Top 10 Olivia Benson Moments on Law & Order: SVU

After watching Detective Benson slowly climb the ladder for 20 years, hearing Dodds calling her Captain flooded every viewer with happiness and relief. The news is somewhat bittersweet, as it comes with Dodds’ transfer to the Traffic and Safety Task Force in Staten Island. But more than anything, the promotion represents some well-earned recognition for Benson’s hard work and commitment, the culmination of well over 400 episodes. While it probably should have come sooner, we can’t wait to see how Captain Benson will shape the future course of the show.

Look, we know we shouldn’t have laughed, but we did. The intense music and concerned parties in the room makes us feel even worse, but come on. Benson accused her perp of stabbing the Captain with a pickle, and she did so with a completely straight face. What makes this such a great moment for her, despite her spouting this ridiculous line and passing out, is that when she comes to and is told that she’d inhaled toxic mushroom vapors, she doesn’t even acknowledge it and gets straight to the point about the case at hand.

A lot of times, when Olivia Benson gets a win, there’s a loss involved somewhere too. While SVU is full of people who commit despicable acts, this particular episode features a harrowing incident that leads to multiple casualties. Although it’s impossible to disregard, we DO still get to celebrate when Olivia finally adopts Noah, and officially becomes his mom. This final episode of the season also features another fan favorite character, Olivia’s partner Nick Amaro, departing the show. These life changing moments, and Benson’s acceptance of everything that’s happened, is why she’s as strong as she is.

Going undercover is a risky gambit. But Detective Elliot Stabler does just that to infiltrate a black market animal smuggling ring. While he does end up getting shot, it’s still a better alternative to actually being killed, which is almost what happens. Thankfully, Benson’s quick thinking and ingenuity saves them both, although not in a way that anyone - including Stabler - could have predicted. When she tricks the armed assailants into thinking that she’s Stabler’s prostitute, Stabler is left speechless; but we could hear his heart beating from our couches.

By season 15, Olivia is a hardened detective who’s seen and been through a lot. Nonetheless, the game of Russian roulette she’s forced to play with serial killer Lewis takes things to another level. Every click of the barrel is a life-or-death moment, and we can see that tension all over her face. However, she’s willing to go through this trauma in order to rescue the 12 year old girl that Lewis has kidnapped. In the end, Lewis shoots himself, and while the ordeal has lasting repercussions on the detective’s mental state, the scene is another testament to what she’ll do for others.

Imagine the shock that went through Olivia’s head when she saw her partner battered and strapped to a chair. Fortunately, Detective Benson’s always been able to think and act quickly on her feet, which she’s had to do on numerous occasions. This time, the stakes are incredibly high, and one wrong decision could be the end of both detectives’ lives. Pretending that she despised Stabler as much as Stuckey did worked to great effect, highlighting Benson’s skills as a psychological profiler. Her slapping her partner a few times definitely raised some eyebrows too.

Ahh, where it all began. SVU has been running for so long, we sometimes forget where our humble detective started. While Benson does grow significantly throughout the runtime of the show, the Pilot does a great job at not only establishing the theme of the show, but also Olivia as a character. We get to see how she sympathizes with victims of rape and sexual assault, and her reaction to their desire to retaliate. We also get a sense that Eliot and Liv may eventually be an item, but their relationship remains strictly professional.

The season nine episode “Undercover” managed to be both engaging and incredibly hard to watch at the same time. In order to investigate a teenage girl’s claim that a corrections officer raped her and is threatening her mother, Benson dons an orange jumpsuit and does a stint behind bars. During the investigation, the corrections officer, Captain Lowell Harris, attacks her, showing his true colors. It’s an edge-of-your seat episode that shows the lengths that the detective will go to to uncover the truth and protect those who can’t protect themselves.

Elliot Stabler was Olivia Benson’s partner for 12 seasons. That’s a long time for two people to work together. But after actor Christopher Meloni decided to leave the show, Stabler had to be written out in the season 13 premiere. Olivia’s emotional moment when she learns that Stabler has retired parallels our own. There’s shock, and also not a few tears. After all, the two had been not only colleagues, but also best friends for over a decade. Despite Stabler’s departure however, Olivia does ultimately hold down the fort, forging on and continuing to captivate audiences.

Before we unveil our Top Pick, here are a few Honorable Mentions:

Framed for Murder
“Perverted”

Olivia & Stabler ‘Married’
“Gray”

Protest Arrest
“Infiltrated”

Shooting the Serial Killer
“Wrath”

If you're going to have an entire episode centered around a call, the dialogue and emotion in the voices need to stand out, and they definitely do here. Olivia does her best to put all the pieces of the puzzle together from the limited information the scared little girl on the other line gives her, and the heartbreak she feels when she feels like she's losing her is palpable to the audience. We get to problem-solve alongside Olivia in this episode, which often felt all-too-real. It’s no wonder that actress Mariska Hargitay picked up an Emmy for her troubles.