RecapShelfSearch
NBC · 1999–present · 27 seasons · 594 episodes

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Episode Guide

Detailed, spoiler-complete plot summaries of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, episode by episode: the crime, the investigation, and what happens to the case.

CollectionRipped from the headlinesThe 101 episodes drawn from real cases, season by season →BrowseEpisodes by theme69 themes, from vigilantes & revenge to police misconduct →BrowseCharacters44 characters from the squad and the DA’s office, from Olivia Benson to Odafin “Fin” Tutuola →
Jump to a season

Season 1 1999–2000 · 22 episodes

From “Payback” to “Slaves.”

  1. 1. Payback
  2. 2. A Single Life
  3. 3. ...Or Just Look Like One
  4. 4. Hysteria
  5. 5. Wanderlust
  6. 6. Sophomore Jinx
  7. 7. Uncivilized
  8. 8. Stalked
  9. 9. Stocks & Bondage
  10. 10. Closure: Part 1
  11. 11. Bad Blood
  12. 12. Russian Love Poem
  13. 13. Disrobed
  14. 14. Limitations
  15. 15. Entitled
  16. 16. The Third Guy
  17. 17. Misleader
  18. 18. Chat Room
  19. 19. Contact
  20. 20. Remorse
  21. 21. Nocturne
  22. 22. Slaves

Season 2 2000–2001 · 21 episodes

From “Wrong Is Right” to “Scourge.”

  1. 1. Wrong Is Right
  2. 2. Honor
  3. 3. Closure: Part 2
  4. 4. Legacy
  5. 5. Baby Killer
  6. 6. Noncompliance
  7. 7. Asunder
  8. 8. Taken
  9. 9. Pixies
  10. 10. Consent
  11. 11. Abuse
  12. 12. Secrets
  13. 13. Victims
  14. 14. Paranoia
  15. 15. Countdown
  16. 16. Runaway
  17. 17. Folly
  18. 18. Manhunt
  19. 19. Parasites
  20. 20. Pique
  21. 21. Scourge

Season 3 2001–2002 · 23 episodes

From “Repression” to “Silence.”

  1. 1. Repression
  2. 2. Wrath
  3. 3. Stolen
  4. 4. Rooftop
  5. 5. Tangled
  6. 6. Redemption
  7. 7. Sacrifice
  8. 8. Inheritance
  9. 9. Care
  10. 10. Ridicule
  11. 11. Monogamy
  12. 12. Protection
  13. 13. Prodigy
  14. 14. Counterfeit
  15. 15. Execution
  16. 16. Popular
  17. 17. Surveillance
  18. 18. Guilt
  19. 19. Justice
  20. 20. Greed
  21. 21. Denial
  22. 22. Competence
  23. 23. Silence

Season 4 2002–2003 · 25 episodes

From “Chameleon” to “Soulless.”

  1. 1. Chameleon
  2. 2. Deception
  3. 3. Vulnerable
  4. 4. Lust
  5. 5. Disappearing Acts
  6. 6. Angels
  7. 7. Dolls
  8. 8. Waste
  9. 9. Juvenile
  10. 10. Resilience
  11. 11. Damaged
  12. 12. Risk
  13. 13. Rotten
  14. 14. Mercy
  15. 15. Pandora
  16. 16. Tortured
  17. 17. Privilege
  18. 18. Desperate
  19. 19. Appearances
  20. 20. Dominance
  21. 21. Fallacy
  22. 22. Futility
  23. 23. Grief
  24. 24. Perfect
  25. 25. Soulless

Season 5 2003–2004 · 25 episodes

From “Tragedy” to “Head.”

  1. 1. Tragedy
  2. 2. Manic
  3. 3. Mother
  4. 4. Loss
  5. 5. Serendipity
  6. 6. Coerced
  7. 7. Choice
  8. 8. Abomination
  9. 9. Control
  10. 10. Shaken
  11. 11. Escape
  12. 12. Brotherhood
  13. 13. Hate
  14. 14. Ritual
  15. 15. Families
  16. 16. Home
  17. 17. Mean
  18. 18. Careless
  19. 19. Sick
  20. 20. Lowdown
  21. 21. Criminal
  22. 22. Painless
  23. 23. Bound
  24. 24. Poison
  25. 25. Head

Season 6 2004–2005 · 23 episodes

From “Birthright” to “Goliath.”

