The BEST episodes of Falcon Crest
Every episode of Falcon Crest ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Falcon Crest!
Set in the vineyards of California, this prime-time soap opera featured the conflict within the powerful Gioberti family, owners of the vast Falcon Crest Winery.
#1 - Finders and Losers
Season 5 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/14/1986
Sofia's attempt to reason with Phillippe about her father and Lance's imprisonment places her in the same predicament. However, a shootout at the chalet frees them all. After Lance fails to report to her at Falcon Crest, Angela flies to Europe with Reardon to find him, but they arrive too late to do any good. In the meantime, Emma and Dwayne find Ursula in Mexico and rescue her with the help of a flirtatious police captain. In order to even the score with Angela, Chase devises a ruse for one of the valley's vineyard owners. Jordan worries about her memory lapses, but begins to find rather unnerving clues to her behavior. Chase approves of Maggie's tour to promote her book. Joseph violently reacts to Melissa and Cole's continual disputes.
#2 - Win, Place and Show
Season 3 - Episode 25 - Aired 4/13/1984
When the cartel begins to carry out its plans to make a public spectacle of Richard's assassination at the grand opening of the racetrack, Richard, making a switch with the bomb, causes the cartel to explode its own limousine. Eager to please Angela, Lance promises that he and Melissa will produce a grandchild. Melissa learns, however, that she can no longer have children because of injuries sustained from the car accident. While the Giobertis believe that Michael and Terry are traveling to Mexico, they are surprised when the two announce their marriage. At Falcon Crest, Angela agrees to marry Philip. As detectives discover Julia's hideout, Lucas discovers Julia's true identity and murderous acts as she heads for Tuscany. Meanwhile, Lance secretly executes his plan for power using The Globe as his tool.
#3 - Conundrum
Season 5 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/10/1986
When Angela directs Lance to bribe the pickers not to pick Chase's grapes, Lance takes Father Christopher along to show him how deviously their grandmother Angela operates. Disgusted with her tactics, Christopher confronts her. After Chase discovers Angela's ruse in time to save his own harvest, he turns the tables on Angela. After signing a pre-nuptial agreement, which gives the groom the advantage, Richard Channing and Terry are married. As Apollonia embarks on her tour, Emma persuades Lance to follow her. The J.J Roberts fund-raiser at Falcon Crest is a huge success. Afterward, Jordan's mother uncovers the reason Jordan despises her father when Greg discovers Jordan working at a halfway house for abused girls. Peter Stavros's daughter tries to retrieve her father's briefcase from Angela. After Cole and Melissa pay Robin her money, Robin disappears with the baby.
#4 - In Absentia
Season 5 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/14/1986
When Angela returns and discovers the havoc Peter has wrought during her absence, she vows to take vengeance on him. Before Angela's return, Reardon gets a temporary injunction to stay Peter's hand at Falcon Crest, but it is too late. Peter has disappeared, and so has Angela's $30 million. Richard not only discovers that Jordan has been revealing his financial problems to Terry, but also that Peter Stavros has purchased the mortgage on Tuscany Downs. Determined to win Maggie's attention, Jeff follows her to the Tuscany Valley after her tour concludes. In order to avoid being forced into selling her wine harvest to Falcon Crest, Melissa tries to convince Eric to form a partnership with her.
#5 - Dead End
Season 7 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/30/1987
After Angela and Richard individually maneuver to meet the man behind the mysterious activity in the Tuscany Valley, they are both placed in precarious positions. Maggie can't understand Richard's reluctance to rely on the police. Angela forces Wilkinson to reveal Richard's ownership of lake property in Nevada. Emma, agreeing to write her autobiography, acquires a ghostwriter and personal manager, and heads for Hollywood. While Lance discovers that someone sabotaged his car, Vickie finds herself among the homeless. In conclusion, an explosion destroys the Gioberti home.
