Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 21)

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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.

I'm Going to Make You a Star [21.01]

Hadid: [after reading the case] Sir Tobias Moore? Mr. Carisi's first day, my first week? You couldn't have brought us a subway groper?

Moore: Special Investigations? An elegant woman like you, I bet you've got some stories, eh?

Benson: I have a few.

Moore: You ever thought about turning them into a series? You know who I am. I could foresee quite a second act for you.

Benson: I'm quite happy with my first act. Not ready for a second.

Moore: Well, sometimes it has a way of finding you.

Benson: [while arresting Moore] You find this funny?

Moore: I do, actually. There's nothing as funny as watching a beautiful woman make the biggest mistake of her life.

Chief Dodds: I'm being sent to Coventry. As of Monday morning, I'll be riding point for the Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Task Force on Staten Island.

Benson: No, no, no, they can't do that.

Chief Dodds: Feathers were ruffled, so a head has to roll.

Benson: I will call the press. I will call 1PP. I will call whoever I have to. This is ridiculous.

Chief Dodds: Liv, let it go. I've had a good run. And it's not time for you to stick your neck out.

Benson: I'll be the judge of that.

Chief Dodds: No. You've still got work to and gas in the tank. It'd be a wasted sacrifice, Captain. [Benson looks stunned] I made it a condition of my exile. Don't worry about me. I'll be back.

Benson: You're a good man, William Dodds.

Chief Dodds: You are a class act, Olivia Benson. Long may you run.

The Darkest Journey Home [21.02]

Raegan: Is this Special Victims?

Benson: It is. I'm Captain Benson. What's your name?

Raegan: Raegan.

Benson: Hey, Raegan. Did something happen to you?

Raegan: I have no idea.

Raegan: Life is boring, and my version is a lot more interesting.

Sonny: So this guy Julius gets into a car with a drunk girl, and he and the driver have two friends that they can call at one in the morning for a gang rape? What kind of animals are these guys?

Fin: Low-lives know low-lives.

Sonny: Mr. Marino, are you ready to talk?

Marino: I am. One word for you: lawyer.

Benson: Raegan, this is going to take time.

Raegan: How many times have you said that to someone?

Benson: Too many. Raegan, this is not going to be easy, but you survived the assault, and you're going to survive this.

Raegan: You've said that before too, haven't you?

Benson: I have, because it's true.

Raegan: How do you know?

Benson: [pause] Because I did. So, if you ever want or need to talk, I'm here.

Raegan: [pause] I know.

Benson: It's going to be okay.

Down Low in Hell's Kitchen [21.03]

Fin: So what's this new chief's deal?

Benson: Well, he's methodical, he's thoughtful, and he's Ivy League educated.

Fin: So why is he a cop?

Thomas: Mathis is so deep in the closet, he went past Narnia.

Benson: You want me to shame a celebrity into coming out of the closet so you can publicize the case?

Garland: I wouldn't say shame. Motivate.

Benson: Okay, Ms. Hadid, you're new to SVU. We don't blame victims here. Human sexuality and criminal behavior are a hell of a lot different than securities fraud.

Hadid: Thank you, Captain. What I do know, the longer this stays in the news cycle, the longer we're standing here with our junk in our hands.

Benson: Excuse me?

Hadid: Oh, I'm sorry. Egg on our faces?

Benson: Ms. Hadid, you're the one who pushed Carisi in the first place.

Sonny: Listen, all due respect, but this feels like a circular firing squad. All Captain Benson is saying is that we have an obligation to make this case, and Ms. Hadid is just reminding us that the clock is ticking, quickly and loudly.

Hadid: The clock isn't ticking, counselor. It's blown up.

Sonny: Mr. Moran, here's your choice: Confess and you go into prison as a straight man who assaults gays. Or this goes to trial and everybody hears that you're a self-loathing homosexual who gets angry after he services Black men in bars. As your attorney once said to me, "What's your preference?"

The Burden of Our Choices [21.04]

Tamin: [about Evangeline] Going through this girl's social media, it's a mash-up of "Jesus is my boyfriend" songs and kitten videos.

Benson: Mrs. Miller, I've been doing this for a very long time, and sometimes, the unspeakable turns out to be the truth.