  1. 1. Birthright
  2. 2. Debt
  3. 3. Obscene
  4. 4. Scavenger
  5. 5. Outcry
  6. 6. Conscience
  7. 7. Charisma
  8. 8. Doubt
  9. 9. Weak
  10. 10. Haunted
  11. 11. Contagious
  12. 12. Identity
  13. 13. Quarry
  14. 14. Game
  15. 15. Hooked
  16. 16. Ghost
  17. 17. Rage
  18. 18. Pure
  19. 19. Intoxicated
  20. 20. Night
  21. 21. Blood
  22. 22. Parts
  23. 23. Goliath

Season 7 2005–2006 · 22 episodes

From “Demons” to “Influence.”

  1. 1. Demons
  2. 2. Design
  3. 3. 911
  4. 4. Ripped
  5. 5. Strain
  6. 6. Raw
  7. 7. Name
  8. 8. Starved
  9. 9. Rockabye
  10. 10. Storm
  11. 11. Alien
  12. 12. Infected
  13. 13. Blast
  14. 14. Taboo
  15. 15. Manipulated
  16. 16. Gone
  17. 17. Class
  18. 18. Venom
  19. 19. Fault
  20. 20. Fat
  21. 21. Web
  22. 22. Influence

Season 8 2006–2007 · 22 episodes

From “Informed” to “Screwed.”

  1. 1. Informed
  2. 2. Clock
  3. 3. Recall
  4. 4. Uncle
  5. 5. Confrontation
  6. 6. Infiltrated
  7. 7. Underbelly
  8. 8. Cage
  9. 9. Choreographed
  10. 10. Scheherazade
  11. 11. Burned
  12. 12. Outsider
  13. 13. Loophole
  14. 14. Dependent
  15. 15. Haystack
  16. 16. Philadelphia
  17. 17. Sin
  18. 18. Responsible
  19. 19. Florida
  20. 20. Annihilated
  21. 21. Pretend
  22. 22. Screwed

Season 9 2007–2008 · 19 episodes

From “Alternate” to “Cold.”

  1. 1. Alternate
  2. 2. Avatar
  3. 3. Impulsive
  4. 4. Savant
  5. 5. Harm
  6. 6. Svengali
  7. 7. Blinded
  8. 8. Fight
  9. 9. Paternity
  10. 10. Snitch
  11. 11. Streetwise
  12. 12. Signature
  13. 13. Unorthodox
  14. 14. Inconceivable
  15. 15. Undercover
  16. 16. Closet
  17. 17. Authority
  18. 18. Trade
  19. 19. Cold

Season 10 2008–2009 · 22 episodes

From “Trials” to “Zebras.”

  1. 1. Trials
  2. 2. Confession
  3. 3. Swing
  4. 4. Lunacy
  5. 5. Retro
  6. 6. Babes
  7. 7. Wildlife
  8. 8. Persona
  9. 9. PTSD
  10. 10. Smut
  11. 11. Stranger
  12. 12. Hothouse
  13. 13. Snatched
  14. 14. Transitions
  15. 15. Lead
  16. 16. Ballerina
  17. 17. Hell
  18. 18. Baggage
  19. 19. Selfish
  20. 20. Crush
  21. 21. Liberties
  22. 22. Zebras

Season 11 2009–2010 · 24 episodes

From “Unstable” to “Shattered.”

  1. 1. Unstable
  2. 2. Sugar
  3. 3. Solitary
  4. 4. Hammered
  5. 5. Hardwired
  6. 6. Spooked
  7. 7. Users
  8. 8. Turmoil
  9. 9. Perverted
  10. 10. Anchor
  11. 11. Quickie
  12. 12. Shadow
  13. 13. P.C.
  14. 14. Savior
  15. 15. Confidential
  16. 16. Witness
  17. 17. Disabled
  18. 18. Bedtime
  19. 19. Conned
  20. 20. Beef
  21. 21. Torch
  22. 22. Ace
  23. 23. Wannabe
  24. 24. Shattered

Season 12 2010–2011 · 24 episodes

From “Locum” to “Smoked.”

  1. 1. Locum
  2. 2. Bullseye
  3. 3. Behave
  4. 4. Merchandise
  5. 5. Wet
  6. 6. Branded
  7. 7. Trophy
  8. 8. Penetration
  9. 9. Gray
  10. 10. Rescue
  11. 11. Pop
  12. 12. Possessed
  13. 13. Mask
  14. 14. Dirty
  15. 15. Flight
  16. 16. Spectacle
  17. 17. Pursuit
  18. 18. Bully
  19. 19. Bombshell
  20. 20. Totem
  21. 21. Reparations
  22. 22. Bang
  23. 23. Delinquent
  24. 24. Smoked

Season 13 2011–2012 · 23 episodes

From “Scorched Earth” to “Rhodium Nights.”

