Spring Awakening

"Spring Awakening"
←	SVU, Episode 15.24	→
Production number: 15024 First aired (US): 21 May 2014 First aired (UK): 8 June 2014 First aired (CAN): 21 May 2014 First aired (AUS): 3 July 2014
	th of 502 produced in SVU
←	th of 502 released in SVU	→
	th of 1271 released in all
Teleplay By Julie Martin & Warren Leight Story By Julie Martin & Warren Leight & Kevin Fox Directed By Norberto Barba

Amaro's career is on the line and Benson is faced with a life-changing decision.

Summary[]

Amaro's beating of an acquitted suspect once again makes him the target of Internal Affairs, and he has no choice but to face the consequences. With his professional and personal life at risk, he looks to his friend John Munch for advice. Meanwhile, an online ad for escorts leads to the rape and robbery of several male tourists, and one of the suspects is the mother of Baby Doe, an abandoned infant Sergeant Benson has been looking after. When the girl is later found burned to death, Baby Doe is thus now an orphan... until the judge in charge of the Baby Doe question makes a startling recommendation to Olivia.

Plot[]

Judge Linden asks if they have located any other family members for the infant, as Trevor Langan walks in to deny this. Trevor states he will be representing Noah like he did his mother. Linden also notes on Benson being present. She soon declares she will be putting Noah into foster care until an appropriate home is found. However, she notes on Benson displaying an active role in the infant's life, asking if she would be interested in becoming a foster mother to Noah. This garners inquiring looks from Cox and Langan, while a surprised Benson is told by the judge that she has a good feeling and places Noah in her care for a year until Benson can choose to adopt him.

Afterwards, Benson is given the baby by the court and she is overjoyed at holding him.

Cast[]

Main cast[]

• Mariska Hargitay as Sergeant Olivia Benson
• Danny Pino as Detective Nick Amaro
• Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins
• Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola
• Raúl Esparza as A.D.A. Rafael Barba (credit only)

Recurring cast[]

• Richard Belzer as DA Investigator John Munch
• Emma Greenwell as Ellie Porter
• Peter Hermann as Defense Attorney Trevor Langan
• Jessica Phillips as Assistant Corporation Counsel Pippa Cox
• Michael Potts as I.A.B. Sergeant Cole Draper
• Jason Cerbone as Defense Attorney Lorenzo Desappio
• Gavin-Keith Umeh as Augustino Aguilar a.k.a. Little Tino
• Kate Blumberg as Mrs. Wilkes
• Jayne Houdyshell as Judge Ruth Linden
• Michael Mastro as Judge D. Serani
• Edwin Lee Gibson as Defense Attorney Orton Freeman
• Donal Logue as Lieutenant Declan Murphy
• Joshua Malina as Simon Wilkes
• Sonia Manzano as Judge Gloria Pepitone
• Sara Contreras as Alminia Aguilar
• Thedra Porter as Chantal Jackson
• Karen Christie-Ward as Sister Ida
• Diomargy Nuñez as Officer Sanchez

Guest cast[]

• Raza Jaffrey as A.D.A. #1
• Raushanah Simmons as A.D.A. #2
• Karl Miller as Hans Erhard
• Geeta Pereira as Hooker #1
• Shana Solomon as Hooker #2
• Rob Morgan as Homeless Guy
• Ashley North as Prisoner (uncredited)

References[]

• Germany
• Ireland
• Maria Grazie- Munch also mentions the time she stormed into the station in "Street Revenge".
• Melinda Warner
• Zara Amaro
• Noah Porter-Benson
• Roger Pearson
• Alexa Pearson
• Mary Poppins

Quotes[]

Murphy: Amaro, I know you don't value my advice, but even if you think you did the right thing, stand down and keep your mouth shut.

[about Amaro]

Benson: $500.000? He is not a flight risk and he is not dangerous.

Murphy: He acted like Dirty Harry. He beat a man bloody.

Trevor Langan: I am looking for Ellie Porter. Sorry I am late. I just caught the case.

Benson: I thought she had a public defender. Eh, Rollins, meet Trevor Langan. He is a, uh, high priced mouthpiece for lowlifes.

Trevor Langan: And you once. How soon we forget. Nice to see you again, Detective.

Benson: It's actually Sergeant now. Eh, what? Caught a pro-bono?

Trevor Langan: Yeah, do a few of them a year. Keeps me an honest lawyer.

Murphy: An oxymoron.

Benson: Ellie, have you ever gone through full withdrawal? Hmm? I can see that you're shaking, huh? You're not feeling well. You're going to be crying, lying on the floor of your cell, curled up in the fetal position, puking your guts out.

Ellie Porter: Shut up.

