When a young girl is shot, Cosgrove teams up with his new partner, Shaw. Benson and Stabler are called in to assist when there's more to this homicide than meets the eye.
Part 3 of the crossover event.
Tropes:
- Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: Rublev had several mimosas and let slip to Ava about a bomb at the NATO summit.
- Ambiguous Situation: Who exactly had Rublev assassinated isn't clarified. While Rublev admits that no matter what he does, Putin will have him killed, it's entirely possible the assailants were agents of the Russian government, as the hit occured right as Rublev was being transferred and set to divulge secrets pertaining to Russia's president and the Kremlin
- Assassination Attempt: David Rublev is assassinated by an armed bicyclist. For bonus points, the assassin does this while Rublev is being transported in custody.
- Bittersweet Ending: Leans more on bitter than sweet. The entire case is tanked following Rublev's death, meaning that state secrets can no longer be divulged and Mark Sirenko still serves less time thanks to a plea deal regardless of the lack of testimony against Rublev. There's no justice for Vincent, Stabler's informant, who was killed by Sirenko. It's only borderline downer ending because the trafficked girls are rescued, Amanda survives her gunshot wounds and Nicole (one of the trafficked girls) gets a semblance of a happy life that remains.
- Corrupt Politician: Rublev, the liaison to the President of Russia, has a penchant for bribery and blackmail, so natch.
- Crossover: With SVU and OC, although this show switched regular broadcast times with the latter.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Rublev is fully aware that no matter what he does, Putin will have him killed in prison, so he agrees to testify against Sirenko and divulge state secrets about Russia if only to protect his family from suffering the same fate as him.
- Karma Houdini: Downplayed. Sirenko serves only twenty years despite killing five people and trafficking humans. It's a far cry from the original sentence to life. Since the plea was already set in stone, there's nothing to reverse the sentence.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
- Nicole answers a Snapchat message, despite Olivia telling her to surrender all electronics. She lead the villains to their location, culminating in a shootout that critically injures Rollins.
- While Olivia was trying to protect Nicole from being chewed apart on the stand, her sending Nicole to Toronto without permission forces the DA's Office to offer Sirenko a plea deal so they can convict Rublev. Once Rublev is assassinated however, Sirenko still manages to get off easy, since the deal was already in motion, preventing them from getting justice for Sirenko's murder victims.
- Pulled from Your Day Off: Cosgrove is having lunch with his daughter when they spot a girl running away.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Played with. After seeing the psychological toll the case is taking on Nicole, Olivia manages to locate one of her family willing to take her in Toronto, and sends her there in spite of Nolan telling her Nicole was their only hope of convicting Sirenko and Rublev. In her home series, Benson would be able to get away with this without any real issue, any consequences occuring offscreen. Here, Jack is livid she pulled this stunt, and immediately tries ordering Nicole be extradited back to the states and forced to testify, Nolan having to inform Jack that Canada's extradition laws unfortunately prevent them from doing so. This has disastrous consequences down the line.
- She Knows Too Much: Rublev realizes his drunken rant was recorded and orders Sirenko to kill Ava.
- Shout-Out: The title for all 3 episodes in this crossover is named after The Rolling Stones song of the same name. In fact, the song was used in a promo for the trilogy crossover.
- Spiteful Spit: Rublev's bodyguard spits in Shaw's direction, drawing the latter's ire.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Elliot confronts Nolan after Frank informs him about Sirenko being cut a deal in exchange for testifying against Rublev, and accuses him of cutting Sirenko the deal solely for the brownie points solving a political case like this would bring him. Nolan has to inform Elliot that not only was he against cutting the deal, it was a decision ultimately decided on by the Attorney General's office, not the DA's office, so even if he wanted to stop it, he couldn't.
- Would Hit a Girl: Rublev hit Ava after he realized that she had been recording him, and subsequently orders Sirenko to kill her because she knew too much.
