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.

Last Updated: 3/15/2024Network: NBCStatus: Continuing
Share:
Her Negotiation
star
8.37
319 votes

#1 - Her Negotiation

Season 14 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/22/2013

The detectives uncover a shocking theory as they work to learn the identity of a man Rollins arrested for exposing himself in the park; Detective Benson finds herself in mortal danger.

Directors: Norberto Barba
Watch Now:Amazon
Girl Dishonored
star
8.22
346 votes

#2 - Girl Dishonored

Season 14 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/24/2013

As the SVU detectives investigate the alleged rape of a sorority pledge, drunken students, and conflicting accounts complicate matters.

Directors: Holly Dale
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Fallacy
star
8.17
302 votes

#3 - Fallacy

Season 4 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/18/2003

Benson and Stabler try to prove self-defense when a rape victim kills her attacker. Events take an unusual turn when they find out that the victim is a pre-operative transsexual.

Watch Now:Amazon
Heartfelt Passages (2)
star
8.16
697 votes

#4 - Heartfelt Passages (2)

Season 17 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/25/2016

When the investigation of Corrections Officer Gary Munson deepens, he and his union take drastic actions that threaten the lives of ADA Barba and the SVU squad.

Directors: Alex Chapple
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Daydream Believer (3)
star
8.15
458 votes

#5 - Daydream Believer (3)

Season 16 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/29/2015

Benson and Voight lead their teams in the investigation of a rape/murder case that is frighteningly similar to a case from New York a decade ago. When forced to release their main suspect, the Chicago PD joins the SV Unit in New York in pursuit of Yates. (We Called Her Jellybean (1) aired on Chicago Fire, season 3, episode 21. The Number of Rats (2) aired on Chicago P.D., season 2, episode 20.)

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Intersecting Lives (1)
star
8.11
693 votes

#6 - Intersecting Lives (1)

Season 17 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/18/2016

A corrections officer is arrested for sexually assaulting female inmates in and out of prison, and the union that supports him targets Barba and the SVU.

Directors: Jonathan Starch
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Townhouse Incident
star
8.11
590 votes

#7 - Townhouse Incident

Season 17 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/13/2016

Benson is taken hostage when she tries to stop a home invasion.

Directors: Nick Gomez
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Above Suspicion
star
8.11
232 votes

#8 - Above Suspicion

Season 14 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/26/2012

Delia continues cleaning house, leaving a wake of accusations, frame-ups, and murders for SVU to work through as they continue their search for evidence to prove Donald Crages is being framed. Tension is high; everyone is on edge and defensive, even paranoid, and wondering who's next?

Directors: Michael Slovis
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
911
star
8.08
365 votes

#9 - 911

Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/4/2005

Benson is on her way out for the evening when a call comes in from a little girl who says she's all alone. While trying to draw the girl out, Benson is drawn deeper into the little girl's life, and although the other officers begin to suspect the whole thing may be some sick joke, Benson is convinced that the little girl is the real deal. By talking to Maria, Benson is able to ferret enough information from her so that they have a place to start, but Maria's captor has an affinity for electronics and has done everything he can to make sure that no one can find the little girl he bought and paid for.

Directors: Ted Kotcheff
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Gone
star
8.08
357 votes

#10 - Gone

Season 7 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/28/2006

Doug Waverly and Nick Pratt are charged with rape and murder in the disappearance of Canadian student Jennifer Durning after Nick's cousin, Jason King, claims that while he had consensual sex with her that night the other two raped her. A stray pubic hair leads Novak to Keith Willis, a drunk who was paid off by the boys to get Jennifer out of the hotel and who later saw the boys kidnap her, but Willis exactly fit to be a witness as his mind has gone after years of alcohol abuse. Jason King disappears. Although they are able to find a bug in Donnelly's office, they are not able to prove that it was placed there by Pratt or Waverly. Judge Donnelly is forced to dismiss the case against the two boys since there is no case without Jason's testimony.

Directors: George Pattison
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Paternity
star
8.07
332 votes

#11 - Paternity

Season 9 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/27/2007

When the paternity of a missing young boy is placed into question, Stabler wonders if he really is the father of Kathy's child. Later, Stabler faces the possibility of losing not only his partner but also Kathy and the baby when she and Benson are in an accident.

Directors: Kate Woods
Writer: Amanda Green
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Guilt
star
8.07
326 votes

#12 - Guilt

Season 3 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/29/2002

When A.D.A. Cabot is faced with a reluctant witness in a child molestation case, she goes above and beyond the normal scope of duty in her search for evidence to convict the serial abuser. But her passion supercedes her compliance with the law as she misrepresents herself to Benson and Stabler to bring them into an illegal search of the traumatised boy's home -- jeopardising not only her case, but the careers of all involved. SVU Bureau Chief Elizabeth Donnelly is faced with the frustrating task of bringing Cabot in line to preserve the integrity of the Special Victims Unit.

