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NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Season 2, Episode 19 remains as one of the standout episodes to date.
Episode 19, titled Parasites, opens to a gritty crime scene when a construction crew finds a dead body with a leash and a collar. Stabler and Benson step in, and from that point on, nothing about the case neatly fits. It looks simple at first. A young Romanian woman, Ava Parulis, is believed to be the victim. But as the detectives push deeper, they unravel more secrets.
Benson and Stabler speak to Ava's twin sister Irina, who seems to be broken but steady enough to speak. Their past reveals itself as the woman confesses. What nobody expects is the turn the case takes. Irina isn't Irina. The woman alive is Ava. The woman buried is Irina. The switch is born out of fear and guilt. It turns messy and emotional. Turns out Ava wanted to get Oksana out of a prostitution circle, and that she had to take such steps to gather the amount.
As the detectives close in on the truth, Razvan Toscu, a diplomat and Irina's murderer, believes his immunity shields him from the consequences. Ava reveals that Toscu wanted to kill her, but he killed Irina instead. Ava was left with no other choice but to swap identities and bury her sister in the backyard. In the end, Toscu was arrested for his crimes, and Valentina's human trafficking ring was finally taken down. Here's who plays whom in the episode.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 2, Episode 19 cast
Christopher Meloni plays Detective Elliot Stabler
Meloni gives the episode its edge as he plays the senior detective Elliot Saber. In this episode, he tries to solve the case quickly; his instincts in this case come from a place of frustration and compassion. He knows the hardships the sisters faced, and all he wants is the push it further for the truth to come out.
Mariska Hargitay plays Detective Olivia Benson
Hargitay brings warmth to the episode, packed with fear and confusion. She is the only one who speaks gently to Ava. Her empathy acts as a counterweight amidst the chaos.
Richard Belzer plays Detective John Munch
Belzer adds sharp wit and quiet intelligence to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Season 2, Episode 19. The senior detectives' observations are on point, ones that others miss.
Stephanie March plays ADA Alexandra Alex Cabot
March's Alex Cabot is practical and steady. She weighs the legal stakes when the detectives hit a barrier of diplomatic immunity and keeps the case tethered to the procedure.
Other supporting cast and guest stars of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Season 2, Episode 19:
- Ice-T plays Detective Odafin Fin Tutuola
- Dann Florek plays Captain Donald Cragen
- Lance Reddick as Assistant ME Taylor, who delivers the forensic details that confirm the body's identity
- Mili Avital portrays the twins Irina Burton and Ava Parulis. She aces the roles and gives the episode its emotional and moral weight in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 2 Episode 19.
- Victor Steibach as Razvan Toscu, a snug diplomat whom Ava threatened to expose in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 2 Episode 19
- Michele Pawk as Valentina Bilescu, the head of the human trafficking ring
- Matt Servitto as Brad Stanton, a doctor
- Melissa Bowen as Pam Stanton
- Gary Basaraba as George, Irina's husband
- Michael Berresse as Matt Sloan
- Neal Benari as Dr. Lowesnstein
- Elza Zagreda as a Slavic woman
- Jilian Stacom as Julia Barton
- Carol Schneider as Mrs. Swayer, a neighbour
- Samuel Maupin as Mr. Swayer, a neighbour
- Manu Narayan as Henry
- Jerome Le Page as Paul Amis, Ava's abusive husband
- Stacy Highsmith as Aide
- Lili Bordan as Oksana, Ava's youngest sister, who gets caught in the prostitution ring, whose situation explains Ava's motives
- Iren Bordan as Theresa
- Ezra Barnes as Jack Greenwait
- Guy Ale as Davia
Why is the cast of Law & Order: "Parasites" perfect?
Parasites, the episode, hits hard because it doesn't dress tragedy. It delves into a murder case that unravels secrets, including an identity exchange, a prostitution circle, and a desperate story of survival. The case isn't built around a shadowy serial killer or a sensational twist. Instead, the hour follows detectives who slowly untangle the life of a woman acting out of fear, duty, and desperation. Ava stepping into her sister's identity is legally indefensible, but the episode never treats her as a villain. Her choices come from panic and a fierce instinct to shield her family. That moral gray zone is what gives the story its weight.
The casting of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Season 2, Episode 19 makes that complexity land. Each cast member of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Season 2, Episode 19, from the regular squad to the guest stars who carry the emotional weight, grounds the drama into something that feels painfully real. No melodrama or unnecessary chaos. You can feel Ava's exhaustion. You can see how the detectives try to stay professional even as the case takes wild turns.
The performances feel lived in, not staged.
Watch Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 2 Episode 19 on Amazon Prime Video.
Also read: 9 Cases on Law & Order: SVU that were never truly solved
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