The worst episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Ranked by viewer rating, lows first. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
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.
- 02
Detectives Olivia Benson and Eliot Stabler find a woman bleeding from the neck and nearly dead. The woman dies before they reach the hospital, and soon the investigation leads them to the frontman of the death metal band Vampyre Sacrifyce. He bites girls, steals blood from the local blood bank and sings about violence to women all in the name of his strange, vampiric lifestyle. The singer claims he was nowhere near the scene of the crime, and soon a lesbian rights group led by Babs Duffy gets involved, claiming the victim's death was a result of police neglect. However, when more women from Babs's group are attacked, it becomes clear that the victim's case wasn't an isolated incident and that someone out there has a larger plan to bring the group down.
- 03
After a young woman is sexually assaulted and murdered, Detectives Olivia Benson and Eliot Stabler track down the woman's boyfriend - their first suspect - but learn that he is a devout vegan who wouldn't hurt a fly. They soon find that the victim had been deeply involved in the fight to expose questionable practices in the meat-packing industry, even going undercover at a large company to find out the truth. Benson goes undercover herself to retrace the woman's footsteps and to identify who the victim might have angered along the way.
- 04
When a school nurse notices several injuries on a young girl, the SVU detectives are called in to investigate. A closer look at her family reveals a mother struggling to manage the violent outbursts of her nine year old son As the SVU squad and the visiting Dr. Huang debate an appropriate course of treatment, the situation rapidly explodes into a dangerous standoff. Meanwhile, Detective Amaro tries to establish a relationship with his newly discovered son.
- 05
A rape charge made by a woman (Amy Carlson) against her police-sergeant husband (Nestor Serrano) leads to a complicated case.
- 06
Detectives Benson and Amaro investigate the disappearance of a teenaged girl after her young brother calls 9-1-1. While Fin and Rollins look into a possible abduction, they discover the girl had been searching for her biological father, an anonymous sperm donor. The investigation takes a startling turn when a suspect is found to be targeting several young, vulnerable women, all with the same personal connection. But the suspect isn't what he seems, and Dr. Huang must delve into his past to save the women.
- 07
Detective Amanda Rollins helps her friend Lena Olson press charges against her lover when she accuses him of rape. But Lena's history with the suspect and her proclivity for rough sex makes the he-said she-said investigation too difficult to pursue. When the case escalates to murder, a dangerous love triangle is discovered and Rollins is forced to confess her private life on the stand.
- 08
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.
- 09
When an 8-year-old boy is kidnapped off a city street, Detectives Olivia Benson and Eliot Stabler are called to investigate. They soon find that the boy is in his father's custody, and his mother has a history of overstepping her bounds. As the case comes to a head, members of the SVU team find themselves in a life-threatening standoff and learn shocking details about ADA Jo Marlowe's past.
- 10
Jonah Dekker comes to NYC from Los Angeles to defend his cousin who has been accused of rape. Meanwhile, ADA Casey Novak returns to help detectives Benson and Stabler with the case. The detectives soon discover that the case goes much deeper than the current accusation and it raises the question: how far will someone go to get revenge for their family?
- 11
A young boy is abandoned in Times Square and leads the detectives to the house where his family lives. Inside they find a locked basement where more victims await rescue, and work to solve decades-old cold cases.
- 12
Promising singer is brutally attacked by her boyfriend, a popular hip hop star. ADA Barba works to build a case, but the victim refuses to aid the prosecution and, despite Detective Benson's best efforts, continues to put herself in danger. The case quickly spirals into a media circus, perpetrated by both the defendant and his uncompromising attorney.
- 13
Detectives Benson and Amaro are called to the scene when an unconscious woman with signs of physical trauma is found in a river near the Mayor's home. With the victim in a coma, the squad races to identify and account for her prior whereabouts. They uncover a wild side to an otherwise normal wife and mother, and the investigation reaches an unsettling conclusion.
- 14
String of rapes on the Upper West Side raises concerns across the city, and while Detectives Tutuola and Rollins question everyone who fits the suspect's description, celebrity chef Jolene Castille fears she's the next victim when someone follows her home. The SVU arrests her for shooting and killing the unarmed teen, and her attorney faces off against ADA Barba in a trial that tests the limits of the jury's moral and legal responsibilities. Meanwhile, Detective Benson continues to struggle with the aftermath of her traumatic ordeal.
- 15
Popular comedian Josh Galloway is faced with student protestors after a set at Tompkins Square University. His demeaning jokes about women and rape become more serious when a student is assaulted by two of Galloway's fans. Though Barba can't arrest him for speaking his mind, he charges the SVU to find proof that Galloway's actions reflect his words. When TSU student Carly Rydell accuses Galloway of rape, Sergeant Benson is happy to arrest him. But Barba finds major roadblocks in the he-said she-said case, and thinks Benson should have chosen her battle more carefully. Meanwhile, a detective from Chicago seeks help from the NYPD.