Directors: David Platt
Watch Now:Amazon
Probability of Doom
star
8.06
16 votes

#13 - Probability of Doom

Season 25 - Episode 7 - Aired 3/14/2024

When a woman turns her husband in for possessing child pornography, the case is complicated by a sudden death; Benson tries to reconnect with a victim she saved.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Venom
star
8.05
286 votes

#14 - Venom

Season 7 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/28/2006

Ken Randall calls Benson for help after he's picked up in an alley late at night. He claims that he was looking for a body after overhearing a man talk about murdering a woman and dumping her body while he was at the bar that night. Tutuola is upset that no one informed him, and determined to clear his son's name even though Ken immediately gets his own lawyer. Tutuola turns his eye on Ken's cousin, Darius Parker, who was with Ken that night and has been in and out of trouble for years, and after Ken voluntarily submits his DNA to clear his name, a shocking family connection between Darius and Ken is revealed. Darius confesses to having murdered the woman and her baby, but his confession is out because no one had contacted his lawyer.

Directors: Peter Leto
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Manhattan Transfer (1)
star
8.04
536 votes

#15 - Manhattan Transfer (1)

Season 17 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/2/2016

A sexual exploitation case involving Catholic schoolgirls results in surprising charges against people in esteemed leadership positions, including judges, lawmakers, lawyers and cops.

Directors: Alex Chapple
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Unholiest Alliance (2)
star
8.04
577 votes

#16 - Unholiest Alliance (2)

Season 17 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/23/2016

When one of their own is implicated in a cover-up, the SVU struggles to unravel a sex trafficking operation deeply-rooted in government offices, the police department, and the Catholic Church.

Directors: Jean de Segonzac
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Pretend
star
8.03
279 votes

#17 - Pretend

Season 8 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/15/2007

The team investigates the death of a partially clothed teenage boy wearing a leather mask. The detectives discover that the victim's best friend (Michael Welch) is the killer and has a video, showing that the boy's death was the result of a backyard wrestling match gone wrong.

Directors: David Platt
Writer: Dawn DeNoon
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Transgender Bridge
star
8.02
519 votes

#18 - Transgender Bridge

Season 17 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/30/2015

15 year-old Avery Parker walks home from school through Fort Tryon Park when she's surrounded by a group of rowdy boys. Taunts and jokes intensify to pushing and shoving, leaving Avery in the hospital and three assailants under arrest. When the DA's office decides to try one of the culprits, 15 year-old Darius McCrae, as an adult, the SVU squad agonizes over whether the punishment fits the crime, and must deal with the pain of both families involved.

Directors: Arthur W. Forney
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Chicago Crossover (2)
star
8.01
546 votes

#19 - Chicago Crossover (2)

Season 16 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/12/2014

Sergeant Hank Voight and Detectives Erin Lindsay and Jay Halstead track a child pornography victim to his last-known whereabouts in New York City, where Sergeant Benson and the SVU squad get a new lead – evidence of a livestreamed pornography “club” that caters to its subscriber’s shocking requests. When Lindsay discovers someone from her past is involved, she hopes it will help lead them to the site’s ringleader, but tensions between Voight and Benson could threaten the case. (Nobody Touches Anything (1) aired on Chicago Fire, season 3, episode 7. They’ll Have to Go Through Me (3) aired on Chicago P.D., season 2, episode 7.)

Directors: Steve Shill
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Scavenger
star
8.00
301 votes

#20 - Scavenger

Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/19/2004

The entire squad races against the clock to solve the puzzles and uncover the clues scattered throughout the city by a serial killer who is taunting them to find him and the next victims on his list.

Directors: Daniel Sackheim
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Zebras
star
8.00
371 votes

#21 - Zebras

Season 10 - Episode 22 - Aired 6/2/2009

A murder in Central Park that involves a tourist puts the SVU on high alert, but when the suspect they've brought in for questioning escapes, Munch has to reach out to an ex-wife in an effort to prevent another killing that's closer to home.

Directors: Peter Leto
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Raw
star
8.00
307 votes

#22 - Raw

Season 7 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/1/2005

After a six-year-old boy dies in a school shooting, detectives trace the gun used back to a white supremacist's gun shop. Munch and Tutuola both face hatred and prejudice from the major suspects in the case, but their investigation soon takes them from the man who pulled the trigger back to the gun shop owner, who makes no bones about his hatred of anyone who isn't white.

Writer: Dawn DeNoon
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Fault
star
8.00
321 votes

#23 - Fault

Season 7 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/4/2006

A manhunt ensues when Victor Paul Gitano, a recently released sex offender, kidnaps two children after killing the rest of their family. Benson and Stabler pursue Gitano only to find their own relationship challenged as both experience opportunities where they put their personal relationship ahead of their job. After having her throat slashed, Benson requests for a new partner when she hears what Stabler has to say about their relationship and their job.

Directors: Paul McCrane
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Identity
star
7.99
264 votes

#24 - Identity

Season 6 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/18/2005

Complications ensue in the investigation of a Stone Cold Assassins gangbanger who fell off a building after the victim that he tried to rape bit him in self-defense when the vic's twin sister cops to the crime, seemingly impossible due to the evidence until the secrets regarding the sister's true genetic identity are revealed.

Directors: Rick Wallace
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Imprisoned Lives
star
7.99
177 votes

#25 - Imprisoned Lives

Season 15 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/25/2013

When a young boy is abandoned, the squad discovers more victims waiting to be rescued.

Directors: Michael Slovis
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV