Several episodes ofLaw & Order: SVUare so frustrating that they will make you want to smash your TV. The procedural has lasted for 27 seasons because of its dedication to empowering real-life sexual assault survivors by telling stories about these types of crimes.
Many of thebest episodes ofLaw & Order: SVUfeature heinous crimes, the cops fighting hard for justice, or subtle critiques of how the justice system treats victims. Not every episode reaches this admirable goal, however.
Unsurprisingly, considering its longevity, there are some stories that badly miss the mark. Worse, someepisodes ofLaw & Order: SVUare disturbingbecause they inadvertently disempower survivors through unrealistic plot twists or poor messaging that undermines the series' core mission.
10"Abuse"
Season 2, Episode 11
“Abuse” was undoubtedly meant to showcase Benson’s dedication to victims. However,she appears more obsessed than passionate throughout this story, making it a precursor of the entire horrible Maddie Flynn sagainLaw & Order: SVUseason 25.
The story revolves around a little girl who claims she is being abused and attaches herself to Benson. The detectives meet her when they arrive at the scene of a wealthy family home, where a child wandered off during a party and was run over.
The victim’s sister, Ashley, immediately catches Benson’s attentionand Benson shares her phone number — which the girl calls incessantly with stories about abuse that cause Benson to come running.
Benson’s obsession with this girl eventually earns her a restraining order, which she richly deserves. Her obsession with helping this child is bad enough without the reveal that Ashley is a pathological liar who made up these stories for attention.False reports are rare, and highlighting them in this early episode undermines audience trust in real-life survivors.
9"Inheritance"
Season 3, Episode 8
“Inheritance” is the first of many episodes to subtly suggest that Benson’s decision to become an SVU detective is based on her inheriting her father’s desire to do violenceto others. This suggestion is annoying and untrue, and it undermines the series' mission by suggesting Benson is secretly one of the villains she has dedicated her life to stopping.
In “Inheritance,“a perp makes the ludicrous claim that he inherited the inability to control his desire to rape others from his father and therefore is not guiltyof the crimes he committed. This ridiculous defense should have been refuted altogether. Instead, it triggers Benson’s curiosity about whether she could also have inherited rapist tendencies from her father.
Benson’s conversation withLaw & Order: SVU’s Dr. Huang is ultimately unsatisfying, which makes this episode even more annoying.
To be fair, children of rape and incest sometimes have this fear. However, the series should have addressed it in a more reasonable manner. Benson’s conversation withLaw & Order: SVU’s Dr. Huangis ultimately unsatisfying, which makes this episode even more annoying.
8"Guilt”
Season 3, Episode 18
Law & Order: SVU’sAlex Cabotis a fan favorite, but her screw-up in “Guilt” is beyond frustrating. In this episode, the DA’s office hits a dead end when trying to help the cops catch a serial child rapist — a judge who denies a search warrant, making it impossible to get needed evidence.
Predictably, the evidence is thrown out when the suspect’s lawyer claims that there was no such warrant.
Unfortunately, Cabot deals with this in the worst possible way. She tells Benson and Stabler to meet her to search the suspect’s premises, implying the warrant was approved. Predictably, the evidence is thrown out when the suspect’s lawyer claims that there was no such warrant.
While Cabot’s desperation is understandable, she should have realized that her refusal to follow the law would only result in harm to the case. Additionally,Cabot’s behavior could have cost Benson and Stabler their jobs for disregarding the suspect’s rights.
7"Philadelphia”
Season 8, Episode 16
“Philadelphia” is the first episode to introduce Benson’s half-brother, who struggles with drug addiction and other legal problems that likely stem from trauma until ultimately dying of an overdose. This multi-season arc is best forgotten, and its initial episode is among the worst becauseBenson’s obsession with helping Simon nearly costs her her job.
In this episode,Benson learns that Simon is under investigation for sex crimes in New Jersey. In an effort to help him, she goes out of her jurisdiction and interferes with the case, putting the entire investigation — and her partnership with Stabler — in jeopardy.
“Philadelphia” (season 8, episode 16)
“Florida” (season 8, episode 19)
“Screwed” (season 8, episode 22)
“Child’s Welfare” (season 13, episode 16)
“Murdered at A Bad Address” (season 21, episode 6)
June 30, 2025
This self-sabotaging pattern where Benson puts her brother’s needs ahead of those of the job repeats several timesthroughout this arc. It is second only to Maddie Flynn in terms of unnecessary ongoing storylines that make Benson seem obsessed.
6"Alternate"
Season 9, Episode 1
“Alternate” is one ofLaw & Order: SVU’s best-known episodes.It stars Cynthia Nixon as a woman who presents as having several alternate personalities.Her alleged Dissociative Identity Disorder makes it nearly impossible to find out what happened to her missing child.
