With Season 21 currently airing, (SVU) is the longest-running scripted primetime TV series in US history, and the show plans on holding that title for at least the next three years.
We combed through the NYC detective drama’s nearly 500 episodes to bring you the best of the best: an unofficial ranking of the top 30 episodes of , listed in chronological order.
Some episodes stand out because of exceptional guest stars — including the late Robin Williams, Patricia Arquette, and Cynthia Nixon. Others stand out for their poignant takes on current events and pop culture. And others for the character or relationship development among the core cast.
These are their [top] stories. Dun dun.
30 Best Episodes of Law & Order: SVU:
1. Remorse (Season 1 Episode 20)
Up until this point, Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler have been the star detectives on each case. While we do love getting to see them shine, they aren’t the only skilled detectives on the SVU squad. This episode gives John Munch a chance to lead a successful investigation.
While Munch is often characterized as an antisocial conspiracy theorist, this episode shows his softer, compassionate side as he forms a genuine bond with a rape victim, the famous TV reporter Sara Logan (played by Jennifer Esposito).
2. Wrong Is Right (Season 2 Episode 1)
The episodes featuring Stabler’s wife and children tend to be among the most memorable because his family has a way of getting involved in crimes — whether as witnesses, victims, or even perpetrators in a couple of cases.
On Law & Order: SVU Season 2 Episode 1, “Wrong is Right,” Stabler’s oldest daughter, Maureen, follows him (off-duty) onto a gruesome crime scene and discovers a dead man who’s been set on fire at the beach.
However, it’s not even Stabler’s family that gives this episode all of its appeal. It’s the introduction of ADA Alexandra Cabot, who gets assigned to the Special Victims Unit and isn’t met with a warm welcome. Cabot eventually becomes one of the most beloved ADAs as the show continues.
This episode also guest-stars J.K. Simmons as Dr. Emil Skoda and The Vampire Diaries’ Paul Wesley as Danny Burrell.
3. Parasites (Season 2 Episode 19)
Mili Avital guest-stars as identical twins Ava and Irina Parulis in this wild episode that involves mail-order brides, a body buried in a backyard garden, and identity theft. The premise itself is engaging (and the ending is shocking in many ways), but it’s Avital’s performance that earns Law & Order: SVU Season 2 Episode 19 a spot on our list.
Fun Fact: Avital guest-stars in a total of four episodes between 1999 and 2015, playing four different characters (counting the twins from this episode as two). Guess we aren’t the only ones who took notice of her exceptional performance!
4. Waste (Season 4 Episode 8)
A woman who has been in a coma for over a year is found to be six weeks pregnant. The Office’s Rainn Wilson guest-stars as a janitor at a rehab facility — one of many suspects who would have had access to the comatose woman.
This episode demonstrates the complicated cross-section between science and the law, making for a very messy, enraging sequence of events, once the perpetrator is finally discovered.
Bonus: We get an appearance by everyone’s favorite psychiatrist — arguably one of the best fictional mental health professionals on TV — Dr. George Huang!
5.Resilience (Season 4 Episode 10)
A distraught teenage girl (played by Rachael Bella) tries to throw herself in front of an oncoming subway train but is saved by a bystander before she steps off the platform. This episode grabs your attention and jolts up your heart rate in its first minute.
The girl, who is discovered to be a victim of some pretty horrific abuse, regresses into a childlike state and unhealthily clings to Stabler as a father figure. It’s always fascinating to see Stabler in dad mode, whether he’s parenting his own children or temporarily filling that role for a victim.
Bella’s acting range in this episode is superb: nearly catatonic, a mindset 10 years younger, devastated, angry, complacent, relieved — each emotion is incredibly believable.
6. Control (Season 5 Episode 9)
On Law & Order: SVU Season 5 Episode 9, “Control,” a man is found castrated and left to die on the street, believed to have been attacked by a homeless man. The investigation eventually leads Benson to revisit a case she’d thrown out years before, after not believing the drunk victim’s outlandish (but revealed in this episode to be true) story.
It’s a crazy turn of events when the initial victim turns out to be a sexual predator, revealed to have stalked, kidnapped, and tortured several women. Fortunately, justice is eventually served for many of these victims, once he’s named perpetrator.
7. Scavenger (Season 6 Episode 4)
Law & Order: SVU Season 6 Episode 4 is an exceptionally fun episode to watch, as the investigation is almost a game. A serial killer taunts the SVU squad by leaving clues throughout the city, and it’s a race against time to save his next victim and outsmart him as well. There’s nothing fun about the killer’s especially heinous crimes, but his twisted web is pretty fun to watch unravel.
Fun Fact: This episode is loosely based on the real-life “BTK” (bind, torture, kill) killer, Dennis Rader.