#6 - New Faces
Season 7 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/6/1987
After Angela and Richard meet the mysterious Carlton Travis, Angela conspires with Carlton to destroy Richard. Richard realizes that although Carlton is a man who won't listen to reason, he will listen to Angela. With all the trimmings Hollywood offers, Emma works on her screenplay. Melissa takes Dan to Australia to visit Cole and her son. With Frank Starr's assistance, Dina's nurse works on her patient to discredit Lance. Angela and Travis discover that they have a history.
#7 - Sweet Revenge
Season 7 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/13/1987
After Richard rejects Carlton Travis's offer of a truce, Travis kidnaps him and Angela. After Maggie hires an old friend to plan a birthday party for Richard's son, Angela brings a puppy as a gift to the party. Melissa spirits her son away for a picnic and becomes lost in the Australian bush. Dina's nurse gets her to sign Lance's half-million-dollar check over to her. Lance suspects that Frank Starr tampered with his car.
#8 - Key to Angela
Season 7 - Episode 24 - Aired 4/8/1988
Richard sends the children to Emma while Maggie dries out. He's mulling over what to do about Melissa's plan to get into Hobart now that she's decided not to spy on Lance for him. He takes turns with Emma watching over Maggie, who painfully weans herself of alcohol- until she gets a letter from Vickie, delivered by Emma. Maggie is shocked to find that her daughter is in jail in Switzerland and that her husband is responsible. She goes to call Geneva but finds that the telephones have been removed. Furious and frustrated and feeling totally deceived by her husband, Maggie reaches for a hidden bottle of brandy and pours herself a drink. Richard comes home and finds Maggie seated with a glass of brandy. She tells him she knows where Vickie is and what he has done to put her there. He begs Maggie not to take the drink. The smell of it alone makes her sick, Maggie tells him. She pours the brandy into a nearby planter and says, ""A toast to my daughter in Switzerland."" Richard can't find a th
#9 - Echoes
Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/25/1985
When Chase tries to help Maggie regain her memory, she rebuffs his advances, reminding him that she doesn't remember him or their marriage. Peter Stavros asks Angela to marry him, but she can only think about saving Falcon Crest at the moment. As Father Christopher gets to know his family, Angela and Greg use him as proof that Anna had a motive to kill Dominic. Unnerved, Anna sneaks into Angela's bedroom and sets it ablaze. When Richard is shot at, he escapes injury because he wears a bulletproof vest. Jordan and Richard create a plan with Richard as the target that will draw out the assailant. Lance continues his reckless and despondent behavior.
#10 - Rescue Me
Season 7 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/8/1988
After Vicky vanishes from Angela's party, Richard and Eric frantically search for her. After Dan is surprised by the arrival of a half-sister whom he didn't know he had, he puts her to work in the grape fields. Shannon tries to leave the valley after Lance questions her. Melissa is able to deflect Angela's scheme to get her committed so that Angela instead loses her hold on Dan. Angela succeeds in prying into Maggie's affairs.
#11 - Twist and Shout
Season 7 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/18/1987
After discovering that Maggie has finally accepted Richard, Emma and Angela throw a surprise engagement party. During the party, Melissa makes her entrance dressed only in a bathrobe. Lance discovers that the charming stranger he has befriended knows secrets that could directly impact him. Liz makes an announcement that infuriates Angela but delights Maggie. Melissa overhears Angela talking about her plan to drive Melissa insane and have her committed. Richard saves Eric from making a terrible mistake.
#12 - Man Hunt
Season 7 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/20/1987
After Angela digs into the past to save Richard from Carlton Travis, she must open old wounds. Angela goes to the wife of a Supreme Court justice and one of Washington's most celebrated hostesses to recruit help in rescuing her son. When Lance is arrested for murder, Melissa comes to his aid. A man who Dan suspects is a thief turns out to be his father. While asleep, Lance is injected with a toxin that will kill him within 24 hours.
