Drinking Game / Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

General Triggers

• Drink whenever you hear CHUNG-CHUNG.
• Drink whenever someone says the word "rape".
  • Don't, you'll be hospitalized before the end of the episode.
• Drink when someone says "OBJECTION!".
  • If the lawyer doing the objecting is Rafael Barba, water your drinks or have an ambulance on standby.
• Drink whenever you recognize the special guest star.
  • Optional: drink once when you recognize the name in the opening credits, and once when you see them in person.
  • Double your drinks if you recognize the special guest star from Oz.
  • Double your drinks if you recognize an actor who is or will go on to be on Orange Is the New Black.
  • Triple your drinks if you recognize the special guest star because they played a different character on a previous episode.
  • Finish the bottle if you recognize the special guest star because they were previously a regular cast member.
• Drink whenever an episode cuts out before the end of a trial.
• Finish your drink if the case is a mistrial.
• Smash the bottle if any of these events take place:
  • A major character (character in the opening credits, NOT just recurring character) dies, and it's actually confirmed that they are dead.
  • Cabot smiles.
  • Munch gets some action.
    • Trust us, you'll be fine.
• Drink whenever someone gets physical in interrogation and has to be removed.
• Drink whenever two people involved in a relationship involving statutory rape claim to be in love.
• Drink whenever someone is threatened with obstruction charges.
• Drink whenever a suspect is threatened with "what they do to guys like you in prison."
  • Finish the bottle if it's a threat of Prison Rape.
    • Drink until your liver fails if the threat is made after the episode "Perverted".
• Drink whenever a criminal or opposing attorney refers to a female character with a condescending term like "honey" or "sweetheart".
• Drink whenever a witness or perp is casually racist to one of the non-white main characters.
• Drink once every time a character bellows for someone to call an ambulance.
  • Drink twice if they call it a 'bus'.
• Drink whenever anything Hudson related is relevant to the victim or person of interest.
  • Two drinks if said person was involved with illegal activities due to money issues.
• Drink if someone decides to get revenge on the perp.
  • Down your drink if it's an acquaintance of the perp who does it.
• Drink whenever the current case makes tabloid headlines.
  • Take another drink if it's unfairly going after someone it shouldn't be.

Detectives

• General/Multiple
  • Drink whenever there's a commotion while the detectives are bringing someone in for questioning or an arrest.
  • Drink whenever the detectives deliver an especially groan-worthy pun based on the crime. Be prepared for an absolutely devastated liver.
  • Drink whenever a situation occurs where "IAB may get involved".
    • Take another drink if IA does show up. Slam your drink if an investigation is actually opened up.
  • Drink once for every foot chase- twice if it's a car chase.
    • Finish the bottle if it's a group foot chase except for Munch, who pulls up in the car afterwards.
  • Drink whenever a detective is told to go home and get some sleep.
    • Twice if said detective actually agrees to do so.
  • Slam your drink if a detective is kicked off a case.
  • Drink whenever one of the detectives is Mistaken for Gay.
  • Drink whenever Amaro or Barba get to use Spanish.
    • Twice if they're talking to each other.
  • Drink whenever detectives have to be told to come back with a court order to get confidential information.
    • Twice if they find some way around it.
    • Slam your drink if they actually put in the extra leg work to get it.
  • Drink whenever there is something that could be construed as Alex/Olivia subtext.
  • Drink whenever Barba and Olivia hold each other's eyes too long for it to be just friendly.

• Olivia Benson:
  • Drink whenever Olivia has a flashback of something.
  • Drink whenever Olivia mentions Elliot as "My old partner".
  • Drink whenever Olivia gets a new haircut.
  • Drink whenever Olivia's conception is referred to.
  • Drink whenever Olivia's ticking biological clock comes up.
  • Drink whenever Olivia drinks.
  • Drink whenever a suspect insults, mocks, or curses out Olivia.
    • Two drinks if they hit on her instead.
  • Drink whenever the subject of her alcoholic mother or lack of father is discussed.
    • Take another drink if she uses it in order to relate with someone.
  • Drink whenever Olivia's love life is ever brought up.
  • Drink whenever Olivia says to a victim, "Let's start from the beginning."

