Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
With 25 seasons and over 500 episodes , the bestLaw & Order : SVUepisodes really stand out as exceptional . Beginning in 1999 , theLaw & Orderspinoff centers around a New York Police Department unit have intercourse as the Special Victims Unit that deals with sex offense . The show became the most democratic show in theLaw & Orderfranchise , outlasting the original series and becoming the longest - running live - legal action primetime show of all prison term . With such a tenacious bequest , it is all the more telling that the best sequence of the serial deal to be so memorable .
As with all show in theLaw & Orderfranchise , each episode ofLaw & Order SVUdeals with a new case with the detectives and prosecuting officer looking into the victims and the likely suspects . Given the subject subject of the show , many of these episodes are grim and disturbing . However , the standout episode showcase the most engrossing mysteries , memorable guest star , and important social comment about the story being told . Though there are many episodes to check out , these are the bestLaw & Order : SVUentries to watch next .
25"Hate"
Season 5, Episode 13
Law & Order : SVUis know for having instalment rive from the headlines . Sometimes this can seem gimmicky with the show trying to capitalize on the latest malicious gossip but there are also times when the show touches on authoritative topical subjects as in the case of the sequence " Hate . " The instalment begins with the unrelenting end of an Arab woman which has the SVU police detective looking into all of the distinctive suspects in her inner band .
The installment come at an interesting time in post-9/11 America when such crimes became more common .
However , the episode suddenly shifts to a commentary on xenophobic and racially motivated execution when the straight killer is identified as a serviceman with a mission to stamp out as many Arab people as he can . The episode come at an interesting meter in post-9/11 America when such crimes became more common . However , it also explores how such hate is ordinarily pay out of a personal issue rather than the political ground these criminals pick it on . It make for an insightful and worrisome flavour at modern hate .
24"Raw"
Season 7, Episode 6
After so many year on the melodic phrase , it is a testament to the show thatLaw & Order : SVUstill finds new ways to thrill and surprise spectator . While there is a formula to many episodes that allows the viewers to prefigure several beats in the story , " Raw " is an example of a thrill ride that keeps the viewers guessing all along the way . The episode set out as a tale about a school shooting that lead to a case of sexual abuse which then leads the investigator to inquire a neo - Nazi organization .
" Raw " ’s intense storytelling makes it a hugely entertaining journeying to watch over the detectives on and it is further elevated by another standout guest star in the form of Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden . She act a woman who is at the center of the Nazi organization , but adding to the wildness of the episode , she also has some secrets of her own . The episode makes for a gripping and propulsive drive that will leave many viewers shocked with the unceasing crook and turn .
23"Choreographed"
Season 8, Episode 9
Many of the bestLaw & Order : SVUepisodes do n’t sample to add a lot of mystery to the investigation . The suspect is known early on and the shiver of the story is seeing the motives and circumstances of bringing them to justice . However , there are some cases in which the whodunnit aspects of the offence are exciting , and when done well , they can deliver a majuscule surprise to help oneself the episode stand out even more .
" Choreographed " is a perfect exemplar of the kind of astute and cagy mystery writing thatLaw & Order : SVUis equal to of with a rollercoaster of twists and turns . The installment begins with the execution of a model in Central Park and reveal an affair that seems to be at the center of it all . However , just as likely defendant begin to egress , there is the discovery of a mastermind pull the string section of it all .
22"Branded"
Season 12, Episode 6
It can often be difficult to watch the experiences of the victims play out inLaw & Order : SVU , as the cases are often grounded in and ruminate the iniquity of modern lodge . However , " trademark " tell the victim ’s story in a new way that bring up some thought and interesting query about the rights of survivors .
She has specifically targeted these man and others for enter in an assault on her in the past , for which she was ineffectual to get justice .
The installment begins with an investigation into the assault of two men who are left with firebrand on them . As the detectives look into the law-breaking , they let on that the suspect is a woman . She has specifically targeted these men and others for participate in an assault on her in the past , for which she was unable to get justice . While the premise sounds like aDexter - similar storyof a vigilante breaking the law to take down wrongdoer , it is a heartbreaking tale of this woman feeling out of options .
Custom image by Amanda Bruce
21"Born Psychopath"
Season 14, Episode 19
It is disturbing when children are involved in the episodes ofLaw & Order : SVUand even more when they are unwrap to be the wrongdoer . Such is the suit with the episode " Born Psychopath , " a rather shocking championship that proves to be appropriate for the story . The episode start with the probe into a immature girl being injured with suspect revilement at her home plate . While the parents and babysitter are first suspected , it is revealed that her older pal is to blame .
