30 Best Law And Order SVU Episodes Ranked

The following article includes discussion of domestic abuse, sexual assault, incest, suicide, and pedophilia.

Launched in 1999 as the first spinoff from one of television's most successful police and legal procedurals, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" quickly made a name for itself out of the shadow of its parent series. With stories that covered the most grizzly and disturbing crimes, it was led by arguably the two toughest cops on TV: Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson and Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler. Alongside them was Richard Belzer as Detective Munch (until his departure in 2013), a paranoid conspiracy theorist who had been a regular on former cop show "Homicide: Life On The Streets" — and rapper-turned-actor Ice-T as Detective Fin Tutuola. 

Running for more than 20 seasons and counting, it's been even more successful than the original "Law & Order," and shows no signs of slowing down. While several cast members have come and gone — including Meloni, who resurfaced on the spinoff "Law & Order: Organized Crime" — it's continued its tremendous run, airing its 500th episode in 2021. If you haven't seen the series, or maybe it's been a while since you tuned in, this list should give you a good primer, as these are the top 30 episodes according to IMDb.

When police raid a men's club in "Chameleon" they discover a woman who claims a client attempted to force himself on her, leading to a call to the SVU. A thorough search of the premises by Stabler and Benson leads to a grisly scene in the men's restroom: the body of another girl, moving the case from a sexual assault to a possible homicide. But when more bodies with a similar cause of death start to turn up, detectives begin to think a serial rapist may be on the loose.

When fingerprints point to Shawn Becker, a man who had served time for attempted rape, they think they've found their suspect. By the time they can track him down it's too late, though, as another working girl has murdered him with his gun. The mystery deepens when the woman's story doesn't match up with the evidence, leading to a new and more shocking theory behind the assaults and murders.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

The Season 6 episode "Charisma" introduces a young pregnant girl named Melanie Cramer, brought to the attention of the Special Victims Unit by doctors at a local hospital. The problem is, Melanie is just 12 years old, and already close to her delivery date despite her young age, raising obvious red flags. Interviewed by Detective Benson, Melanie insists the pregnancy is not the result of an assault, but that she is married to a man and they have conceived a child together. Not even realizing how disturbing the claim is, the girl readily gives Benson the name of her supposed loving husband.

Looking into the their perp, the detectives make a startling discovery, as he turns out to be known con man Eugene Hoff. Now passing himself off as the head of The Church of Wisdom and Sight, he leads a fanatical quasi-religious cult. His motives become more clear when they realize Melanie's mother, one of his many followers, is a wealthy woman.

If you or someone you know is dealing with spiritual abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

In "Damaged," the robbery of a convenience story goes horribly wrong, killing an innocent man and leaving a little girl named Rebecca Kurtz fighting for her life. But after the discovery that Rebecca suffers from a serious STD, the detectives from the Special Victims Unit are called in to look for signs of sexual abuse. The girl's older teenaged sister Missy immediately suggests that something fishy may be going on between Rebecca and their father, who they learn had adopted her years earlier from an abusive home. 

Rebecca's father is incredulous, and Benson believes his story of innocence. When Fin uncovers that Missy had once made accusations against her adopted father, though, it casts serious doubt on him — and with Rebecca in a vegetative state, she may never be able to tell her side of the story. But the investigation into Missy leads to a new lead that sends them back to the scene of the original robbery.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

In "Design," Detective Benson saves a young pregnant woman named April — who had been the victim of rape — from ending her own life. But during the trial of her alleged assailant, who insists he doesn't recall sleeping with April, the young girl seemingly dies, leaving Benson distraught. Looking into the case further, they learn April had been working at a sperm bank, leading to more questions about April than answers about her death. They then learn that April's father, an eccentric scientist, had become obsessed with eugenics and hoped to create the perfect human being.

As the search for more evidence continues, more men surface who April had met at a bar, and their stories sounded remarkably similar to her accused rapist. Signs begin to point towards April being more than just an innocent victim, and it all comes together when they learn that April may not be dead after all.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

The Special Victims Unit is called in when a gang member pushes a man off a roof as an apparent retaliation for sexual assault in the Season 6 episode "Identity." But the episode's story takes a twist when the investigation leads them to a pair of fraternal twins that are much more than they seem. 

