| "Caretaker" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 20.07 | → |
| Production number: 20007 First aired: 1 November 2018 | ||
 | ||
| Written By Jordan Barsky Directed By Jono Oliver | ||
Summary[]
The Special Victims Unit investigates when a father and his two young children are stabbed to death in their home; when the motives of the culprit are uncovered, Benson finds herself having mixed feelings about the nature of the crime.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Mariska Hargitay as Lieutenant Olivia Benson
- Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins
- Ice-T as Sergeant Odafin Tutuola
- Peter Scanavino as Detective Dominick Carisi, Jr.
- Philip Winchester as A.D.A. Peter Stone
Recurring cast[]
- Alan Ariano as Judge Lee Wong
- Sandrine Holt as Dr. Lisa Abernathy
- Aida Turturro as Judge Felicia Catano
- Dov Tiefenbach as M.E. Fitz
- Tom Coiner as Officer Chuck Inslow
Guest cast[]
- Sasha Alexander as Anna Mill
- Gary Basaraba as William O'Boyle
- Johanna Tolentino as Ximena
- Scott Bryce as Bill Schwartz
- Michael Laurence as Tom Bernstein
- Soleidy Mendez as Delores Alverez
- Cesar J. Rosado as Emilio Alverez
- Georgia Kate Haege as Daria
- Keziah John-Paul as Mavis
- Chelsea Watts as Lilly
- Cyce Sadsad as Julianna
- Jake Casey as Charlie Mill
- Theresa Cantone as Foreperson
References[]
- Chicago
- Hillary Clinton
- Vail, France
- Julian Mill (victim)
- Rachael Mill (victim)
- Gloria Steinem
- White Horse Tavern
- Dylan Thomas
- Betty Friedan
- Al Pollack
Quotes[]
- Tutuola: Who the hell stabs a kid?
- Officer Chuck Inslow: Top of my head? The Devil.
- Benson: You killed them, didn't you, Anna? You did this.
- Anna Mill: Of course I did this. I had to.
- Benson: You had to kill your children?
- Anna Mill: Don't you see? They're so much better off now.
- Anna Mill: I loved them. I loved them all more than anything.
- Lisa Abernathy: Then I don't understand why you killed them.
- Anna Mill: I ate lunch at a diner every day round the corner from my office. I bring my work. I sit at the counter. And last week, I saw a cockroach. And it was scurrying its way up the metal hood right above the grill. And it could feel the heat... and it was doing its best not to fall down into the sizzling grease. And up he'd go, scurrying up the hood, and then he'd slide back down, catching himself on the ledge. Over and over, up and down. And then finally he just dropped. (sizzling noises) Pop.
- Abernathy: And you related to the bug?
- Anna Mill: No, I was the ledge. My children... I had to save them before they dropped onto the burning grill.
- Abernathy: Which was inevitable?
- Anna Mill: Wouldn't you rather die in your sleep, Doctor? 'Cause I couldn't bear to watch them pop.
- [about Anna Mill]
- Abernathy: She's what the textbooks call a family annihilator. It's typically an upper middle class male - in this case, a female who can't stand to see their family suffer.
- Benson: So she kills them.
- Abernathy: In her mind, it's better than the alternative. It's usually triggered by a big financial setback.
- Benson: Like when you're caught stealing from your clients.
- Abernathy: Her life is over. She wants to spare her husband and her children the pain of going on without her.
- Stone: Well, it's a start. Anna knew what she was gonna do the night before she did it.
- Benson: Look, we're splitting legal hairs here. Insane, not insane. She kissed the nanny. She said "goodbye." She planned on killing her family.
- Stone: And she deserves to be punished.
- Benson: Exactly. So what kind of legal system do we have if a woman like Anna Mill could end up in a hospital and not in prison?
- Benson: You should keep those flowers.
- Rollins: Why?
- Benson: 'Cause sometimes we just... we just need a little pretty.
- Stone: The jury couldn't accept that a sane woman would kill her children.
- Benson: Who could?
- Stone: I meant legally sane.
- Benson: I know what you meant.
Background Information and Notes[]
- Another episode that deals with a family annihilator is the episode "Annihilated" as well as the Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Family Values".
- Defense attorney William O'Boyle went up against Stone in the Chicago Justice episodes "See Something" and "Fool Me Twice". This is the second episode a defense attorney that originated on Chicago Justice appears on SVU after James Olson in "Service".
Episode scene cards[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
Law Firm of |
Apartment of |
Apartment of |
| 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|
|
Residence of |
Apartment of |
Law Firm of |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Rikers Island |
Apartment of |
Supreme Court |
Supreme Court |
| Previous episode: "Exile" |
"Caretaker" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 20 |
Next episode: "Hell's Kitchen" |