  1. 1. Scorched Earth
  2. 2. Personal Fouls
  3. 3. Blood Brothers
  4. 4. Double Strands
  5. 5. Missing Pieces
  6. 6. True Believers
  7. 7. Russian Brides
  8. 8. Educated Guess
  9. 9. Lost Traveler
  10. 10. Spiraling Down
  11. 11. Theatre Tricks
  12. 12. Official Story
  13. 13. Father's Shadow
  14. 14. Home Invasions
  15. 15. Hunting Ground
  16. 16. Child's Welfare
  17. 17. Justice Denied
  18. 18. Valentine's Day
  19. 19. Street Revenge
  20. 20. Father Dearest
  21. 21. Learning Curve
  22. 22. Strange Beauty
  23. 23. Rhodium Nights

Season 14 2012–2013 · 24 episodes

From “Lost Reputation” to “Her Negotiation.”

  1. 1. Lost Reputation
  2. 2. Above Suspicion
  3. 3. Twenty-Five Acts
  4. 4. Acceptable Loss
  5. 5. Manhattan Vigil
  6. 6. Friending Emily
  7. 7. Vanity's Bonfire
  8. 8. Lessons Learned
  9. 9. Dreams Deferred
  10. 10. Presumed Guilty
  11. 11. Beautiful Frame
  12. 12. Criminal Hatred
  13. 13. Monster's Legacy
  14. 14. Secrets Exhumed
  15. 15. Deadly Ambition
  16. 16. Funny Valentine
  17. 17. Undercover Blue
  18. 18. Legitimate Rape
  19. 19. Born Psychopath
  20. 20. Girl Dishonored
  21. 21. Traumatic Wound
  22. 22. Poisoned Motive
  23. 23. Brief Interlude
  24. 24. Her Negotiation

Season 15 2013–2014 · 24 episodes

From “Surrender Benson” to “Spring Awakening.”

  1. 1. Surrender Benson
  2. 2. Imprisoned Lives
  3. 3. American Tragedy
  4. 4. Internal Affairs
  5. 5. Wonderland Story
  6. 6. October Surprise
  7. 7. Dissonant Voices
  8. 8. Military Justice
  9. 9. Rapist Anonymous
  10. 10. Psycho/Therapist
  11. 11. Amaro's One-Eighty
  12. 12. Jersey Breakdown
  13. 13. Betrayal's Climax
  14. 14. Wednesday's Child
  15. 15. Comic Perversion
  16. 16. Gridiron Soldier
  17. 17. Gambler's Fallacy
  18. 18. Criminal Stories
  19. 19. Downloaded Child
  20. 20. Beast's Obsession
  21. 21. Post-Mortem Blues
  22. 22. Reasonable Doubt
  23. 23. Thought Criminal
  24. 24. Spring Awakening

Season 16 2014–2015 · 23 episodes

From “Girls Disappeared” to “Surrendering Noah.”

  1. 1. Girls Disappeared
  2. 2. American Disgrace
  3. 3. Producer's Backend
  4. 4. Holden's Manifesto
  5. 5. Pornstar's Requiem
  6. 6. Glasgowman's Wrath
  7. 7. Chicago Crossover
  8. 8. Spousal Privilege
  9. 9. Pattern Seventeen
  10. 10. Forgiving Rollins
  11. 11. Agent Provocateur
  12. 12. Padre Sandunguero
  13. 13. Decaying Morality
  14. 14. Intimidation Game
  15. 15. Undercover Mother
  16. 16. December Solstice
  17. 17. Parole Violations
  18. 18. Devastating Story
  19. 19. Granting Immunity
  20. 20. Daydream Believer
  21. 21. Perverted Justice
  22. 22. Parents' Nightmare
  23. 23. Surrendering Noah

Season 17 2015–2016 · 23 episodes

From “Devil's Dissections” to “Heartfelt Passages.”

  1. 1. Devil's Dissections
  2. 2. Criminal Pathology
  3. 3. Transgender Bridge
  4. 4. Institutional Fail
  5. 5. Community Policing
  6. 6. Maternal Instincts
  7. 7. Patrimonial Burden
  8. 8. Melancholy Pursuit
  9. 9. Depravity Standard
  10. 10. Catfishing Teacher
  11. 11. Townhouse Incident
  12. 12. A Misunderstanding
  13. 13. Forty-One Witnesses
  14. 14. Nationwide Manhunt
  15. 15. Collateral Damages
  16. 16. Star-Struck Victims
  17. 17. Manhattan Transfer
  18. 18. Unholiest Alliance
  19. 19. Sheltered Outcasts
  20. 20. Fashionable Crimes
  21. 21. Assaulting Reality
  22. 22. Intersecting Lives
  23. 23. Heartfelt Passages

Season 18 2016–2017 · 21 episodes

From “Terrorized” to “Sanctuary.”

