The grand return of Elliot Stabler (and family) to SVU would probably hit harder if we were watching these eps in order one at a time. That, however, is not how we do things at Munch My Benson. Instead, we are treated to an investigation that is way, WAY outside the Special Victims Unit's purview, and which won't pay off in an episode of SVU (if it ever does). Still, it's fun to see how Dickie Stabler has grown up and to indulge in the wildest fan service fantasies that were surely swirling when this one first dropped.

The first installment of the Neal Baer era is a doozy, pitting our intrepid SVUs against the defense-industrial complex. In a momentary distraction from family time, which became all too common during his time on the Unit, Elliot Stabler is pulled away from his family--in this case Maureen, a daughter who follows instructions POORLY--for a case in which he literally cannot help but become embroiled. Sure, jurisdiction and the vic's very speculative status as a special victim as it burned to a crisp are real-life hurdles that are completely ignored as Stabler and the Unit dig into the vic's eventually uncovered extremely terrible past.

Along the way, we find out that the US government paved the way for an especially odious pedo to victimize innocent youths without any roadblocks or pushback. We also get a Stabler traumatized for the first time and the introduction of one of the most beloved characters in the entire L&O universe. Fun is had amidst the tragic but fairly realistic world in which our victims live.