Dissociative Identity Disorder is often misrepresented on television. Most people who have it are not violent; additionally, the disorder is caused by severe childhood abuse, often sexual in nature. Thus,in theory,Law & Order: SVUwas the perfect show to depict it correctly.
While Cynthia Nixon does a brilliant job with the material, the episode inadvertently promotes harmful messages about people with this mental health condition.
Unfortunately, the procedural reinforced the idea that this disorder doesn’t really exist by revealing that the character faked having it to get out of trouble. Thus, while Cynthia Nixon does a brilliant job with the material, the episode inadvertently promotes harmful messages about people with this mental health condition.
5"Perverted"
Season 11, Episode 9
Law & Order: SVUis at its best when it’s about the cops helping survivors.“Perverted” flips this script by having Benson be accused of murderafter her DNA is found at a crime scene.
Captain Cragen is also accused of murder at the end ofLaw & Order: SVUseason 13.
This premise distracts fromLaw & Order: SVU’s mission. It is also hard to believe that anyone takes the idea seriously that Benson murdered someone, especially since the body is discovered while she’s at home with a high fever. Fortunately, this annoying arc only lasts one episode, though later Benson dates the IAB agent who was convinced of her guilt.
4"Pornstar’s Requiem"
Season 16, Episode 5
“Pornstar’s Requiem” has a great premise, but the execution borders on shaming sex workers. In this episode, a college student, Evie, makes porn movies on the side to help pay for her school expenses.She is constantly shamed for her choices, starting with Carisi agreeing that the boys who raped her were confusedbecause she makes rape fantasy movies.
This story was likely meant to demonstrate the prejudice against sex workers who report sexual assault, but unfortunately, it had the opposite effect.
When the judge sets aside Evie’s guilty verdict at the end of the episode, she returns to porn because she has more control over what happens in these movies than what happens in real life. This story was likely meant to demonstrate the prejudice against sex workers who report sexual assault, but unfortunately, it had the opposite effect.
The way negative consequences pile up for her inadvertently sends the message that Evie deserved what happened to her because she chose to make pornographic movies, undermining the power of this story.
3"Townhouse Incident"
Season 17, Episode 11
Benson too often jumps into hostage situations in the later seasons ofLaw & Order: SVU. “Townhouse Incident” was the worst of these types of episodes.
This story’s only connection to the Special Victims Unit was Benson, and she easily could have called it in — it was not like when Carisi was caught in a robbery inLaw & Order: SVUseason 26, episode 8.
This unnecessary situation felt like a weak repeat of the William Lewis ordeal and served no purpose other than to give Benson an additional source of trauma.
When Noah’s babysitter is late, Benson goes to her house and discovers the sitter is being held hostage, and offers herself as a prisoner in the hopes of talking the gunman down. This unnecessary situation felt like a weak repeat of the William Lewis ordeal and served no purpose other than to give Benson an additional source of trauma.
2"Alta Kockers"
Season 20, Episode 10
“Alta Kockers” is one of the most ridiculous episodes ofLaw & Order: SVU.It guest stars two well-known actors — Judd Hirsch and Wallace Shawn — as two older men, brothers who live together but seem to hate each other.
When the author of a controversial book is murdered, the book is quickly traced to one of the brothers, who has written it under a pseudonym to detail the sexual abuse he experienced as a child. This could have been a moving episode, buttoo much focus was placed on the comic aspects of the brothers' relationship.
Additionally, the premise relied on ageist stereotypes, and the men used some Yiddish terms that are widely considered to be racial slurs.This episode also upset the transgender communityby having the original victim be a teenage boy who presented as female to hide his true identity from readers.
This idea reinforced the untrue claim that transgender people merely pretend to be a different gender, and Benson’s comment that “she is not a she, physically” came off as transphobic, even though she said it in the context of identifying the murder as a hate crime.
1"Tunnel Blind"
Season 25, Episode 1
“Tunnel Blind” would have been a solid episode if it had ended with kidnapping victim Maddie Flynn being found… or at least with the case disappearing until such time asLaw & Order: SVUwas ready for a sequel episode in which the missing teen was found. Unfortunately, it was the beginning of a season-long saga that felt torturous because Benson was so obsessed with the Flynn family.
Benson’s guilt over not realizing Maddie Flynn was a kidnapping victim was overdone. She didn’t have probable cause to stop the kidnapper’s vehicle, and it would have been difficult for her to do anything while she had Noah with her. Additionally, Rollins' cameo in this episode ofLaw & Order: SVUshould have been extended so that she could offer Benson support.