Benson: So if we could get your husband's DNA and if he is innocent...

Tammy: Which he is.

Benson: Then it could very well exonerate him.

Tammy: Of course it will, but we can wait until after the baby is born. I see you judging me, but however it happened, Evangeline is pregnant and I intend to meet my grandchild here in this world, not in heaven.

Benson: "However it happened"?

Tamin: I'm sorry, what century is this? All these old white men trying to control women's bodies? I mean, how far off are we from The Handmaid's Tale?

Benson: You grew up taking these rights for granted. My mother, there was a time when she considered abortion, and her only option was back-alley. The bottom line is, if you have enough money, there's always a way, but it's these poor women, these girls in some states, they're gonna see deaths. That's where this is going.

Tamin: They think that's what we're going back to.

Garland: So we're taking on Ohio?

Benson: Oh, it's more like Ohio is taking on us, and, by the way, there's an arrest warrant for you too.

Garland: I'm flattered.

Benson: The charge is conspiracy to commit murder if she has an abortion, and they're serious.

Garland: So am I. I'm a deacon at my church. I believe in the sanctity of life, but a 13-year-old girl forced to carry her rapist's baby? They want a fight, they're gonna get it.

At Midnight in Manhattan [21.05]

Benson: You guys are still here?

Rollins: Two minutes to midnight and counting.

Tamin: At Vice, we never had a Friday night this quiet.

Benson: Oh...

Tamin: What?

Rollins: I know you're new and all, but we don't say the "Q"-word.

[phone rings]

Fin: You jinxed it. That's your call.

Sonny: Chloe's ID, on a scale of one to shaky?

Rollins: Uh, well, she... she knew his face from her HailMe app.

Sonny: So she could've been influenced.

Rollins: Oh, you think? Chloe was assaulted in that car.

Sonny: Yeah, maybe, or maybe it was another car, but now I gotta keep Mr. Sayeed in holding for a crime that he probably didn't commit because if I let him go, and Ms. Hadid finds out, I'm a dead man walking.

Rollins: Oh, okay. You made that bed, you can lie in it.

Sonny: Excuse me?

Rollins: What did you think would happen when you moved over to that place? Because it it's all about politics, which is not your strong suit.

Sonny: I'm just doing my job. I'm not paying attention to that.

Rollins: Are you, because 'cause it seems like you're more worried about your boss than you are about Chloe.

Sonny: Actually, what I'm more worried about is the DV with a battered wife who's not cooperating. I'm worried about the trans girl who was assaulted by a corporate lawyer in a case that we're never gonna make.

Rollins: We're not, not with that attitude. And you know what? Everyone is worried. We're all nervous. We're swamped. We're drowning because you left.

Sonny: Oh, okay, so that's what this is about? That I left? I had to go. It was my shot.

Rollins: Oh, come on! I would be fine if you were right here beside me! You said you're my partner. You walked out on me.

Sonny: You said that you were happy for me.

Rollins: And you believed me? How stupid are you?

Benson: Hey guys, I'm on the phone with the Deputy Chief, so whatever is going on between you...

Rollins and Sonny: Nothing's going on.

Benson: Get over it. Now.

Davies: There is no Venn Diagram where someone like that and I would intersect.

Tamin: Yeah, says the guy in a skirt and a furry pouch.

Tamin: How you doing, Lakira?

Lakira: I look in the mirror, it hurts.

Tamin: Give it some time. You'll be pretty as ever.

Lakira: I wish I had me a little hideaway.

Tamin: Let me help. I could put you in touch with some people, get you off the street.

Lakira: I could hole up there for a while, just me and my friends.

Tamin: Listen, Lakira, we arrested him, but I'm gonna need you to come back down to the courthouse to speak to the ADA.

Lakira: I don't know. Every day I tell myself, "You're a beautiful human, Lakira, even though your family says it ain't so. Even though people stare at you like you're some kind of puzzle they don't want to put together." And now you want me to stand in front of a bunch of strangers, and talk about being raped with a goddamn flashlight?

Tamin: I get it, but it won't just be strangers. I'll be there. Look, you decide what you can do, okay? Just know that I think you're one of the strongest people I've ever known.

