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The Best Episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4

Every episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4!

Binge this in 17h 54m•Peaking at 8.7/10

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 of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 1 - Chameleon
    8.4/10(1279 votes)

    #1 - Chameleon

    S4:E1

    The detectives are on the trail of a recently paroled rapist responsible for the murder of a prostitute during a raid at a men's club and are called to the scene where he was shot in self defense by his own gun. However, the murder weapon was also used in another crime while he was still in prison, leading the detectives to investigate the victim through a trail of previously unsolved cases, a spending spree and another victim. They uncover a more serious criminal in the process.

    Director:Jean de Segonzac
    Writers:Michele Fazekas, Tara Butters

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  2. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 2 - Deception
    8.2/10(1032 votes)

    #2 - Deception

    S4:E2

    A family portrait painted by a kindergartner leads the detectives to investigate her mother for child sexual abuse of her teenage stepson. When the boy's father is found murdered, the focus of the investigation shifts to the boy -- and his stepmother goes to great lengths to protect him and prevent the detectives from learning the truth.

    Director:Constantine Makris
    Writers:Michele Fazekas, Tara Butters

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  3. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 3 - Vulnerable
    8.0/10(900 votes)

    #3 - Vulnerable

    S4:E3

    When an elderly woman with Alzheimer's breaks into an apartment, the detectives discover she had been abused, triggering memories of similar crimes from her childhood. They discover that she had been released from a nursing home to the custody of her financially scheming son who becomes the prime suspect. However, they go back to the nursing home to find a pair of suspects; the real crime is what's being done to the elderly.

    Director:Juan José Campanella
    Writers:Dawn DeNoon, Lisa Marie Petersen

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  4. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 4 - Lust
    7.8/10(916 votes)

    #4 - Lust

    S4:E4

    A public health doctor, the wife of a retired attorney, who tracked HIV cases is found murdered and raped in Central Park. Her work involved contacting sexual partners of HIV patients which gives the detectives a long list of suspects and the detectives try to link threatening phone calls to the crime. The discovery of a second body in Central Park with the same signature shifts the focus to a possible serial killer.

    Director:Michael Fields
    Writer:Amanda Green

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  5. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 5 - Disappearing Acts
    7.8/10(899 votes)

    #5 - Disappearing Acts

    S4:E5

    A high-powered executive is raped, but the situation is complicated by her involvement with the Feds and the Russian mob - as well as a father-son duo who are in the federal witness protection program and an agent who appears bound and determined to protect them, regardless of consequence.

    Director:Alex Zakrzewski
    Writer:Judith McCreary

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  6. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 6 - Angels
    8.5/10(1165 votes)

    #6 - Angels

    S4:E6

    A battered young boy suffocates while hiding in the luggage compartment of an airport shuttle bus and it leads the detectives to his guardian and into the investigation of a perverted child molestation ring.

    Director:Arthur W. Forney
    Writers:Jonathan Greene, Robert F. Campbell

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  7. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 7 - Dolls
    8.2/10(950 votes)

    #7 - Dolls

    S4:E7

    Detectives try and solve the gruesome murder of a sexually molested five-year-old girl whose killer, a serial pedophile, has an obsession with dolls. They race to save the life of his latest victim.

    Director:Darnell Martin
    Writer:Amanda Green

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  8. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 8 - Waste
    8.1/10(1128 votes)

    #8 - Waste

    S4:E8

    The Detectives investigate the rape of a woman who's been in a coma for a year, and after eliminating a huge pool of suspects, they make a startling discovery.

    Director:Donna Deitch
    Writers:Dawn DeNoon, Lisa Marie Petersen

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  9. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 9 - Juvenile
    8.4/10(1009 votes)

    #9 - Juvenile

    S4:E9

    A cancer patient, who was growing marijuana in her apartment and selling it, is found raped and murdered, sending the detectives on a hunt for two middle school students, each blaming the other.

    Director:Constantine Makris
    Writers:Michele Fazekas, Tara Butters

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  10. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 10 - Resilience
    8.2/10(1129 votes)

    #10 - Resilience

    S4:E10

    A 14-year-old girl tries to commit suicide by jumping in front of a train after she is raped. She falsely accuses an ex-boyfriend but when the search turns to her dysfunctional family, surprise discoveries are made and SVU discovers that the family is even worse off than they thought.

    Director:Joyce Chopra
    Writer:Patrick Harbinson

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  11. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 11 - Damaged
    8.6/10(1221 votes)

    #11 - Damaged

    S4:E11

    A six-year-old girl is critically injured in an apparent robbery-gone-bad and later dies. The investigation gets complicated when it is discovered that the murders were designed to silence the young girl, who was sexually abused.

    Director:Juan José Campanella
    Writer:Barbie Kligman

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  12. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 12 - Risk
    8.2/10(841 votes)

    #12 - Risk

    S4:E12

    An infant ingests pure cocaine disguised in baby formula, uncovering a complicated narcotics ring with unlikely participants and the entire squad goes undercover to flush them out.

