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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 9 Episode 12

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7.0

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EPISODE REVIEWS
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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 1/8/08

A woman's body is found murdered in a park alongside a man with a bullet in his head - Benson and Special Agent Cooper join forces and suspect "The Woodsman", a serial killer Cooper has tried to catch for years. Lake and Benson begin to question Cooper's true motives when the male victim is later identified as "The Woodsman".moreless

Fan Episode Reviews (29)

This episode makes you question whether the killer should be punished.

9.0

By DexterMorgan2, Mar 17, 2013

This episode was about the death of a serial killer known as the woodsman who has killed over 20 people The investigation leads the SVU to special agent Cooper from the BAU who has been working the Woodsman case When she was identified it made sense because she has more motive than anyone but it made people question whether she should be punished for killing a serial killer In the end Cooper felt she only had one way out when maybe she shouldn't have been punished for the murder of the Woodsman.moreless
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Pretty good for amateurs

8.0

By bethrjacobs, Jan 15, 2012

Condescending yes a rip off of real cases yes but pretty good made Olivia look selfish and dumb the guest star Erika Christensen was great she could pass as a foster child and possibly as a person with a bit of interracial ancestry
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Painful from Beginning to End

1.5

By MissAuthoress, Jan 12, 2012

And not in the way the writers were hoping for. Law and Order: SVU is a show that rarely disappoints. I have only seen one other episode that I hate as much as this one. The premise of this episode sounds interesting at first: trying to catch a Serial Killer who tortures women. Unfortunately, the acting becomes cheesy. FBI Agent Cooper, whose mentor tracked the serial killers, joins Olivia. The character is insufferable though and while I think we were suppose to feel bad for her...the writers do not convey this. Agent Cooper is selfish and quite annoying, not to mention the actress does nothing to help the character come along. Her acting is flat and emotionless, even in the most emotional parts.

As for the storyline itself, it was quite disturbing and SVU made it more disturbing with images and such. It was SVU trying to show heinous crimes and I was quite disturbed. But soon, even the torture became cheesy and excessive and it felt blah.

The ending was supposed to be a twist but it was fairly predictable. The ending was just terrible and I didn't feel anything for Cooper. As for Olivia's reaction, it was so cheesy. This episode was too dramatic and it was trying to be super disturbing and super emotional like Saw meets daytime soap operas. Needless to say, I did not like it at all.moreless
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Really really really really Bad!!!

2.0

By zvyozdnayapyl, Dec 11, 2011

This episode was absolutely terrible. The guest stars were a bunch of whiny self absorbed crybabies, especially that FBI agent chick. By the way she was absolutely and practically annoying and selfish. Erika Christensen completely miscast. She looked like a scrawny wimp. Silly "bad Benson and Lake" scenes. The Woodsman the killer of the victims - ABSOLUTELY LAME!. Plot was stupid. The whole investigation scence was absolutely retarded Messing with Benson and Lake's mind of origin for no reason also it had nothing good about it. Not even action. The acting and the writing were a joke, the story was a joke. I mean good God that episode was horrible.moreless
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Review to up the average.

9.5

By saffikeagan, Jun 05, 2011

Honestly, I'm reviewing this episode to help up it's average. It was like a train-wreck to watch; from beginning to end. It had all the elements of a suspenseful drama/thriller: a vicious crime, a twist, a good character turned bad, and a violent/shocking ending. I loved seeing the FBI agent not able to cope with having a live victim to deal with; they did a good job of showing how out of her league the agent was feeling. As for Benson's reaction at the end, it's called shock. When a person is in a state of shock, they react exactly like Olivia did: they just shut-down. I was surprised not to see her have any fall-out in the next few episodes. I thought that there would be at least a mention of a mandatory counseling session or something.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Mariska Hargitay	Det. Olivia Benson
Adam Beach	Det. Chester Lake
BD Wong	Dr. George Huang
Tamara Tunie	Dr. Melinda Warner
Diane Neal	A.D.A. Casey Novak
Dann Florek	Capt. Donald Cragen

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Erika Christensen	Special Agent Lauren Cooper	Guest Star
Priscilla Lopez	Exec. ADA Lydia Ramos	Guest Star
Frankie Faison	Agent Tom Nickerson	Guest Star
Patricia Kalember	Judge K. Taten	Recurring Role
John Schuck	Chief of Detectives	Recurring Role
Jill Marie Lawrence	Atty. Cleo Conrad	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- When they identify the John Doe using his fingerprints, Agent Cooper says he "helped search for evidence" after one of the murders. No one asks why she didn't mention she knew the victim at the crime scene, or before this during the investigation.
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QUOTES (6)
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- 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.
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- (Walking around Agent Cooper's apartment.)
  Chester Lake: I'm going to blow your freaking brains out.
  CSU Technician: You better not be talking to me!
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- Don Cragen: She murdered Mr. Moore.
  Chief of Detectives: You mean the serial killer.
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- Olivia Benson: Exactly how close were you two?
  Lauren Cooper: He was like a father to me!
  Olivia Benson: Oh, is that what they're calling it now?
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- Lauren Cooper: 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.
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- Dr. Melinda Warner: Uterus punctured by a foreign object. Colon punctured by a foreign object.
  Special Agent 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!
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NOTES (3)
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- This episode was rated MA 15+ (in Australia), and was aired after the season finale because of that particular reason at a later timeslot.
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- Original International Air Dates:
  Australia July 3, 2008 on Network 10
  Czech Republic August 31, 2010 on TV Nova
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- Special billing was given to Erika Christensen (Special Guest Star) Priscilla Lopez (with) and Frankie Faison (and) in this episode.
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ALLUSIONS (1)
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- Lauren Cooper: Those who fight monsters should make damn sure they don't become one.
  
  This quotation, originally from Friedrich Nietsche ("Those who fight monsters should take care that they never become one. For when you stand and look long into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you."), is often used in police academy training classes, and was likely learned there by the characters.
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