#13 - Tarentella
Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/30/1984
When Chase hears that Jasper's will is being re-opened, he becomes suspicious of Angela's motives and confronts her. Chase discovers that Francesca is selling her third of Falcon Crest to Angela in order to save her vineyards in Italy, but Francesca is confused since Angela told her that Chase would be pleased. Cole decides he loves Melissa enough to move in with her, even against his parents' warning. Richard tries unsuccessfully to keep Lance from seeing Lorraine and warns him not to hurt his stepdaughter. Francesca decides to throw a farewell party before returning to Italy. She performs the tarantella and berates her family for their greed and hatred. Jean-Louis helps Francesca by pilfering her agreement from Angela's safe. During the night, Gustav's henchmen tail Julia, seize her and drive off.
#14 - Shattered Dreams
Season 5 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/31/1986
When the guilt from her father's death creates strange nightmares for Jordan Roberts, she looks to Greg Reardon for solace, but develops a split personality to hide from reality. Dwayne brings Emma home from the hospital and baits Angela. Lance leaves for Europe to continue his search for Peter Stavros. When Robin consults Angela for help in keeping her daughter, Angela is delighted at the opportunity to strike back at Melissa. Chase and Richard Channing make an agreement to work together and challenge Angela by opening Terry's winery.
#15 - Gambit Exposed
Season 5 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/7/1986
Passing himself off as a playboy gambler in Monte Carlo, Lance is invited to a high-stakes game at a chateau where he discovers Peter Stavros to be a prisoner. However, Lance's attempt to free Peter, who is being held by his own daughter and Phillippe Hubbert, only succeeds in jeopardizing him. At a wine-tasting symposium in Hawaii, after Chase's wine defeats Angela's, Chase announces his partnership with Richard Channing during his acceptance speech. Paternity tests prove that Cole is the father of Robin's baby. Jordan is puzzled when she can't remember some of her evening activities, but Terry may have a clue for her.
#16 - Hidden Meanings
Season 5 - Episode 22 - Aired 3/7/1986
Reasoning that Angela would never give control of Falcon Crest to an outsider, Lance is convinced that Peter is hiding something from the rest of the family. At the winery, Emma reconciles with Dwayne. After Maggie rejects Jeff's advances, he continues to fantasize about her. After Jordan provides Terry information about Richard and Chase's secret business plans, Richard hires a detective to check on Jordan. Eric begins to enjoy the campaign to secure Melissa's grapes for Falcon Crest when he takes her dancing. Reardon is fired after he refuses to obey Peter's order to withdraw $30 million of Falcon Crest funds for him.
#17 - Cease and Desist
Season 5 - Episode 26 - Aired 5/2/1986
Although Sheriff Gilmore can find no grounds to arrest Jeff, Chase manages to get an order barring Jeff from having any direct contact with Maggie. However, when Maggie finds notes from Jeff, she realizes that he is still constantly spying on her from a distance. Melissa and Eric hold a groundbreaking ceremony for their new winery. By accusing Eric of treachery and ordering him out of the house, Angela angers Peter. Jordan begs for Greg's understanding. Dwayne finds a honeymoon cottage for Emma, much to her dismay. When Cole catches Li-Ying trespassing and surveying for earthquakes on the Gioberti's land, he confronts her. Chase asks B. Riley Wicker to investigate the financing of Tuscany Downs, which makes Richard nervous.
#18 - Dance of Deception
Season 6 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/20/1987
When Maggie prematurely gives birth to her baby at Falcon Crest, Angela conspires with rich newcomer Roland Saunders in her plans to destroy Richard. Angela finds a kindred spirit in Saunders, ""the rudest billionaire in the Fortune 500."" When Richard offers to sign the birth certificate of Maggie's baby, Chase surprises them by signing it himself. The idea of the new baby troubles Emma. Lance questions his father about Kolinski, while Tony has to lie to his son to protect Kit. During Angela's international wine show at the spa, the matron of Falcon Crest arrives with Saunders, and Peter disapproves.
