The Best Episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 12

#1 Fan Favorite
8.9/10(1844 votes)
#1 - Behave
S12:E39/29/2010
A woman who has been raped multiple times is afraid to leave her house. The issue of unopened rape kits will see Detective Olivia Benson travel from New York City to Los Angeles.
Director:Helen Shaver
Writer:Jonathan Greene
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Director:Helen Shaver
Writer:Jonathan Greene
8.5/10(1613 votes)
#2 - Locum
S12:E19/22/2010
Benson and Stabler are called to investigate when a little girl goes missing. They soon find out that the mother had another daughter who disappeared some years earlier and she becomes the focus of the investigation.
Director:Arthur W. Forney
Writer:Dawn DeNoon
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Director:Arthur W. Forney
Writer:Dawn DeNoon
8.5/10(1358 votes)
#3 - Totem
S12:E203/30/2011
When a young girl is found dead with a doll that is believed to have been left as a totem, detectives Benson and Stabler team up with Captain Jackson, a psychologist who assisted them with a recent case, to investigate her murder. Jackson joins the detectives as they retrace the girl's last steps and go to meet with her piano teacher June Frye. Jackson's skills prove to be invaluable in deciphering the meaning of the totem and ultimately finding her killer.
Director:Jonathan Kaplan
Writer:Jonathan Greene
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Director:Jonathan Kaplan
Writer:Jonathan Greene
8.4/10(1353 votes)
#4 - Mask
S12:E131/12/2011
Debbie Shields comes home to find her partner Ann Jackson being raped by a man wearing a haunting mask. Shields contacts Ann's father to notify him of her critical condition. As detectives Benson and Stabler interrogate Ann's father, Captain Jackson, his sordid past is revealed filled with sexual and alcohol addiction. Jackson's new role as a sex therapist is hindering the detectives from getting the information they need to solve the case and if Jackson won't comply, the detectives are going to have to get creative.
Director:Donna Deitch
Writer:Speed Weed
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Director:Donna Deitch
Writer:Speed Weed
8.4/10(1355 votes)
#5 - Delinquent
S12:E235/11/2011
When a young woman finds a teenage boy asleep and naked in her bedroom, his mother, Bree Walsh, is quick to defend him. While Detective Benson and Detective Stabler try to figure out what truly happened, they also have to manage the sneaky teenager and his naive mother. As the detectives dig deeper, they discover how deceptive appearances can be.
Director:Holly Dale
Writer:Dawn DeNoon
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Director:Holly Dale
Writer:Dawn DeNoon
8.4/10(1435 votes)
#6 - Smoked
S12:E245/18/2011
When a woman is murdered during an afternoon shopping trip with her daughter, Detectives Benson and Stabler are called in because she was scheduled to testify in their high-profile rape case. As the detectives continue to investigate the correlation between the murder and their case, they discover unlikely friendships that will lead them to the truth.
Director:Helen Shaver
Writers:Daniel Truly, Jonathan Greene
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Director:Helen Shaver
Writers:Daniel Truly, Jonathan Greene

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The 20 BEST Episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

