Law & Order: Special Victims Unit/Season 22

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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–present) is a long-running crime drama, part of the popular Law & Order franchise created by Dick Wolf. The show focuses on the Special Victims Unit, a special squad dealing with sex crimes and crimes against children.

Guardians and Gladiators [22.01]

Garland: Captain, I know it's late, but I need a word with you and Sergeant Tutuola. Jayvon Brown has filed a lawsuit against NYPD. You've both been named.

Benson: Jayvon Brown had outstanding warrants. He wouldn't answer questions.

Fin: There was a crowd. You know how fast they turn.

Garland: Stop! You both sound defensive. These days, that's not a good look.

Benson: Chief, we were by the book.

Garland: That's the book that got us here! After George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, this city, this country are on boil. Business as usual will not work.

Benson: Did Garland say anything about me?

Fin: Yeah - watch your back.

Curry: Since George Floyd, I have taken statement after statement from two kinds of cops: A ton of swinging gladiators who take one look at me and can barely hide their disdain...

Benson: I'm sorry you had to experience that...

Curry: ...and the well-intentioned guardian cops who never see themselves as racist, but are in denial about their complicity in the systemic racism within the NYPD. Cops like you, Captain Benson.

Benson: I'm well aware that there's racism in the NYPD.

Curry: And what about your own bias?

Benson: I'm not racist.

Curry: I'm sure you're not... explicitly. But implicitly? If you grew up in this country, it's in you. And me. I struggle every day with my own biases. For too many people, law enforcement has lost all credibility, and until every one of us takes a serious self-inventory, we can't begin to get it back.

Ballad of Dwight and Irena [22.02]

Rollins: Were you two in a fight before you left? We got a call that there was a disturbance.

Dwight: People around here need to mind their business. You know, back home, it's legal to beat your wife on Sunday. You can look that up.

Benson: Poor Will's been a punching bag his whole life. He finally hit back.

Fin: Did Irina tell you to get Will?

Mark: This is how you treat a brother officer? No wonder you have lawsuits against you.

Fin: It used to be so simple. Just take down the bad guy. Now the lines are blurred. Half the city are looking at us like we're the bad guys.

Rollins: It was an impossible summer. Things are gonna calm down.

Tamin: I don't see that happening. The way the NYPD handled those demonstrators...

Rollins: We were under attack. What do you want us to do, sit there and take it?

Tamin: You're supposed to de-escalate. Assess the situation, be aware of our biases. We're not supposed to overreact.

Fin: You mean like shoot a man in front of his son?

Rollins: Fin...

Fin: Look, growing up in the 'hood, the way the cops treated us, I never trusted 'em. That's why I joined the force, to make a change. Then I worked my way over to SVU because there's no gray area when you're taking down rapists and pedophiles. The last thing I wanted to be is another trigger-happy cop who kills a Black man. And here I am.

Remember Me in Quarantine [22.03]

Dr. Warner: First it was COVID, then the murder spike... No one's slept since March.

Lexie: Maybe I don't always wear my mask, OK? Or stay 6 feet away. I went to bars, I danced, kissed guys, took them home, forgot them on the stairs. The world was dying. It made me feel alive.

Rollins: I get it. I'm not judging you.

Lexie: Yeah, you are.

Rollins: [pause] Maybe I am. Because I have kids, and we've been cooped up for months. I'm ready for this to be over. For them to have a life.

Rollins: Okay, leaks to the press, Brad turning on her after she slept with him. This is officially a witch hunt.

Tamin: I just hate the double standard. They all slept together and she's the only one getting slut shamed.

Sightless in a Savage Land [22.04]

Noah: Are they still gonna drop the ball?

Benson: Yes, of of course.

Noah: [about the guardrails] If no one's gonna be here, then why are they putting those up?

Benson: Oh, just to close it off. [pause] Hey, Noah, we're gonna watch it on TV, just like any other New Year's.

