Olivia Benson quotes from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Benson

Malik trafficked his mother, too?

Fin

And they're both blaming it on Tiana.

Benson

Man, that family had it rough.

Fin

Same as everyone that grows up in the projects. Some will make it out, some won't. But we all make our own choices.

Benson

You don't talk about your childhood much.

Fin

Back at you, Liv.

Benson

So... you weren't gonna tell me? You're just... not gonna show up one day?

Fin

It's not like that.

Benson

It's not like that? I have to hear from Dodds?

Fin

You know, he always had a big mouth.

Benson

I-I thought we were like family here. I mean... you know, Fin, on days when... a perp walks or a victim dies, you know, I look at your desk. And it reminds me that there is a cop who will kick in doors, and... give everything he has without hesitation, and... I don't have to look behind me, because I know that he has my back. And now... now he's Sergeant Tutola.

Fin

I just didn't want to make a big thing out of it, you know?

Benson

The 2-1, huh?

Fin

Gotta start somewhere.

Benson

I'm really happy for you. Congratulations.

Fin

Thanks.

Benson

And don't think you're getting away without a party.

Benson

These women, nobody has any need for them anymore. Their... their "sell by" dates have expired. All right, we can't just... leave them out on the curb for Wednesday pickup. So what do we do? We shove them into hospitals, we shove them in facilities, and give them old records and coloring books.

Show them the flowers.

Benson

The least that we can do is keep predators out of their beds.

Stop. You win. Let's just hope we get a judge who loves his mother.

Benson

[surprised to see Fin at his desk] Uh... I think you zigged when you were supposed to zag.

Fin

Nah, Liv, I got transferred back here.

Benson

And how did you pull that off? Do I even want to know?

Fin

No, you don't.

Benson

Okay. Well, then, I would like your DD5s reviewed and on my desk ASAP... Sergeant.

Fin

Yes, ma'am.

Benson

Lourdes was raped. Her entire being - her past, her present and, most importantly, her future - negated.

That doesn't entitle her to seek revenge.

Benson

But it does entitle her to reclaim what was once hers. And if revenge is part of that, then... then so be it.

You don't believe that.

Benson

I do believe the wrong person is on trial.

I'm not a bad person. You don't have any idea. I went to college. I have a skill. But, 10 years ago, who's gonna hire me? Huh? Sure, I could wash dishes, mow lawns. But I'm a damn good programmer, and 10 years ago, no one gave a damn!

Benson

I don't give a damn right now.

Jorge said all I had to do was drive a truck. I can do that. Hey, I'm Mexican, right? It's in my blood.

Benson

And the girls were already there, so you figured, might as well rape them.

[cold] There are the weak, and there are the strong.

Benson

And you were the strong.

Yes! Yes! I can have anyone I wanted. For a thousand miles, I was their God! They were mine until I dumped them in the warehouse and went back to get a new batch!

Benson

Something did happen on that hunting trip.

Fin

White people and rifles. Don't ask me.

Benson

I'm a cop and a mother, Fin. That's all I am.

Fin

That's more than most.

Benson

And what happens if tomorrow I wake up and I can't do one of those things? Does that make me only half the person I was the night before?

Fin

Excuse me for being redundant, but it's still more than most.

Benson

Well, that's very nice of you to say, but the fact of the matter is, the truth is, I got winded. Chasing that Conway kid... I had to stop. And now an innocent woman who was riding her bike has a broken leg because of me.

Fin

And no matter how hard you sucked for air, your lungs couldn't take in enough breath.

Benson

Yeah.

Fin

And your legs felt like lead.

Benson

Right.

Fin

Welcome to the club. Liv, nobody expects you to be Wonder Woman.

Benson

I do.

Fin

Yeah, and I used to think I was Superman.

Benson

So what happened?

Fin

Life. Time. Whatcha gonna do?

Benson

You were trying to save his life.

I didn't have to cross-examine him.

Benson

Yes, you did. His father raped him, for God's sake.

And I raped him all over again on the witness stand.

The last time I put Sam on the witness stand...

Benson

This isn't the time, Peter. Kids are dead. Two sets of parents are mourning the loss of their child.

Sam is already locked up.

Benson

We already lost Sam. This is about the next Sam Conway.

[after losing in court] We tried, huh?

Benson

We lost the battle. Maybe we'll win the war.

Benson

Hi, we're here to see Gabriela Sosa.

Is she stationed here, ma'am?

Benson

She's one of the children who's being detained here.

I'm sorry, ma'am, those kinds of visits are not authorized.

[getting out of the car] Get your CO down here right now.

I'm sorry, sir. I'm not authorized to do that.

Listen, son, I didn't hump through the mountains of Quảng Tri for 3 years to have some baby-faced MP tell me what's authorized. Am I clear?

Uh...

Soldier!

Yes, sir. [leaves]

[to Benson] That was fun.

When I was growing up, I had a TV in my room. Family Ties was my favorite. Alex P. I really, really liked him. And I would turn the volume all the way up so I couldn't hear what was going on downstairs. The screaming, the cussing. We were not the Keatons.

Benson

Well, news flash: Nobody's family is.

My mom had this vase. It wasn't expensive, but she really loved it, and he threw it at her. It shattered into a million pieces. And that was right before he beat the crap out of her.

Benson

I'm so sorry. I didn't know.

The thing is, I wasn't mad at him. I was so mad at her. You know, how? How... how could she let him?

Arlo made me feel like I could do anything, overcome my fears, be my best self. You're asking me to say that the last ten years of my life meant nothing.

Benson

I'm asking you to look at the next ten years, the next twenty years. I believe you when you said that that empowerment and that strength is in you. And, Lilah, I know that you're smart enough to make the right decision because, Lilah, let me tell you something. You only have two choices: You can be silent and spend the rest of your life in prison. Or you can make a deal and testify against him, and maybe... maybe you can get out by the time you're fifty. And believe me, that's a lot of life left.

Benson

[to Arlo] You know what the worst thing is? What really pisses me off is not that you conned women out of their own money. It's not that you convince women that it's in their best interest to sleep with you. It's not that you demean women or humiliate women. What really disgusts me is that you make women feel good about themselves. Empowered. Addicted to feeling invincible. You know, I can see that you're intelligent. Empathetic. So, you make women feel safe. They feel heard. And because they trust you, they share their deepest insecurities, their weaknesses, with you. And then you use those vulnerabilities to destroy them. You, Mr. Beck, are the worst kind of predator there is.

[applauding sarcastically] That was beautiful, Lieutenant.

Benson

Arraign this prick.