• Elliot Stabler (and family):
  • Drink whenever Elliot yells at a suspect.
  • Drink whenever Elliot turns into a "dude-bro" during an interrogation.
  • One drink for every time Elliot throws a punch.
  • Drink whenever Kathleen does something bad
  • Kathy and the kids- drink twice.
  • Drink whenever someone asks Elliot if he's got kids, or deduces that he does.
    • Drink whenever Elliot mentions - without being prompted first - that he has kids.
    • Alternately, drink whenever someone asks any of the other detectives if they have kids.
  • Drink whenever Stabler's Catholicism comes up. Take another drink if it puts him at odds with a shady priest.
  • Drink if Stabler is mentioned after season 12.
    • Finish the bottle if he's mentioned by name.
  • Drink whenever Elliot goes off and whales on a suspect.
    • Take another drink if he beats them unconscious.
    • Drink again if they're able to get a hit in.
    • Drink if the suspect demands his name and badge number, he's threaten with a lawsuit, an IAB investigation is opened, or he's reprimanded by Cragen.
    • BONUS ROUND: if you had to take all additional drinks, finish your bottle (and hope it's not an Un-Stabler Marathon).

• Don Cragen
  • Drink whenever Cragen calls someone into his office.
  • Drink whenever Captain Cragen calls somebody a "Son of a bitch".
  • Drink whenever Cragen scolds a detective, and says something nice as they leave the office.
  • Drink whenever Cragen's prior alcoholism comes up.
  • Drink whenever Cragen has to interrupt an interview, but the only thing he says is, "Detective(s)"
  • Drink whenever circumstances force Cragen to don his uniform.

• John Munch
  • Drink whenever Munch makes a sarcastic comment.
  • Drink whenever Munch makes reference to conspiracy theories.
  • Drink whenever Munch makes a comment along the line that it "Reminds [him] of his past four wives".
  • Finish the bottle if he ever appears out of his iconic suit get-up
  • Finish the bottle if he makes a reference to Homicide: Life on the Street.
  • Finish the bottle if someone references a show he's cameoed in as if it were fictional (such as The X-Files).
  • Drink whenever a comment about how skinny his butt is is cracked
  • Drink whenever Munch comments on the rights everyone deserves no matter what, or the government infringing on people's liberties.
    • Drink again if it's in combination with how it could cause an escalation. Or a simple "I don't like it".

• Fin Tutuola
  • Drink whenever Fin says something to the effect of "That's messed up".
  • Drink whenever he has to tell someone not to get Munch started on another one of his rants.
  • Drink whenever Fin says he'll use his past connections over at narcotics to help with a case.
  • Drink whenever as a result of a case he tries to reconnect with his son, Ken.
    • Two drinks if they're actually able to reconcile
  • Drink whenever he and Stabler are partnered up and they end up butting heads
    • If they manage to actually work together just fine, slam your drink.

• Amanda Rollins
  • Drink whenever Rollins' gambling debts are mentioned.
    • Slam your drink if it results in direct action against her (i.e. assault).
  • Drink whenever she does something stupid to help out her sister.
  • Drink whenever she mentions her time as a cop in The Deep South.
  • Drink whenever Rollins gets stabbed in the back.
  • Drink whenever Rollins goes undercover - twice if it's as a Honey Trap.

• Nick Amaro
  • Drink whenever a female character comes on to Amaro.
    • Two drinks if they invoke the Latin Lover stereotype.
    • Finish the bottle if a male character does.
  • Drink whenever Amaro uses Blatant Lies while interrogating a perp.
  • Drink whenever Amaro faces professional consequences for something Stabler would've gotten away with scot-free.

• Dominick "Sonny" Carisi
  • Drink whenever Carisi puts his foot in his mouth.
    • If Carisi does something clever that actually helps the case, finish the bottle (only for season 16).
  • Drink once every time Carisi interacts with a child/children.
  • Drink once every time Carisi mentions a relative/his family.
  • Drink once every time Carisi is openly religious.
  • Drink whenever Carisi is the devil's advocate of the group.
    • Take another drink if doing so eventually turns the case upside down.

