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"Dolls"
SVU, Episode 4.07
Production number: E3114
First aired: 8 November 2002
  th of 502 produced in SVU  
th of 502 released in SVU
  th of 1271 released in all  
Benson Fin Dolls
Written By
Amanda Green

Directed By
Darnell Martin

Detectives Benson and Stabler begin hunting for a serial pedophile after a five-year-old girl's decomposed body is found in the trash.

Summary[]

The gruesome discovery of a 5-year-old girl's body puts Detective Benson and Tutuola on a desperate hunt for a serial kidnapper, whose latest victim's life hangs in the balance.

Plot[]

When the decomposing body of a 5-year-old girl is found in a dumpster, Detectives Benson and Stabler's investigation leads them to the painful reality that they are searching for a serial predator as they race to save the life of his latest victim, Nina Tremain. As Nina's mother Violet frantically awaits news of Nina's whereabouts, she must reconcile the fact that her own recent bout with addiction may have played a part in Nina's fate.

It turns out that the abductor, Terry Jessup, who was severely abused as a child, takes kids that he believes have unfit mothers, in the belief that he's protecting them from those mothers. After he's caught, Violet speaks to Jessup, and tells him of how she has tried to become a better mother to Nina. She's able to convince Jessup of her sincerity, and he tells her where to find Nina. Fin locates and rescues Nina, and reunites her with Violet.

Cast[]

Main cast[]

Recurring cast[]

Guest cast[]

References[]

  • Susie Marshall (victim)
  • "Cherish Doe"
  • Morningside Baptist Church
  • Administration for Children's Services
  • Hotel Alexander
  • Alcoholics Anonymous
  • St. Virgil's Church
  • Helping Hand Women's Shelter
  • Eighth Avenue Community Center
  • Flecker's Toy Shop

Quotes[]

[after the body of a deceased, unknown young girl is discovered]
Dr. Constantine: Meet Cherish Doe.
Stabler: What, Jane Doe's not good enough?
Dr. Constantine: It's too impersonal. A cute little girl with braids deserves something better, don't you think?

Munch: Why do we always get the trash detail?
Tutuola: 'Cause we're the right men for the job. [finds something in the trash] Plus we've got the will and we got the skill.

Tutuola: Violet's telling the truth.
Munch: Junkies lie all the time. Your words.
Tutuola: You didn't talk to her.
Munch: Then let her see the body.
Tutuola: The child had no face. No mother can handle that.
Munch: Sounds like you're lacking a little objectivity.
Tutuola: Why? 'Cause I'm not handling things your way?
Munch: The department doesn't have a budget for Violet's hotel room. You're paying for it, aren't you?
Tutuola: So what?
Munch: Well, I guess she is kind of cute.
Tutuola: Look, somebody knows who took Nina after Mrs. Hawkins died. We've gotta canvass her neighborhood. Let's go.
Munch: I still think you ought to let her view the body.
Tutuola: Are you coming or what?
Munch: How do you even know she has a kid? Maybe she's using Cherish Doe for a handout.
Tutuola: I pulled the birth certificate myself, so back off.
Stabler: [walks up to Fin and Munch] Lover's quarrel?
Tutuola: Gonna be a domestic dispute if Munch don't get out of my face.

Tutuola: [to Mrs. Preston] You see the resemblance to Nina Tremain? This little girl was raped, murdered and tossed in a dumpster. Don't get in my way, lady.

[to Mrs. Preston about Nina Tremain]
Benson: Can you explain why your records say that you visited her last Tuesday and Thelma Price says you didn't?
Mrs. Preston: That woman's a liar.
Tutuola: You're the liar, lady!
Mrs. Preston: Hey, I want my union rep.
Benson: Yeah? Well, why don't you tell your union rep that Nina Tremain is missing and that you haven't seen her in six weeks. You were responsible for this child's safety and you didn't even bother to check on her.
Mrs. Preston: This is not my fault.
Tutuola: Whose fault is it?
Mrs. Preston: Do you know what my job is like? How big of a caseload I have? There's no way I can see every child.
Tutuola: If you're looking for sympathy, you're barking up the wrong tree.

