The BEST episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Every episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit!
Delves into the dark side of the NYC underworld as the detectives investigate and prosecute various sexually oriented crimes, including rape, pedophilia, domestic violence, and the abuses of children, the disabled, and elderly victims of non-sexual crimes who require specialist handling, all while trying to balance the effects of the investigation on their own lives as they try not to let the dark side of these crimes affect them.
#1 - Making a Rapist
Season 18 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/28/2016
Newly tested DNA evidence leads to the exoneration of a prisoner who served 16 years for a rape conviction. However, he's investigated again one day later in the wake of a shocking new crime.
#2 - Criminal Pathology (2)
Season 17 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/23/2015
The SVU is called to a familiar crime scene – the beach where serial killer Gregory Yates buried his many victims. When another body washes ashore, Detective Rollins tries to coax him into confessing, but the surprising information he provides sends shockwaves through the police department. As the case goes to court, Barba faces off against two hotshot defense attorneys in a trial that leads to blackmail, an incriminating confession, a new victim and a fugitive suspect.
#4 - The Darkest Journey Home
Season 21 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/3/2019
Benson works with a young woman to help her remember the details and suspects in her rape. In order to learn a new witness interview technique, Rollins and Fin have to experience it for themselves.
#5 - End Game
Season 20 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/16/2019
When a teenager is found dead in the Hudson River, Lt. Benson suspects Rob Miller is behind the mysterious death but can’t prove it. Despite having only circumstantial evidence, ADA Stone takes the case to court before Miller can destroy more lives.
#6 - Dearly Beloved
Season 20 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/4/2019
The SVU investigates a he-said, she-said case when a woman crashes a wedding to accuse her therapist of sexual assault.
#7 - Missing
Season 20 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/14/2019
The SVU pursues a suspect when a child is discovered in the trunk of an abandoned car.
#8 - Dear Ben
Season 20 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/17/2019
A serial rapist strikes again after two decades of silence, and SVU is determined to uncover the elusive criminal and bring justice to his many victims. Stone discovers that his father worked on the case before it went cold.
#9 - Plastic
Season 20 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/10/2019
A woman accuses a celebrity plastic surgeon and his girlfriend of rape.
#10 - Mea Culpa
Season 20 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/15/2018
Stone takes his own case to trial when a woman from his past accuses him of sexual assault.
#11 - Hell's Kitchen
Season 20 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/8/2018
A waitress from a trendy New York restaurant is sexually assaulted at an after-hours VIP party.
#12 - Caretaker
Season 20 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/1/2018
The cops wrestle with an unthinkable crime when a family is murdered in their sleep.
#13 - Exile
Season 20 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/25/2018
A young woman wakes up in the hospital with no memory of her assault, and Carisi’s investigation stalls when she disappears.
#14 - Accredo
Season 20 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/18/2018
A member of a women’s empowerment group is found murdered, leading the cops to the group’s charismatic male leader. Meanwhile, Rollins keeps her pregnancy under wraps to avoid going on desk duty.
#15 - Zero Tolerance
Season 20 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/4/2018
After the rescue of a young girl from a sex trafficker, Benson and Stone must take drastic measures to reunite her with her mother. Meanwhile, Rollins decides to give her rocky relationship another chance.
#16 - Mama
Season 19 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/16/2018
An Alzheimer’s patient claims she was raped, but her illness casts doubt on the case; Fin’s sergeant orders come in.
#17 - Man Up
Season 20 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/27/2018
Teenager Sam Conway shows evidence of rape but refuses to name his attacker. Meanwhile, Benson and Rollins confess to some major life changes.
#18 - Imposter
Season 18 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/5/2016
When a man uses a false identity to lure a vulnerable married woman to bed, Barba thinks the evidence amounts to rape.
#19 - Heightened Emotions
Season 18 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/12/2016
A sexually assaulted athlete's double life could destroy her Olympic career and ruin the case against her attacker; Rollins sister is released from prison on parole.
#20 - Broken Rhymes
Season 18 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/9/2016
A record label CEO and his protégé are questioned for their involvement in the assault of a transgender student.
#21 - Next Chapter
Season 18 - Episode 7 - Aired 1/4/2017
The SVU team investigates a woman has been sexually assaulted by a masked man, but she believes the rapist is the same man who went to jail for stalking her. Meanwhile, Tucker contemplates retirement and a future with Benson.
#22 - Genes
Season 18 - Episode 13 - Aired 3/22/2017
An investigation hits a nerve with Benson when a suspect claims his genetics causes him to commit rape.
#23 - Sanctuary (2)
Season 18 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/24/2017
In the conclusion of the season finale, the unexpected release of a suspect in a hate crime case leaves Benson and Barba caught between two families seeking justice for their loved ones. As public protests escalate to violence, Benson goes to desperate lengths to make an arrest.
#24 - Complicated
Season 19 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/25/2017
A 10-year-old kidnapping case is reopened when a young woman is found wandering Central Park alone. Meanwhile, Carisi’s conversation with a newspaper reporter puts him in hot water.
#25 - Something Happened
Season 19 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/29/2017
Benson must disclose secrets of her past to help a rape victim recall details of a traumatic night.