| "Hunting Ground" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 13.15 | → |
| Production number: 13015 First aired: 22 February 2012 | ||
| Teleplay By David Matthews & John P. Roche Story By John P. Roche & Warren Leight Directed By Jonathan Kaplan | ||
Detectives Olivia Benson and Nick Amaro lead the search for a serial killer who targets young prostitutes.
Plot
Detective Benson and Executive ADA Haden's romantic weekend is interrupted by news that an underage prostitute has gone missing. As the SVU detectives dig into her disappearance, they find a pattern of several missing escorts who all posted ads on a popular newspaper’s website. The line between Benson and Haden's personal and professional lives starts to blur as the squad races against the clock to find the girl before it's too late. Eventually, with the help of an escaped victim, the detectives track down the killer, but Amaro is forced to kill him to save Benson. They rescue the victim and find the bodies of eleven other victims during the investigation, but learn that he killed fifteen people.
Summary
Episode summary
Cast
Main cast
- Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson
- Danny Pino as Detective Nick Amaro
- Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins
- Richard Belzer as Sergeant John Munch
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
Recurring cast
- Harry Connick, Jr. as E.A.D.A. David Haden
- Laura Benanti as Maria Grazie
- Tamara Tunie as M.E. Melinda Warner
Guest cast
- Fred Arsenault as Graham Winger
- Emily Kinney as Hayley Cole
- Reyna de Courcy as Lizzie Zane
- Josh Mostel as Dylan Pope
- Alison Bartlett as Mrs. Cole
- Walter Belenky as Mr. Dalton
- Stephanie Pope Caffey as G&S Agent
- Maryann Urbano as Dr. Jurgens
- Jimmy Palumbo as Officer Clark
- Santo Fazio as Kostas
- Shaun Licata as Miranda Galton
- Gregory Lay as Andre
- Michael Heckler as State Trooper
- Kevin Prowse as ESU Sergeant
- Yu Lew as MLI Tech
Quotes
Episode quotes
Background information and notes
- This episode is most likely inspired by the real-life serial killer Robert Hansen, who raped over 30 women and killed between 17 and 21 of them. It is also possible that inspiration for this episode is from the book The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell.
- While it is not stated directly, it's obvious that the film Haden and Benson are discussing at the beginning of the episode is The Artist.
- This is the first time Detective Nick Amaro has killed a perp. It occurred when the suspect was about to shoot Olivia and his victim, who survived his attacks.
Episode scene cards
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
G&S Services LLC |
Offices of |
1061 Oceanview Avenue |
Saugerties |
| Previous episode: "Home Invasions" |
"Hunting Ground" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 13 |
Next episode: "Child's Welfare" |