Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series)

Part 33 (2019)

Mariska Hargitay: Lieutenant Olivia Benson

Photos 

Quotes 

• Olivia Benson : Amanda. Come on. You and I both know what he was telling her with that gun. He was telling her that I could kill you at any minute, and I would probably get away with it.

  Amanda Rollins : Tommy is the one that ended up with the bullets in him, though.

  Olivia Benson : Yeah, and where was he shot? Two in the heart and one in the groin. And believe you me, that last one was not a mistake. That was not a miss.

  Amanda Rollins : Did she say that to you?

  Olivia Benson : She didn't have to. You have no idea what utter terror is. What pure and utter terror is. You know, they say that your heart beats faster, but that's not true. It doesn't. It stops. Everything stops. You don't breathe because you're scared that it might upset him. And if you get a cramp in your foot, you tell yourself, "Just let it throb" because you'll live through that pain. And that's a hell of a lot better than what what he'll do to you. And the pain is is so complete and it's so it's so overwhelming. You can go without food for... for three days and you don't close your eyes because you... because you're scared that you'll never open them again. You pray. You pray "Please, God "don't let him climb on top of me again."

  Amanda Rollins : Okay, Liv. I am so sorry.

  Olivia Benson : Nobody should have to live like that. Nobody.

  Amanda Rollins : Tommy Pearl is not William Lewis. Annabeth was not held hostage.

  Olivia Benson : Wasn't she? She lived with that fear every day for six years. But maybe we're all victims. Maybe... maybe we're... we're just all victims of our past. But the good news is that I am just a rebuttal witness, which means I'm only used if needed.

  Amanda Rollins : What are you gonna do if Stone needs you?

  Olivia Benson : I don't know, but somebody has to stand up for Annabeth, and somebody has to tell her has to tell her that she survived and she's gonna be okay.

• Peter Stone : Liv, what the hell's going on down there?

  Olivia Benson : Excuse me?

  Peter Stone : When I walked into that courtroom this morning, I had a no-lose case. Now, two witnesses later, I am treading water and gasping for air.

  Olivia Benson : So Carisi got creative.

  Peter Stone : He got creative? He's a cop! He's supposed to get on that stand and tell the truth. That's it.

  Olivia Benson : Did he lie?

  Peter Stone : Liv, come on. You and I both know the truth comes in many colors.

  Olivia Benson : So maybe Carisi picked the one that he could live with.

  Peter Stone : I knew it. I knew you were behind this. You wanna do me a favor? You keep your bleeding heart out of my courtroom.

• Dominick Carisi Jr. : Lieu, I'm sorry. I'm not feeling okay about this case, okay? Maybe I feel like SOBs like Tommy Pearl get exactly what they deserve.

  Amanda Rollins : When a cop gets killed, it's an itch I can't scratch.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : He's a cop who abused his wife!

  Amanda Rollins : With his words. Annabeth didn't have to listen.

  Olivia Benson : Look, guys, stop. Stop. And law without empathy doesn't help anyone, Rollins.

  Amanda Rollins : I... I'm all about empathy. Come on, it's... it's coming out of my ears. For eight years, I'm drowning in it.

• Amanda Rollins : You know what, I've got one question for you: Why didn't she walk out the door? Why didn't she leave the damn bastard?

  Olivia Benson : Are you kidding me, Amanda?

  Amanda Rollins : No! For it to be a justifiable homicide, there had to be an imminent threat of death or or serious physical harm, right? And was Tommy about to beat Annabeth? No. Was he about to rape her? No! You know how I know that? Because that's what she told you.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : When I was in the bag, I took a domestic disturbance call. All right? Craig and Ellen Carter. Their neighbor was complaining because they were screaming at each other all night. They were cursing. So I show up. I calm everybody down and do, you know, what we're supposed to do. And I'm looking at this guy and I can just see in his eyes. And he's got that smirk, you know? So I take Ellen outside, and I say, "Listen. Listen, you've gotta stand up for yourself." I told her that she needed to leave this guy, but there's no signs of physical violence, so that's that's all I can do. A month later, I get another call. The same house, same complaint. Only this time Craig is taking her head and bashing it against the wall, and she's dead. So don't you stand there and say that all she had to do was walk out the damn door!