Noah: No, it's not. I just want this year to be over.

Benson: Everyone does.

Barba: I have no intention of disrespecting Carisi, but... Mickey deserves a defense. Isn't that why you came to me?

Benson: I wanted you to cut him a deal! Listen, as the Chief said, we cannot send a message that it's okay to take the law into your own hands.

Barba: Well, that's Carisi's case to make. Luckily, I don't work for the D.A. I don't need to worry about messages. I just need to make 12 New Yorkers like my client... and me.

Benson: Barba, he's guilty!

Barba: [smiles] Is he? Depends on the jury.

[Things are going badly for Barba in court]

Barba: When I was an ADA, this would be the moment where I would offer the defense a deal.

Sonny: Man-2 is still on the table. I can recommend the minimum.

Barba: That's exactly the offer I told Mickey you'd make.

Sonny: And what did he say?

Barba: Basically "no thank you," but more anatomical.

Barba: [raises his drink] Cheers.

Sonny: To what? Jury deliberates for 6 hours to find Mickey guilty of Man-2, and we are right back where we started.

Barba: To irony, then.

Turn Me On, Take Me Private [22.05]

Tamin: Zoey is worried the jury will see her as a crazy slut who tricked him.

Sonny: We always knew this was a risk.

Tamin: She's a good person, just trying to pay her bills. He's the crazy one.

Sonny: I know that. My job is to make sure the jury knows it.

Tamin: The whole point of camming is that the woman controls the narrative. No physical contact, no STDs, no violence. It's supposed to be empowering.

Benson: But it doesn't make it safe.

Tamin: When you say that, it sounds like you're victim blaming.

Benson: Kat, it's not victim blaming. It's just...

Fin: Listen, from what Captain and I have seen, sex work is far more dangerous than people wanna believe.

Tamin: Aren't you supposed to protect the victim?

Sonny: Actually, my job is to uphold the law. Is there a reason that you don't like me?

Tamin: I just can't believe that you were ever a cop.

The Long Arm of the Witness [22.06]

Sonny: So, your friend Rita, huh? I think she grew another dorsal fin during quarantine.

Benson: Oh, it was always there. I think that she just had it sharpened.

Sonny: Congratulations on the promotion. Head of the Civil Rights Unit, that's a big step up.

Holmes: Well, after the riots, they needed someone who, how did my boss say it, checked every diversity box.

Judge Gallagher: You people in Manhattan really live in a bubble, don't you? The world has changed. You have no idea what you're dealing with. You keep this up, I'll see to it you're disbarred. You get lucky, maybe the NYPD will take you back. You can do traffic stops on Staten Island.

Calhoun: Alright, we're done here...

Judge Gallagher: Something they can't teach you at Fordham? How to belong. People on the eighth floor who nod at you in the elevator, they can smell the flop sweat and the garlic coming off your cheap suit.

Sonny: Keep goin', judge.

Judge Gallagher: What do you wanna hear, you dumb dago? You wanna go?

Sonny: I'll take you out right here!

Benson: THAT'S ENOUGH! Let's go, Carisi.

Judge Gallagher: No need. You're in so far over your head, you don't realize your career's dead and buried.

Judge Lewis: Are you ready to allocute, Judge Gallagher?

Judge Gallagher: I am. Today I plead guilty to sexual misconduct. What I thought was consensual I now understand was perceived as coercive and hurtful actions.

Judge Lewis: I understand there's a deal?

Calhoun: We've agreed to the DA's offer of one year to be served under house arrest.

Judge Lewis: Mr. Carisi, are you comfortable with this?

Sonny: My office is satisfied, Your Honor.

Judge Lewis: Well, I'm not. Judge Gallagher, you come from a good family, a fine home, and yet despite all those advantages, upon achieving power, you abused it habitually. So in the interest of true justice for the women you've abused, I hereby order you to serve your one year sentence in a jail cell.

