‘SVU’ Episode ‘Missing Pieces’ in The ‘SVU’-o-Matic

It's not that "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" is formulaic. It's that...uh...when a show's been on for this long, certain patterns start to emerge? Fine: It's formulaic. But that doesn't mean it's not enjoyable. Here are the most basic facts you need to know about last night's episode.

Initial Crime: A pair of tourists from Buffalo get their car stolen, with their baby inside.

REAL Crime: The baby died of SIDS before the couple even got to New York (not that they knew that was the cause); they buried him on the beach and faked the car theft to cover it up, so...making a false report and illegally disposing of a body?

Headline This Was Ripped From: Oh, only thousands (unfortunately).

Who On the SVU Team Is Taking It Personally? Amaro (Danny Pino), the father, who's so broken up over this whole case that Liv (Mariska Hargitay) finally stops being cold to him and tells him to "go home and hug [his] daughter."

Verdict: The cops decide not to press any charges since, as Amaro puts it, "They're going to be paying for this for the rest of their lives."

Revelations about the Continuing Characters' Personal Lives That We Should Remember Going Forward: Liv's still taking care of that kid Calvin (Charlie Tahan).

Previously:

- "Double Strands"
- "Blood Brothers"
- "Personal Fouls"