Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 1 quotes

Benson

Look, off the record, we both want the same thing.

How do you figure?

Benson

We both want the department to own up to their mistakes and make changes moving forward.

You want that?

Benson

I do, very much. And I get what your lawyers are going for with the show trial, but the fact of the matter is that there is no amount of publicity that will move the dial at 1PP.

You gonna tell what will?

Benson

You have allies in the department. [Jayvon scoffs] Deputy inspectors, IAB investigators, who feel very frustrated that they can't rid the ranks of bad cops.

Here it comes. You're gonna tell me that it's just "a few bad apples".

Benson

No. What I will tell you is that IAB knows who the macho gladiators are. And if their investigators are deposed, and they are forced to tell the truth, then yes, we can get rid of the worst cops.

[on the phone with her father] Dad, we're already at the place. [pause] No, and no! [hangs up] He wants me to bring him a six-pack of Bud and a carton of cigarettes.

Sonny

[chuckles] He must be feeling better.

Maybe we're all dead. Maybe that's what all this Zooming and Facetime is. Maybe it's where we go in the afterlife. We can't see anyone, we can't hug them, but they're all there... But no one is here. Everyone has left.

Benson

I'm here. And I'm not leaving.

Don't try to talk me out of it. I have spent months trying to "count my blessings" and "show gratitude". Everyone keeps saying, "Don't let COVID defeat you." Well, you know what? No restaurant, no husband, no son - COVID won. I'm tired of fighting.

How much longer can this go on?

Sonny

I tell my mother, it's not endless, but it's indefinite.

Fin

[picking up a ball gag found near the victim] Can't find this at Home Depot.

Dr. Warner

[after examining the victim] Aside from the sky-high blood alcohol level, he took, or was given, Oxycodone, fentanyl, and MDMA.

Benson

Those are fairly common street drugs. Any recent OD's with the same cocktail?

Dr. Warner

No, but where there's one... You might wanna check area hospitals.

Fin

There were women there. Any DNA?

Dr. Warner

Nope. He went, he didn't come.

Benson

Elliot, did you hear anything we said to you the other night?

Stabler

I don't want to talk about the other night.

Benson

You have to take care of yourself. I am begging you. Slow this down. Go home. Eat something. Get some rest. Do it for yourself. Do it for your children.

Stabler

Okay. I hear you. [pause] We good?

Benson

I hope so.

Benson

Henry's 13-year-old sister is alive. She was staying with a friend out in Oyster Bay.

Now we have to tell a 13-year-old that her whole family has been murdered.

I love the ocean. You know why? The ocean doesn't give a crap about you or about anybody. It does whatever it wants and you just have to along with it.

How experienced is your detective?

Benson

Very.

We got a whole team coming up.

Benson

It's going to be very hard for you to sneak up on someone in a house of mirrors.

[to Henry] When I told you that I didn't want you to die... I lied. If you ever get out of here, if you go after Counselor Carisi or anyone in my family ever again, it will be your last day on Earth. I'll kill you myself.

[about Andy] You think he was sexually assaulted by his wife?

Benson

Well, it would certainly explain why he's afraid to talk, and why she's doing damage control.

Well, what can we do about it?

Benson

As of right now, not a damn thing.

Benson

You had serious injuries, and she's the one who gave them to you.

It doesn't matter, I know she loves me. She's not going to do it again.

Benson

I can't tell you how many times I've sat here and heard those exact words. And these situations, Andy, unfortunately, things don't get better.

Fin

I know you're worried about what people will think, but this isn't just about fighting for yourself.

I don't want Charlie to know.

Benson

Kids know more than you think. Is this how you want the rest of your life to go? Waiting for her to hurt you again? To take your son away? Andy, that's where this is going.

What do you want me to do? She said if this ever goes to trial, the jury is going to take one look at me, one look at her, nobody's ever going to believe me.

Benson

We believe you. And juries are smart. They figure things out.

Sonny

The psychology of intimate partner violence is complex. It's not just physical. It's emotional abuse. Instilling fear. Controlling the victim. And Andy lived with his wife's abuse for years, because like most abuse victims he thought he didn't have a choice.