Judge Gallagher: What?

Calhoun: It's fine.

Judge Gallagher: You can't do that. We had a deal!

Judge Lewis: You did. And as you well understand, the bench has inherent powers in these situations. The long arm of the law can work both ways. You're remanded.

Rollins: How long till he's out on appeal?

Holmes: I don't care. It was worth it to see the blood drain out of his face.

Benson: He just got a taste of his own medicine.

Benson: Rita, what the hell were you thinking defending him?

Calhoun: Read the room, Olivia. The way the courts are packed, Gallagher's side, these guys, and women. The next thirty years, every appeal all the way to the Supreme Court. The fix is in.

Benson: That's why we keep fighting.

Calhoun: Not if they won't let you in the ring. Olivia, you keep staying on the wrong side of this, you're gonna be marginalized for the rest of your career. My advice? Lie back and pretend you're enjoying it.

Hunt, Trap, Rape, and Release [22.07]

Tamin: Vic still in the apartment?

Patrolman: She didn't want to leave. I didn't argue. That's your job.

Benson: You're new to SVU. We like to coordinate.

Barek: Look, Deputy Chief Garland was very clear what my job was. To build up trust in the Bronx. We bring Manhattan in, there goes morale.

Benson: There's a rapist out there. Shouldn't that be our priority?

Muldovan: So this is how the other half lives. Lots of elbow room, nice waiting area, cleaning crew comes through, what, four times a day?

Rollins: Yeah, it's a regular Xanadu.

Fin: One more time. The night Muldovan shot at Gonzales...

Rollins: You're asking... yeah, he could have been trying to kill him.

Benson: So this changes the trajectory of our investigation.

The Only Way Out is Through [22.08]

Tamin: Could we stop using the expression, "He said/She said"? It sounds like, "There's no evidence, and there's nothing we can do". And why is the "he" always first?

Sonny: Kat, a jury understands "no means no." They have a harder time with, "Yes, but I want you to slow down" and "Even though you didn't stop, I'll still have a nightcap with you afterwards."

Tamin: Every time you say a jury is going to have a hard time, I think you mean you.

Sonny: I gotta babysit Kat at a controlled meet. You got any tips for how to deal with her? Because everything I do makes her angry.

Fin: Then don't do anything.

Nora: [at Gunn's parole hearing] If you can't keep him locked up for my sake, keep him locked up for all the women who are still whole, all the women Jimmy Gunn will rape if he gets out.

Return of the Prodigal Son [22.09]

[Benson is called to a crime scene, sees Kathy Stabler being wheeled in an ambulance]

Benson: Kathy? Kathy!

Stabler: Liv.

Benson: [stunned] Elliot.

Stabler: They tried to kill her... They tried to kill Kathy.

Kathy: It's like the old days. The two of you together, always so in sync. You really didn't talk for ten years?

Benson: I didn't even know he was back on the job.

Kathy: That's what Elliot told me. I didn't believe him.

Stabler: Liv, I'm sorry.

Benson: Elliot, we don't have to do this. [pause] Okay. You wanna do this now? Are you sorry for leaving, or are you sorry for walking... For not giving me the courtesy of telling me?

Stabler: Both. I think I thought if I talked to you about...

Benson: Walking away? Because that's what you did, Elliot. I had to find out from Cragen.

Stabler: Olivia...

Benson: Elliot, you were the most... the single most important person in my life, and you just disappeared.

Stabler: I know. I was afraid, if I heard your voice, I wouldn't be able to leave.

Stabler: [to Kathy's murderers] You're all dead men. You hear me? All of you!

Welcome to the Pedo Hotel [22.10]

Sonny: How's your friend Stabler doing?

Benson: I've talked to him a few times, but... you know.

Sonny: He's had a rough road.

Benson: Yeah. I'm worried for him.

Sonny: I don't know if it's the healthiest thing for him to investigate his own wife's murder.

