Do we like them?

Do we like Olivia Benson?

A character from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–present)

Our score: 9 out of 10. Yes, we'd back her. She is fiercely loyal, endlessly empathetic and stubborn on behalf of survivors, and she bends rules only when the victim needs it.

Olivia Benson is a detective in the NYPD's Special Victims Unit, the squad that handles sexual assault and crimes against children. The show follows each case through the squad room, the interview room and the courtroom. She starts as a young detective and a close partner to Elliot Stabler.

Her drive comes from her own past. The show sets up that she was born from her mother's rape and grew up in a troubled home. She uses that history to connect with victims who have stopped trusting anyone. She is known for believing survivors, staying patient with them and not giving up on a case.

Her flaws are the cost of caring so much. She gets too close to cases, clashes with superiors, and sometimes pushes interrogations to the edge. We forgive that because her instincts are nearly always aimed at protecting someone. That earns her a 9.

Over the years she is promoted through the ranks to lead the unit. She survives some brutal personal ordeals, including a serial offender who targets her, and she adopts a son, Noah. She keeps going through all of it, and her steadiness is a large part of why viewers stay loyal to her.