| "Signature" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 9.12 | → |
| Production number: 9012 First aired: 8 January 2008 | ||
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| Written By Judy McCreary Directed By Arthur W. Forney | ||
Plot
Detectives Benson and Lake get the help of an FBI agent named Lauren Cooper as they search for a Serial Killer called the Woodsman, who brutally attacks young women. However, there are signs that the agent may not be able to handle the mental and emotional weight of the case. The killer is eventually found to be in the morgue, having been murdered. Benson and Cooper, track down the killer's last victim who is still alive, but the killer did too much damage to her body and she eventually dies. It's eventually revealed that Cooper killed the Woodsman after tracking him down and charge her, but the case is dropped due to lack of evidence. Lake and Benson realize that Cooper used the gun Cooper's mentor used to kill himself to kill the Woodsman and are able to match the shell casing from the bullet Cooper fired into the Woodsman with the one he used to kill himself to prove she murdered him. They confront Cooper who confesses, but rather than take a deal that will send her to prison with a lenient sentence, she kills herself.
Summary
Episode summary above
Cast
Main cast
- Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler (credit only)
- Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson
- Richard Belzer as Sergeant John Munch (credit only)
- Diane Neal as A.D.A. Casey Novak
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola (credit only)
- Adam Beach as Detective Chester Lake
- B.D. Wong as Dr. George Huang
- Tamara Tunie as M.E. Melinda Warner
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
Recurring cast
- John Schuck as Chief of Detectives Muldrew
- Patricia Kalember as Judge Karen Taten
- Caren Browning as C.S.U. Captain Judith Siper
- Jill Marie Lawrence as Attorney Cleo Conrad
- Frankie Faison as FBI Agent Tom Nickerson
- Deep Katdare as Dr. Parnell
Guest cast
- Erika Christensen as FBI Special Agent Lauren Cooper
- Jane Cronin as Helen Moore
- Rosemary De Angelis as Mrs. Tillman
- Cindy Katz as Valerie Barrow
- Priscilla Lopez as Executive A.D.A. Lydia Ramos
- Roscoe Orman as Bryant Davis
- Kingsley Leggs as Levander
- Macon Blair as Conner Robb
- Bill Phillips as Charles Barrow
- Eric Morace as Lieutenant
- Charley Scalies as Dock Foreman
- Vaneik Echeverria as Aaron Winters
- Belinda Bissonnette as Bunny Jones
- Amanda Leigh Cobb as Amy Doe
- Rodney Henry as Max
- Sara DeRosa as Dead Victim (uncredited)
References
References
Quotes
- Lauren Cooper: Those who fight monsters should make damn sure they don't become one. (puts a gun to her head)
- Lake: Gun! (yanks out his gun, but Lauren shoots herself in the head, killing herself)
- Benson: (screams loudly, then sobs uncontrollably)
- Lauren Cooper: You must get a lot of confessions in here. Can't wait to unburden the soul, confirm your deepest suspicions. They want absolution. They want to be able to sleep at night.
- Olivia Benson: Can you sleep at night, Lauren?
- Lauren Cooper: I sleep. Just. Fine.
- Olivia Benson. so, why'd you do it, Lauren?
- Lauren Cooper. I told you.
- Olivia Benson: Yes, you did, for Tillman. How close were you and Tillman actually?
- Lauren Cooper: How dare you, he was like a father to me!
- Olivia Benson: Oh, is that what they're calling it nowadays?
- Lauren Cooper [about Dr. Tillman]: Working with him was like having a father for the first time, you know what I mean?
- Olivia Benson: No, I don't,
- Lauren Cooper: Job is your family?
- Olivia Benson: Yeah.
- Olivia Benson: [to Cooper] Are you okay?
- Lauren Cooper: [crying] No. I said I wasn't used to dealing with victims.
- Lauren Cooper: [When Lake and Benson arrive to arrest her] Proud of yourself?
- Olivia Benson: I would have been proud to help you collar the bastard who murdered twenty-four women. That would have satisfied me.
- Lauren Cooper: That wasn't good enough.
- Olivia Benson: [quickly takes away Cooper's gun] Why not?
- Lauren Cooper: You know why. How many dead babies have you stood over? How many rape victims? You can't tell me you never wanted to put your gun under the bastard's chin who raped a two-year old.
- Olivia Benson: [pause] I have too much to lose.
- Lauren Cooper: I don't.
- Dr. Melinda Warner [while examining the murder victim]: Uterus punctured by a foreign object. Colon punctured by a foreign object.
- Lauren Cooper: I don't think we need to hear any more.
- Dr. Melinda Warner: I speak for the dead, and I'm not done
Background information and notes
- This episode was rated MA 15+ (in Australia), and was aired after the season finale because of that particular reason at a later time slot.
Episode scene cards
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
Golden Globes |
River Run Cruises |
Tillman Residence |
| Previous episode: "Streetwise" |
"Signature" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 9 |
Next episode: "Unorthodox" |