Lakira: Okay, but I'm doing it for you. I'm not expecting no fairy tale ending.

Lakira: You know what my moms used to say?

Tamin: No. Why don't you tell me?

Lakira: She said there's two types of people in this world: the ones that turn gold into garbage and the ones that turn garbage into gold.

Tamin: Is that what you think you did?

Lakira: [as she shows off her red fur coat] She's pretty, isn't she? I got it for my moms. I got rent money for her too. Maybe she'll finally let me move back home. Turning vultures into angels, Kit Kat. You know me.

Murdered at a Bad Address [21.06]

Sonny: [about Tamin] Kat doesn't miss a trick. Somebody must've stolen her lunch money once.

Benson: Or tried to.

Monte: Carisi, huh? You related to Tony "No Toes" Carisi up on Tower Hill?

Sonny: My mother says all Carisis are related.

Benson: D.A. Keane won't let this go?

Sonny: No, it was worse. He had no idea what I was asking him to do.

Benson: What does that mean?

Sonny: For years, Keane's deputies have covered up the fact that he suffered from dementia.

Benson: How bad is it? I mean, good days, bad days...?

Sonny: He thought Carlos Hernandez played first base for the '86 Mets, so...

[Carlos won't tell a jury where he was the night of the murders for fear of revealing that he's gay]

Sonny: Carlos, a lot of people have come out of the closet since then. Times have changed.

Carlos: Not in here. In here, out of the closet means into a casket. Other inmates finds out I'm gay, the gangs'll turn me into a Maytag - washing socks, spit-shinin'...

Fin: Yeah, we get it.

Holmes: Keane signed the vacate order.

Sonny: He did? That's great! How'd you get him to do that?

Holmes: He may have thought that he was graciously signing a letter of recommendation for my law school application.

Sonny: OK, I didn't hear that, and you didn't say that, but thank you.

Holmes: Welcome to Queens. Let's go do this before the ink dries or any his deputies find out.

Fin: You can walk like a man now, Carlos.

Sonny: A free man.

Counselor, It's Chinatown [21.07]

Park: You save a life, you're responsible for that life.

Benson: Ms. Lee, you're in a lot of trouble.

Evelyn: Trouble? We both know your UCs can't unzip, so your case is gonna go south. I call my legal aid lawyer, make bail, be back in business by the weekend. [smirks] You know, you look like you're under a lot of stress. You need a massage. Come by. On the house.

Rollins: If you testify against Theo, and he testifies against the owners, we can put them all away.

Mei Mei: That is a good dream, Miss Amanda. But it is not a "come true" dream.

Mei Mei: [to Sonny] Thank you, Mister Dominic. I know what the Chinese proverbs say, but you've saved me twice now. You can rest.

We Dream of Machine Elves [21.08]

Fin: What was she doing in New York?

Tamin: Bachelorette party.

Fin: And her friends didn't report her missing?

Tamin: Some friends.

Fin: Come on Carisi, you can trust us.

Sonny: I do, Fin, but every time I go out on a limb for you guys, somebody saws it off. Look, it's an academic institute. I need some patina of probable cause. [walks away]

Fin: Patina?

Tamin: That guy was really a cop?

Benson: Hey, guys, he's just he's just doing his job.

Fin: How are we gonna let this guy hit on Rollins?

Benson: We're gonna wait for probable cause.

Tamin: Or "machine elves"?

Dr. Adler: So, where did you go, Amanda?

Rollins: Excuse me?

Dr. Adler: I saw the light come on in your eyes, your soul leave its cage. You were on your journey. So, I'm curious - where did you go?

Rollins: You were brilliant. What happened to your mind?

Dr. Adler: [agitated] My mind has evolved! That's why people are so threatened by me! [points to the mirror] Who's out there? The AMA? American Psychiatric? How many forces conspire against me? Big Pharma? You said yourself, they're only interested in drugs to numb the soul! Who is there?

Rollins: No one is out there but my captain.

Dr. Adler: [completely delusional] O Captain my Captain, our fearful trip is done/The ship has weathered every wrack/The prize we sought is won...

Rollins: Dr. Adler, come back, be here with me...

