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The Best Episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles

Every episode of NCIS: Los Angeles ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles!

Binge this in 9d 21h•Peaking at 10.0/10

The exploits of the Los Angeles–based Office of Special Projects (OSP), an elite division of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service that specializes in undercover assignments.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    NCIS: Los Angeles Season 10 Episode 1 - To Live and Die in Mexico
    10.0/10(2 votes)

    #1 - To Live and Die in Mexico

    S10:E1

    Gravely injured and unable to communicate with the team in the U.S., Callen, Sam and Kensi, with an unconscious Deeks in tow, search for a safe way home as a cartel boss places a “dead or alive” bounty on their heads. Also, Mosely and retired Navy Admiral Hollace Kilbride beseech their contacts in Mexico and D.C. for assistance with their missing colleagues

    Director:Frank Military
    Writer:Frank Military

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  2. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 10 Episode 14 - Smokescreen (1)
    9.5/10(2 votes)

    #2 - Smokescreen (1)

    S10:E14

    The NCIS team partners with the FBI to locate a terrorist cell in Los Angeles believed to be preparing for an imminent attack.

    Director:Dennis Smith
    Writer:Andrew Bartels

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  3. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 10 Episode 15 - Smokescreen, Part II
    9.5/10(2 votes)

    #3 - Smokescreen, Part II

    S10:E15

    As the team continues to search for a terrorist cell in Los Angeles, Callen and Sam remain trapped in a movie theater after multiple bombs have detonated and every remaining exit is wired with explosives.

    Director:Sherwin Shilati
    Writer:Matt Klafter

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  4. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 10 Episode 24 - False Flag
    9.3/10(3 votes)

    #4 - False Flag

    S10:E24

    Callen and Sam work with Navy Captain Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr. (David James Elliott) to locate a group of ISIS sympathizers aboard the USS Allegiance. Also, Hetty enlists her friend, Lieutenant Colonel Sarah "Mac". Mackenzie (Catherine Bell), to help obtain information from a Russian diplomat.

    Director:Dennis Smith
    Writer:Frank Military

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  5. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 10 Episode 7 - One of Us
    9.0/10(2 votes)

    #5 - One of Us

    S10:E7

    The NCIS team partners with the State Department after the murder of an arms dealer is connected to a series of crimes seemingly executed by someone with elite special forces training. Also, Callen visits ATF Agent Anna Kolcheck in prison as she awaits her sentencing.

    Director:Dennis Smith
    Writer:Kyle Harimoto

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  6. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 10 Episode 13 - Better Angels
    9.0/10(2 votes)

    #6 - Better Angels

    S10:E13

    The NCIS team works with the Global Criminal Tribunal when a Syrian seeking justice, David Sarraf, is brutally attacked while delivering evidence that would prove chemical weapons were used on civilians. Also, Kensi stays at the crime scene and comforts Sarraf who is pinned behind a vehicle.

    Director:Diana Valentine
    Writer:Frank Military

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles

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  7. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 10 Episode 22 - No More Secrets
    9.0/10(3 votes)

    #7 - No More Secrets

    S10:E22

    The NCIS team travels to Cuba for an unsanctioned mission after Callen gets a lead on Anna Kolcheck's (Bar Paly) whereabouts.

    Director:Yangzom Brauen
    Writers:Andrew Bartels, Erin Broadhurst

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  8. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 8 Episode 13 - Hot Water (1)
    8.9/10(477 votes)

    #8 - Hot Water (1)

    S8:E13

    The mole has once again compromised the NCIS team as planted evidence results in the arrests of Callen, Sam, Granger and Deeks, on the day Under Secretary Duggan (Jackson Hurst) returns for Hetty’s resignation.

    Director:Dennis Smith
    Writer:Anastasia Kousakis

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  9. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 7 Episode 5 - Blame It on Rio
    8.7/10(515 votes)

    #9 - Blame It on Rio

    S7:E5

    NCIS Special Agent DiNozzo partners with the NCIS: Los Angeles team to search the city after his prisoner escapes custody on a flight from Singapore to Los Angeles.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 7 Episode 19 - The Seventh Child
    8.7/10(451 votes)

    #10 - The Seventh Child

    S7:E19

    Callen and the team try to save a child in imminent danger who has been brainwashed by a terrorist cell. Also, Deeks and Kensi discuss having children.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 8 Episode 23 - Uncaged (1)
    8.7/10(360 votes)

    #11 - Uncaged (1)

    S8:E23

    After Sam's wife, Michelle, is taken from her home, the kidnappers demand the prison release of Tahir Khaled, Sam's arch nemesis, in exchange for information on her whereabouts.

    Director:Frank Military
    Writer:Frank Military

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  12. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 10 Episode 19 - Searching
    8.7/10(3 votes)

    #12 - Searching

    S10:E19

    Sam assists a Department of Justice agent with locating a former U.S. boarder patrol officer who disappeared after the cartel threatened him; Kensi partners with a special agent from the Criminal Investigative Department to recover a stolen hard drive with sensitive military information.