• Amanda Rollins : Did he threaten her? This is not freshman English. We don't have to read between the lines. It's not our job.

  Olivia Benson : Maybe it is. Maybe we shouldn't ignore the fact that Annabeth was a victim.

  Amanda Rollins : Well, that kind of doesn't work because it's her husband who's the one in the casket. He was a cop. Liv, he wore the same shield as we do.

• Dominick Carisi Jr. : [after speaking with a janitor]  Sometimes I wish I had a job like that guy.

  Amanda Rollins : Oh, so you could listen to cops bitch all day long?

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : Something without consequence.

  Olivia Benson : Think what you mean to say is that you wish that you weren't cursed with a conscience.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : Well, it's definitely a burden. It also makes us human.

  Amanda Rollins : Unless you're a sociopath.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : Oh, come on. You... you actually think that Annabeth is a sociopath?

  Amanda Rollins : I think she knew what she was doing, and I think she didn't care.

  Olivia Benson : Or she didn't see another way out.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : Yeah, there we go.

  Amanda Rollins : Well, luckily we don't have to read her mind.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : But we do, Rollins. Eighty grand a year and we get to determine who's spending the rest of their life in a cage and who's gonna eat dinner at Del Frisco's.

  Amanda Rollins : Worrying about it is way above our pay grade.

  Olivia Benson : We do worry about it. At least at least we usually do.

  Amanda Rollins : Yeah? You never wanted to put a couple of pops between some guy's eyes? I mean, you know, 'cause I've wanted to, and I... I would have really enjoyed it. But I didn't.

  Olivia Benson : Because you knew that it was wrong.

  Amanda Rollins : Because I knew the consequences and I chose not to.

  Olivia Benson : [stands up and gets in Rollins' face]  And maybe she didn't have that luxury!

  Amanda Rollins : Annabeth chose it. She chose to end that man's life. She chose to take someone's life. To break the law. It's free will. I mean, come on, we all learn about it in Sunday school.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're... we're free, all right. We're free to believe in the guy upstairs or not. It's like a perjury trap.

  Amanda Rollins : Okay, all we have to do is go up on the stand and say what happened! There's no choices! There's no consequences to you!

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : They put a crown of thorns on Jesus, but that did not make him king.

  Amanda Rollins : [to Olivia]  What is he talking about?

  Olivia Benson : And neither does our shield.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : But what we say in that courtroom, Lieutenant, how we say it, this... this game could be over before it starts.

• Amanda Rollins : You know, Liv, I love you, okay? And I respect you more than anyone I've ever met in my life. Don't take this the wrong way, but sometimes you see victims where there aren't any.

  Olivia Benson : Annabeth Pearl was abused by her husband.

  Amanda Rollins : Her friends disagree.

  Olivia Benson : Nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors in a marriage.

  Amanda Rollins : Including you. All you have is Annabeth's word.

  Olivia Benson : Amanda, I'm sorry about what your father did to your mother.

  Amanda Rollins : See? I mean, that's exactly what I'm talking about. My mother didn't have to be a victim.

  Olivia Benson : I'm not talking about your mother. I'm talking about you. Do you really think that your father beating the hell out of your mother in front of you didn't color your whole universe?

  Amanda Rollins : Sure it did, but not in the way you think. 'Cause I remember sitting in my room staring out the window after one of their knock-down drag-outs, and I remember looking out the window and there was a... a streetlamp, and it was the closest one was on the corner, so it was it was dark, eerie. And I sat there looking out, watching and waiting and praying for my daddy to come back. Uh, and the son of a bitch just beat the snot out of my mother, but I wanted him back home.

  Olivia Benson : Of course you did, 'cause all children want their parents together no matter what, Amanda. Good, bad, indifferent...

  Amanda Rollins : She could have called the sheriff. I mean, Christ, we had a gun locker in the house, but she had to be a martyr. I mean, I don't think she'd know what to do with herself if she wasn't suffering or cowering.

  Olivia Benson : Yes, because he made her like that.

  Amanda Rollins : You don't know! There was a weakness in her! There was a weakness and it was there before they ever even met.

  Olivia Benson : How do you know that?