8. Demons (Season 7 Episode 1)
A recent rapist is released from prison on parole, and Detective Stabler hears word that the convicted felon might strike again. This leads Stabler to an unofficial undercover gig as a fellow paroled sex offender—crossing the line into entrapment and jeopardizing the case along the way.
The scenes between Stabler and Ray Schenkel (played by Robert Patrick) are the episode’s strongest. You can feel the tension, wondering if Schenkel will make Stabler for a cop or whether Stabler will blow the operation by losing his temper.
9. 911 (Season 7 Episode 3)
You’d be hard-pressed to find a list of top SVU episodes that doesn’t include Law & Order: SVU Season 7 Episode 3, “911,” and we’d hate to disappoint.
Despite her entire squad believing she’s being pranked, Benson listens to her gut and stays on the line with a little girl who claims to have been kidnapped. And not only does the story end up being real, but Benson also helps rescue the little girl by the end.
Also, it guest-stars Grey’s Anatomy’s Chandra Wilson.
10. Fault (Season 7 Episode 19)
A violent repeat sex offender, Victor Paul Gitano (Lou Diamond Phillips), is released from prison, murders a family, and kidnaps the two youngest children.
The episode ends in a standoff with Gitano at a bus terminal, where Stabler, being held at gunpoint by Gitano, tries to convince Benson to shoot, regardless of not having a clear shot.
It puts a huge strain on Benson and Stabler’s relationship, to the point of Benson asking to be assigned a new partner at the end. This is the first of many blows to Benson-Stabler shippers.
11. Screwed (Season 8 Episode 22)
For the first time, we get an insight into Fin Tutola’s personal life when we meet his son, Ken and nephew, Darius (played by Ludacris). Darius is on trial, but his defense attorney puts the SVU squad on blast for their past crimes and cover-ups.
Stabler’s intervention when his daughter was pulled over for drunk driving, Fin getting in over his head while a narcotics cop, and Benson’s more recent involvement with her recently discovered biological brother all come to light. Some of this we knew before, but Fin’s past transgressions are new news.
12. Alternate (Season 9 Episode 1)
Cynthia Nixon won a well-deserved Emmy in 2008 for her performance as Janis Donovan on Law & Order: SVU Season 9 Episode 1, a woman with multiple personality disorder and a missing child. The twists and turns are as abundant as Donovan’s wildly differing personalities.
Nixon blows through every possible emotion in this episode, and her personalities range from post-graduate educated professional to sexy baby-teenager-adult. The latter threatens Kathy Stabler at knifepoint while coming on to Elliot Stabler (and it’s not the first or last time a victim/suspect comes on to him either).
13. Savant (Season 9 Episode 4)
On Law & Order: SVU Season 9 Episode 4, The only witness to a woman’s assault is her daughter, Katie, who has Williams Syndrome — a rare neurodevelopmental genetic disorder that makes her a somewhat unreliable witness. Katie forms an instant bond to Stabler, and their scenes together are among the episode’s strongest.
Hearing Katie’s reenactments of the trauma she had to witness is fascinating, as she’s able to recall even the smallest of details verbatim. While kids are typically considered unreliable witnesses, Katie’s memory is stronger than that of most adults.
14. Paternity (Season 9 Episode 9)
One of the most emotional scenes in SVU history has nothing to do with the case being investigated in this episode. Benson and Stabler’s pregnant wife, Kathy, are involved in a terrible car accident, which sends Kathy into labor.
Not only does Benson help save Kathy’s life, she comforts and assists Kathy as she gives birth to their son in the back of an ambulance.
The episode not only reinforces the bond between Stabler and his wife (surely upsetting the Benson-Stabler shippers) — it also reinforces just how far Stabler and Benson would go for the other, personally and professionally.
15. Undercover (Season 9 Episode 15)
In the show’s earlier seasons, the detectives didn’t go undercover as often as the more recent ones. For Benson to go undercover at all was a big deal, but to go undercover as an inmate at a prison — now, that’s intense (to say the least).
If your heart doesn’t nearly stop while Benson is almost raped by a correctional officer — phew. Fortunately, Tutuloa, who is brought in later as an undercover correctional officer, senses something is up and rescues his fellow detective, and the two help put him away.
16. Authority (Season 9 Episode 17)
The legendary Robin Williams’ presence, alone, would make for a top episode, no matter the circumstances. But this episode’s storyline certainly rises to the caliber of its guest star — so much so, that it earned Williams an Emmy nomination in 2008.
Williams plays Merrit Rook, who doesn’t directly commit any crimes. Instead, he impersonates a police officer and convinces a fast-food worker to sexually assault his employee over the phone, reminiscent of a real-life string of crimes in the early 2000s.
17. Swing (Season 10 Episode 3)
Complicated parent-child relationships, mental disorders, blurred lines, and incredibly tough decisions make for a can’t-miss episode.
