Looking back at some of SVU’s most important and memorable episodes ahead of its historic twenty-first season.
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Online Editor
***SPOILERS INCOMING***
“Law and Order: SVU” returns this week for its historic twenty-first season, and The Montage will once again be recapping and reviewing the show. In order to commemorate the occasion, I have picked out 21 of my favorite episodes of the series from throughout its run for you to check out for the first time or even rewatch. Some of these episodes have long-term implications for the show, some are stand-alone classics and some are just on the list for their high insanity factor.
Season 1, Episode 14 – Limitations: The first season is arguably the best written, with “Limitations” exemplifying that. With the statute of limitations soon expiring for a case in which three women were sexually assaulted, Captain Don Cragen and his detectives are tasked with finding the perpetrator before time runs out.
Season 2, Episode 19 – Parasites: One of the more forgotten episodes, “Parasites” focused on twin sisters who immigrated from Romania. When one is found long-dead and buried in a courtyard, Detectives Stabler and Benson investigate the crime, only to find out the shocking truth about the victim’s real identity.
Season 3, Episode 2 – Wrath: One of Mariska Hargitay’s favorite episodes and also a particularly intense one, “Wrath” is one of the first of many times that Detective Olivia Benson is traumatized, although nothing physically bad happens to her here.
One of the perps in an old case of Benson’s comes back into the picture and methodically begins to pick off people who were involved in Benson’s previous cases. Consumed with fear, but unwilling to let the situation get to her, she tries to find the perpetrator. She becomes increasingly paranoid and on-edge as the episode progresses, leading to incredible tension with Stabler when he asks for a protective detail for her. The episode becomes progressively more unsettling as it builds up to an absolutely jaw-dropping conclusion.
Season 4, Episode 2 – Deception: Sherilyn Fenn of “Twin Peaks” portrays the perpetrator in “Deception,” where the detectives uncover a disturbing relationship between a stepmother and her stepson.
Season 6, Episode 7 – Charisma: A case involving the murder of dozens of children who were a part of a cult leads to Detectives Elliot Stabler and Fin Tutuola being sent home (as they became too emotional), leaving Detectives John Munch and Benson to find and apprehend the cult’s leader.
Season 8, Episode 22 – Screwed: A follow up to the season 7 episode “Venom,” musician Ludacris returns to play Darius Parker, a family member of Detective Tutuola’s on trial for the murder of a woman.
There’s a twist though: due to the methods by which the woman’s body was discovered in “Venom,” both the woman’s body and Parker’s confession are deemed inadmissible as evidence for the trial.
Parker also uses the trial to dig up dirt on all of the members of the squad, bringing the detectives various misdeeds to light and forcing everyone on the squad (except for Detective Munch, because he didn’t break any rules) to face consequences for their questionable actions. Even ADA Casey Novak and the trial’s judge are caught in the crossfire.
Season 9, Episode 15- Undercover: One of the more well-known episodes of the series, “Undercover” sees Benson go inside a female prison facility in order to apprehend a rapist whom is believed to be a corrections officer.
She ultimately gets her man, but nearly pays the ultimate price for doing so; if it were not for Detective Tutuola, she likely would have been raped by the guard. The incident, although not regularly referenced, stays with her for seasons to come.
Season 10, Episode 7- Wildlife: Focusing on animal trafficking for some unknown reason, “Wildlife” literally has everything: Captain Cragen finding a basketball with a monkey hidden in it, Benson having to pose as an undercover Stabler’s hooker, Stabler getting shot again and a terrible rapper named Gots Money who gets eaten by a hyena. It’s so bad it’s good, and is worth watching purely for the absurdity of it all.
Season 10, Episode 22- Zebras: Another one of those episodes that is so bad it’s good is the Season 10 finale. Another absurd outing, it features Munch and Tutuola chasing a perpetrator through a funhouse, a whole lot of acid, and Stabler being slapped by Benson while being tortured and held hostage.
Season 11, Episode 9- Perverted: Another Benson-centric episode, “Perverted” finds an under-the-weather Benson being set up for the brutal mutilation and murder of a biker. She didn’t do it of course, but someone has fabricated her D.N.A.
Season 12, Episode 3- Behave: Featuring a powerful performance from Jennifer Love-Hewitt, “Behave” focuses on the issue of the rape-kit backlog, which is an issue that Mariska Hargitay herself has brought attention to and fought to rectify.