Dr. Adler: No, no, no, that is something I will not do! I will not sit there with you eating green eggs and ham, I will not give false confession, I will not be complicit in our society's bloodlust for scapegoats! [starts climbing up the wall]

Rollins: No, you can't go out that way...

Dr. Adler: Going, going, gone!

Can't Be Held Accountable [21.09]

Ivy: You're trying to arrest Steve? That'll never happen. He's too smart.

Tamin: They all are.

Rollins: You ever see Getz do anything with the girls physically?

Ramirez: If I did, you'd be fingerprinting me.

Getz: This is a men's room.

Benson: We looked for you in the little girl's room, but you weren't there. Mind if we talk to you?

Getz: Am I under arrest?

Rollins: Not if you come with us voluntarily.

Getz: [on phone] I'm being harassed, babe. Call Abrams and tell him to meet me at -

Benson: Special Victims Unit.

Getz: Mind if I zip up first? Or do you want to do it for me, sweetheart?

Benson: Hard pass. Wash your hands, sweetie.

Marcil: You had me fooled. You play the low-rent whore like you were born to it.

Tamin: You would know.

Rollins: We're keeping the investigation open, and if more girls come forward...

Frank: He'll find a way to rig that too. You and I both know that Getz will never be held accountable. Never.

Must Be Held Accountable [21.10]

Frank: [after kidnapping Rollins] Getz has my girls. Now I have one of yours.

Benson: Frank, let's talk about this.

Frank: I want Getz in jail.

Benson: Okay, I hear you. But Frank -

Frank: I know you. You get things done. Now do this.

Fin: [about Frank] He likes Rollins. I don't think he'll hurt her.

Benson: Men kill women they like all the time, Fin. You know that.

Tamin: Maybe I shouldn't ask this, but... Rollins knows this guy. Is there any chance that she's in on it, or maybe lost perspective?

Benson: No!

Sonny: And yeah, you're right, you shouldn't have asked.

Abrams: Garland, just FYI, I have a lot more friends at 1PP than you do. And for what it's worth, the sense around the Old Guard is that you don't know your place.

Garland: That's why they're the Old Guard.

Fin: [about Getz's death] I don't see this guy committing suicide.

Tamin: I don't even think that's him on the gurney. No, hear me out. They switch him out with some homeless guy from the morgue and meanwhile he gets on a plane to some island beyond extradition.

Fin: No. I think someone took him out. No way did he kill himself.

Tamin: Getz has gotten away with everything his whole life. Why quit now?

Benson: A lot of people wanted him dead. Either way, his number was up. But what gets me is that all those girls will never get their day in court.

She Paints For Vengeance [21.11]

Donnie: Look, I know you SVU guys have big hearts, but this wasn't a real rape.

Benson: "A real rape"? Is that because they knew each other, or is that because she dances in a strip club? [Donnie is silent] Do me a favor. Have your captain call me.

[Benson and Fin leave]

Benson: When are these dinosaurs gonna die out?

Fin: No time soon - they have no natural predators.

Rollins: Miss Scott, the rape allegation against your former husband is credible.

Ariana: I'm sure it is. Guys like Markeevious just get lazier. The candy jar's gotta be right at their fingertips.

Rollins: Sounds like there were other accusations against Markeevious.

Ariana: Some girls said that he forced them, that he was "rough". That's what he got paid for - being rough, and fast, and big. [to her assistant] Give me just a second.

Fin: These girls have names?

Ariana: Probably, but I'm not giving them an opportunity to sue. That money belongs to me, not some dumb bitches who can't get out from under him. [Fin and Rollins look stunned] Is there anything else?

Sonny: Miss Miglani. I've heard a lot about you.

Miglani: Is that code for "I can be a pain in the ass"?

Sonny: Pretty much.

Sonny: I'm writing my resignation letter. I'm gonna lose this case. Ms. Hadid already knows. She has her spies in the courtroom. I'm done.

Benson: Carisi, you're not a quitter. No, no. It was your first day in court. You got knocked down, so you get back up again.

Sonny: What if I'm not cut out for this? [pause] You know what the worst part is? That I didn't protect Monica.

Benson: No, listen to me...