Not only is young Henry revealed to be an maltreater , but he cemented himself as one of the most chilling baddie inLaw & Order : SVU ’s outpouring , even urinate a return appearance which is rare for the series . It is a terrific and unsettling execution from unseasoned actor Ethan Cutkosky and rightfully seduce the audience believe that this is a young Isle of Man who could have his entire household go in fear .
20“Risk”
Season 4, Episode 12
Four seasons into the show , Stabler has his first on - screen shooting that lead in the death of a defendant . That defendant also find to be a detective who is part of a drug smuggling ring . The episode sees the SVU team led into an clandestine confidence trick operation after babe formula is found to contain liquid cocaine , and Elliot is forced to shoot the law officer involved to save his own liveliness .
Officer - involved shootings occur several time throughout the show ’s chronicle , but this is one of the first times the hearing gets to see how it touch on someone like Stabler . He is always portrayed as a second of a swashbuckler , but taking someone ’s life is hard for him , and he ca n’t avoid think about it because he ’s placed on desk responsibility . It gives the audience a windowpane into just how the business can get to someone like Stabler , who always want to do the right thing , but can have his emotions get the better of him .
Law and Order : Special Victims Unit has acquire 24 complete seasons since 1999 , but the lineament of the show has n’t always been logical .
19“Bang”
Season 12, Episode 22
Season 12 ofSVUseemingly aimed to sport a lot of cases that were out of the average for the detective . This episode see what it means for someone to be a “ reproductive abuser , ” which is decidedly not something that appears often in the series . It ’s a great episode for understanding the different shape contumely can take .
John Stamos invitee starsas a man who deliberately seduces women and gets them pregnant . He admits to beget over 40 children throughout America and Europe , and while he claims to have a go at it them all , he also moves on very apace to his next seduction , not understanding that he ’s repeatedly hurting the mothers of his children as he leaves them behind to have more tyke .
A limited psychologist is make for in to help his victim , and he continues to live his lifespan as though he has n’t done anything wrong . By the end of the episode , however , there is a twist as someone ends up dead and the orca is n’t who the audience might have suspected .
18“Brotherhood”
Season 5, Episode 12
SVUdoesn’t often dig into storylines that have manly victim instead of females , but here , the story concentrate on around a fraternity , so it does just that . The case involves one member of the fraternity being murdered , which launch the door into the abuse - intimate as well as physical - that drink to the fraternity have suffered . One of the brothers end up on run for the slaying , but the trial does n’t precisely go where everyone thinks it will .
One of the aspects of an investigation this episode explores iswhat happens when a defense lawyer realizes his guest is , in fact , shamed of the thing he ’s trying to represent him from . The attorney ’s personal connection to the casing leads to him making sure his line of questioning suffer antecedently dismissed grounds back into the courtroom , effectively making sure his customer ends up convict . He never admits to doing it , even when Stabler questions him , but it ’s exculpated that he did .
The sequence remind the interview that while lawyers are doing their jobs , they ’re human as well , and no matter how good at the job they are , their personal bias could charm how they approach a showcase .
17“Fault”
Season 7, Episode 19
… their feeling for one another are have in the style of them doing their occupation …
ForSVUfans , “ Fault ” is less about the case at hand , and more about the moral force between Stabler and Benson . After seven years of work together , the two distinctly deal about one another - so much so that neither of them is willing to put the other ’s life in risk to hold open a kidnapped child , which becomes a problem for them .
When Elliot stops to help an injured Olivia instead of following a suspect , the offender kill one of the children he kidnapped and gets away with the other . When he later uses Elliot as a cuticle , Olivia can not bring herself to examine to shoot him because she does n’t want to hit Elliot . Their action have them to snipe at one another throughout the episode and find fault each other for the red ink of one of the Kid before admitting that they do n’t want to see the other person get suffer .
The end of this episode sees Olivia bespeak a Modern partner because she realizes , maybe more so than Stabler , that their feelings for one another are produce in the style of them doing their job . At this point in the series , their feelings are n’t romantic , but they are strong enough to distract them . It makes for an excited episode .
16“Ballerina”
Season 10, Episode 16
Burnett was nominated for an Emmy for her purpose .
“ Ballerina ” is very much the criterion when it comes to twistySVUepisodes . Though it first appears that there is a straight murder probe give out on , more bodies pile up , and no one is being completely honest , so the twists just keep coming .
To be free-spoken , the specific of the subject are not what makes “ Ballerina ” great . It does provide a format for later twist - filled episodes to watch over , butwhat make the episode truly majuscule is the guest stars . Carol Burnett is a former ballerina and Matthew Lillard is her nephew . literal footage of Burnett as a vernal dancer is used in the installment , lending to the authenticity of it .
Both actors are chiefly make love for their comedic timing , but they play these too - close relative perfectly . They are unsettling , bewitch , and just on the side of creepy . Burnett was nominated for an Emmy for her role .
