30 Best Law And Order SVU Episodes Ranked

The following article includes discussion of domestic abuse, sexual assault, incest, suicide, and pedophilia.

Launched in 1999 as the first spinoff from one of television's most successful police and legal procedurals, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" quickly made a name for itself out of the shadow of its parent series. With stories that covered the most grizzly and disturbing crimes, it was led by arguably the two toughest cops on TV: Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson and Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler. Alongside them was Richard Belzer as Detective Munch (until his departure in 2013), a paranoid conspiracy theorist who had been a regular on former cop show "Homicide: Life On The Streets" — and rapper-turned-actor Ice-T as Detective Fin Tutuola. 

Running for more than 20 seasons and counting, it's been even more successful than the original "Law & Order," and shows no signs of slowing down. While several cast members have come and gone — including Meloni, who resurfaced on the spinoff "Law & Order: Organized Crime" — it's continued its tremendous run, airing its 500th episode in 2021. If you haven't seen the series, or maybe it's been a while since you tuned in, this list should give you a good primer, as these are the top 30 episodes according to IMDb.

The Season 6 episode "Charisma" introduces a young pregnant girl named Melanie Cramer, brought to the attention of the Special Victims Unit by doctors at a local hospital. The problem is, Melanie is just 12 years old, and already close to her delivery date despite her young age, raising obvious red flags. Interviewed by Detective Benson, Melanie insists the pregnancy is not the result of an assault, but that she is married to a man and they have conceived a child together. Not even realizing how disturbing the claim is, the girl readily gives Benson the name of her supposed loving husband.

Looking into the their perp, the detectives make a startling discovery, as he turns out to be known con man Eugene Hoff. Now passing himself off as the head of The Church of Wisdom and Sight, he leads a fanatical quasi-religious cult. His motives become more clear when they realize Melanie's mother, one of his many followers, is a wealthy woman.

If you or someone you know is dealing with spiritual abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

In "Design," Detective Benson saves a young pregnant woman named April — who had been the victim of rape — from ending her own life. But during the trial of her alleged assailant, who insists he doesn't recall sleeping with April, the young girl seemingly dies, leaving Benson distraught. Looking into the case further, they learn April had been working at a sperm bank, leading to more questions about April than answers about her death. They then learn that April's father, an eccentric scientist, had become obsessed with eugenics and hoped to create the perfect human being.

As the search for more evidence continues, more men surface who April had met at a bar, and their stories sounded remarkably similar to her accused rapist. Signs begin to point towards April being more than just an innocent victim, and it all comes together when they learn that April may not be dead after all.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

The hunt for a gunman responsible for a deadly school shooting leads detectives to the case of a little girl who is being abused in "Raw." Led to a man known by the girl as "Mr. Bug Eyes," they find he may not have been responsible for the killings at school, but he has multiple outstanding warrants for sexual abuse in another state. 

Munch, meanwhile, follows the gunman's trail to a firearms store on Staten Island, where they find a white supremacist group is operating out of the basement. Interrogations with the men they find there send them to the doorstep of convicted felon Brannon Lee Redding, who seems to suggest that the shooting may have been much more than a random attack. When put on trial, the courtroom becomes a target for Brandon's terrorist brethren, who put Benson and Stabler in their crosshairs.

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or cntact their live chat services.

"Fast & The Furious" star Ludacris makes his first appearance as Darius Parker, relative of Ice-T's Fin Tutuola, in the Season 7 episode "Venom." It begins when Benson gets a call from Fin's son Ken Randall, who's being held by police after being found in an alley looking through a dumpster. Randall claims he overheard a man talking about murdering a woman and her son, and went looking for the body. 

After Fin gets involved, though, the evidence soon points not to his son Ken, but to his ex-wife's son, Darius Parker. Unfortunately, digging into the murder case may threaten to expose dark and disturbing secrets about Fin's family that he'd prefer were kept hidden, as Parker is learned to be the product of rape.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

A young boy comes to the attention of the Special Victims Unit when he arrives covered in blood at the start of "Paternity." But when the boy's nanny is found beaten, raped, and murdered, it sparks a bitter custody battle for the child, while the nanny's lover is fingered as the killer. But the custody case becomes more complicated when paternity testing reveals that the man who the boy calls "daddy" is not actually his real father.

Meanwhile, given the details of the case he's working on, Stabler begins to question if Katherine's baby is his child, and asks her about her sexual activity during their separation. But later, when Benson is taking Kathy for a routine medical exam, they get into a horrific car accident that leaves Stabler's wife — and their unborn child — seriously injured.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

"Lost" star Alan Dale guest stars in "Liberties" as a judge haunted by a terrible tragedy in his past. While hearing a restraining order case between a young woman and her ex-boyfriend, the accused spouts a specific phrase that triggers him and reopens an old wound, and potentially a decades-old kidnapping case. 

At the judge's request, Detective Stabler is called in to work over a convicted serial killer once accused of the rape and murder of the judge's young son in 1979, hoping to find out if his victim might still be alive. But things take a turn when he realizes the suspect may not have ever been the right man at all, leading to a stunning twist in the case that will change their lives forever.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

A young woman named Mia is refused a morning after pill by a store clerk and blurts out that she was raped in "Persona," which brings the SVU to meet with her. But after an examination of the scene where the woman describes her assault, it's determined that she may be lying to them about the attack. Detectives suspect something may be going on at home, and that Mia was using the story as a way of covering up domestic abuse.

