Throughout this episode, we see the aftereffects of the medication Detective Stabler had to take after his possible exposure to HIV in the previous episode Victims (2001). At the end of the episode, he tells Benson that he did not contract the virus. An eagle-eyed viewer might also note that the camera wobbles whenever Stabler is seen alone in this episode, hinting at his nausea.
At one point, Smythe mentions a singer getting a restraining order against Benson. This is a reference to the episode Abuse (2001).
Brennan Brown (Bates's Attorney) previously played the role of Brendan Walsh in episode 2.7, Asunder (2000).
Det. Munch (Richard Belzer) mentions the Red Squad. This was a unit of the NYPD that handled subversive groups throughout the better half of the 20th century. Many of the nation's large cities had them, and they acquired a reputation for using questionable methods in order to catch suspected "reds". They were officially disbanded in 1978, after the passing of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, but conspiracy theorists like Munch have long believed that the officers in those squads have simply been moved to divisions like Narcotics or the IAB.