  Amanda Rollins : Because this is this. It's not that. But you know, I... I know. Believe me, I know, because I was the one staring out that window waiting for my daddy's shadow to come out of that street lamp. Come up the sidewalk, up the front walk, and back into our house. I was the one that was petrified that I would end up weak like my mom if he didn't come back!

  Olivia Benson : Amanda, that's not a reason to hate your mother. Maybe it's time for you to come out from under that shadow.

• Olivia Benson : Annabeth told me that she didn't regret killing him for a minute.

  Amanda Rollins : Lack of remorse is not an element of a crime.

  Olivia Benson : You think a jury gives a damn? If I testify truthfully, then this becomes a revenge killing that is never justified. This woman goes to prison for a very long time.

  Amanda Rollins : Truth's a bitch.

  Olivia Benson : I know in my gut that she was powerless to leave her husband.

  Amanda Rollins : I know that, but she was strong enough to pull the trigger.

  Olivia Benson : That's naive, Amanda, and you know it. What about the gun?

  Amanda Rollins : What about it?

  Olivia Benson : Well, he didn't leave it out just for show.

  Amanda Rollins : Okay, did Annabeth ever say that he threatened her with it?

  Olivia Benson : No, she didn't have to because he left it out. She saw it. She saw it when she woke up in the morning. She saw it when she made dinner. She saw it. She saw it last thing before she went to bed.

  Amanda Rollins : And she read between the lines.

• Olivia Benson : [to Fin]  What's happening upstairs?

  Odafin Tutuola : Bloodbath.

  Olivia Benson : Whose blood?

  Odafin Tutuola : Well, you know how they say you only die once? Well, that's a lie at least for Tommy Pearl.

  Olivia Benson : So Stone is gonna call me.

  Odafin Tutuola : If he wants any shot at winning this case, yeah.

  Olivia Benson : Fin, what am I gonna do?

  Odafin Tutuola : Running's not an option? I didn't think so. I mean, as far as I can see, this is just another case to me.

  Olivia Benson : Listen, your BS doesn't fly with me. I should know that by now. Fin, I'm I'm asking you... do you think Annabeth belongs in prison?

  Odafin Tutuola : Liv, half the guys I grew up with are in prison. Do they belong there? They don't think so.

  Olivia Benson : But you do?

  Odafin Tutuola : It's not my place to judge.

  Olivia Benson : Oh, my God. Again with your BS.

  Odafin Tutuola : Look, last Sunday I went fishing off of Sheepshead Bay. Four hours passed, not a nibble. Then right when I'm ready to pack it up, my rod starts jerking. So I start reeling. I'm reeling. I swear, I've never had a perp fight that hard. And then there it was, flopping around on the deck of the boat, a 35-pound bluefish. The most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life.

  Olivia Benson : That's... that's great, Fin.

  Odafin Tutuola : I threw it back in the bay. Anything that's willing to fight that hard to stay alive deserves to live.

  Olivia Benson : Like Annabeth.

  Odafin Tutuola : Just saying.

  Olivia Benson : So you're telling me to lie.

  Odafin Tutuola : I'm just saying, that blue's not gonna get hooked again, but that's just me.

• Peter Stone : [to Olivia]  Did you have the opportunity to interrogate the defendant after she confessed to killing her husband?

  Olivia Benson : I did.

  Peter Stone : Did she express remorse for what she did?

  Olivia Benson : You have to understand, under the circumstances...

  Peter Stone : Just please answer the question.

  Olivia Benson : Taken out of context, her words can be misconstrued.

  Peter Stone : Lieutenant, you just reached out and put your hand on the Bible and swore to tell us the truth. Did the defendant, Ms. Annabeth Pearl, express remorse for what she did?

  Olivia Benson : No.

  Peter Stone : What, if anything, did she say in that regard?

  Olivia Benson : She said that... she said that she was glad that her husband was dead and that she'd prayed about it for years.

• Charlie : You mind if I, uh, take home a cruller to my wife? She loves crullers.

  Olivia Benson : How long you been married?

  Charlie : 34 years next Tuesday.

  Olivia Benson : You're a good husband, Charlie.

  Charlie : Ah, it's easy. All it takes is a little love.