Sonny: I should have objected more. But if you object too much, the jury thinks the witness is hiding something, so I-I didn't know what to do. I just left her alone up there. A target.

Benson: Monica is a lot tougher than you think.

Sonny: Every aspect, every moment of her life, open to dissection. While Markeevious Ryan, he's just sitting there, smiling. He's sitting on the sidelines. She said it herself, Liv, it's not fair.

Benson: So use that. Figure out a way to get him into the game.

The Longest Night of Rain [21.12]

Benson: Who's the-who's the woman with Tucker?

Fin: You asking us?

Carisi: Yeah, we got you in the divorce.

Tucker: What's going on? Is this about Rachel Wilson?

Benson: It is. It turns out that Rachel made a video before she shot herself. She said was sexually assaulted by a colleague on the job.

Tucker: She give a name?

Benson: No, but she said there was a cover-up. She brought it to IAB, but there was nothing in the files.

Tucker: First I'm hearing about it.

Benson: Really. Because it seemed like she knew you at the party. What was that about?

Tucker: I'm not sure. How long ago?

Benson: I as hoping you could tell me. Ed, she threw a drink at you. That must have meant something.

Tucker: Look, I'm sorry. I'm at a loss, Liv. I must have done 600 cases at IAB. I'd have to dig out my notes.

Benson: I want to believe you, Ed. I do. But you just did something you never did when we were together.

Tucker: What's that?

Benson: You lied to my face.

Tucker: [to Benson] Four times in one week. First you can't wait to get rid of me, now I need an order of protection against you.

Tucker: A hundred bucks for a porterhouse steak for two. Most expensive steak I ever had.

Wald: The private sector's been very, very good to Gary Wald. It could be very good for you, too, Ed. Six-figure salaries, yachts, private jets, unbelievable women.

Tucker: You wait 'til I'm married to tell me this?

Wald: Hey, I'm married, too. [smirks] Or, at least, my wife is.

[Tucker is manipulating Wald into incriminating himself]

Fin: These IAB guys know how to rope 'em in.

Benson: One thing you can say about Ed Tucker - he settles his accounts.

Benson: I'm sorry for the way I ended things. I think, underneath it all, I was afraid.

Tucker: Your dance card was full. The job, Noah...

Benson: What I wish I had, and what I wish we had, is more time.

Tucker: It's okay. We'll always have Paris. [smiles] You know I've always wanted to say that?

Redemption in Her Corner [21.13]

Benson: You grew a beard?

Barba: I'm in Iowa, trying to blend in.

Benson: Doing what?

Barba: [smiles] Election fraud. We're living in a dystopian nightmare.

Tamin: Hey Cammy. How's the shoulder?

Cammy: Huh?

Tamin: Romeo said he had to pop it back in.

Cammy: Oh. Right. It's fine.

Tamin: So who locked the door? You or him?

Cammy: Hey, SVU, pack it up. I'm not an afterschool special.

Romeo: You're arraigning me in bed? Why don't you just pull the plug, already?

Sonny: Don't tempt me, Mr. Solis.

Tamin: Look, you gotta be straight with me, Val. Looking back, did you ever see anything not right between Romeo and Esperanza?

Val: Trainers play head games with their boxers all the time. Whatever he did or didn't do, doesn't matter. No one's ever gonna look at us without thinking about that. Men make the mess, women get stuck cleaning it up.

Esperanza: I'm not gonna talk about my father. I'm a fighter. I'm not weak.

Benson: Telling your story is not weak. And whatever happened, it doesn't define you.

I Deserve Some Loving Too [21.14]

Khaldun: His nickname's Two-Bits. His M.O. is drop a quarter, bend for it, and rub his face in the woman's privates.

Sonny: Colorful.

[Rollins and Khaldun are undercover as a green card couple]

Rollins: Okay, what color is my toothbrush?

Khaldun: Blue. And you sleep on the left side of the bed.

Rollins: Where you always spoon me. And what about my siblings?

Khaldun: One sister, but you're not in touch.

Rollins: She's trouble, you can say that.

Khaldun: [grins] But hot.

Rollins: [laughing] Hey!

Buchanan: Mr. Varick, you made a deal with the prosecution...

Sonny: Your Honor, the jury already heard about this...

