The best episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 9
Season 9 only — ranked by viewer rating, highs first. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
When Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler discover a kidnapped girl in the trunk of a stolen rental car, they are led to her abductor; a violent, schizophrenic artist named Saul Picard. Picard's rage seriously injures Elliot, and the trial drives A.D.A. Casey Novak to face not only a complicated case on temporary insanity, but her own dark past as well.
- 02
When David Zelinsky shows up to school visibly beaten and sexually assaulted, Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler look to David's tutor and his Rabbi for answers. The investigation soon leads to one of David's troubled classmates, Jack Trembley, as more victims begin to come forward. The case quickly turns into a media circus as Trembley's attorney, Roxana Hickey, uses it as an opportunity for her own self-promotion.
- 03
When Ashley Tyler is found raped and beaten in a local community garden, Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler initially suspect her drug-dealing uncle, Rick Tyler. After the rape kit identifying the rapist goes missing, a crooked prison guard comes under suspicion. Detective Benson puts herself in great danger as she goes undercover as a prison inmate to catch the predator.
- 04
When money manager Jeremy Grandon is found murdered in his loft, detectives Benson and Elliot Stabler initially suspect troubled teenager, Freddie Ramirez. A hidden video camera leads the detectives to the victims secret lover, Lincoln Morse, a star-studded pro- football player whose agent, Gary Lesley, may go too far in protecting his client's persona. Morse's history of memory loss brings defense attorney Rebecca Balthus into the case, while Detective Benson finally finds a boyfriend, Kurt Foss, an editor at the Ledger who unfortunately clashes with her detective work.
- 05
Cynthia Nixon turns in a powerful performance as a woman with multiple personalities who may have abused and fatally harmed her daughter. As Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler dig more deeply into the case - with initial resistance from Dr. Henry Carlisle -- Donovan continues to present even more personalities along with a harrowing twist to the case. For the detectives, it's a race against time to find the infant, while adjusting to sweeping changes in the SVU - a result from poor decisions made by the detectives that have spilled over to the squad.
- 06
Ben Nicholson finds his wife Corrine beaten into a coma, and the only witness is their mentally challenged daughter, Katie. Because of Katie's sensitive mental condition - the detectives are reluctant to have her testify. Detectives Olivia Benson, Elliot Stabler and Dr. Huang work with Katie, and begin to piece together the night of the beating and some of Corrine's well-hidden secrets.
- 07
When a college student is found murdered, Detectives Benson and Elliot Stabler recognize the body's mutilation as a "copycat" of serial killer Robert Morton. Cecilia, the last person to see the victim alive, suddenly goes missing herself. In a race to find Cecilia alive, the detectives seek out Morton and discover his loyal following, including one twisted man whose comic book series glorifies Morton's murders. The comic books are the key to finding Cecilia, but the investigation angers Morton's followers and Detective Benson find herself in serious danger.
- 08
Woman's body is found murdered in a park alongside a man with a bullet in his head - Detective Benson and Special Agent Cooper join forces and suspect "The Woodsman", a serial killer Cooper has tried to catch for years. Detective Chester Lake and Benson begin to question Cooper's true motives when the male victim is later identified as "The Woodsman".
- 09
An old murder case of a teenage girl is reopened, when Detective Lake is caught in a gunfight and wounded by the case's former investigator, Detective Mary Kralik. The shooting leaves Kralik dead, and Lake's uncooperative answers lead to confusion in the squad room. The case intensifies when Lake escapes from the hospital, and takes hostage the original case's only witness, Celina Cruz. The SVU squad is left to revisit the original murder case, as Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler search for Lake and his hostage.
- 10
A young girl's death seems to be linked to the world of ultimate fighting, but after questioning Kona and his girlfriend, the evidence trail leads Detectives Chester Lake and Odafin "Fin" Tutuola to two young brothers who have more than a few skeletons in their closet. When the brothers are arrested, tension brew within the SVU.
- 11
When restaurant manager Dwight Lomax is caught molesting a female employee, he claims that he was following orders from a Detective Milgram over the phone. As detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler delve into the case, they discover Detective Milgram was a hoax by engineer, Merritt Rook. Rook later turns his trial into a media circus by using the courtroom as a soapbox. Rook's courtroom antics set him free, and with a group of followers, detective Benson and Stabler fall prey to another one of Rook's psychological schemes leaving the SVU department vulnerable.
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