For this listicle, we're focusing on episodes between seasons 5 and 12.
1. Swing (10x3)
Detective Stabler's job and personal life intertwine when his daughter Kathleen becomes a suspect in a case; after learning that Kathleen may have an emotional disorder, he turns to his estranged mother for help.
2. Wildlife (10x7)
Elliot Stabler puts his marriage at risk when he goes undercover to gain access to an animal-smuggling ring, with Olivia posing as a prostitute.
3. Fault (7x19)
A serial pedophile murders members of a family and kidnaps the two younger children. Elliot and Olivia try to figure out why they keep choosing each other over the job, risking lives in the process.
4. Persona (10x8)
Detective Benson goes into hiding to find justice for an abused housewife, uncovering a 34-year-old unsolved murder case in the process.
5. Raw (7x6)
Detectives investigate a school shooting that left three students dead and link the rifle used in the killings to a gun store serving as the headquarters of a white supremacist group.
6. Stranger (10x11)
Benson and Stabler begin to question the story of a missing teenager who returns home after four years, claiming to have been kept as a slave in a concrete cell.
7. Fault (10x22)
CSU Stuckey's careless error causes a deranged killer to go free on a technicality. Later, more signature killings emerge, and more people connected to the case may be targeted.
8. Sin (8x17)
A gay male prostitute is murdered, and the investigation reveals that a pastor who preaches extreme intolerance toward homosexuals may have had a relationship with him.
9. Bombshell (12x19)
The investigation into the stabbing death of a family man leads Benson and Stabler to believe he had an illicit hobby; the detectives meet a woman and her jealous boyfriend while undercover at a swingers club.
10. Painless (5x22)
A woman claiming to have been the victim of rape commits suicide while she is still in the emergency room. Only to find that she may have received help for an assisted suicide by Dr. Amy Solwey, who is running a support blog for those wishing to end their lives. Guest Stars Marlee Matlin.
11. Parts (6x22)
The dismembered body of a woman is found in a junkyard, and detectives must determine who killed her and who attempted to harvest organs from her corpse. This episode goes hand in hand with Painless, once again starring Marlee Matlin as Dr. Amy Solwey.
12. Lunacy (10x4)
When the corpse of a famous astronaut is found floating in the waters of Battery Park, Detectives Benson and Stabler think the murder may be connected to a string of serial rapes; at a dead end, Stabler seeks advice from an old mentor.
13. Birthright (6x1)
A woman attempts to kidnap a child she believes is her daughter; while DNA tests are in progress, Benson traces the confusion about the child's origins back to a fertility doctor.
14. Wet (12x5)
A woman with a seemingly squeaky-clean image is found dead in a fountain; further investigation reveals a surprising motive and multiple suspects.
15. Head (5x25)
A video voyeur catches a sexual assault against a minor on tape, which changes the focus of the investigation as the detectives search for a pedophile.
16. Totem (12x20)
Captain Jackson helps Benson and Stabler investigate the rape and murder of a young girl, and tells them that they may be looking for a female predator.
17. Retro (10x5)
Detectives suspect a doctor of running a bogus clinic and prescribing ineffective treatment to patients who have AIDS.
18. Blinded (9x7)
Detectives discover a kidnapped girl in the trunk of a stolen rental car; the suspect's rage seriously injures Stabler; the trial forces Novak to face dark things in her past.
19. Paternity (9x9)
A nanny's Internet love interest is the obvious suspect when she is found murdered, but detectives look more closely at her employers when skeletons are found in their closet. (Not to mention the infamous delivery of Eli Stabler after a horrific car accident with Olivia and Kathy.)
20. Babes (10x6)
While investigating the death of a teenager, detectives Elliot Stabler and John Munch discover a group of girls in a pregnancy pact.
21. Transitions (10x14)
A man is found badly beaten in a parking lot, with no memory of what happened, and detectives suspect his transgender teen may be responsible.
22. Ballerina (10x16)
Detectives suspect that a murder suspect was thrown out of a window to his death, and their investigation focuses on the suspect's wife, her nephew who lives with them, and their unusual special relationship.
23. Snatched (10x13)
After a young girl is kidnapped, Elliot Stabler must work with a recently paroled convict to get her back.
24. Charisma (6x7)
The detectives investigate a man whose 12-year-old wife is hospitalized with pregnancy complications, and they learn that he is the leader of a cult.
25. Goliath (6x23)
When two police officers in separate precincts attack their wives and demonstrate suicidal behavior, Benson and Stabler suspect a malaria drug both men received while serving in a reserve unit in Afghanistan.
26. Bully (12x18)
Benson and Stabler believe that the abusive CEO of a wine company killed her CFO, but why are the company's other employees refusing to step forward and expose her?
27. Pursuit (12x17)
A journalist who hosts a program that exposes predators gets a disturbing package from a stalker, but it may also help her find the person who kidnapped her sister 25 years ago, with the help of detective Benson and Sonya Paxton.
28. P.C. (11x13)
A lesbian-rights activist claims a woman's death was the result of police neglect; when more women from the activist's group are attacked, it becomes clear that someone has a plan to bring down the group.
29. Hammered (11x4)
After a night of drinking, a man wakes up with a head injury and a dead woman in his bed; Detectives Benson and Stabler try to piece together the crime by returning to the bar where the night began.
30. Loophole (8x13)
An investigation into a potential child pornography case actually uncovers a chemical company testing possibly toxic products on a group of building tenants.