Buchanan:...You were charged with forcible touching and unlawful surveillance. That's upskirting, isn't it? Good thing I wore pants today.

Khaldun: You tell stories, Eddie. Well, I'm here to tell you one, a sad love story about a woman who loved a man so much she did a terrible thing to be with him.

Eddie: [emotionally] Does this story also have to do with Rory O'Toole?

O'Toole: I was serving my country. I've been on the front lines of a foreign invasion for 20 years.

Sonny: Serving your country? By dipping your wick?

O'Toole: It was a test. It's the only way to know if they really love their husbands.

Sonny: Okay, okay. You told me before that if they really loved their husbands, they wouldn't sleep with you.

O'Toole: That's right.

Sonny: But when they refused you, you threw them in jail, and when they did sleep with you, you gave them their green card. Now, you can lie to yourself all you want, but you raped these women.

O'Toole: No, absolutely not! I was just doing what I had to do to protect our borders.

Buchanan: [nervous] Rory, he understands...

O'Toole: No, he doesn't understand it. I'm holding the line against more mouths to feed, more people on Medicaid, our public schools and our hospitals, taking our jobs! These people bleed the system dry, and I stop that from happening!

Sonny: Not one more word from you! What you did to these women... How many of them have had to live with your violation in secret, in fear? You took advantage of them when they were at their most helpless, their most vulnerable, and you used the power of your government position to force them to demean themselves. They came here hoping for the American Dream, and you made their lives a nightmare!

Swimming with the Sharks [21.15]

Tamin: [holding a sex toy] That's pretty.

Rollins: Says here that goes up your...

Tamin: [makes a face and puts it down] Eeew!

Luna: You can do your investigation, but I'm not gonna press charges.

Benson: That's your decision. But the good news is that if you change your mind, we got the rape kit done.

Luna: I don't think you realize this, but my whole brand depends on women wanting to be me, and rape does not fit into that picture!

Rollins: [of Frost's criminal record] College DUIs, a divorce with mutual DV allegations... basically, nothing worse than your typical Congressman.

Sonny: [after witnessing Luna's meltdown] Is she trying for a psych defense?

Benson: I think she's trying to figure out what the hell's going on here. She's spent her entire career empowering women, and now she just... falls apart? Either she's got a split personality...

Sonny: Not likely.

Benson: Or her employees are framing her, and she's having a breakdown because she's being gaslighted.

[Melanie confesses to setting Luna up to be raped]

Benson: How could you do that to another woman?

Melanie: Laurie? "Luna"? She spent her whole life doing that to other women. Growing up, we didn't have a lot, and one Christmas my father got me a gold heart necklace. I knew I shouldn't do it, but I wore it to summer camp. The one day it disappeared. I was wrecked. I lied to my parents, I said I didn't like it anymore. Then, who shows up the next summer wearing my necklace? Laurie. I asked her if it was mine. She denied, but said I could borrow it sometimes. She spent her whole life doing this - stealing what is mine, then acting gracious and letting me have just a little back. It's a crazy kind of gaslighting.

Benson: So you gaslighted her right back.

Melanie: WeBeWell was my idea. I made the business plan. But Luna... she's gorgeous, charming, radiant. I just wanted her to tell me she was sorry. I just wanted her to give me my necklace back.

Luna: I've burned a lot of bridges in my time. Hell, I burned my whole house down.

Benson: You know what happens when your house burns down? You get a clear view of the sky.

Eternal Relief From Pain [21.16]

Kim: Amanda, how's Mason? Did you find out where he is?

Rollins: He's at Child Services right now.

Kim: Don't look at me like that! I feel bad enough as it is.

Rollins: Yeah, well, you should. You left him with a stranger so that you could do drugs.

Kim: Well, I ran the sink so someone would come in if I OD'd.

Rollins: That's your idea of a great plan?

Kim: Mmm-hmm.

Rollins: Sorry. Yelling at you isn't gonna do anything right now, is it?

Kim: It's okay. I deserve it.

Rollins: It's just... I haven't seen you for two years...

Kim: It was three, actually. I was trying not to bother you.

Rollins: And I was worried sick about you! One minute we're living together, you've got your bipolar under control... You turned a corner, Kim. You turned a corner.

