7.6/10999 votes#1 - Scorched Earth
Season 13 Episode 1 - Aired 9/21/2011
An African immigrant working as a maid accuses an Italian diplomat of rape, but is she really in it just for the money? Meanwhile, Stabler's return remains in doubt after his latest shooting.
Director: Michael Slovis
Writer: N/A
8.3/101,125 votes#2 - Personal Fouls
Season 13 Episode 2 - Aired 9/28/2011
SVU investigates an accusation that a revered high school basketball coach sexually abused his players, but they ultimately may need the cooperation of a reluctant pro superstar to make the case.
Director: Jim McKay
Writer: Bryan Goluboff
8.0/101,033 votes#3 - Blood Brothers
Season 13 Episode 3 - Aired 10/5/2011
A pregnant thirteen-year-old girl from Washington Heights claims that the son of an ambassador raped her, but the accused goes missing before SVU can question him.
Director: N/A
Writer: Warren Leight, Julie Martin
8.3/101,087 votes#4 - Double Strands
Season 13 Episode 4 - Aired 10/12/2011
Detective Rollins believes that SVU has caught a serial rapist from one of her earlier cases in Georgia, but a passioned request after a suicide attempt leads Amaro to suspect that they may have the wrong person.
Director: Fred Berner
Writer: N/A
7.4/10902 votes#5 - Missing Pieces
Season 13 Episode 5 - Aired 10/19/2011
Detectives search for a missing baby on Halloween after a young mother from Buffalo tells them her car was stolen while her baby was still in it.
Director: Peter Leto
Writer: Warren Leight, Julie Martin
7.8/10942 votes#6 - True Believers
Season 13 Episode 6 - Aired 11/2/2011
The SVU team works together to investigate the case of a promising music student who was brutally raped at gunpoint.
Director: Courtney Hunt
Writer: Robin Veith
8.3/10995 votes#7 - Russian Brides
Season 13 Episode 7 - Aired 11/9/2011
In order to bring down a Russian mobster running an international prostitution/kidnapping ring disguised as a Russian bride website, Cragen steps from behind the desk to go undercover.
Director: Alex Chapple
Writer: N/A
8.1/10985 votes#8 - Educated Guess
Season 13 Episode 8 - Aired 11/16/2011
A patient in a mental hospital claims to have witnessed a sexual assault. However, the supposed victim is a fellow patient who has a history of making rape allegations, but she denies being assaulted this time.
Director: Arthur W. Forney
Writer: Judith McCreary
8.2/101,038 votes#9 - Lost Traveller
Season 13 Episode 9 - Aired 11/30/2011
When a Romani boy vanishes on his way home from school, the Special Victims Unit must penetrate his insular community to find the unlikely abductors.
Director: Jean de Segonzac
Writer: Julie Martin
8.6/101,237 votes#10 - Spiraling Down
Season 13 Episode 10 - Aired 12/7/2011
A retired pro quarterback is busted for having sex with a fourteen-year-old prostitute, but he may be suffering from diminished capacity because of all the concussions he had on the field.
Director: Alex Chapple
Writer: Warren Leight
7.9/101,051 votes#11 - Theatre Tricks
Season 13 Episode 11 - Aired 1/11/2012
SVU tries to figure out who was responsible for the real-life rape of an actress during an interactive theater performance that everybody just assumed was part of the show.
Director: Constantine Makris
Writer: Warren Leight, Julie Martin
8.2/10985 votes#12 - Official Story
Season 13 Episode 12 - Aired 1/18/2012
Benson and Amaro must work around a resistant victim when the CEO of a military contractor is assaulted.
Director: Michael Smith
Writer: N/A
7.8/101,022 votes#13 - Father's Shadow
Season 13 Episode 13 - Aired 2/8/2012
A nineteen-year-old creates a hostage situation after his father is accused of sexual assault, and Olivia uses her personal experience to help defuse the situation.
Director: Jean de Segonzac
Writer: Warren Leight, Julie Martin
8.0/10956 votes#14 - Home Invasions
Season 13 Episode 14 - Aired 2/15/2012
After a couple is murdered in their home and their daughter is critically injured, SVU uncovers a number of twisted family secrets, as well as Detective Rollins' gambling addiction.
Director: Jim McKay
Writer: Bryan Goluboff
8.2/10746 votes#15 - Hunting Ground
Season 13 Episode 15 - Aired 2/22/2012
Detectives Benson and Amaro lead the search for a serial killer who is targeting young prostitutes.
Director: N/A
Writer: Warren Leight
7.8/10754 votes#16 - Child's Welfare
Season 13 Episode 16 - Aired 2/29/2012
Detective Benson calls on Bayard Ellis for legal help when her estranged brother gets caught in a child custody battle. Also, Detectives Tutuola and Rollins investigate why a newborn baby is abandoned near a hospital.
Director: Holly Dale
Writer: Warren Leight, Julie Martin
8.1/10883 votes#17 - Justice Denied
Season 13 Episode 17 - Aired 4/21/2012
A closed rape case of Benson's is reopened because of it's similarities to a new case, and the possibility of wrongful imprisonment surfaces. As Benson's work is questioned, tension develops between her, ADA Haden, and Bayard Ellis.
Director: Michael Slovis
Writer: Warren Leight
7.6/10885 votes#18 - Valentine's Day
Season 13 Episode 18 - Aired 4/18/2012
A man witnesses his wife's rape and kidnapping while video chatting with her on his way home from a business trip. The abductors seek a ransom, and the case grows more complex as detectives probe deeper.
Director: Peter Leto
Writer: Julie Martin
7.4/10787 votes#19 - Street Revenge
Season 13 Episode 19 - Aired 4/25/2012
The task of find a serial rapist becomes more difficult when a team of neighborhood vigilante "superheroes" starts trying to avenge the crimes.
Director: Arthur W. Forney
Writer: Julie Martin
7.8/10833 votes#20 - Father Dearest
Season 13 Episode 20 - Aired 5/2/2012
Detectives search for a missing teenage girl who vanished while looking for her biological father, an anonymous sperm donor. A puzzling prime suspect who's targeted several young women soon emerges.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.8/10805 votes#21 - Learning Curve
Season 13 Episode 21 - Aired 5/9/2012
As Fin tries to get justice after his gay son's fiancé is brutally beaten in a hate crime, SVU uncovers a scandal involving a teacher sexually abusing a student at a prep school.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.7/10836 votes#22 - Strange Beauty
Season 13 Episode 22 - Aired 5/16/2012
The investigation of the homicide of a young woman who recently had her leg amputated sends SVU into the strange culture of body modification.
Director: Alex Chapple
Writer: Robin Veith, Peter Blauner
8.5/10981 votes#23 - Rhodium Nights
Season 13 Episode 23 - Aired 5/23/2012
The murder of a prostitute at a bachelor party sends SVU on a dangerous investigation that could lead all the way into the highest reaches of New York power and influence.
Director: Norberto Barba
Writer: Warren Leight
The Best Episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 13
Every episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 13 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 13!
In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members...
Genres:CrimeDramaMystery
Network:NBC
Season 13 Ratings Summary
"Scorched Earth" is the best rated episode of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" season 13. It scored 7.6/10 based on 999 votes. Directed by Michael Slovis and written by N/A, it aired on 9/21/2011. This episode is rated 0.7 points higher than the second-best, "Personal Fouls".