On Law & Order: SVU Season 10 Episode 3, Stabler’s daughter, Kathleen is arrested after breaking into a stranger’s house (where she takes a shower and steals a necklace), and it’s the catalyst for a series of events that leads to an eventual diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
Feeling guilty and ashamed, Stabler goes to visit his estranged mother, who also has bipolar disorder, and their interactions are nothing short of heartbreaking. In fact, Ellen Burstyn won an Emmy award in 2009 for her performance as Bernadette Stabler in this episode.
18. Zebras (Season 10 Episode 22)
Noel Fisher (Shameless) completes a four-episode arc as CSU Tech Dale Stuckey in the ever-memorable Law & Order: SVU Season 10 finale. Not only do we learn that Stuckey is a serial killer, but Stabler is held hostage and almost dies, and Benson almost too convincingly feigns allegiance with Stuckey to help rescue her partner. It’s a wild ride.
Also guest-stars Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’s Carol Kane and Gilmore Girls’ Kelly Bishop.
19. Trophy (Season 12 Episode 7)
Detective Benson never knew her father, as she is the product of her mother’s rape, and in “Trophy,” Benson is convinced that the rapist they’re investigating could very well be her biological father. It’s a fascinating view into Benson’s personal life as she grapples with the conflicting emotions of potentially finding her criminal father.
The episode guest-stars Maria Bello as Vivian Arliss, a woman whose mother, like Benson’s, was raped 40 years prior, leading Benson to believe they might even have the same biological father.
20. Delinquent (Season 12 Episode 23)
If any SVU episode will ever make you scream at your TV, it’s Law & Order: SVU Season 12 Episode 23. When faced with getting busted for his crimes, a teenage predator (Sterling Beaumon) turns the tables and accuses Detective Stabler of sexual assault.
Fortunately, the truth comes out eventually, but not before putting the SVU detectives through the ringer. The hour also guest-stars Rita Wilson as the teenager’s mom.
21. Smoked (Season 12 Episode 24)
This episode makes the list for the unfortunate and unexpected reason of being the last episode to feature Detective Stabler. A teenage girl witnesses her mother’s murder and later finds herself face-to-face with him in the squadroom.
When she raises a gun to shoot her mother’s murderer, Stabler’s cop instincts kick in, and he shoots, killing the girl. It’s a horrible event and the cause for Stabler’s resignation from the force.
In hindsight, the episode’s notoriety might be skewed due to sentimentality, as we now know it’s Stabler’s last, but it’s a thrilling watch, nonetheless.
22–23. Lost Reputation / Above Suspicion (Season 14 Episodes 1–2)
Captain Cragen is accused of murder, and his beloved squad — Benson, Amaro, Rollins, Munch, and Tutuola — work around the clock to clear his name.
It’s an engrossing two-parter that shows us a wildly different side of the put-together, no-nonsense captain we’ve been used to. Fortunately, it turns out that Cragen was framed, and his name is cleared.
The episode guest-stars a few medical drama favorites: Ron Rifkin (New Amsterdam), Peter Jacobson (House), and Brooke Smith (Grey’s Anatomy).
24. Dreams Deferred (Season 14 Episode 9)
Patricia Arquette is phenomenal, as always, in her role as middle-aged prostitute, Jeannie on Law & Order: SVU Season 14 Episode 9. And, quite frankly, that’s all we need to say to convince you of this episode’s worth.
It’s an interesting glimpse into prostitution, as the detectives view Arquette’s character as a victim to be saved, rather than someone who is just doing what she needs to survive. She’s almost nostalgic for working the streets in the good ole days.
25. Born Psychopath (Season 14 Episode 19)
Law & Order: SVU Season 14 Episode 19 puts the age-old debate of nature vs. nurture at the center. A young Ethan Cutkosky (Shameless) plays a 10-year-old psychopath who has been hurting and trying to kill his younger sister. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare, especially when they first suspect their nanny and each other before facing the horrible truth.
The very much missed Dr. Huang makes an appearance, called back in from the FBI to assist in diagnosing the young boy.
26–30. William Lewis Standouts (Season 14 Episode 24, Season 15 Episode 1, 9, 20, and 21)
If we had to pick the best villain, it would have to be William Lewis (Pablo Schreiber). He’s terrifying and manipulative and charismatic and obsessed with none other than Detective Benson.
Serial rapist and killer William Lewis gets a record-breaking eight episodes, which is more than some detectives or lawyers on the show, to taunt and torture the detectives (especially Benson).
His most memorable moments include kidnapping Benson and revealing his dark past to her, acting as his own defense once finally arrested and put on trial, and escaping from jail.
And, once he eventually commits suicide, his horrific legacy lives on through Benson’s PTSD and an investigation into whether or not she murdered him.
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Which episodes make your list? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Kaitlin Willow
Kaitlin is an aspiring novelist who works in digital marketing. When she's not writing, you can find her snuggled on the couch with her poodle-terrier mix Benny—either reading a book or rewatching New Girl for the 17th time.