Benson: Is that what you want? To be lying in a pool of vomit, dirty, pathetic? Because you have a chance to break this cycle. You have a chance to clean up your act.

Ellie Porter: You want to be my mommy? Lady detectives love saving girls like me, but I like my life just the way it is.

Benson: I did everything I could.

Murphy: Did you?

Benson: What does that mean?

Murphy: I don't know. You seem to have an antipathy towards...

Benson: Toward what?

Murphy: Never mind.

Munch: Look, I know you don't give up on things and you want to save your marriage, but you can't. It's over.

Amaro: It's over?

Munch: I'm sorry. No one likes to hear this, but if anybody knows when a marriage is over, it's John Munch.

Tutuola: Where's your son?

Alminia Aguilar: In bed with your mama!

Rollins: Who were the girls?

Little Tino: My mom runs a daycare. It's legit.

Rollins: Daycare? In the middle of the night?

Mrs. Wilkes: Haven't the police done enough? My husband is still recovering. Your partner is crazy.

Rollins: My partner will be taking anger-management classes while your husband, he gets off free. He gets to keep having these perverted fantasies, keep taking these photos? He gets to keep his torture chamber? Is that really what you signed on for when you married him?

Rollins: I corresponded with him all last night, even this morning. He wants me to send him photos of boys. And the second I do, the second he downloads them, his ass goes down for possession of kiddie torture porn and you and I both know he's gonna download.

Mrs. Wilkes: You're here to blackmail me?

Rollins: Whatever it takes. You're in denial. Your husband needs help and he needs to do something else. Simon tells I.A.B that he swung first and that my partner, Amaro had to fight back in self-defense. And if he doesn't do that, I will make sure that his ass is in jail by the end of today and he will die there.

Murphy: Just got off the phone with 1PP. Simon Wilkes admitted he threw the first punch at Amaro, instigating the fight.

Rollins: You're kidding.

Tutuola: So he's coming back?

Murphy: Well, Amaro and his lawyer are with the D.A. right now. Whether he comes back to SVU or not is up in the air.

Benson: Up in the air? I know that you have hooks at 1PP. You tell them that this is not who he is.

Murphy: It isn't? He came after me when I was undercover, sucker punched me on the street. Now I'm not gonna shank him, but I'm not helping him either. Every favor you use, you owe six more and I'm not wasting one on this guy.

Benson: Come on, Tino, who did it? Who gave the order?

Little Tino: I did. That bitch turned. She got what was coming.

Benson: Ah, so you gave the order.

Little Tino: Yeah.

Benson: Come on, Tino, who are you kidding? You still live with your mama.

Judge Ruth Linden: As the birth mother is deceased and no father or other relative have come forward, I officially declare Noah Porter an orphan and ward of the state of New York. He shall continue to be cared for in an ACS facility unless... Sergeant Benson, you rescued the infant, isn't that right?

Benson: Yes, your honor.

Judge Linden: You are the only one who has taken a consistent interest on his behalf. Is there any change you might like to become a foster mother to this baby?

Benson: I'm sorry. Excuse me, your honor?

Judge Linden: I have a feeling about this, Sergeant Benson. Call it a judge's hunch. If you agree, I will order Noah Porter into your care as custodial parent for one year, at which time you will be given the option to permanently adopt him. Do you agree?

Background information and Notes[]

• Trevor Langan appears after not being seen since the season 12 episode "Behave" and notes how there have been a few changes since he last dealt with SVU.
  • He also mentions he was once Benson's lawyer, which happened in the season 11 episode "Perverted".
  • He asks Benson how she was doing overall, in reference to all the changes with the squad and the ordeal William Lewis had put her through.
  • Rollins asks if Benson and Langan ever dated, to which she replies "I don't date lawyers." This is an in-joke as their actors, Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann, are married.
    • Benson did however previously date a lawyer, David Haden, but they kept their relationship a secret and declare that it never happened in "Justice Denied" after the split. Rollins hints that she knew about that relationship as she replied with a surprised "since when?" when Benson said she didn't date lawyers.
• John Munch mentions how Maria Grazie confronted Nick Amaro in front of the whole squad which happened in the episode "Street Revenge".
• Murphy mentions being punched by Amaro while undercover, which happened in the episode "Gambler's Fallacy".
• Murphy leaves for another undercover assignment. The Special Victims Unit encounter him on that assignment in the episode "Undercover Mother".
• Ellie is revealed to be the mother of the baby that Benson discovered in the episode "Wednesday's Child" and the child is revealed to be named Noah. Ellie mentions encountering Roger and Alexa Pearson from that episode, referring to Roger as the man in a wheelchair.
  • With the death of Ellie, Benson is allowed to keep Noah.

Episode scene cards[]