Assistant District Attorneys

• General:
  • Finish your bottle whenever the ADA has to fight over jurisdictional rights to a case. Make sure to stock up on drinks.
  • Drink whenever it's an episode with an ADA who lasted less than four episodes.
    • Double drinks if they only lasted one episode.
  • Drink whenever a male ADA other than Barba or Carisi appears.
  • Two drinks whenever the show borrows an ADA from a different Law & Order series.

• Alexandra Cabot
  • Drink when Alex's glasses are on in once scene and off in the next.
  • Finish your drink if Alex is sporting bangs that episode.
  • Drink whenever Alex bends the rules and doing so makes Judges Petrovsky or Donnelly mad.
  • Drink whenever Cabot threatens a perp with the death penalty.
  • Drink whenever Cabot humiliates someone on the witness stand.
  • Drink whenever someone calls her "Alexandra."

• Casey Novak
  • Drink if Casey is wearing a new hairstyle.
  • Drink whenever you see Casey's thank you poster in her office.
  • Finish the bottle when Casey's SEX CRIMES T-shirt makes an appearance.
  • Drink if Casey is seen doing something athletic.
  • Drink if she has to discuss her case with her mentor.
  • Finish the whole bottle when she subpoenas Donald Rumsfeld.

• Rafael Barba
  • Drink if a character implies Barba is gay/bi.
  • Drink if Barba references growing up on the wrong side of the tracks.
  • Drink whenever Barba changes his suits. Warning: be prepared to get hammered.
    • Two drinks when Barba wears pink.
    • Two drinks when Barba's suspenders and socks match.
    • If the pocket square and tie matches/coordinates with both of the above or his shirt, finish your drink.
    • If Barba is wearing something other than a suit, finish the bottle.
  • Drink for every article of clothing Barba is not wearing while prepping for a case: jacket, waistcoat, tie, pocket square, and suspenders (aka braces). If his sleeves are rolled up, add another drink. You will be so very, very sloshed.
  • Drink when Barba stands to interview a witness and buttons the top button of his suit.
  • Drink whenever Barba is visibly exasperated with the SVU detectives.
  • Drink whenever Barba makes a face at whatever the defense attorney is saying.
  • Two drinks whenever Barba finds a legal excuse to completely screw over a wealthy, corrupt person and/or institution.

Other SVU Staff

• George Huang
  • Down half your beer if B.D. Wong makes an appearance this episode.
  • Drink whenever Huang is in disagreement with the detectives due to either having a psychiatric explanation for the suspect or socially unconventional opinion they refuse to acknowledge.
    • Twice if he's willing to or does testify on behalf of the defense.
    • Finish your drink if he helps the ADA or detectives prove the defenses' psych argument is crap.
  • Drink twice whenever he uses his authority as an FBI agent to help the case.
  • Refill your drink if it's his debut episode with all the Early-Installment Weirdness.
  • Finish your drink if he raises his voice.

• Melinda Warner
  • Drink whenever Dr. Warner reveals a surprising plot twist.
    • For an extra challenge, take another drink if the reaction quips to black.
  • Drink whenever after the post-mortem examination, Warner tells the detectives to "promise [her] to catch the guy" or similar.
  • Drink if the episode is one where Tamara Tunie is not credited in the opening sequence, despite being a regular character.

Other Characters

• Drink if Sister Peg shows up. Twice if she's described as the nun who gives prostitutes clean needles.
• Drink if Dr. Hendrix shows up.
• Drink if a character originating in another Law and Order series shows up. Twice if it's Arthur Branch.
• Drink if Dani Beck shows up.
• Drink if you recognize the defense attorney from another episode.
• Drink if a recurring defense attorney or judge shows up outside of the context of their job as an attorney or a judge. (Such as Trevor Langan being questioned when the Victim of the Week was an employee of his law firm.)