  1. 1. Terrorized
  2. 2. Making a Rapist
  3. 3. Imposter
  4. 4. Heightened Emotions
  5. 5. Rape Interrupted
  6. 6. Broken Rhymes
  7. 7. Next Chapter
  8. 8. Chasing Theo
  9. 9. Decline & Fall
  10. 10. Motherly Love
  11. 11. Great Expectations
  12. 12. No Surrender
  13. 13. Genes
  14. 14. Net Worth
  15. 15. Know It All
  16. 16. The Newsroom
  17. 17. Real Fake News
  18. 18. Spellbound
  19. 19. Conversion
  20. 20. American Dream
  21. 21. Sanctuary

Season 19 2017–2018 · 24 episodes

From “Gone Fishin'” to “Remember Me Too.”

  1. 1. Gone Fishin'
  2. 2. Mood
  3. 3. Contrapasso
  4. 4. No Good Reason
  5. 5. Complicated
  6. 6. Unintended Consequences
  7. 7. Something Happened
  8. 8. Intent
  9. 9. Gone Baby Gone
  10. 10. Pathological
  11. 11. Flight Risk
  12. 12. Info Wars
  13. 13. The Undiscovered Country
  14. 14. Chasing Demons
  15. 15. In Loco Parentis
  16. 16. Dare
  17. 17. Send in the Clowns
  18. 18. Service
  19. 19. Sunk Cost Fallacy
  20. 20. The Book of Esther
  21. 21. Guardian
  22. 22. Mama
  23. 23. Remember Me
  24. 24. Remember Me Too

Season 20 2018–2019 · 24 episodes

From “Man Up” to “End Game.”

  1. 1. Man Up
  2. 2. Man Down
  3. 3. Zero Tolerance
  4. 4. Revenge
  5. 5. Accredo
  6. 6. Exile
  7. 7. Caretaker
  8. 8. Hell's Kitchen
  9. 9. Mea Culpa
  10. 10. Alta Kockers
  11. 11. Plastic
  12. 12. Dear Ben
  13. 13. A Story of More Woe
  14. 14. Part 33
  15. 15. Brothel
  16. 16. Facing Demons
  17. 17. Missing
  18. 18. Blackout
  19. 19. Dearly Beloved
  20. 20. The Good Girl
  21. 21. Exchange
  22. 22. Diss
  23. 23. Assumptions
  24. 24. End Game

Season 21 2019–2020 · 20 episodes

From “I'm Going to Make You a Star” to “The Things We Have to Lose.”

  1. 1. I'm Going to Make You a Star
  2. 2. The Darkest Journey Home
  3. 3. Down Low in Hell's Kitchen
  4. 4. The Burden of Our Choices
  5. 5. At Midnight in Manhattan
  6. 6. Murdered at a Bad Address
  7. 7. Counselor, It's Chinatown
  8. 8. We Dream of Machine Elves
  9. 9. Can't Be Held Accountable
  10. 10. Must Be Held Accountable
  11. 11. She Paints for Vengeance
  12. 12. The Longest Night of Rain
  13. 13. Redemption in Her Corner
  14. 14. I Deserve Some Loving Too
  15. 15. Swimming with the Sharks
  16. 16. Eternal Relief from Pain
  17. 17. Dance Lies & Video Tape
  18. 18. Garland's Baptism by Fire
  19. 19. Solving for the Unknowns
  20. 20. The Things We Have to Lose

Season 22 2020–2021 · 16 episodes

From “Guardians and Gladiators” to “Wolves in Sheep's Clothing.”

  1. 1. Guardians and Gladiators
  2. 2. Ballad of Dwight and Irena
  3. 3. Remember Me in Quarantine
  4. 4. Sightless in a Savage Land
  5. 5. Turn Me on Take Me Private
  6. 6. The Long Arm of the Witness
  7. 7. Hunt, Trap, Rape & Release
  8. 8. The Only Way Out Is Through
  9. 9. Return of the Prodigal Son
  10. 10. Welcome to the Pedo Motel
  11. 11. Our Words Will Not Be Heard
  12. 12. In the Year We All Fell Down
  13. 13. Trick-Rolled at the Moulin
  14. 14. Post-Graduate Psychopath
  15. 15. What Can Happen In the Dark
  16. 16. Wolves in Sheep's Clothing

Season 23 2021–2022 · 22 episodes

From “And the Empire Strikes Back” to “A Final Call at Forlini's Bar.”