Kim: Yes, it was under control. But the thing is, I was feeling so good, I didn't have to take all those meds.

Rollins: Oh, Kim...!

Kim: I quit cold turkey. I started partying a little, but I knew you didn't want that around Jessie, so...

Rollins: So you disappeared.

Kim: [smiles] At least I didn't sell all your stuff this time.

Rollins: [chuckles] Well, we have that, don't we?

Fin: So, which one's your bad knee?

Rollins: Oh, we don't say "bad" anymore. We say "involved".

Tiffany: When I interviewed, Dr. Rudolphe told me I was already a PHD... "Poor, Hungry, and Desperate".

Dr. Gold: We ready to party?

Tiffany: Sure, doc. But first - we double your pleasure, you double our order.

Kim: Daddy's gonna wake up. We're gonna hug him. We are gonna be so thankful he didn't die.

Rollins: This time.

Kim: He did drive all the way from Georgia when I called.

Rollins: You're his daughter. That's what parents are supposed to do.

Kim: I know it's hard to forgive him. But can I tell you something I learned in group, when I was in prison? Most inmates come from toxic parents. But if you're gonna heal, you need to love something about where you came from.

Dance, Lies, and Video Tape [21.17]

Pornmonger Man: Ballerina getting nailed in a tutu. It's a whole genre. But what isn't these days? Rule 34, am I right?

Benson: Depending on where this goes, they could be looking at prison time.

Sasha: That does not work. We have a premiere in three days. We're talking hundreds of jobs, weeks of rehearsal, millions of dollars on the line...

Benson: Piece of advice? I'd set aside some time for understudies.

Dehlia: It's like my friend Hudson says. Straight male, can't fail. Gay men, it depends. But girls in ballet? Do what we say.

Hudson: You here to talk to me about Dehlia? Poor kid.

Tamin: You knew what was happening?

Hudson: Honey, everybody knows.

Tamin: And no one says anything?

Hudson: It's a straight male world - we just dance in it.

Ashley: I spent my whole life in that world. To leap high, to spin in midair, to feel the rush of an ovation. It's the only dream I've ever had. But now, I imagine dancing onstage, and the only thing I can think about is everybody in the audience leering at me on the Internet. And that... that's never going away, is it?

Garland's Baptism By Fire [21.18]

Garland: [about Chase] He's protesting way too much. He asked me to give him my word I'd keep him in the loop.

Benson: I'm so sorry.

Garland: So am I. I have a sick feeling that those donations had nothing to do with the Lord.

Chase: The separation of the payments was Sister Sherry's idea. I don't recall this last one. I'd say to ask her but we already know you can't trust a word she says. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a sermon to write.

Benson: About yielding not to temptation?

Chase: No. About forgiveness.

Laura: Why is this girl lying? Huh? Why does she want to hurt us?

Garland: [quietly] There's a video.

Laura: I don't believe it. I wanna see it.

Garland: Laura, I don't think...

Laura: This is my husband's life, Christian. I wanna see it!

[Garland reluctantly shows her the video]

Laura: Thank God. It's not him.

Garland: Laura...

Laura: It's a fake! It's not Del. You have to tell them. Tell them!

Garland: What reason would this girl have to lie? And the payments to her and her family? $250,000! I can't make this go away!

Laura: If you can't, then our relationship is over. No one in our church will speak to you or your wife or your little daughter again.

Garland: It's not the first time I've been cast out. It's a recurring theme.

Fin: Hey, listen, don't take it personally. There's a reason they call them a flock. They'll never leave him.

Solving for the Unknowns [21.19]

Tamin: [about Mitchell] He's a risk analyst in Midtown. Never married, boring-ass Facebook...

Fin: He's a loser. No wonder he needs an app to get a date.

Rollins: Fin, not everyone is as magnetic as you.

Carisi: So, no motive, no evidence? I need something to get a subpoena.

Benson: Carisi, tell the judge that it's your cop instincts.

Carisi: Except I'm an ADA now.

Gordon: I'd offer you a beer, but what's the etiquette for guys illegally searching your apartment?

Fin: We have a warrant, but keep talkin'. Maybe you'll say something useful.

