This list contains references to sexual assault.
Fin Tutuola (Ice-T) has delivered many ofLaw & Order: SVU’s best lines over the past 24 years. Fin first joins the Special Victims Unit in season 2, replacing Monique Jeffries (Michelle Hurd), who quits after being put on desk duty for breaking the rules. Fin claimed many ofLaw & Order: SVU’s best stories in the years since he first joined the series, most notably a seasons-long arc of learning that his son is gay and growing to accept him and his husband. Fin is now a proud grandfather as well as Olivia Benson’s (Mariska Hargitay) right-hand man.
When he first transferred from Narcotics to SVU, Fin was partnered with the now-late John Munch (Richard Belzer). Munch and Fin shared a cynical view of the world and a razor-sharp wit, which Fin still possesses 10 years after Munch left the series. Fin’s compassion for victims balances his sarcastic streak, but his one-liners are a huge part of what makes him a fan favorite. Although he has less to do than in the past, Fin is still an important part ofBenson’sLaw & Order: SVUseason 26 team.
10"In 20 Years, The Only Bias In This Department Is Toward Victims."
Season 22, Episode 1 “Guardians And Gladiators”
Fin is often jaded when it comes to the justice system. His tenure at SVU has made him even more aware that the system doesn’t treat everyone fairly, and he goes to work every day to try to make a difference despite his distrust. Season 22, episode 1 brings these feelings to the surface, as it revolves around a Black man who SVU unfairly arrests, which brings Benson and the rest of the team under the microscope while IAB tries to determine if there was racial bias at play.
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Thus, Fin’s quote here hits emotionally.Although Fin doesn’t fully trust the criminal justice system, he trusts Benson and is aware that she runs her department with the intention of the victims being the focus of their concerns, regardless of their racial or ethnic background.
9"Prisons Are Full Of Innocent People, And We Both Know What Color Most Of Them Are."
Season 7, Episode 18: “Venom”
“Venom” involves a case that hits home for Fin, as his son Ken (Ernest Waddell) is accused of murder after he finds a body in a dumpster. Ken’s mother Teresa (LisaGay Hamilton) believes that Ken knows more than he is saying and wants Fin to push their son to cooperate with the police. Fin, however, knows that the system is biased against Black people and takes Ken’s side, pointing out that there are many innocent Black people in the prison system.
This comment leaves Ken’s mother shocked, as she doesn’t understand how a cop could distrust the system he works for. When she responds, “So you don’t trust the people you work for?“Fin points out he is talking about the system, not his particular police department. However, Benson works with him to convince Ken to volunteer a DNA sample so that this can be cleared up, leading to the revelation that Ken’s cousin, Darius (Ludacris), is the real killer.
8"Fact: You’re All My B*****s Now. Fact: Deliver This Kid To Me Or Get Used To Living In The Tombs. Fact: Until Then, No Stable’s Safe, No John’s Out Of Reach, And Most Of All, Ain’t No Money Getting Made.”
Season 12, Episode 4: “Merchandise”
In “Merchandise,” Fin teams up with Detective Cruz (Pia Glenn) to get information about a missing boy who disappeared after the girl he was with was pushed into traffic. The children, who are siblings, are both victims of human trafficking and Fin is determined to find out what happened to the one who is still alive. Thus, he lines up a bunch of known pimps and states very direct terms to try to get them to talk.
This scene is classic Fin. He is able to talk tough when he needs to and will do whatever it takes to get a missing kid back. His demeanor makes an impression on one man, who consistently tells Fin to relax but ultimately agrees to deliver the missing kid to him and only him.This exchange demonstrates Fin’s unique skill set and value to the team,as even a seasoned vice-cop like Cruz could not make the progress he made.
7"You’re Jewish. Your Parents Hid Eggs?”
Season 3, Episode 9: “Care”
This is one of many hilarious exchanges between Munch and Fin; their banter often helped lighten the tension in otherwise dark episodes. This particular exchange came during one ofLaw & Order: SVU’s saddest episodes, as the team was dealing with the death of a child who had been abused while in foster care. Fin’s bemused response to Munch comes during a scene where they are both frustrated with an impossible search, leading Munch to say: “This is how I felt as a kid during Easter egg hunts.”
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The punchline of this conversation goes to Munch,who acknowledges that his family didn’t celebrate Easter by stating that the searches he went on were futile. However, the joke doesn’t work without Fin pointing out that Munch’s religious background doesn’t include Easter traditions, and the line’s understatement makes it one of the funniest quotes in the entire exchange between the two men.
6"I Got News For You. That Means You’re Gay."
Season 5, Episode 20: “Lowdown”
Law & Order: SVU’s record on LGBTQ+ issues is decidedly mixed, especially in the early seasons. One of the best things about Fin is that he has evolved along with the show, especially after learning his son is gay. In 2004’s “Lowdown,” however, Fin addresses a suspect who is adamant that he is not gay even though he sleeps with men. Immediately after denying that he’s anything but straight, the suspect confesses that he has had sexual encounters with men before, leading to Fin’s deadpan delivery of this line.