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8.3/10(1340 votes)
#7 - Bullseye
S12:E29/22/2010
The brutal rape of a ten-year-old girl leaves her unable to recall her own name. Unfortunately, once Fin assists with the ID, the detectives find that she's not the only one with memory impairment, and Dr. Huang is brought in to assess her home situation.
Director:Peter Leto
Writer:Daniel Truly
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Director:Peter Leto
Writer:Daniel Truly
8.3/10(1297 votes)
#8 - Merchandise
S12:E410/6/2010
A teenage girl's death exposes a human trafficking ring and leads detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler to team up with an old friend at the U.S. Attorney's office.
Director:Peter Leto
Writer:Judith McCreary
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Director:Peter Leto
Writer:Judith McCreary
8.3/10(1409 votes)
#9 - Branded
S12:E610/20/2010
Two men have been branded and sodomised by someone. Is there a connection between these men, and what nut case is on the loose?
Director:Peter Leto
Writer:Chris Brancato
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Director:Peter Leto
Writer:Chris Brancato
8.3/10(1296 votes)
#10 - Possessed
S12:E121/5/2011
A young man finds that his girlfriend Larissa Welsh has been attacked in her apartment with evidence that points to her buried past. Detectives Benson and Stabler go in search of her attacker and discover that an elderly man, Orville Underwood, may have been involved in traumatic events of Welsh's past. For the detectives, solving the case comes down to who was in possession of the evidence.
Director:Constantine Makris
Writer:Brian Fagan
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Director:Constantine Makris
Writer:Brian Fagan
8.0/10(1162 votes)
#11 - Trophy
S12:E711/3/2010
A rape and murder investigation puts the detectives lives at risk.
Director:Donna Deitch
Writer:Ken Storer
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Director:Donna Deitch
Writer:Ken Storer
8.0/10(1166 votes)
#12 - Spectacle
S12:E162/9/2011
After the sexual assault of a young woman is videotaped and featured on a campus-wide intranet feed, detectives Elliot Stabler and Odafin "Fin" Tutuola go in search of the victim and her attacker. As they delve into the investigation, it becomes clear that the perpetrator created a spectacle to draw attention to his own issues.
Director:Peter Leto
Writer:Chris Brancato
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Director:Peter Leto
Writer:Chris Brancato
8.0/10(958 votes)
#13 - Reparations
S12:E214/6/2011
Two high-powered attorneys face each other across the aisle when Casey Novak returns to the team, and Joe Dekker takes a leave of absence from his Los Angeles duties after his cousin is charged with rape. Dekker's unwavering belief in his cousin's innocence, and a court disturbance make Novak and Benson take another look at the evidence, which leads them to someone playing a very long game in the name of hatred.
Director:Constantine Makris
Writer:Christine M. Torres
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Director:Constantine Makris
Writer:Christine M. Torres
7.9/10(993 votes)
#14 - Pop
S12:E111/5/2011
A young boy is found dead on a park carousel after being dropped off by his uncle Joe Gilbert. When Detectives Benson and Stabler learn that the boy was beaten to death they suspect that it could be the result of a bully at school. The investigation leads to an unsettling gambling ring. Detectives suspect that Gilbert's acquaintance, Joe Roberts is beating his wife Sandra and the case takes a horrifying turn.
Director:Norberto Barba
Writer:Jonathan Greene
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Director:Norberto Barba
Writer:Jonathan Greene
7.9/10(952 votes)
#15 - Pursuit
S12:E172/16/2011
The TV host of a show that spotlights predators receives threats to her safety, and this reawakens her hunt for her sister's abductor. An ADA with connections to the TV host then assists detectives in their investigation.
Director:Jonathan Kaplan
Writer:Judith McCreary
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Director:Jonathan Kaplan
Writer:Judith McCreary
7.8/10(1028 votes)
#16 - Penetration
S12:E811/10/2010
Undercover FBI agent Dana Lewis returns to help the detectives with a case.
Director:Peter Leto
Writers:Dawn DeNoon, Christine M. Torres
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Director:Peter Leto
Writers:Dawn DeNoon, Christine M. Torres
7.8/10(1000 votes)
#17 - Gray
S12:E911/17/2010
Stabler's participation in a Take Back the Night rally at Kathleen's campus results in an extra case for him and Benson when a student claims she was raped. Unfortunately, the case turns out to be a "he said-she said" type with little evidence. Enter Sonya Paxton, and it can only get more complicated.
Director:Helen Shaver
Writer:George Huang
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Director:Helen Shaver
Writer:George Huang
7.8/10(1157 votes)
#18 - Bully
S12:E182/23/2011
An art patron finds a body, and when detectives question the murdered woman's good friend and associates, they uncover an antagonistic work environment filled with grown-up bullies.
Director:Helen Shaver
Writer:Ken Storer
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Director:Helen Shaver
Writer:Ken Storer
7.8/10(1117 votes)
#19 - Bang
S12:E225/4/2011
When an abandoned baby is found on playground, Detectives Benson and Stabler go in search of the child's caregiver. Upon meeting the nanny and her boyfriend, Ken Turner, they soon realize that he is also engaged to the baby's adoptive mother, Dede Aston. As the detectives dig deeper into Turner's malevolent past, they realize that the law may be on his side.
Director:Peter Leto
Writer:Speed Weed
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Director:Peter Leto
Writer:Speed Weed
7.7/10(1163 votes)
#20 - Rescue
S12:E1012/1/2010
With young Calvin in her care, Detective Benson continues the search for his drug-addict mother, Vivian, but Detective Stabler notices a strong bond forming between Benson and the boy. When Vivian's name comes up during a rape investigation, Captain Cragen assigns Detectives Fin and Munch to the case instead. However, it will take more than Cragen' s orders to keep Benson away.
Directors:Constantine Makris, Peter Leto
Writer:Daniel Truly
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Directors:Constantine Makris, Peter Leto
Writer:Daniel Truly
7.7/10(969 votes)
#21 - Flight
S12:E152/2/2011
When it is discovered that a teenage girl is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to sexual abuse, all leads point to billionaire Jordan Kress. As Detectives Benson and Stabler continue to investigate, Kress involves his lawyer, Dwight Stanitch, who throws the whole case awry.
Director:Alex Chapple
Writers:Dawn DeNoon, Christine M. Torres
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Director:Alex Chapple
Writers:Dawn DeNoon, Christine M. Torres
7.6/10(1092 votes)
#22 - Bombshell
S12:E193/23/2011
A grifter named Cassandra strikes swinging men who frequent sex clubs.
Director:Patrick Creadon
Writer:Daniel Truly
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Director:Patrick Creadon
Writer:Daniel Truly
7.3/10(1240 votes)
#23 - Wet
S12:E510/13/2010
Detectives Benson and Stabler arrive on the scene where a woman is found dead in Bethesda Fountain. When her squeaky clean image doesn't match up with her promiscuous actions on the night of her murder, ADA Mikka Von encourages the cops to dig deeper into her past.
Director:Jonathan Kaplan
Writer:Speed Weed
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Director:Jonathan Kaplan
Writer:Speed Weed
7.2/10(1171 votes)
#24 - Dirty
S12:E141/19/2011
Detective Saliyah "Sunny" Qadri goes in search of Brooklyn District Attorney Page Ferguson, who she fears may be in danger. Qadri finds Ferguson just in time to witness her fall from the top of a parking garage. When Benson arrives, she discovers that the crime scene has been tampered with. Benson turns to an old friend, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Danielson for help. As the investigation progresses, Benson begins to question Ferguson's suspicious past and Qadri's involvement in the case.
Director:Helen Shaver
Writer:Judith McCreary
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Director:Helen Shaver
Writer:Judith McCreary