Artemis

C A R E E R timeline

• Benson joined the NYPD in 1992 and was trained by Sergeant Karen Smythe at the 55th Precinct in the Bronx.
• In May 1998, she received her detective's shield and was assigned to the 16th Precinct as a Detective 3rd Grade and was partnered with Detective Elliot Stabler.
• She was promoted to Detective 2nd Grade in 2001 and Detective 1st Grade in 2011.
• Benson and Stabler worked together for over 12 years, until Stabler quit SVU in 2011. Following Stabler's resignation, she was partnered with Detective Nick Amaro.
• Captain Donald Cragen asked Benson to take the Sergeant's exam following the retirement of Sergeant John Munch. She passed and was promoted.
• Cragen decided to retire, making Benson SVU's acting commanding officer. She remained in command until Lieutenant Declan Murphy took over the squad and made her his second-in-command. Not long, Murphy returned to undercover work and appointed her acting commander.
• Benson took the Lieutenant's exam in order to officially take command of SVU before the NYPD appointed another officer to the position. She passed the exam with flying colors and was officially promoted to Lieutenant after some politicking by her boss, Deputy Chief William Dodds.
• Following the events of "Manhattan Transfer," Benson was relieved of her duties as Commanding Officer of SVU due to her (personal) involvement with now-Captain Tucker, who was a person of interest in a complex sex trafficking case SVU stumbled upon. Mike Dodds became Acting Commanding Officer. Benson quietly continued to call the shots at SVU, as Dodds disagreed with her suspension and continued to seek her advice in secret. Benson was reinstated after SVU breaks up the sex trafficking ring and Tucker was cleared.
• In the episode "I'm Going to Make You a Star," Deputy Chief Dodds, before his transfer to Staten Island, got Benson promoted to Captain.
• As commanding officer, Benson worked cases with each of the detectives under her command.

Future Thread T I T L E suggestions

• She wants the best for her squad & for them to learn & grow
• TBD
• TBD

shinebrighterxx

Thanks for starting. Love Olivia

ice choco

I adore Olivia and I'm glad Mariska was still there in the show.

shinebrighterxx

I can't imagine SVU without her

NOLA504

Right

Artemis

She's the one who keeps everything continuing.

ice choco

Agreed. It wouldn't be the same without her tbh.

shinebrighterxx

I doubt the show would exist without her tbh

Artemis

Yeah, with the way she's been there... the show ends when she's done.

Permanent 99

Hoping that wont be for a while but I believe it was last season where she said something about maybe ending it soon cause she keeps getting hurt.

B ē ｔｔ ⓨ

The epitome of female empowerment is Olivia Benson and Mariska is a class act in this role!

- eternal sunshine -

Mariska is the show, and without her the show would not continue. I cannot imagine them even attempting to continue without her. But she is getting older and has been doing it for a long time so it would not surprise me if she did say this is it in the coming years.

break the window

The show without Olivia Benson is not a show at all. She fights for justice and there's no other character as strong as she is that could hold up the show.

B ē ｔｔ ⓨ

She started with it and it should end with her. They can and will probably try to continue but it would never be the same.

shinebrighterxx

They'd be a bit foolish to try continue. She is the only reason many watch. Their ratings would fall a lot. They don't have a safety blanket of comfort to wrap people up in to try continue it without her.