Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Wanderlust

Season 1, Episode 5, Aired 10/18/99

Episode Summary

After a travel writer is found tied up with a woman's undergarments choking off his air supply, Benson and Stabler initially suspect his landlord's boyfriend, but suspicion soon turns to the landlord and her daughter. Both seem far too interested in what their tenant is doing with his time. After learning the daughter had a sexual relationship with the tenant, things take an even stranger turn.moreless

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Cast & Crew

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Christopher Meloni

Det. Elliot Stabler
Mariska Hargitay

Det. Olivia Benson
Richard Belzer

Det. John Munch

Fan Episode Reviews (7)

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this was a good ep

9.0

"Superb"

By cube2k8, Jun 01, 2010 Report Abuse

in this ep of the show law and order svu a man is found in his appartment with tape over his mouth and womens panties in his mouth. and they start to investgate and find out the mother could of had something to do with it so they go and question her and then they find out that her new boyfriend is not who he says he is and he was a convicted sex offender but thing is the daughter lies and says it was him. and then they find out the daughter was in love with the guy and so she had sex with him alot and the day he was killed she had sex with him and she stuffed the panties after she killed him since he would not take it with her. this was a good epmoreless

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Just when you think who know who the killer is...look again...

9.0

"Superb"

By Lissical, Oct 25, 2008 Report Abuse

This episode was full of many twists and turns! You never knew who to believe was the actual killer until the last 15 minutes or so of the show. At first I suspected the landlady (played by Patricia Richardson, of "Home Improvement" fame) since she was for the most part in love with the guy. Never did I expect it to be her daughter though. We find out that her daughter was "raped" by the tenant, only to find out that she was in love with him?! And got so jealous that she got obsessive...enough to kill him. Wonderful, wonderful writing. This was one of my favorite episodes of the season (I think Stalked was my absolute favorite though!).moreless

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Wanderlust.

9.5

"Superb"

By phatboi2006, Oct 11, 2007 Report Abuse

I liked this episode a lot. It showed how a mother daughter relationship was not easy when a man is involved. This episode started with a well known author found dead in his apartment with panties shoved in his mouth. The panties were his landlords but she says it wasn't and reported that her daughter was missing. They find the daughter in the train station and proved that she knew a lot about the trains helped a man find his train when Liv and El couldn't. I like how my country's food was commended in this episode and in the end the daughter was charged but not before she called her mom a BI**H.moreless

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Law and Order Special Victims Unit!

6.5

"Fair"

By ourkissgoodbye, Jan 30, 2007 Report Abuse

I wasn't very impressed by this episode. I was interested at the beginning when they first find the vicitm's body and that fact that he had a pair of women's underwear shoved in his mouth. But after that, I just wasn't into it. I didn't feel attached to any of the characters (save for Olivia and Elliot.) This definitely wasn't one of my favorite Law and Order Special Victims Unit episodes. However, I did enjoy the underlying story line involving Elliot and his children. I have a soft spot for anything to do with him and his kids!moreless

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Nothing out of the ordinary in this episode, except maybe Benson.

8.3

"Great"

By SVU_Obsessed, Jan 12, 2007 Report Abuse

This was a pretty good episode. A writer is found murdered with a pair of underwear in his mouth. It was nice to see the former 'Home Improvement' gal as a suspect and she did a very good job. But what interested me in this episode was that instead of being sympathetic like she usually is, she immediately starts accusing the woman's (Patricia something) daughter, not buying her explainations or excuses. Plus any episode where Olivia and Elliot are fighting is a good one, it's like a quarrel between a married couple. Elliot thinks differently than Olivia, feeling sympathetic, a little too sympathetic in my opinion, to the girl. They find out that she had sexual relations with the murder victim and Oliva believes that it was the daughter who murdered the travel writer, while Elliot believes that she was raped and murdered him in self-defense. But that still doesn't explain the underwear, which are actually the mother's, but the daughter admits to borrowing them. Turns out it was the daughter after all and Benson was right. I think that Elliot's judgement was clouded because of his own daughter, as Olivia so graciously pointed out to him. She also admitted to dating an older man just like the daughter, so we learned a little something about the characters as well in this episode. It didn't blow my mind or anything, but it's something I wouldn't mind watching twice.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- When Benson is asking for information on the phone from Belize, she does so in Spanish. Even if in some areas of the country people speak Spanish, the official language is English, so she shouldn't need to ask in a different language. Edit
- Goof: When Benson and Stabler find Virginia and are leaving, a man walks over and asks for help. A woman in a cream sweater is walking by on the right, but after Virginia gives him directions several seconds later the camera pulls out and the same woman walks by again in the same direction. Edit
- Goof: During a scene in which Benson and Stabler are talking outside, two guys can be heard in the background yelling, 'Hey! They're on TV!' Edit
Notes
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- Special billing was given to Patricia Richardson (and) in this episode. Edit
Quotes
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- John Munch: The guy's wanderlust is one adverb short of Robert James Waller. Monique Jeffries: Mmmm... Bridges of Madison County. Brian Cassidy: That was incredible. John Munch: How 'bout incredibly banal: short, muscular sentences displaying total absence of original thinking? Brian Cassidy: I was talking about the movie. Edit
- (Munch has just explained one of conspiracy theories.) Jeffries: Is there anything you just accept? Munch: Yeah, ... compliments. Edit
- Donald Cragen: (to Stabler) Hey, don't worry when you feel something. Worry when you don't. Edit
Allusions
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- This episode is inspired by elements of the Vladimir Nabukov novel Lolita, including plot points and character names. Lolita features Humbert Humbert, a man in his forties, who becomes obsessed with a widow's twelve-year-old daughter Lolita, who seduces Humbert. The term Lolita is oft-used to refer to extremely young women who seduce much older men. Edit
- John Munch: Yes, Santa Claus, there is a Virginia. This is a play on words from the well-known quote 'Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus', best known from the 1947 George Seaton film Miracle on 34th Street; originally from an editorial in the New York Sun back in 1897. Edit