    Director:Terrence O'Hara
    Writers:Kyle Harimoto, Adam Key

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  13. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 3 Episode 22 - Neighborhood Watch
    8.6/10(484 votes)

    #13 - Neighborhood Watch

    S3:E22

    Kensi and Deeks are sent undercover as married couple Melissa and Justin when evidence points to a Russian sleeper cell in a suburban neighborhood.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 7 Episode 10 - Internal Affairs
    8.6/10(443 votes)

    #14 - Internal Affairs

    S7:E10

    Deeks is arrested and interrogated in connection with the murder of his former partner, while the team tries to prove his innocence.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 7 Episode 24 - Talion
    8.6/10(359 votes)

    #15 - Talion

    S7:E24

    Sam receives a distress code from Aiden saying that his school is being taken over by an extremist group.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 8 Episode 15 - Payback (3)
    8.6/10(396 votes)

    #16 - Payback (3)

    S8:E15

    As the team races to save Kensi from Ferris/Sullivan, they find themselves questioning who they can trust when old faces resurface.

    Director:Terrence O'Hara
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 8 Episode 24 - Unleashed (2)
    8.6/10(331 votes)

    #17 - Unleashed (2)

    S8:E24

    Following the kidnapping of Sam's wife, Michelle Hanna, Sam goes rogue from the NCIS team and attempts to stop his arch nemesis Tahir Khaled from ever targeting his family again.

    Director:John Peter Kousakis
    Writer:R. Scott Gemmill

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  18. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 11 Episode 10 - Mother
    8.6/10(383 votes)

    #18 - Mother

    S11:E10

    Akhos Laos , a former black ops agent originally recruited and trained by Hetty Lange, returns to seek revenge on Hetty for the life she introduced him to, on the 250th episode

    Director:Dennis Smith
    Writers:Eric Christian Olsen, Babar Peerzada

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  19. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 14 Episode 19 - The Reckoning
    8.6/10(236 votes)

    #19 - The Reckoning

    S14:E19

    When four people, including a CIA officer, are shot and killed in broad daylight, the NCIS team suspects the attacks have something to do with DRONA. Also, Pembrook meets with Callen and gives more insight into his past.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 3 Episode 17 - Blye, K. (2)
    8.5/10(457 votes)

    #20 - Blye, K. (2)

    S3:E17

    The NCIS: LA team continues to search for new evidence to prove Kensi Blye’s innocence after a private meeting involving her deceased father’s sniper unit turns deadly.

    Director:Terrence O'Hara
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 8 Episode 14 - Under Siege (2)
    8.5/10(371 votes)

    #21 - Under Siege (2)

    S8:E14

    Hetty goes rogue, leaving the NCIS team completely in the dark, and the mole kidnaps one of the agents.

    Director:Ruba Nadda
    Writer:R. Scott Gemmill

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  22. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 9 Episode 14 - Goodbye, Vietnam
    8.5/10(337 votes)

    #22 - Goodbye, Vietnam

    S9:E14

    Callen, Sam, Kensi and Deeks join Hetty’s team from the Vietnam War, Sterling Bridges, A.J. Chegwidden and Charles Langston, in a dangerous and off-the-books rescue mission to save Hetty from her captors in Vietnam. Also, Mosley calls in Nell’s sister, homeland security specialist Sydney Jones, to assist the team in Los Angeles with processing evidence connected to Hetty’s time in Vietnam.

    Director:John Peter Kousakis
    Writer:R. Scott Gemmill

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  23. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 10 Episode 6 - Asesinos
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #23 - Asesinos

    S10:E6

    The NCIS team attempts to locate Mosley after she murders a cartel hitman and goes off the grid.

    Director:Terrence O'Hara
    Writer:R. Scott Gemmill

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  24. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 10 Episode 21 - The One That Got Away
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #24 - The One That Got Away

    S10:E21

    After Anna Kolcheck escapes from prison with her cellmate, Callen and the NCIS team assist with the investigation and search for her whereabouts.

    Director:Eric A. Pot
    Writers:Andrew Bartels, Erin Broadhurst

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  25. NCIS: Los Angeles Season 10 Episode 23 - The Guardian
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #25 - The Guardian

    S10:E23

    Callen and Sam travel to the USS Allegiance in the Persian Gulf to work with Navy Captain Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr. (David James Elliott) when the NCIS team uncovers ISIS sympathizers who are targeting military locations.

    Director:John Peter Kousakis
    Writer:R. Scott Gemmill

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Best Episodes Summary

"To Live and Die in Mexico" is the best rated episode of "NCIS: Los Angeles". It scored 10/10 based on 2 votes. Directed by Frank Military and written by Frank Military, it aired on 9/30/2018. This episode scored 0.5 points higher than the second highest rated, "Smokescreen (1)".