Philadelphia (Season 8, Episode 16)
Premise: Benson finds her half brother just as a New Jersey captain targets him as a rapist, while her distraction costs the squad a chance to catch two men raping men in Central Park.
- Air date
- Season/Episode
- Season 8, Episode 16
- Starring
- Det. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Det. Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni), Det. John Munch (Richard Belzer), Det. Odafin “Fin” Tutuola (Ice-T), Capt. Donald Cragen (Dann Florek), ADA Casey Novak (Diane Neal), Dr. George Huang (BD Wong), CSU Ryan O’Halloran (Mike Doyle), TARU Ruben Morales (Joel de la Fuente), Dr. Rebecca Hendrix (Mary Stuart Masterson), Capt. Julia Millfield (Kim Delaney)
- Guest stars
- Michael Weston as Simon Marsden, Jonathan Kells Phillips as Ronnie Cavelle, Arian Moayed as Amal Qinawi, Roberto Purvis as Bobby Trapido, Michael Carbonaro as Jeff Trapido
- Director
- Peter Leto
- Writers
- Patrick Harbinson
Summary
“Philadelphia” opens with two Riverpark, New Jersey, detectives drawing guns on Benson and Stabler, who have been watching the home of Simon Marsden, the half brother Benson found by running her own DNA. Throughout the episode, Dr. Rebecca Hendrix questions each partner for a psychological assessment. Capt. Julia Millfield lets them go after they claim to be chasing an old case, and Cragen warns them to keep out of New Jersey. Meanwhile, two men in a van have raped a third man in Central Park. The victim, Ronnie Cavelle, is about to be married and will neither view mug shots nor testify.
Huang obtains Simon’s juvenile file, which includes joyriding and stealing lingerie; his DNA stayed on record after he volunteered a sample in a Jersey City murder sweep. Millfield tells Benson that Simon, a night pharmacist, is her only suspect in the stalking of three women who use his store. During a stakeout in the park, Benson takes a call from Simon’s girlfriend, Lucy, misses Stabler’s directions over the radio, and the van gets away, later dumping a fourth victim, visitor Amal Qinawi, who also refuses to help. Stabler takes the blame, but a TARU recording shows Benson was on another call. A thumbprint on a soda can from the burned van leads to Bobby Trapido, who is arrested with his brother, Jeff. Huang suspects the rapist was himself raped in prison, inmates confirm it on tape, and Trapido confesses when told the tapes will go to a TV news show unless he pleads, with Huang offering to recommend psychiatric custody.
Simon recognizes Benson from a newspaper photo of her he found among his late father’s things, and she tells him his father raped her mother. He denies stalking anyone. Hours after he leaves her apartment, stalking victim Donna Leonte is raped and picks him out of a lineup. Benson and Stabler learn that Millfield’s sister, Carrie, went to school with Simon, and he admits tearing Carrie’s dress in his car after a dance, which led her father to accuse him of assault. Millfield then reports that hairs in Donna’s underwear match Simon, and he skips bail. Cragen, learning that Warner ran DNA for Benson and that Stabler knew, orders the assessment.
Spoiler, the ending: Asked how far his loyalty goes, Stabler tells Hendrix he once chose to save his partner and a boy died. Hendrix reports to Cragen that the two detectives rely on each other so heavily that it hurts their effectiveness as officers. When he asks whether she recommends splitting them up, she answers that he should do it only if he wants to lose his two best detectives. No decision is made on screen.
Why it stands out
- Michael Weston debuts as Simon Marsden, Benson’s half brother, the first of his three episodes this season.
- Mary Stuart Masterson returns as Dr. Rebecca Hendrix, and Kim Delaney plays New Jersey police captain Julia Millfield.