The unusual siblings may be more than paternal, in fact, with a botched operation at birth mutilating one of them. A pioneering sex therapist, meanwhile, is discovered to have used their situation to test his theories on gender identity, and abused the pair for his own ends. "Spooks" star Peter Firth guest stars as the twisted Dr. Preston Blair. 

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

The hunt for a gunman responsible for a deadly school shooting leads detectives to the case of a little girl who is being abused in "Raw." Led to a man known by the girl as "Mr. Bug Eyes," they find he may not have been responsible for the killings at school, but he has multiple outstanding warrants for sexual abuse in another state. 

Munch, meanwhile, follows the gunman's trail to a firearms store on Staten Island, where they find a white supremacist group is operating out of the basement. Interrogations with the men they find there send them to the doorstep of convicted felon Brannon Lee Redding, who seems to suggest that the shooting may have been much more than a random attack. When put on trial, the courtroom becomes a target for Brandon's terrorist brethren, who put Benson and Stabler in their crosshairs.

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or cntact their live chat services.

"Ridicule" begins with the discovery of a woman named Sydney found dead, hanging from a ceiling fan in her bedroom. The first suspect is the woman's now ex-husband Andrew, who could have stood to inherit $50,000. The medical examiner, Warner, believes the cause of death may have been autoerotic asphyxiation, and Andrew independently confirms the M.E.'s report when he indicates they were both engaged in unusual sex practices. But during questioning, he makes the eye-popping claim that Sydney and a friend had raped a male stripper at her bachelorette party just six months before.

After speaking with the victim, the stripper himself is cleared of suspicion. But the investigation leads Stabler and Benson down a different road, as it points them towards an uncomfortable accusation against the friend of Sydney's with whom she was alleged to have raped the stripper: former criminal defense attorney Pam Adler. 

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

"Fast & The Furious" star Ludacris makes his first appearance as Darius Parker, relative of Ice-T's Fin Tutuola, in the Season 7 episode "Venom." It begins when Benson gets a call from Fin's son Ken Randall, who's being held by police after being found in an alley looking through a dumpster. Randall claims he overheard a man talking about murdering a woman and her son, and went looking for the body. 

After Fin gets involved, though, the evidence soon points not to his son Ken, but to his ex-wife's son, Darius Parker. Unfortunately, digging into the murder case may threaten to expose dark and disturbing secrets about Fin's family that he'd prefer were kept hidden, as Parker is learned to be the product of rape.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

"Signature" sees Benson and Lake working with FBI agent Laura Cooper in their search for a vicious serial killer who has been brutalizing young women, known only as "The Woodsman." When they finally are able to track down the killer he's already dead, and his last known victim doesn't survive. But when Agent Cooper begins to crack under the pressure of the investigation, Benson realizes there's something else going on.  

Signs soon point to Cooper herself, and the agent is taken in for the murder. But when she gets off on a technicality it's up to the detectives at SVU to match up the evidence and see her held to account. But will Cooper face up to what she's done, or find another way out?

A young boy comes to the attention of the Special Victims Unit when he arrives covered in blood at the start of "Paternity." But when the boy's nanny is found beaten, raped, and murdered, it sparks a bitter custody battle for the child, while the nanny's lover is fingered as the killer. But the custody case becomes more complicated when paternity testing reveals that the man who the boy calls "daddy" is not actually his real father.

Meanwhile, given the details of the case he's working on, Stabler begins to question if Katherine's baby is his child, and asks her about her sexual activity during their separation. But later, when Benson is taking Kathy for a routine medical exam, they get into a horrific car accident that leaves Stabler's wife — and their unborn child — seriously injured.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

A year after the truth came out about Fin's stepson Darius Parker, the young man finally faces trial in the murder of a woman and her son in the Season 8 episode "Screwed." But his trial puts everyone at the Special Victims Unit in danger when Parker and his attorney begin digging into their personal lives to find dirt they can use against them. 

More secrets about Fin's ex-wife are revealed in the proceedings, as it's discovered that Parker wasn't just the product of rape, but that his mother's rapist was her own father. Meanwhile, Stabler gets shocking news when his estranged wife asks him to come back home, with the news that she is pregnant with their fifth child. 