Mitchell: If I could just tell the doctors what you gave her... I'll say it was me. What was it, Roofies, or...?

Gordon: Are you kidding me? Roofies? You think I went to Date Rape Depot and ordered a box?

Gordon: I'm just levelling the playing field.

Benson: How do you figure?

Gordon: You ever work in a bar? I see these guys and their sweaty desperation, getting rolled by women night after night. I told Luke, if you're gonna pick up the check, make sure you're gettin' something for it.

Benson: And you made sure that he did. And the same for your other clients.

Gordon: They're not clients. They don't pay me. They're just guys trying to get over. Just like them, you need me more than I need you. I didn't rape these women, if that's what you wanna call it, but I know who did.

Piper: I don't know if I'll be up for it, but I want to get strong enough to give a statement at sentencing. They thought of me as just this thing to experiment on. I want them to know that I'm a human being, that I matter.

Benson: And you're going to get there. And we will be by your side the whole time.

The Things We Have to Lose [21.20]

Rollins: [showing Gil a picture of him with Ivy] This is you, yeah?

Gil: Yeah, that was last night. But, as she said, nothing happened...

Rollins: Right. Where's Ivy now?

Gil: No idea.

Rollins: So you know, she's 16 and missing.

Gil: 16? [laughs, and then grows worried as Rollins remains stone-faced] No. No. She had ID.

Rollins: You're looking at felony kidnapping of a minor, so I'm gonna ask you again: Where is she?

Gil: OK, I know where she'll be tonight. There's a bachelor party for my cousin at Slag. She's on the list.

Rollins: You invited a 16-year-old to a bachelor party? [Gil shrugs] Wear something comfortable. If she doesn't show, you and your cowlick may be spending the weekend in The Tombs.

Rollins: By the way, I've got a lead on Ivy. I'm picking her up tonight.

Benson: Because you're the only one that can save her?

Rollins: Unless you've got a better idea.

Benson: What happened to you?

Barth: Excuse me?

Benson: You were a judge. You had respect for the legal system. You had compassion for victims.

Barth: I still do.

Benson: Not from where I'm sitting, you don't. That you would let a rapist like Sir Toby use you...

Barth: He's entitled to a defense. C'mon, I have two sons. You have a son. Can you imagine a scenario - he's at college, some girl makes a false accusation, their lives are over.

Benson: No. No, actually, I can't imagine.

Barth: Well, these days, you should. I would rather 10 guilty men go free than one innocent man...

Benson: Your client isn't innocent!

Barth: That's for a jury to decide, not you.

Benson: What do you need, Elana? Because whatever Sir Toby is paying you, it's not worth it.

About Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 21)

In the season 21 episode, “The Darkest Journey Home,” the survivor tells Olivia everything she remembers, which is that she went to a bar, took a car home, and nothing else. When the survivor says that she drank a lot and took a Xanax, Olivia says: “Well, you know what? None of that matters. None of it.” Then Olivia begins the trauma-informed interview: “What, if anything, can you tell me about what you heard? What you saw?” The episode then cuts to flashes of bright lights on a ceiling, illustrating the disjointed memory from the survivor’s perspective. When she says she remembers water, Olivia responds: “So tell me about water,” leading to a longer point-of-view flashback of the ceiling, with silhouettes of male hands over the camera and the sounds of waves crashing and the survivor struggling. The motion of the camera in this flashback is chaotic, evoking the sense of fear and confusion the survivor must have felt when she experienced it. The flashbacks focus entirely on the survivor’s perspective, by staying locked in her visual and aural subjectivity through the use of her POV and the sounds she describes having heard. This method is effective at sensitively portraying an assault because “representing a rape scene from a woman’s point of view...may be the most explicit way to incorporate a woman’s perspective on rape” (Projansky: Watching Rape,153).
The portrayal of rape in this episode is incredibly sensitive to the survivor it is portraying and survivors who may be watching, because “graphic depictions of trauma can vicariously traumatize certain viewers” (Spallacci, 6).
- Alessia S., "“What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger:” The Fallacy of Rape Narratives as Paths to Women’s Empowerment in Contemporary Television" (2020). pp.19-20

External links

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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 21)