| "Hate" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 5.13 | → |
| Production number: E4416 First aired: 13 January 2004 | ||
 | ||
| Written By Robert Nathan Directed By David Platt | ||
Plot
An Arab woman, Mira Elbisi is found murdered after being raped and set on fire. At first it is assumed that Mira's husband and mother-in-law were responsible for her murder, but when a second victim, an Arab man, Tariq Assad is found murdered in the same matter as Mira, the detectives find their suspect, Sean Webster, who shows a major hatred towards Arab people. After Sean kills a Muslim man while in prison, his attorney, Oliver Gates claims that Sean isn't responsible for the murders because he was born with a "genetic predisposition towards hatred and violence." However, it is turned out that the reason why Sean hated Arabs is because his father left him and his mother for an Arab woman, leaving Sean's mother to teach him to hate Arabs out of spite. He is later killed in prison by several of the inmates who knew the Muslim prisoner that Sean killed earlier.
Summary
Episode summary
Cast
Main cast
- Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler
- Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson
- Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch
- Stephanie March as A.D.A. Alexandra Cabot (credit only)
- Diane Neal as A.D.A. Casey Novak
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola
- B.D. Wong as Dr. George Huang
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
Recurring cast
- Linda Emond as Dr. Emily Sopher
- Caren Browning as C.S.U. Captain Judith Siper
- Tom O'Rourke as Judge Mark Seligman
- Tamara Tunie as M.E. Melinda Warner
- Barry Bostwick as Defense Attorney Oliver Gates
- Ian Bedford as Officer Bamford
Guest cast
- Reynaldo Rosales as Sean Webster
- James Rana as El-Shani Albisi
- Donnie Keshawarz as Joshua Feldman
- Matt Salinger as Seth Webster
- Lorraine Serabain as Jazlyn Elbisi
- Annie Chadwick as Eleanor Webster
- Peter Marx as David Schwartz
- Joshua Annex as James Assad
- Anjali Bhimani as Mrs. Chadoury
- Marjan Neshat as Zara
- Amelia Alvarez as Amanda
- Jeff Skowron as Jason Mullavy
- Carl Palmer as Donahue
- Wass Stevens as Corrections Officer Willis
- David Shumbris as Kyle
- Sean Anthony Moran as Ahmet Elbisi
- Neil Lavine as passerby
- John Descent as passerby
- Elisa Mux as passerby
- Karen Nig as passerby
- Tori Hobee as passerby
- Ellen Greven as passerby
- Samson Black as passerby
- Kerri Peter as passerby
References
References
Quotes
- Captain Cragen: Whatever this is, let's be careful not to say Muslim men like to burn their wives.
- Munch: No. If they want to burn people, they fly an airplane full of gasoline into an office building.
- Dr. Huang: Excuse me, but they were extremists.
- Munch: Sorry. But my next door neighbor's Iranian. At airports, even he's scared when he sees Middle Eastern passports. I mean, let's get real. People know it's wrong, but they think it anyway.
- Captain Cragen: Casey.
- Novak: Who talked to a reporter about this burned woman?
- Captain Cragen: And it's nice to see you, too.
- Captain Cragen: Your lawyer's gonna be pissed, Sean. You just convicted yourself.
- Sean: One less Arab, one less terrorist.
- Gates: Seal your lips, Sean. Not another word.
Background information and notes
- Elliot states that he went to a Catholic school called Sisters of Mercy. While the Sisters of Mercy do run and are affiliated with various schools and colleges throughout the U.S. and around the world, there is no Catholic school by that name in New York.
- Elliot tells Sean Webster that he has three brothers and two sisters, making six children in his family.
- One of Elliot's best friends died in World Trade Center
- This episode was dedicated to the memory of Kevin C. McGill.
- This episode appears to be ripped from the headlines of several domestic cases of Arabic people being singled out after 9/11. Some of the cases were more widely published than others, but they all showed that Muslims were being treated unfairly after the attacks on the World Trade Center.
- The detectives points out that if Gates' defense for Sean Webster worked, it would be "The Ultimate Defense". Meaning no criminal would be held responsible for anything.
Episode scene cards
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Elbisi Residence |
Interfaith Council |
Apartment of |
Technical Assistance |
| 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|
|
Webster Residence |
Trial Part 74 |
Rikers Island |
| Previous episode: "Brotherhood" |
"Hate" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 5 |
Next episode: "Ritual" |