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

"Lost" star Alan Dale guest stars in "Liberties" as a judge haunted by a terrible tragedy in his past. While hearing a restraining order case between a young woman and her ex-boyfriend, the accused spouts a specific phrase that triggers him and reopens an old wound, and potentially a decades-old kidnapping case. 

At the judge's request, Detective Stabler is called in to work over a convicted serial killer once accused of the rape and murder of the judge's young son in 1979, hoping to find out if his victim might still be alive. But things take a turn when he realizes the suspect may not have ever been the right man at all, leading to a stunning twist in the case that will change their lives forever.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

"Swing" begins with a bizarre home invasion where a man catches a young woman using his shower before chasing her off. Olivia calls Stabler to the scene, who seems confused as to why the Special Victims Unit got the call on a home intruder, but the answer is simple: the intruder was Stabler's daughter Kathleen. Catching up with her it's clear that Kathleen is not well, but Stabler can't tell if she is using drugs or needs psychiatric help. 

Worried, Stabler confronts Kathleen's friends, only to realize that one of them is not who they claim to be. But after Kathleen suffers an overdose, Olivia steps in to help and finds herself entangled in the decades-old family problems of the Stabler household, and may have to keep them a secret from her partner.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

A young woman named Mia is refused a morning after pill by a store clerk and blurts out that she was raped in "Persona," which brings the SVU to meet with her. But after an examination of the scene where the woman describes her assault, it's determined that she may be lying to them about the attack. Detectives suspect something may be going on at home, and that Mia was using the story as a way of covering up domestic abuse.

As the detectives learn more it becomes clear that Mia is the prisoner of a violent and tyrannical husband. Olivia does her best to help Mia to get her to a battered women's shelter while prosecutors work on a case against her husband, but getting the young woman help may prove to be easier said than done.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

"Hardwired" sees Rosie Perez ("My Cousin Vinny") guest star as the mother of Cory, a boy accused of molesting a friend from school. Upon interviewing Cory, Stabler realizes that it may not be molestation, with Dr. Huang suspecting that Cory himself is the victim of ongoing abuse, and is translating his feelings by engaging in inappropriate behavior.

Investigation leads the detectives to Cory's school, where the first suspect is a gym coach who is not who he claims to be. But when evidence suggests the teacher is not the culprit, Elliot has new suspicions about someone close to Cory who may be a pedophile, and he'll stop at nothing to keep the young boy safe. Jeri Ryan ("Star Trek: Voyager") and Garrett Dillahunt ("Justified") also guest star in a highly disturbing episode about the underground world of child exploitation.

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

When a man's body is found in the woods with his genitals mutilated, Stabler and the SVU are called in to investigate in "Perverted." At first they suspect the victim, Clyde, may have been part of a vicious gangland killing, as he belonged to a biker club that was known to be involved in highly illegal activities. But the discovery of Detective Benson's business card on him leaves them wondering what their partner may have to do with it.

Meanwhile, Munch and Fin look for answers at the biker club the victim belonged to, discovering that they had just recently gang raped a young woman as a "gift" to Clyde after his release from prison. Suspecting Clyde's killing may have been a revenge by the young woman, Stabler locates her, but finds she's a willing part of their group. In search of answers, Elliot stumbles upon an undercover investigation within the club, and soon discovers that the real killer may be someone much closer to home.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

A girl's visit to the school nurse uncovers evidence of abuse at home in "Born Psychopath." With the SVU involved, a medical exam reveals all the physical signs of a violent assault, though the girl claims it was a fall down the stairs. Interrogations yield little from the family or the nanny, but records show that the girl has had four ER visits in the past year, raising serious concerns of abuse.

After talking to the girl's younger brother, the detectives begin to suspect the nanny may be the culprit, who he claims pushed her down the stairs intentionally and told her to keep quiet about the incident. But a hunch from Captain Cragen sends them to the unbelievable realization that someone unexpected is to blame, in one of the series' most haunting reveals.

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or cntact their live chat services.