Cragen: A perfect stranger shows up at your door, says he's a social worker and you just turn over your kid without a second thought?

[about Violet going undercover in her AA meeting to find Ronnie Marshall]
Cabot: Whatever you're thinking, don't.
Tutuola: Violet's our only way in.
Cabot: Violet would be acting as an agent of the police. Any evidence she obtains could be excluded in court.
Tutuola: We're not looking for evidence, Counselor. We're looking for a lead. Nina Tremain might still be alive.
Cabot: We're talking about violating the confidentiality of a drug treatment program.
Cragen: Alex, I tell people in A.A. things I wouldn't want my best friend to know. Now I'd be the first to agree with you, but I don't see how making an appeal could hurt.
Cabot: I would prefer to get the information through legal channels. I'll get a subpoena.
Cragen: For what? N.A. doesn't keep membership lists or records.
Tutuola: You want to tell that woman you care more about the law than the life of her child? She's living a parent's worst nightmare. You think I really had to run a number on her?
Cabot: All right, but the only way we do this is the right way.

Ronnie Marshall: What is your problem?
Tutuola: Your daughter's dead and there's not one cell in your junkie body that gives a damn.
Ronnie Marshall: That man who took my daughter was right. I'm not fit to be a mom. Susie deserved more than me. Now she's gone and there's nothing that I can do that's gonna change that.
Tutuola: You could help us save this other little girl. Make it right for Susie.

Dr. Huang: Dolls are idealized representations of men and women. They're pure, perfect and sexless. Terry Jessup is like a child who uses dolls to act out his fantasies.

Tutuola: [when they're getting nowhere] Why don't you go take a walk and let me and Terry get better acquainted?

Benson: Your dolls are beautiful. I had lots of dolls, but never ones as nice as yours.
Terry Jessup: Girls are lucky. They can play with dolls. Boys aren't supposed to.
Tutuola: I had dolls.
Jessup: You did? What kind?
Tutuola: You know, GI Joe, Batman...
Jessup: Those are action figures.

Terry Jessup: Little children deserve to be loved. Bad mothers shouldn't bring little children into this world.

Benson: Putting Violet and Jessup together is a bad idea.
Tutuola: She was strong enough to go to those NA meetings. We prep her correctly, I know she can handle it.
[to Dr. Huang] Back me up, Doc.
Dr. Huang: Jessup thinks he's saving Nina from an abusive parent. If you challenge his delusion, he might break.
Benson: And if this doesn't work, the guilt will destroy Violet's life.
Tutuola: A dead child's gonna destroy her even more. Nina's gonna die if we don't do something.

Background information and notes[]

  • This is the only episode (so far) where, as part of an undercover operation, Stabler is seen dressed in a police uniform.
  • David Harbour and Susan Misner would both later appear in the episode "Family Values", from CI Season 8, as husband and wife.
  • The suspect, a doll collector, is lured to the police by informing him that a collector's doll, a "Virginia Bell" is waiting for him to pick up. Virginia Bell is the name of a stripper of the '50s and early '60s famed for her generous proportions.

Episode scene cards[]

1 2 3

Forensic
Anthropology Lab
Monday, November 4

Morningside
Baptist Church
1271 Amsterdam Avenue
Monday, November 4

Administration for
Children's Services
Tuesday, November 5

4 5 6

Hotel Alexander
324 West 98th Street
Tuesday, November 5

Residence of
Eleanor Marshall
246 West 107th Street
Tuesday, November 5

Narcotics Anonymous
Meeting
St. Virgil's Church
Tuesday, November 5

7 8 9

Helping Hearts
Women's Shelter
49 Convent Avenue
Tuesday, November 5

Eighth Avenue
Community Center
Wednesday, November 6

Flecker's Toy Shop
542 Columbus Avenue
Wednesday, November 6

Previous episode:
"Angels"
"Dolls"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Season 4
Next episode:
"Waste"
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