Season 12, Episode 5- Wet: Perhaps the most insane episode of SVU in terms of ridiculous content, “Wet” sees a murder by toxic mushrooms. It features an appearance in the cold open by Melissa Benoist of “Supergirl” and “Glee” fame, a dog eating a tampon off-screen, and in the most hilarious interrogation scene of all time, Benson accidently getting high off the mushrooms. “I didn’t stab the captain with a pickle” is perhaps her most unintentionally iconic line. This episode also features the last appearance of the original SVU squadroom, and the introduction of the new one that is still in use today.
Season 13, Episode 13- Father’s Shadow: Actor Cameron Monaghan shines in this unique, fast paced episode. Wanting his filmmaker father released from jail, he decides to take drastic measures by holding his remaining family members hostage. With a tactical team looking to end the situation quickly and violently, this forces Benson to put herself in harm’s way once again to try and save the lives of everyone involved.
Season 13, Episode 15- Hunting Ground: Following a squad-room shooting in the Season 12 finale, Detective Stabler resigns from the force, and seemingly cuts all contact with the squad. Months later, Benson is still having a hard time processing his departure, and thus is distant from her new partner, Detective Nick Amaro.
In “Hunting Ground,” an episode based off the crimes committed by both the unidentified Long Island serial killer and serial killer Robert Hanson, an underage prostitute goes missing, leading the team to find a disturbing pattern of similar disappearances. This builds to a final, chilling confrontation with the killer at a bird sanctuary, one that results in Amaro fully earning Benson’s trust.
Season 15, Episode 1- Surrender Benson: Season 15 was a time of major change for SVU. Both Munch and Cragen retire before the season reaches its end, and this leads to Detective Benson becoming Sergeant Benson, and eventually Commanding Officer of SVU following Cragen’s departure.
However, before she ascends the leadership ladder, she’s forced to deal with an absolutely harrowing ordeal. In the conclusion to the Season 14 finale, Benson is abducted and held hostage for nearly a week by a serial rapist, William Lewis. Although she thankfully is not raped, the hour is admittedly not one of the more enjoyable episodes of the series, and is quite hard to watch at times. Despite that, the ramifications of the arc are important in terms of the development of Benson’s character and still stick with her to this day, and this hour is essentially required viewing if you haven’t seen it yet.
Season 15, Episode 15- Wednesday’s Child: One of the recurring subplots of the show for the first 15 years was Benson’s desire to become a mother. She doesn’t realize that desire in this episode, but “Wednesday’s Child” finally sets the wheel in motion on that front: in the season’s finale, she ends up adopting the baby (named Noah) that she discovers hidden in a motel room during the course of this hour.
The plotlines with Noah in recent seasons have been criticized by some fans of the show, but it was nice to see Benson find happiness after such a long time… even if I think that kid is definitely going to grow up to be a psychopath.
Season 15, Episode 17- Gambler’s Fallacy: This hour focuses on heavily on Detective Amanda Rollins and the resolution to her long-running and problematic gambling problem. When she’s discovered in an underground gambling club and is outed as cop by a previous special victim, Rollins is forced to work for the gambling ring, and nearly pays the ultimate price for doing so.
While I like Rollins, she definitely should have been fired after this. Despite that, “Gambler’s Fallacy” is still a fun ride.
Season 16, Episode 4- Holden’s Manifesto: Based on the 2014 Isla Vista killings perpetrated by Elliot Rodger, a young man named Holden March is frustrated with his failures with women, and decides to take action against the women who rejected him. When the attacks begin to escalate, Benson and her team must find Rodger and stop him before he strikes again.
Season 17, Episode 15- Collateral Damages: When a high-ranking member of the NYPD is found with child pornography, his entire family becomes collateral damage. This hour does a fantastic job displaying how one man’s crimes can affect everyone around him.
Season 19, Episode 13- The Undiscovered Country: ADA Rafael Barba, the longest running ADA in the show’s history, makes his final appearance to date in this fantastic, controversial episode that sees him become personally involved in a family’s right-to-die case, leading to Barba himself being the one put on trial.
Season 20, Episode 12- Dear Ben: While I never cared for Peter Stone on SVU, this hour is centered around him, and it’s probably SVU’s best episode of Season 20. The squad re-opens a case concerning a serial rapist that had been inactive for over 20 years, and in doing so Stone realizes that his late father (the original Law and Order’s first ADA, Ben Stone) has a deeper connection to the perpetrator than he thought. This forces Stone to reexamine his father’s past actions in a new light, and finally lure the serial rapist out of hiding.
SVU returns this Thursday night, Sept. 26.