In "Dominance," police find the entire guest list of a dinner party dead. After Homicide Detective Duethorn sees signs of sexual assault among multiple victims, men and women alike, he makes a call to the Special Victims Unit. In a disturbing turn, evidence suggests that whoever is responsible somehow forced the male guests to assault the women before murdering the entire group of people. 

When the lone missing guest is found hospitalized with injuries that seem consistent with a violent attack, they believe they have their suspect. But with the discovery of more victims, found in a nearby park with a similar M.O., they have to face the fact that a violent psychopath and serial killer is on the loose.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

In "Fault" the intimate relationship between Detectives Benson and Stabler finally reaches a breaking point when it causes problems with a dangerous case. After a once-convicted sex offender is released from prison and kills an entire family and abducts a little girl, both detectives take the case to track him down. Chasing him to a train station, Benson and Stabler get into a standoff with the suspect, who uses the child as a human shield. 

But during the violent confrontation, Benson is injured, and Stabler misses his opportunity to catch the perp when he becomes overwhelmed with concern for Olivia. Now on the loose again with a hostage in tow, Benson and Stabler are forced to reevaluate both their personal and professional relationship. Meanwhile, Dr. Huang struggles with whether sex offenders can be rehabilitated. 

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or cntact their live chat services.

In the Season 9 premiere "Alternate," Cynthia Nixon ("Sex in the City") guest stars as Janis Donavan, a woman with dissociative identity disorder. The subject of an SVU investigation when detectives suspect she may be abusing her daughter, her doctor Henry Carlisle (guest star Bronson Pinchot) slows the investigation. As they press on, the detectives must deal with not just one suspect but four, as Janis quickly begins to show her other personalities, including at least one vicious persona that seems to be responsible for multiple killings. 

But the woman's disorder may be more than the SVU bargained for. Serious concerns are raised as to her ability to stand trial, especially after a violent attack by one of her personas on ADA Novak in open court. Meanwhile the entire department is dealing with major upheavals as Captain Cragen has been reassigned.

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

A teenaged rape victim sends detectives down a rabbit hole in "Undercover." Following an examination of the young woman, her rape kit disappears, leading detectives to suspect someone in law enforcement may be involved and covering up the crime. Learning that the young woman's mother is serving time in prison, and that a guard at the jail has been threatening her, the corrections officer becomes their prime suspect.

But to catch the man, and expose his web of corruption and violence, Benson must go into a woman's prison in a risky undercover assignment. As Benson is forced to endure the harsh realities of life behind bars, things get worse when the girl's mother turns up dead. Though it's ruled a suicide, Stabler suspects the killer is making sure nobody talks, putting Benson in grave danger.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

"Law & Order: SVU" got some serious star power in its landmark 200th episode "Authority" in the form of comedy legend Robin Williams. But instead of playing an off-the-wall funnyman, Williams gave a chilling portrayal as Merritt Rook, an audio engineer and anti-establishment rebel who goes on trial for posing as a detective who coerces a man into molesting a young woman. But while in court, Rook — who surprisingly represents himself — shocks everyone by being found not guilty.

During the trial, though, Rook manages to leverage his case into a newfound celebrity status, and amasses a cult-like following as a result. Once freed, he returns to his old games, and new evidence on an old case leads them right back to his doorstep. The stakes are raised when his final game is played with Detective Stabler, with the life of Detective Benson hanging in the balance.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

In the Season 10 finale "Zebras," a father and daughter stumble upon a rape and murder victim in the park, bringing Stabler and Benson to the scene. The victim has the world "GUILTY" scrawled on her forehead, suggesting this was more than a random act of violence, while the discovery nearby of the woman's baby — with the word "INNOCENT" written on their forehead — makes the case even more perplexing.

The first suspect is a park worker named Peter Harrison (guest star Nick Stahl), a paranoid man who's been in trouble with the law before, having attempted to push a woman from a subway platform. But in the search for evidence, Stabler becomes the target of the woman's killer when he gets too close to finding the truth.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

"Lost" star Naveen Andrews guest stars in "Shadow," an episode that opens with the discovery of a wealthy couple founded dead in their bedroom, the victims of an apparent murder-suicide. But evidence suggests that an armed assailant killed them both, and the fact that the couple were powerful and politically connected forces the SVU into the case, despite their misgivings.

