Written By Julie Martin and Warren Leight
Directed By Michael Slovis
Benson is forced to once again confront serial rapist William Lewis (Pablo Schreiber), whose manipulative trial tactics cause setbacks in her recovery. With Lewis representing himself at trial and asking hard questions, Benson is forced to reveal secrets she has kept about her attack. Four months later, after having lost the trial and been convicted, Lewis fakes an injury and escapes prison.
Tropes
- Hollywood Law: William Lewis, who is defending himself and called Olivia as his witness, asks to treat Benson as a hostile witness. In real life, this means asking a witness leading questions; in the SVUniverse, this apparently means being allowed to scream at a victim while quite literally foaming at the mouth. Made especially painful by the fact that Barba had been objecting almost constantly before this, but stayed silent the entire time Lewis was screaming at her, up until the end, when he feebly protests that Lewis has crossed the line, though this could have been strategy on Barba's part to show how aggressive and violent Lewis is since he'd been playing the meek victim all trial.
- Trailers Always Lie: The promo said this would be "the final chapter of the #SaveBenson saga." Then the last scene of the episode showed William Lewis possibly breaking out of prison. Just in time for May Sweeps, too!