Of course, Fin’s claim isn’t quite accurate. However, his stance was seen as progressive at the time, especially considering theharsh reality thatLaw & Order: SVUoften used unacceptable language to describe gender-nonconforming victims during the first few years of its run. Thus, Fin’s upfront assessment of this man’s denials represents some progress even though it falls short of where it needs to be.
5"Someone Tries To Bust My Eardrums, I’m Gonna Bust Their Ass."
Season 9, Episode 6: “Svengali”
“Svengali” is an intense episode in which SVU comes face to face with a cult that is under the spell of a serial killer who is currently incarcerated. During this episode,someone tries to blow up the squad room using a bomb hidden in a pizza box. Fin is not seriously hurt, but he’s angry enough to want to collar the perp himself and walks out of the room while Cragen (Dann Florek) is in the middle of talking to him. This quote is his explanation of where he is going.
The exchange is both a fan-favorite moment and another example of why Fin is a great cop. His very direct approach in this instance contrasts with everyone else present, which is sometimes what the team needs. While Fin doesn’t have much of an individual storyline for the rest of the episode, his biggest quote from it demonstrates how it always goes straight to the point and typically says something at least ironically funny while he’s at it.
4"Let’s Get Something Straight. First, Spit That Lollipop Out, Before I Smack It Out Your mouth. You’re Not A Five-Year-Old."
Season 13, Episode 7: “Russian Brides”
No one knows how to put reluctant witnesses in their place like Fin, a quote from “Russian Brides” being a prime example. This hilarious but tense comment occurs during a case in which Fin and Rollins (Kelli Giddish) are trying to track down Russian mobsters who are trafficking girls internationally using a website that purports to offer Russian brides to wealthy people.Fin’s ire is directed toward the person who could track the IP address of the website but was refusingto do so.
This incident also comes at an interesting time for Rollins. She is only seven episodes into her first year at SVU, and Fin’s bold confrontation of this witness gives her something to piggyback on so that she can threaten to involve the feds if the witness doesn’t cooperate and give them the IP address they are looking for. Thus, Fin’s comment demonstrates why he and Rollins are a perfect team, making it meaningful as well as hilarious.
3"Little Girl, I Was Through With It Before You Knew What To Do With It."
Season 9, Episode 8: “Fight”
Fin handles suspects by speaking their language. In this scene, he and Lake (Adam Beach) are questioning a sex worker, and she is surprised when Fin can translate her slang and understand that she’s talking about a pimp having sex with a new girl before letting her out on the streets. When the surprised witness remarks, “Look at you, Papi, throwing gang like you know your thing,“implying that Fin is old, out of touch, and phony, his retort makes it clear he can keep up.
By responding in kind, Fin establishes he is familiar with the girl’s world. He also builds the rapport she was resistant to before and puts her in her place, subtly warning her that he’s worthy of respect and that she shouldn’t cross him. Although this quote does some heavy lifting, it’s also amusing, especially since Fin then has to translate for Lake, who has no idea what he and the witness are talking about.
2"Guy Didn’t Even Let Her Gargle.”
Season 6, Episode 22: “Parts”
Fin is second only to originalLaw & Order’s Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) when it comes to gallows humor. Both men often use dark humor at crime scenes to break the tension, which is something that they need to do to preserve their mental health in a job where they often see the worst things that human beings can do to one another.
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In “Parts,“Fin makes this sardonic remark after ME Warner (Tamara Tunie) shows him a decapitated victim with semen in her throat. This comment demonstrates the horror of this person’s last moments in a sarcastic way, thus lightening the mood temporarily while reinforcing the point that the cops are looking for an extremely violent individual.
1"That’s The Same Old Crap He Says Every Day, Only Louder.”
Season 10, Episode 6: “Babes”
This quote again demonstrates the camaraderie between Munch and Fin, as well as Fin’s ability to make the best out of a bizarre situation. The cops are trying to catch a gang that is attacking homeless people, so Fin suggests Munch go undercover as the “laziest, filthy bum they’ve ever seen.” Munch walks down the street shouting conspiracy theories loudly, which impresses Stabler (Christopher Meloni), but not Fin. Fin’s assessment of Munch’s undercover persona is one of the funniest lines he says inLaw & Order: SVUand the weird situation he and Munch are in makes it even funnier.
Law and Order: SVU
Cast
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU) is a procedural crime drama series created by Dick Wolf that follows cases handled by a fictional New York Police Department’s 16th precinct that centers around sexually-based crimes. The Show follows a rotating group of detectives that will tackle some of the most heinous crimes while trying to help the victims - and themselves - adjust to the new normal as the darkness in the world reveals itself with each new case.
