| "Parasites" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 2.19 | → |
| Production number: E1427 First aired: 27 April 2001 | ||
 | ||
| Written By Martin Weiss Directed By David Platt | ||
Summary[]
The remains of a young Romanian immigrant are found buried in an apartment courtyard wearing a collar and leash.
Plot[]
When the remains of a young woman are found buried in a backyard with a collar and leash, Stabler and Benson determine that the dead woman is Ava Parulis, a Romanian immigrant who was brought to the United States for an arranged marriage. They discover from Ava's estranged twin, Irina, that the dead woman had left her abusive husband, and made a habit of taking advantage of the riches of wealthy suitors.
The next morning, Toscu is having his belongings shipped off before he greets the SVU detectives and sarcastically asks if they are there to see him off. They tell him that he won't get away with his crimes, as Toscu taunted the detectives on how he'll be out of the country but was surprised when they proceeded to arrest him and revealed that they informed his superiors of his activities and successfully got his immunity nullified, as well as tell him of the evidence against him before they take the surprised man away.
At the end, Irina is laid to rest by her family who mourn her unfortunate passing. Stabler notes that Ava could have lived as her sister forever if Irina had not been discovered. Regardless, Ava is happy she got justice for her sister.
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
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
Recurring cast[]
Guest cast[]
- Mili Avital as Ava Parulis / Irina Burton
- Victor Steinbach as Razvan Toscu
- Michele Pawk as Valentina Bilescu
- Matt Servitto as Dr. Brad Stanton
- Melissa Bowen as Pam Stanton
- Gary Basaraba as George Burton
- Michael Berresse as Matt Sloane
- Neal Benari as Dr. Lowenstein
- Peter Van Wagner as Al Shipley
- Elza Zagreda as Svetlana
- Yuka Takara as Mahlin Amis
- Jillian Stacom as Julia Burton
- Carol Schneider as Mrs. Sawyer
- Manu Narayan as Henry
- Samuel Maupin as Mr. Sawyer
- Jerome LePage as Paul Amis
- Jon Krupp as Walt
- Stacy Highsmith as Aide
- Marcia Haufrecht as Mrs. Varella
- Scott Andrew Harrison as Worker #2
- Steve Harper as Forensic Geologist Andrew Heaton
- Joseph Vincent Gay as Reynolds
- Michael Creo as Worker #1
- Andrea Burns as Teacher
- Lili Bordán as Oksana Parulis
- Irén Bordán as Theresa
- Ezra Barnes as Jack Greenwalt
- Guy Ale as Davis
References[]
- Russia
- Estonia
- Latvia
- Bucharest, Romania
- Gueorgui Makharadze - The Georgian diplomat Cabot mentioned who was convicted of drunk driving
Quotes[]
- Mr. Sawyer: [to Detective Benson after a skull is discovered in his back yard] We close on this house a month go. We had it inspected inside and out.
- Mrs. Sawyer: For termites not dead bodies
- Stabler: How are we getting sexual homicide from a bunch of bones?
- M.E. Taylor: heck the evidence tray.
- Stabler: The crucifix.
- Benson: Think he means the studded collar and the leash.
- Stabler: The story reads like a bad soap opera: doctor marries wife #2, wife #1 mysteriously disappears.
- Benson: After wife #2 uses wife number one as a punching bag.
- Stabler: [on the phone] No, I don't speak Romanian, does anybody there speak English?
- Benson: Found anything?
- Stabler: Yeah, Eastern Europeans don't trust cops.
- Paul Amis: I shelled out $50,000 to bring Ava here. You know what the average wage is in her country? $50 a month.
- Benson: And all she had to do was cook and clean and be available for sex.
- Paul Amis: It's called being a wife.
- Valentina Bilescu: [about her business] We match girls with traditional values with men who want wives instead of partners.
- Munch: You mean "stay at home, make my dinner, do the laundry, "be available when I need you for sex" type of woman?
- Valentina Bilescu: You make it sound so tawdry. The divorce rate among our couples is half that of the population.
- Ava Parulis: In my country, the police help no one.
- Cabot: He could run me down, leave skidmarks, and we still couldn't give him a speeding ticket.
Background information and notes[]
- Actress Mili Avital previously played Marta Stevens in the pilot episode "Payback".
- Diplomatic immunity protects a diplomat from prosecution of minor violations of the law like traffic laws and controlled substance laws. It does not, nor was it ever intended to, shield a diplomat from prosecution for serious felonies.
- Goof: The last intertitle card misspells the word "cemetery" as "cemetary".
- Goof: The M.E. says the only thing that didn't match was the dental records. However, since Irina gave birth to Julia, there should be parturition pitting on her pelvis indicating she gave birth, which further separated her remains from that of her sister's. No evidence is noted.
Episode scene cards[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Residence of |
Mercy AIDS Hospice |
Sloane Importers |
Permanent Mission |
| 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|
|
Euromatch, Inc. |
Permanent Mission |
Grove Reformed Church |
| Previous episode: "Manhunt" |
"Parasites" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 2 |
Next episode: "Pique" |