Again in 2022, Legislation & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay curated an inventory of among the present’s most memorable episodes for a Peacock promo highlighting the long-running sequence. Her picks included a number of anticipated classics, such because the Emmy-winning Season 7 episode “911” and the harrowing Season 15 premiere “Give up Benson.” However one selection stood out: the Season 10 episode “Wildlife.”
A considerably controversial installment that’s nonetheless debated by longtime followers, “Wildlife” stays considered one of SVU’s most polarizing hours, with a wild mixture of undercover chaos, animal-smuggling intrigue and the sort of charged Benson-and-Stabler chemistry that helped outline the present’s early years.
‘Legislation & Order: SVU’s Season 10 Episode “Wildlife” Is Extraordinarily Memorable for Many Causes
“Wildlife” is a kind of SVU episodes that captures the whole lot that makes the sequence so iconic. Airing in 2008, the episode opens with a time soar revealing that Stabler (Christopher Meloni) has been shot, although the circumstances are nonetheless a thriller. When the story rewinds, Benson and Stabler are investigating the homicide of a younger lady discovered with weird accidents and, oddly sufficient, a uncommon unique hen tucked inside her purse. Medical expert Melinda Warner (Tamara Tunie) quickly confirms that among the wounds weren’t brought on by an individual in any respect, however by a tiger.
From there, the case spirals into considered one of SVU’s most weird and harmful investigations. The detectives uncover a world of underground wildlife smugglers, a murdered mannequin with a twin sister, and a hip-hop artist named Gots Cash (performed by Outkast’s Huge Boi) whose pet tiger could have mauled the sufferer. To show the smuggling ring, Stabler goes undercover as a corrupt customs agent, a dangerous transfer that rapidly takes a flip for the more serious. In one of many episode’s most memorable scenes, he’s practically caught, when a quick-thinking Benson poses as a intercourse employee to guard his cowl. It’s an over-the-top sequence, but in addition one of many most unforgettable moments in SVU historical past.
In fact, issues go south when Stabler’s cowl is blown, resulting in the capturing teased at first of the episode. He in the end survives, and the case ends on a uncommon quiet notice. All through the hour, the pressure on his marriage simmers beneath the floor, particularly after his spouse, dwelling with their new child son, discovers he went undercover with out telling her. By the ultimate scene, Stabler is again dwelling, tending to his crying child, a small reminder of the life he dangers each time he takes on a case.
“Wildlife” could also be in every single place tonally — full with tigers, hyenas, and even a monkey who briefly bonds with Captain Cragen (Dann Florek) — but it surely’s a kind of quintessential SVU episodes followers can always remember. And for all its chaos, it’s that temporary, charged second between Benson and Stabler that also has viewers — and the present’s forged — speaking years later.
“Wildlife” Has One of many Most Iconic Benson-Stabler Moments in ‘Legislation & Order: SVU’ Historical past
Whereas Hargitay didn’t clarify her selections for the episodes she curated for Peacock, it’s not laborious to guess why “Wildlife” made the record. Possibly it was the weird expertise of filming with dwell animals, or maybe, as she put it within the promo, she was “channeling her internal Benson.” It’s a kind of episodes that pushes Benson via an emotional rollercoaster, as she fears for her companion’s life after he’s shot. However it’s additionally remembered for one notorious second: the shirtless undercover scene between Benson and Stabler.
Needing to remain in character, Stabler holes up in an condominium as a part of his cowl, and Benson visits him to debate the case. When the animal smugglers all of a sudden present up, Stabler panics, till Benson steps out of the lavatory together with her shirt off, calling him “Daddy” and pretending to be a intercourse employee there to “service” him. The 2 dangle throughout one another, promoting the ruse. It’s a quick second, however the pressure between them is electrical, and it is a uncommon occasion the place the road between professionalism and one thing extra blurs utterly.
Hargitay isn’t the one one who remembers the episode fondly. When Christopher Meloni appeared on TODAY in 2023, he was requested about their almost-romantic moments and instantly referenced “Wildlife.” “I do keep in mind that being out of the field,” he mentioned. “There was one thing about that publicity — a literal publicity — that made it very dynamic.” He added that each he and Hargitay felt “further vibrant or vivacious” filming the scene, conscious that they have been pushing their characters into an uncomfortable however revealing area. That power, in fact, nonetheless resonates onscreen right this moment, as followers are nonetheless ready for them to get collectively.
“Wildlife” is probably not an ideal episode, but it surely’s the sort of episode that reminds viewers why the present has lasted so long as it has. For Hargitay to incorporate it amongst her private favorites says loads, not simply in regards to the episode’s legacy, however in regards to the dangers SVU has all the time been keen to take. It’s a chapter within the sequence that followers nonetheless debate, rewatch, and bear in mind and is proof that even in its wildest moments, SVU is aware of tips on how to depart a mark.
- Launch Date
-
September 20, 1999
- Showrunner
-
Michael S. Chernuchin, David Graziano
- Administrators
-
Jean de Segonzac, David Platt, Peter Leto, Alex Chapple, Juan José Campanella, Norberto Barba, Constantine Makris, Martha Mitchell, Arthur W. Forney, Michael Slovis, Steve Shill, Alex Zakrzewski, Michael Pressman, Helen Shaver, Mariska Hargitay, Michael Smith, Ted Kotcheff, Fred Berner, Jonathan Kaplan, Holly Dale, Jonathan Herron, Jud Taylor, Adam Bernstein, Jim McKay
- Writers
-
Judith McCreary, David Graziano, Michael S. Chernuchin, Daniel Actually, Jonathan Greene, Amanda Inexperienced, Lisa Marie Petersen, Allison Intrieri, Lawrence Kaplow, Jose Molina, Matt Klypka, Michael R. Perry, Samantha Corbin-Miller, Barbie Kligman, Robert F. Campbell, Candice Sanchez McFarlane, Gwendolyn M. Parker, René Balcer, Robert Nathan, Wendy West, Pace Weed, Ryan Causey, Chris Brancato, Christos N. Gage
-
-
Ice-T
Odafin ‘Fin’ Tutuola
-
Dann Florek
Donald Cragen
-
Richard Belzer
John Munch