Benson: Do you wanna tell him that?

Benson: [about Lonnie] What's his prior?

Rollins: He's on parole for the sex assault of a teenage girl.

Fin: He claims it was a Romeo and Juliet story.

Khaldun: Isn't that possible?

Sonny: You'd be amazed how many statutory rapists use Shakespeare as a character witness.

Benson: Eduardo's buddies confessed?

Fin: Louie blames Eduardo and Juan, says he was just along for the ride.

Khaldun: That's funny, Juan blames Eduardo and Louie.

Fin: Three dimed mice.

Tamin: Fin, you okay?

Fin: No. I assumed Lonnie was guilty 'cause he was in that rat trap.

Tamin: You weren't alone in thinking that, and Lonnie wasn't straight with you, and he was made to look guilty.

Fin: No, I was on him from the jump. I checked his single-bust record, and I made him for dirty, and I should know more than anyone how many good kids that look like him get done wrong.

Tamin: Ceranda was an innocent girl, and you were trying to catch her killer.

Fin: And because of me, another innocent kid gets lynched for it.

Tamin: Fin, that is not on you.

Fin: Yes, it is. Now I gotta tell Lonnie's family why they don't have a son anymore.

Fin: Why'd you pick this girl?

Sam: It wasn't my idea. I did it for Antonio. That's my half-brother. Our mothers raised us together.

Sonny: Please don't ask for a lawyer.

Fin: For Antonio, why?

Sam: His PO was gonna send him back to Attica for some nonsense unless he did the girl and framed Lonnie. I was just trying to help him.

Fin: And then he rats you out.

Sam: I know, man. No good deed.

Our Words Will Not Be Heard [22.11]

Tamin: Are you going to tell me where we're going?

Fin: It's a surprise.

Tamin: Where's Phoebe?

Fin: She'll meet us there. [pause] Listen, if you're gonna be a detective, you have to learn to ask better questions.

Tamin: [stunned] Wait, what?

Fin: Congratulations. You're getting promoted. Liv and Phoebe are meeting us to celebrate. Just act surprised and tell the Captain how much you learned from her.

Tamin: From all of you!

Fin: Yeah, but let's polish that apple.

Fin: This should be fun - "Look for an angry white guy in a plaid shirt."

Benson: Look, off the record, we both want the same thing.

Jayvon: How do you figure?

Benson: We both want the department to own up to their mistakes and make changes moving forward.

Jayvon: You want that?

Benson: I do, very much. And I get what your lawyers are going for with the show trial, but the fact of the matter is that there is no amount of publicity that will move the dial at 1PP.

Jayvon: You gonna tell what will?

Benson: You have allies in the department. [Jayvon scoffs] Deputy inspectors, IAB investigators, who feel very frustrated that they can't rid the ranks of bad cops.

Jayvon: Here it comes. You're gonna tell me that it's just "a few bad apples".

Benson: No. What I will tell you is that IAB knows who the macho gladiators are. And if their investigators are deposed, and they are forced to tell the truth, then yes, we can get rid of the worst cops.

In The Year We All Fell Down [22.12]

Rollins: [on the phone with her father] Dad, we're already at the place. [pause] No, and no! [hangs up] He wants me to bring him a six-pack of Bud and a carton of cigarettes.

Sonny: [chuckles] He must be feeling better.

Vanessa: Maybe we're all dead. Maybe that's what all this Zooming and Facetime is. Maybe it's where we go in the afterlife. We can't see anyone, we can't hug them, but they're all there... But no one is here. Everyone has left.

Benson: I'm here. And I'm not leaving.

Vanessa: Don't try to talk me out of it. I have spent months trying to "count my blessings" and "show gratitude". Everyone keeps saying, "Don't let COVID defeat you." Well, you know what? No restaurant, no husband, no son - COVID won. I'm tired of fighting.

Rollins: How much longer can this go on?