As the detectives learn more it becomes clear that Mia is the prisoner of a violent and tyrannical husband. Olivia does her best to help Mia to get her to a battered women's shelter while prosecutors work on a case against her husband, but getting the young woman help may prove to be easier said than done.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

When a man's body is found in the woods with his genitals mutilated, Stabler and the SVU are called in to investigate in "Perverted." At first they suspect the victim, Clyde, may have been part of a vicious gangland killing, as he belonged to a biker club that was known to be involved in highly illegal activities. But the discovery of Detective Benson's business card on him leaves them wondering what their partner may have to do with it.

Meanwhile, Munch and Fin look for answers at the biker club the victim belonged to, discovering that they had just recently gang raped a young woman as a "gift" to Clyde after his release from prison. Suspecting Clyde's killing may have been a revenge by the young woman, Stabler locates her, but finds she's a willing part of their group. In search of answers, Elliot stumbles upon an undercover investigation within the club, and soon discovers that the real killer may be someone much closer to home.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

In "Dominance," police find the entire guest list of a dinner party dead. After Homicide Detective Duethorn sees signs of sexual assault among multiple victims, men and women alike, he makes a call to the Special Victims Unit. In a disturbing turn, evidence suggests that whoever is responsible somehow forced the male guests to assault the women before murdering the entire group of people. 

When the lone missing guest is found hospitalized with injuries that seem consistent with a violent attack, they believe they have their suspect. But with the discovery of more victims, found in a nearby park with a similar M.O., they have to face the fact that a violent psychopath and serial killer is on the loose.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

In the Season 9 premiere "Alternate," Cynthia Nixon ("Sex in the City") guest stars as Janis Donavan, a woman with dissociative identity disorder. The subject of an SVU investigation when detectives suspect she may be abusing her daughter, her doctor Henry Carlisle (guest star Bronson Pinchot) slows the investigation. As they press on, the detectives must deal with not just one suspect but four, as Janis quickly begins to show her other personalities, including at least one vicious persona that seems to be responsible for multiple killings. 

But the woman's disorder may be more than the SVU bargained for. Serious concerns are raised as to her ability to stand trial, especially after a violent attack by one of her personas on ADA Novak in open court. Meanwhile the entire department is dealing with major upheavals as Captain Cragen has been reassigned.

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

"Law & Order: SVU" got some serious star power in its landmark 200th episode "Authority" in the form of comedy legend Robin Williams. But instead of playing an off-the-wall funnyman, Williams gave a chilling portrayal as Merritt Rook, an audio engineer and anti-establishment rebel who goes on trial for posing as a detective who coerces a man into molesting a young woman. But while in court, Rook — who surprisingly represents himself — shocks everyone by being found not guilty.

During the trial, though, Rook manages to leverage his case into a newfound celebrity status, and amasses a cult-like following as a result. Once freed, he returns to his old games, and new evidence on an old case leads them right back to his doorstep. The stakes are raised when his final game is played with Detective Stabler, with the life of Detective Benson hanging in the balance.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

"Lost" star Naveen Andrews guest stars in "Shadow," an episode that opens with the discovery of a wealthy couple founded dead in their bedroom, the victims of an apparent murder-suicide. But evidence suggests that an armed assailant killed them both, and the fact that the couple were powerful and politically connected forces the SVU into the case, despite their misgivings.

Benson and Stabler first go to interview the couple's adult daughter, who fears she may be a target, as evidence seems to point to a personal motive. They begin investigating, and decide to use her as bait to catch a suspect they believe may be following her around town. But when they find their man — and he's got a gun — it leads to an unexpected discovery and an entirely new suspect.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

The final episode for Sgt. Mike Dodds, "Heartfelt Passages" continues the previous episode's story of Gary Munson, a corrections officer accused of sexually assaulting inmates at a women's prison, as well as more women on the outside. His skeptical wife, who had been standing by his side through the allegations, has now come around to believing what her husband has done thanks to the results of an STD test. But while prosecutors want Munson imprisoned while awaiting trial, he manages to secure bail.

Olivia goes with Munson's wife to help her leave the house before he returns, but it's too late. Unwilling to let his wife take his children, Munson takes her hostage, leading to a tense standoff between police and an armed gunman, and not everyone will make it out alive.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

"Loss" begins with the rape and murder of an undercover federal agent involved in the investigation of a ruthless Colombian drug cartel. Detectives find the man responsible, a figure Rafael Zapata, and ADA Alex Cabot is determined to push the case hard, despite the dangers of prosecuting a cartel member. But faced with vicious death threats against her and her loved ones, the FBI steps in and takes the case away from her.  A true thriller, the episode marks the final appearance for a beloved main series regular, as Cabot is the target of an assassination attempt by the cartel and must say goodbye to the SVU. 

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

In a stunning episode that won actress Mariska Hargitay a Prime Time Emmy Award for Best Leading Actress in a Drama, "911" begins with Detective Benson receiving a 911 call from a desperate and scared little girl. She claims she's been abducted and is trapped alone in room, and some within the SVU wonder if it's a wild goose chase and part of an elaborate hoax. But as they continue to get information from the girl, they learn more about her, and Benson learns she's seen this girl before, as she's a potential victim in a child pornography case she had been briefed about.

Benson and the SVU learn the girl was sold by a sex trafficker years before, and get much-needed assistance from the FBI in their mission to save her. But it all may be for nothing when the child is caught by her captor while on the phone with police.

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or cntact their live chat services.