  1. 1. And the Empire Strikes Back
  2. 2. Never Turn Your Back on Them
  3. 3. I Thought You Were on My Side
  4. 4. One More Tale of Two Victims
  5. 5. Fast Times @DIGGYSPENTHOUSE
  6. 6. The Five Hundredth Episode
  7. 7. They'd Already Disappeared
  8. 8. Nightmares in Drill City
  9. 9. People vs. Richard Wheatley
  10. 10. Silent Night, Hateful Night
  11. 11. Burning with Rage Forever
  12. 12. Tommy Baker's Hardest Fight
  13. 13. If I Knew Then What I Know Now
  14. 14. Video Killed the Radio Star
  15. 15. Promising Young Gentlemen
  16. 16. Sorry If It Got Weird for You
  17. 17. Once Upon a Time in El Barrio
  18. 18. Eighteen Wheels a Predator
  19. 19. Tangled Strands of Justice
  20. 20. Did You Believe in Miracles?
  21. 21. Confess Your Sins to Be Free
  22. 22. A Final Call at Forlini's Bar

Season 24 2022–2023 · 22 episodes

From “Gimme Shelter – Part Two” to “All Pain Is One Malady.”

  1. 1. Gimme Shelter – Part Two
  2. 2. The One You Feed
  3. 3. Mirror Effect
  4. 4. The Steps We Cannot Take
  5. 5. Breakwater
  6. 6. Controlled Burn
  7. 7. Dead Ball
  8. 8. A Better Person
  9. 9. And a Trauma in a Pear Tree
  10. 10. Jumped In
  11. 11. Soldier Up
  12. 12. Blood Out
  13. 13. Intersection
  14. 14. Dutch Tears
  15. 15. King of the Moon
  16. 16. The Presence of Absence
  17. 17. Lime Chaser
  18. 18. Bubble Wrap
  19. 19. Bend the Law
  20. 20. Debatable
  21. 21. Bad Things
  22. 22. All Pain Is One Malady

Season 25 2024 · 13 episodes

From “Tunnel Blind” to “Duty to Hope.”

  1. 1. Tunnel Blind
  2. 2. Truth Embargo
  3. 3. The Punch List
  4. 4. Duty to Report
  5. 5. Zone Rouge
  6. 6. Carousel
  7. 7. Probability of Doom
  8. 8. Third Man Syndrome
  9. 9. Children of Wolves
  10. 10. Combat Fatigue
  11. 11. Prima Nocta
  12. 12. Marauder
  13. 13. Duty to Hope

Season 26 2024–2025 · 22 episodes

From “Fractured” to “Post-Rage.”

  1. 1. Fractured
  2. 2. Excavation
  3. 3. Divide & Conquer
  4. 4. Constricted
  5. 5. Economics of Shame
  6. 6. Rorschach
  7. 7. Tenfold
  8. 8. Cornered
  9. 9. First Light
  10. 10. Master Key
  11. 11. Deductible
  12. 12. Calculated
  13. 13. Extinguished
  14. 14. The Grid Plan
  15. 15. Undertow
  16. 16. Let Me Bring Pardon
  17. 17. Accomplice Liability
  18. 18. The Accuser
  19. 19. Play with Fire Part 2
  20. 20. Shock Collar
  21. 21. Aperture
  22. 22. Post-Rage

Season 27 2025–2026 · 21 episodes

From “In the Wind” to “Monster.”

  1. 1. In the Wind
  2. 2. A Waiver of Consent
  3. 3. A Vicious Circle
  4. 4. Clickbait
  5. 5. Feed the Craving
  6. 6. Under the Influence
  7. 7. False Idols
  8. 8. Showdown
  9. 9. Purity
  10. 10. Fidelis ad mortem
  11. 11. Career Psychopath
  12. 12. Hubris
  13. 13. Corrosive
  14. 14. Frequency
  15. 15. Thirsty
  16. 16. Vivid
  17. 17. Deep Under
  18. 18. Gimmick
  19. 19. Impropriety
  20. 20. Old Friends
  21. 21. Monster

All 594 episodes, from September 20, 1999 to May 14, 2026. How these summaries are written.