Sonny: I tell my mother, it's not endless, but it's indefinite.

Trick-Rolled at the Moulin [22.13]

Fin: [picking up a ball gag found near the victim] Can't find this at Home Depot.

Dr. Warner: [after examining the victim] Aside from the sky-high blood alcohol level, he took, or was given, Oxycodone, fentanyl, and MDMA.

Benson: Those are fairly common street drugs. Any recent OD's with the same cocktail?

Dr. Warner: No, but where there's one... You might wanna check area hospitals.

Fin: There were women there. Any DNA?

Dr. Warner: Nope. He went, he didn't come.

Benson: Elliot, did you hear anything we said to you the other night?

Stabler: I don't want to talk about the other night.

Benson: You have to take care of yourself. I am begging you. Slow this down. Go home. Eat something. Get some rest. Do it for yourself. Do it for your children.

Stabler: Okay. I hear you. [pause] We good?

Benson: I hope so.

Post-Graduate Psychopath [22.14]

Benson: Henry's 13-year-old sister is alive. She was staying with a friend out in Oyster Bay.

Rollins: Now we have to tell a 13-year-old that her whole family has been murdered.

Henry: I love the ocean. You know why? The ocean doesn't give a crap about you or about anybody. It does whatever it wants and you just have to along with it.

Cop: How experienced is your detective?

Benson: Very.

Cop: We got a whole team coming up.

Benson: It's going to be very hard for you to sneak up on someone in a house of mirrors.

Rollins: [to Henry] When I told you that I didn't want you to die... I lied. If you ever get out of here, if you go after Counselor Carisi or anyone in my family ever again, it will be your last day on Earth. I'll kill you myself.

What Can Happen in the Dark [22.15]

Garland: [about Andy] You think he was sexually assaulted by his wife?

Benson: Well, it would certainly explain why he's afraid to talk, and why she's doing damage control.

Garland: Well, what can we do about it?

Benson: As of right now, not a damn thing.

Benson: You had serious injuries, and she's the one who gave them to you.

Andy: It doesn't matter, I know she loves me. She's not going to do it again.

Benson: I can't tell you how many times I've sat here and heard those exact words. And these situations, Andy, unfortunately, things don't get better.

Fin: I know you're worried about what people will think, but this isn't just about fighting for yourself.

Andy: I don't want Charlie to know.

Benson: Kids know more than you think. Is this how you want the rest of your life to go? Waiting for her to hurt you again? To take your son away? Andy, that's where this is going.

Andy: What do you want me to do? She said if this ever goes to trial, the jury is going to take one look at me, one look at her, nobody's ever going to believe me.

Benson: We believe you. And juries are smart. They figure things out.

Sonny: The psychology of intimate partner violence is complex. It's not just physical. It's emotional abuse. Instilling fear. Controlling the victim. And Andy lived with his wife's abuse for years, because like most abuse victims he thought he didn't have a choice.

Diana: Andy, maybe we can work things out. I'd like to try. I didn't realize that I was hurting you, and now I'm worried about hurting Charlie.

Benson: Andy, you don't have to listen to her.

Andy: I know. But there's something I need to say. [to Diana] I won't keep Charlie from seeing you.

Diana: Good. Then we'll both be in his life.

Andy: And we will. But we won't be in each other's.

Wolves in Sheep's Clothing [22.16]

Mrs. Swanson: The local precinct sent me to Vice, who did less than your average Vice President.

Chief McGrath: [to Garland] What I see? Lack of discipline, lack of investigative competence, lack of leadership. In a word, failure. I see failure. Failure written all over you.

Garland: I also got a call from my dad. He's retired but he's still in touch with some guys on the job. The Old Guard wants to take me out.

Benson: What does that mean?

Garland: Dirty me up, force me off the job.

Benson: Oh Chief, I'm sorry.

Garland: It's all right. No matter what happens, I'm not going to go quietly.