#19 - Lovers and Friends
Season 7 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/4/1987
Upset with Richard's involvement with Liz and unable to make a decision about his proposal, Maggie leaves the Tuscany Valley to join Vicky in Monte Carlo. While a mysterious and eerie assassin figure stalks Liz, Maggie resents her reliance on Richard's protection. After Melissa gets even with Angela, Angela retaliates with a scheme that boomerangs. Maggie enters her new wine in a contest and wins second place. Angela discovers that Dan's father has a second family. After Lance rescues Emma from her would-be producers, she starts writing an advice column for The New Globe.
#20 - Across the Bridge
Season 7 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/11/1987
When Maggie returns to the valley with Vickie and Eric, she learns that Richard and Liz have been traveling together. Eric realizes that his gambling debts are following him and that he must pay more than money to escape them. When Melissa starts to experience strange phenomena due to Angela's hired illusionist Foster Glenn, Melissa's world begins to fall apart. Emma's success as a columnist disturbs Angela, who goes to Father Bob for advice about her family.
#21 - Law and Ardor
Season 5 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/28/1986
Before Sheriff Gilmore can serve a warrant for Angela's arrest, she disappears. Dwayne, concerned for Emma, alerts the Falcon Crest residents that Angela is about to be arrested for planning the hijacking of Chase's wine shipment. When the Sheriff arrives, he cannot find Angela and Peter. After Robin takes Hope from Melissa and Cole, Cole moves home. Jeff pursues Maggie across the country. Richard and Chase disagree on methods of acquiring more vineyards. After Jordan requests Greg's help, Terry hires a detective to spy on her. Peter returns with Angela's power of attorney to run Falcon Crest and Lance makes a discovery about his grandmother's disappearance.
#22 - Climax
Season 2 - Episode 22 - Aired 3/11/1983
At the Tuscany Hospital, Chase pushes Maggie's wheelchair toward their car. As it has only been a week since Maggie's accident, the doctor orders her to be careful because she had suffered a severe concussion. Chase tells Maggie that he is not taking her to the hotel, but home. At the Falcon Crest meadows, Lance and Melissa ride horses and gaze at the land that they hope will be theirs someday. Lance shows Melissa the divorce papers that he had intercepted before Julia could see them. Over at The Globe office, Phillip discovers that Richard has not been seen for ages, nor has Diana Hunter. Emma sees Phillip leave Richard's office, which piques her curiosity. At the Gioberti's house, Chase tells Maggie that her close call with the barrels was not an accident because he had heard someone running away. Angie arrives and insists on having Vickie's wedding at Falcon Crest, while Chase is still concerned with the accident and Richard Channing's disappearance.
#23 - The Cradle Will Fall
Season 6 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/30/1987
Rushing to protect Chase, Dan Fixx lands in jail, and Chase has to try to rescue him, as well as himself, from corrupt officers. Angela rejects Peter's proposal to join him in Monte Carlo and is shocked at his response. Richard happily tells Maggie news of his son and Vicky misunderstands the kiss her mother gives him. Emma learns the truth about Karlotti, but she doesn't change her feelings about him. Peter summons Tony to Monte Carlo to discuss Skyler. Angela and Richard confront each other. Lance is concerned over Melissa's reactions.
#24 - Danny's Song
Season 9 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/11/1990
After Danny learns that Richard is his father, he goes to Sharpe to tell him it doesn't matter, but Sharpe throws him out of his office and tells him that they should go their separate ways. Because Danny has no job and nowhere to live, Lauren invites him to live with her and Richard, but Richard wants nothing to do with Danny. After witnessing this callous side of Richard, Lauren considers calling off their wedding. When Danny threatens suicide, however, Richard and Sharpe agree to help him, which reassures Lauren. With the wedding back on schedule, Angela must find another way to stop it.
#25 - The Return
Season 9 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/4/1990
Sharpe reels from the news that his hated rival Richard is Danny's father. Richard's plans to run the winery with Lauren run into a snag when Angela returns after regaining consciousness. When Richard informs Angela that she has no legal claim to the winery, Angela pretends to give in, but she is secretly planning to block Richard's marriage to Lauren with the help of Michael Sharpe.