Written By Amanda Green
Directed By Darnell Martin
A five-year-old girl's decomposed body is found in the trash, leading Benson and Stabler to the trail of a serial pedophile with a doll fetish.
Tropes
- Anything but That!: Jessup begs Munch to stop smashing his dolls, but he still won't give up Nina's location.
- Department of Child Disservices: The woman responsible for Nina's case barely paid attention to what was going on and had no clue Nina was taken by a guy who claimed to be working for the department, but still jotted down that she visited Nina recently.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: After battling addiction, her own past failures as a mother, the judgment of everyone around her, and having her daughter being abducted, Violet's bravery and determination to get her life back together finally pays off when Fin is able to rescue her daughter. The last scene of the episode shows him carrying the girl out of the perp's hideout and bringing her to her mother's arms.
- Interrogation by Vandalism: Munch tries to get Jessup to reveal Nina's location by smashing his precious dolls, but it doesn't work.
- Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Fin implies he intends to do this to Jessup, but Huang warns him that Jessup won't respond to threats.
- Less Embarrassing Term: Inverted when they caught Terry Jessup by exploiting his love of doll collecting. Fin tried to build rapport with the guy by admitting that as a child he had played with dolls, too, such as G.I. Joe. Terry corrected him that those were not dolls, they were action figures.
- Parents as People: Violet is an addict who left her daughter for several months... but she left because she checked herself into rehab, specifically because she knew her addiction was interfering with her ability to be a good mother, and left her daughter in the care of a trusted neighbor. Unfortunately, the neighbor died while she was gone, and because the arrangement was unofficial, no one knew where she'd gone or how to contact her. When she returns to find out her daughter is missing, Violet fights tooth and nail to get her back, and accepts responsibility for her part in things.