Benson and Stabler first go to interview the couple's adult daughter, who fears she may be a target, as evidence seems to point to a personal motive. They begin investigating, and decide to use her as bait to catch a suspect they believe may be following her around town. But when they find their man — and he's got a gun — it leads to an unexpected discovery and an entirely new suspect.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

In "Behave," Jennifer Love Hewitt guest stars as Julie, a woman found raped who claims she has been assaulted several times over the span of years by the same man. Her refusal to be examined raises questions, but the scene where the attack took place is consistent with her story, although fingerprints at the scene reveal that she is not who she claims to be. Tracking her down, they find she's a recluse, and claims to be living in fear of her attacker.

Telling her story to Benson, the woman — whose real name is Vicki Sayers — describes a decade and a half of abuse and intimidation at the hands of her stalker, including several violent assaults. Investigating her previous rape cases, they track down their suspect, a slippery and elusive man named Mr. Harris.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

The final episode for Sgt. Mike Dodds, "Heartfelt Passages" continues the previous episode's story of Gary Munson, a corrections officer accused of sexually assaulting inmates at a women's prison, as well as more women on the outside. His skeptical wife, who had been standing by his side through the allegations, has now come around to believing what her husband has done thanks to the results of an STD test. But while prosecutors want Munson imprisoned while awaiting trial, he manages to secure bail.

Olivia goes with Munson's wife to help her leave the house before he returns, but it's too late. Unwilling to let his wife take his children, Munson takes her hostage, leading to a tense standoff between police and an armed gunman, and not everyone will make it out alive.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

"Twin Peaks" star Kyle McLachlan guest stars in "Conscience" as Dr. Brett Morton, a psychologist and father of a young boy shot and killed by a 13-year-old named Jake O'Hara. Initially, Morton believes Jake may have been mentally disturbed, especially after learning of Jake's claim that he had been abused while at summer camp. But after the investigation sheds new light on Jake we learn that he was actually the abuser at camp, and threatened his victims into silence. 

Discovering that the boy who killed his son is a sociopath and feels no remorse for his crimes, Morton wants him put away. But during Jake's trial he sees that the law will be easy on the teen because of his young age. Realizing that Jake will be free in just five years and will more than likely kill again, Morton decides to take the law into his own hands.

"Loss" begins with the rape and murder of an undercover federal agent involved in the investigation of a ruthless Colombian drug cartel. Detectives find the man responsible, a figure Rafael Zapata, and ADA Alex Cabot is determined to push the case hard, despite the dangers of prosecuting a cartel member. But faced with vicious death threats against her and her loved ones, the FBI steps in and takes the case away from her.  A true thriller, the episode marks the final appearance for a beloved main series regular, as Cabot is the target of an assassination attempt by the cartel and must say goodbye to the SVU. 

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

The Special Victims Unit chases down a serial killer and time is running out before he kills again in the Season 6 episode "Scavenger." Tipped off by the killer himself, police find a baby in a stroller with a note that claims the baby's mother has been abducted, and daring the police to catch him before he kills her. The killer signs the note with the name "Rupert Daniel Kilmore," which leads detectives to a watchmaker, then to a local drug user. 

Clues left by "RDK" continue to come in, and the SVU soon realize this could be the return of a notorious serial killer from the past. As the detectives are sent on a terrifying a scavenger hunt around the city, the killer continues toying with them via cryptic messages. Analyzing the evidence, they soon discover they may be dealing with a copycat who is even more dangerous than the original.

In a stunning episode that won actress Mariska Hargitay a Prime Time Emmy Award for Best Leading Actress in a Drama, "911" begins with Detective Benson receiving a 911 call from a desperate and scared little girl. She claims she's been abducted and is trapped alone in room, and some within the SVU wonder if it's a wild goose chase and part of an elaborate hoax. But as they continue to get information from the girl, they learn more about her, and Benson learns she's seen this girl before, as she's a potential victim in a child pornography case she had been briefed about.

Benson and the SVU learn the girl was sold by a sex trafficker years before, and get much-needed assistance from the FBI in their mission to save her. But it all may be for nothing when the child is caught by her captor while on the phone with police.

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or cntact their live chat services.