    Director:Juan José Campanella
    Writers:Jonathan Greene, Robert F. Campbell

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  13. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 13 - Rotten
    7.5/10(762 votes)

    #13 - Rotten

    S4:E13

    In their investigation of a prisoner's death, Benson and Tutuola learn that he was sexually assaulted before being incarcerated and since it happened while in custody, the police are suspected.

    Director:Constantine Makris
    Writer:Judith McCreary

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  14. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 14 - Mercy
    8.1/10(1147 votes)

    #14 - Mercy

    S4:E14

    When the body of a 1-month-old baby girl is found stuffed inside a cooler, the detectives are horrified. But they soon learn that the baby had a genetic disorder known as Tay-Sachs disease, and it may have been a mercy killing.

    Director:David Platt
    Writers:Christos N. Gage, Ruth Fletcher

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  15. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 15 - Pandora
    8.2/10(1049 votes)

    #15 - Pandora

    S4:E15

    The brutal rape, and subsequent death, of a female motorist turns out to be an undercover FBI informant acting as a cyber vigilante for catching online pedophiles to capture the predator trafficking internet porn. The detectives find the victim's husband murdered and follow the trail of evidence for the latest victim she had been tracking, which ​turns into an international case of teenage prostitution, with ties to the Czech Republic.

    Director:Alex Zakrzewski
    Writers:Michele Fazekas, Tara Butters

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  16. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 16 - Tortured
    7.8/10(864 votes)

    #16 - Tortured

    S4:E16

    A Tibetan woman who was tortured in her home country is found murdered, with her foot missing, and after an exhaustive search of potential suspects, the killer is a victim of torture himself.

    Director:Steve Shill
    Writers:Dawn DeNoon, Lisa Marie Petersen

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  17. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 17 - Privilege
    8.1/10(1047 votes)

    #17 - Privilege

    S4:E17

    A young female film student dressed in a maid's uniform has apparently committed suicide but it's very suspicious. The detectives learn that she just broke up with her very rich and powerful boyfriend.

    Director:Jean de Segonzac
    Writer:Patrick Harbinson

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  18. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 18 - Desperate
    8.6/10(1154 votes)

    #18 - Desperate

    S4:E18

    After a young boy witnesses the brutal sexual assault and murder of his stepmother, he is too terrified to tell the detectives who attacked her.

    Director:David Platt
    Writer:Amanda Green

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  19. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 19 - Appearances
    8.1/10(978 votes)

    #19 - Appearances

    S4:E19

    The body of a nine-year-old beauty pageant contestant is found raped and murdered on a bus, but the case goes beyond the killer when it leads detectives to a virtual-pornography website.

    Director:Alex Zakrzewski
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 20 - Dominance
    8.7/10(1417 votes)

    #20 - Dominance

    S4:E20

    A quadruple homicide with sexual overtones is just the start of an intense rampage of a serial killer that brings a homicide detective into the mix. As the entire squad races against time to prevent further victims, the evidence uncovers a horrible situation of incest and abuse.

    Director:Steve Shill
    Writers:Jonathan Greene, Robert F. Campbell

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  21. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 21 - Fallacy
    8.6/10(1372 votes)

    #21 - Fallacy

    S4:E21

    A female party-goer and rape victim claims self-defense after killing her attacker. Events take an unusual turn when they find out that the victim is a pre-operative transgender.

    Director:Juan José Campanella
    Writer:Barbie Kligman

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  22. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 22 - Futility
    8.4/10(1144 votes)

    #22 - Futility

    S4:E22

    A man accused of raping several neighborhood women denies everything and represents himself in court.

    Director:Alex Zakrzewski
    Writers:Michele Fazekas, Tara Butters

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  23. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 23 - Grief
    8.2/10(1095 votes)

    #23 - Grief

    S4:E23

    A dead girl is found outside a bar. The death, however, is ruled a suicide, because the victim's boyfriend continually raped her. The victim's father vows revenge against his daughter's rapist.

    Director:Constantine Makris
    Writer:Adisa Iwa

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  24. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 24 - Perfect
    8.1/10(1118 votes)

    #24 - Perfect

    S4:E24

    A murdered 14-year-old girl leads the detectives to a prominent physician who specializes in reproduction therapy and exposes a dangerous "foundation" where disenfranchised young women are brainwashed.

    Director:Rick Wallace
    Writers:Jonathan Greene, Robert F. Campbell

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  25. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 4 Episode 25 - Soulless
    8.5/10(1072 votes)

    #25 - Soulless

    S4:E25

    After a rape victim is abducted from the hospital and later found dead, the detectives suspect several young socialites of her rape, at a Manhattan nightclub, and subsequent murder.

    Director:Chad Lowe
    Writers:Dawn DeNoon, Lisa Marie Petersen

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Season 4 Ratings Summary

"Chameleon" is the best rated episode of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" season 4. It scored 8.4/10 based on 1279 votes. Directed by Jean de Segonzac and written by Michele Fazekas, Tara Butters, it aired on 9/27/2002. This episode is rated 0.2 points higher than the second-best, "Deception".