

When a young woman is shot at an appointment she never should have been at, Goren and Eames investigate her death and learn she had received a kidney transplant a few years earlier. Initially they believe that Vanessa Nikos may have been killed so that her organs could be harvested, but soon learn that her death was more closely connected with the organ she initially received from living donor Boyce Wainwright. When her shooter, also awaiting an organ transplant, is also found dead, the police realise they're on to something.

The episode was rated 7.51 from 78 votes.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent - S4E8

#12 - Silver Lining (Season 4 - Episode 8)

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A master thief who specialises in stealing antique silver from wealthy families across the country is finally captured after his pregnant wife takes desperate measures when an appraiser threatens to ruin her white-picket-fence dreams of the future.

The episode was rated 7.52 from 66 votes.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent - S4E6

#11 - In the Dark (Season 4 - Episode 6)

During the investigation into the deaths of several homeless people, Goren and Eames uncover a series of frauds that lead them to a woman in the early stages of dementia and the man who is willing to commit murder to demonstrate his devotion for her.

The episode was rated 7.54 from 69 votes.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent - S4E21

#10 - The Unblinking Eye (Season 4 - Episode 21)

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After a young actress is gunned down after an evening out with her boyfriend, Goren and Eames initially focus their attention on a young man who had showed an unusual interest in the couple, but soon realise that there is more to this case than meets the eye. A jealous and seemingly obsessive ex-girlfriend, a best friend who never made it as an actor, and a grieving boyfriend who seems too good to be true lead Goren and Eames down another path, one where the key to exposing the truth about the present depends on exposing the lies of the past.

The episode was rated 7.57 from 65 votes.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent - S4E10

#9 - The View from Up Here (Season 4 - Episode 10)

A nanny confesses to a murder and an attempted murder that she claims God told her to commit. The link is that both victims lived in the same building, which was poorly constructed, and were rumored to be having an affair.

The episode was rated 7.58 from 65 votes.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent - S4E22

#8 - My Good Name (Season 4 - Episode 22)

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When the body of a man is found and it soon becomes obvious the body has been moved, Eames and Goren investigate the death of Walter Czabo, whose wife has been sleeping with a decorated former police officer who happens to have close ties to Deakins. The suspects start piling up, starting with Frank Adair and leading to his controlling publicist, but Deakins is reluctant to go after his friend, who wields a lot of local influence, without good, hard proof.

The episode was rated 7.62 from 60 votes.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent - S4E3

#7 - Want (Season 4 - Episode 3)

After he gets into the head of an insane man driven to torture, murder, and cannibalism by overwhelming despair and loneliness, Goren surprises his colleagues with a passionate plea that the man be spared the death penalty, and engineers the confession that will save the man's life through a plea bargain.

The episode was rated 7.62 from 92 votes.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent - S4E15

#6 - Death Roe (Season 4 - Episode 15)

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After a food critic is found beaten to death, Goren and Eames turn their suspicion to the chef at the last restaurant she visited. Unfortunately, Joshua Mailer has also gone missing, and their investigation then turns to his father-in-law, the owner and head chef of another very popular restaurant in the city. An off-the-cuff comment tips Goren off to the fact that not all is well in the Onorato household.

The episode was rated 7.65 from 63 votes.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent - S4E13

#5 - Stress Position (Season 4 - Episode 13)

When a prison guard is murdered, Eames and Goren investigate, only to discover they've riled the feathers of Mike Logan, a Staten Island police officer who happens to be dating the nurse at the prison. Logan joins the duo to find out exactly what is happening at the prison.

The episode was rated 7.66 from 73 votes.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent - S4E2

#4 - The Posthumous Collection (Season 4 - Episode 2)

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The investigation into the death of a famous photographer leads to the discovery of multiple homicides committed by the collaborator on his latest project, who was attempting to exorcise demons from his past through an artistic expression the photographer soon found intolerable.

The episode was rated 7.66 from 92 votes.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent - S4E18

#3 - The Good Child (Season 4 - Episode 18)

After Dennis and Camille Burnett are found dead in their home, the only survivor is their twenty-year-old daughter, Rachel. Goren and Eames initially suspect that someone connected with the Marinko family had the Burnetts killed, since they were in witness relocation, but the detectives soon realise that the connection isn't the parents, it's the daughter. Suspicion then turns to the daughter's biological parents and her birth father's very jealous wife.

The episode was rated 7.68 from 73 votes.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent - S4E17

#2 - Shibboleth (Season 4 - Episode 17)

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When Phoebe Morton is murdered on the phone with a 911 operator, Goren and Eames take the case and soon realize Morton is one of five women murdered with a similar bent, the killer known as Body By Jake (B.B.J.). Their investigation leads them to Keith Durbin, a recently released parolee who seems to be perfect. Goren has his suspicions about Durbin, who doesn't seem right to him, and when they learn that there are similar killings going much further back, Goren and Eames soon focus their attention on a new suspect, and soon realize that even though he's not guilty, Durbin is the key.

The episode was rated 7.72 from 75 votes.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent - S4E9

#1 - Inert Dwarf (Season 4 - Episode 9)

A world-renowned physicist resorts to murder to avoid being humiliated by his failure to prove a controversial theory of quantum physics that he has spent his career espousing.

The episode was rated 7.75 from 64 votes.

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