- 16
High school football star Cedric Jones goes missing in New York City, and his uncle seeks help from their hometown friend, Detective Rollins. Though already committed to attending Georgia Tech, Cedric nevertheless accepted a free weekend recruiting trip from Hudson University's football team. When the cops find him in jail, they suspect the truth may have led to a cruel prank that spiraled out of control. Sgt. Benson's investigation into the football team and its popular coach uncovers several victims of abuse, prejudice and hazing. Meanwhile, Rollins turns to an old friend to help deal with her escalating troubles.
- 17
Renowned New York Ledger columnist Jimmy MacArthur is given full access to Sergeant Benson and the squad for an inside look at the city's Special Victims Unit. When the rape case of a young Muslim woman escalates to a hate crime, Jimmy stays one step ahead of the investigation and declares the entire crime a hoax. With the victim under fierce public scrutiny, Benson struggles to keep the case on solid ground and fears a rapist will go free.
- 18
Detective Elliot Stabler arrives on the scene of a murder to find a young woman brutally killed, and carrying a rare bird species found dead in her purse. Dr. Melinda Warner comes back with some startling evidence - the saliva found in the cuts on the victim's body shows she was mauled by a tiger. Oscar Assadorian leads the detectives to the victim's twin sister, Anna Bleers who in turn leads the detectives to Hip Hop artist, Gots Money. Gots, who admits to working for an animal smuggling ring, agrees to go undercover with Detective Stabler to catch the smugglers, Andre Bushido and Tybor. But when Detective Olivia Benson poses as a prostitute to help out her partner undercover, Detective Stabler finds himself wounded and his marriage in disarray.
- 19
After Eva Banks makes a shocking discovery about her son, Cory's behavior at school, she takes him to the doctor, only to find out that he has been the victim of sexual abuse. Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler come onto the scene and question the victim and his family. From the boy's frightened reaction when his stepfather, Thomas Banks, silences the investigation, it is clear to everyone in the room who the real perpetrator is. Detective Benson and Stabler are about to arrest the suspect when Thomas agrees to give up the leader of the largest pro child-adult relationship civil rights group in exchange for amnesty.
- 20
Rape victim, Vicki, is brought into the hospital initially claiming she has been attacked multiple times by the same man. Detectives Benson and Stabler are determined to help her, but she lives in such terror that she then denies she has been raped at all and refuses to submit to a rape kit. As Benson looks for a way to help, she is horrified to learn that there are police precincts and evidence labs across the country that never test their rape kits at all. The investigation soon leads her to Los Angeles where she meets Detective Rex Winters, who has information that could finally help Vicki get justice.
- 21
Agent Dana Lewis is assaulted by a stranger and asks Detective Benson to have her rape kit tested. Before the cops can really help her, Lewis goes back undercover and refuses to talk about the assignment or the rape, for fear that she will be exposed and pulled off the case. She reluctantly allows Benson and Stabler to get involved in what looks like a protest against the construction of a mosque at Ground Zero, but they find themselves scrambling to put the pieces together of a much larger puzzle than they had anticipated.
- 22
When a young girl is found dead with a doll that is believed to have been left as a totem, detectives Benson and Stabler team up with Captain Jackson, a psychologist who assisted them with a recent case, to investigate her murder. Jackson joins the detectives as they retrace the girl's last steps and go to meet with her piano teacher June Frye. Jackson's skills prove to be invaluable in deciphering the meaning of the totem and ultimately finding her killer.
- 23
The detectives of the Special Victims Unit are called to the scene when a hotel maid reports being assaulted by Italian diplomat Robert Distasio Bureau Chief Mike Cutter and ADA Alex Cabot prosecute the high-profile case, which quickly grows more complicated as the maid's credibility is publicly questioned. Detective Amanda Rollins joins the Manhattan SVU from Atlanta, while Benson struggles to cope with the fall-out from the shooting in the precinct.
- 24
As Coach Ray Masters is inducted to the Metro Basketball Hall of Fame by former students Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh, an ex-player accuses the coach of sexually abusing him as a child. Detective Nick Amaro transfers into the SVU squad and is thrown on to the case. The detectives interview former players but no one admits to abuse, forcing Benson and Fin to dig deeper into Coach Ray's most successful player, basketball star Prince Miller and his manager/cousin
- 25
When a pregnant thirteen-year-old girl refuses to identify her baby's father, Benson and the SVU squad work to determine if she was raped. Their investigation leads to several men in her life including Tripp Raines, the teenage son of high-profile political couple Andrew and Kathleen Raines and Arturo Rivera, the son of the Raines' housekeeper The detectives uncover much more than they bargained for when a Raines family secret is revealed and a family member goes missing.
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