I hate to say it, but Law & Order: SVU isn’t doing nearly enough this season.
This has been my favorite show for decades. It was this show that inspired me to write my own stories for survivors.
But this season of “Law & Order: SVU,” despite its more complete cast and some episodes worth watching again, is missing something.
Contrary to showrunner David Graziano’s promise, “Law & Order: SVU” hasn’t returned to its roots, and that’s the biggest disappointment.
If he hadn’t made that commitment, maybe I’d be more optimistic about the season. The story is pretty good for the most part, and the new character is interesting – when she does show up.
I don’t think SVU is beyond repair and needs to be canceled, but so far, Season 26 hasn’t impressed me as much as I expected.
Best Episode: “Tenfold” (Law & Order: SVU Season 25 Episode 7)
Law & Order: SVU Season 25 Episode 7 is the episode that delivers on the promise of getting back to basics.
The film focuses on a group of sex workers who sell their bodies on the streets.
The group of women SVU worked with on this case were also all women of color, with the exception of one trans woman, which allowed the episode to explore the impact of racism in policing on an already vulnerable population.
The best thing about this episode is that Law & Order: SVU doesn’t spell out the obvious problems. Sometimes characters push the writers’ agenda in dialogue, but not this time.
Instead, viewers are left to draw their own conclusions from what happens.
Warren doesn’t trust the police to turn her into a criminal, even though Bruno has helped her before and the other women in the group won’t speak without being paid.
It makes sense, but remains silent on why so the audience can find out for themselves.
The story’s Carisi subplot is also the kind of powerful personal story that often elevates SVU above other shows.
Carisi has been dealing with some mental health issues in Season 26 of Law & Order: SVU , and it’s especially evident on this show.
He’s so focused on the pedophiles he knows lurking nearby that he’s unwilling to do his real job, but that’s not a drama in itself.
Instead, Carisi’s obsession with the guy leads to an interesting subplot that raises the question of whether pedophiles can be helped to control their impulses before committing crimes.
In short, this story gets top marks on the Law & Order: SVU Season 26 midseason report card because it absolutely has all the makings of a must-see Law & Order: SVU TV series.
Worst TV Series: “Shattered” (Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 1)
Unfortunately, there are a few contenders for worst episode. Many episodes have great ideas but are not properly developed, thus inadvertently sending the wrong message.
However, Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 1 was about as bad as TenX was good. It’s also the season premiere!
This episode gets a low rating on the Law & Order: SVU Season 26 midseason report card because it completely botched an interesting premise.
It is understood that this case is about a group of female law students who were attacked in the dormitory, and one of them was murdered and raped.
(Fortunately, this incident at Hudson University is not the same time as the protest that turned into a riot in FBI Season 7 Episode 6!)
However, the episode’s cold open (aka the pre-credits scene) seems to go on forever. It juxtaposes a scene of Benson taking her team to a shooting range with a scene of the team studying together.
These long cold opens are a bad habit that Law & Order: SVU needs to break.
The original Law & Order has addressed this issue this season, but SVU is still writing them as a pilot for a spinoff about people we’ve never met.
The premiere was particularly shocking. It tries to dump a lot of information about newcomer Kate Silva, which is another reason why the episode’s story gets off to a slow start.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Law & Order: Season 26 Episode 1 used the tired trope of having the perpetrator pop up midway through instead of spinning a story that led to his arrest.
It’s like the writers realized they had to make an arrest midway through and just shoehorned someone in.
This is not the way to start the season! Fortunately, Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 2 saved the show with a stronger storyline and less information dumping, but it’s not a good sign that the season opener was so sloppily written .
Best Storyline: Carisi’s Mental Health Deteriorates
Carisi’s subplot was easily the best storyline, although I had to take some points off my Law & Order: SVU Season 26 midseason report card for not being distinctive enough.
Throughout the first half of the season, Carisi struggled to adjust to being a single father as Rollins traveled frequently for his new job.
As a father of girls, all the horrors he’d seen during his career as a police officer and an ADA seemed to trigger vicarious trauma, and while Carisi was walking down the street, a pedophile approached him. Jesse squinted, and Carisi couldn’t shake her own fear.
This scene desperately needs a Law & Order: SVU spinoff about Rollins and Carisi so both characters can get the screen time their stories deserve, but in the meantime, Carisi is Struggling to remain objective during the case while outraged at pedophiles and others who may have left his daughters injured and living on the streets.
This is why the Carisi hostage story in Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8 was unnecessary.
Carisi was already on a path to poor mental health, so he didn’t need to directly experience horrific violence to struggle with PTSD and related trauma issues.
It’s an exciting, intense story, but the Law & Order: SVU Season 26 midseason transcript gets a lower score for including it because it’s so gratuitous and takes up an hour that it could have been Focus on strong cases for the fall finale.
Worst storyline: Rollins returns as intelligence officer
Amanda Rollins is one of my favorite characters and I’m tired of how poorly she is treated.
It’s bad enough that Rollins had limited appearances, but when she did show up, it wasn’t for a strong storyline.
The idea of her as an intelligence officer is great on paper, and I’m all for Rollins’ spin-off of Law & Order: SVU.
However, she has appeared twice so far, and in both cases the sexual assault victim was an afterthought.
Her first appearance was better than her second, as she was at least actively involved in one investigation, even though it seemed like an investigation that belonged to a different show. (Again, we need spinoffs.)
Carisi spent much of her time as a spectator while she was held hostage. She showed up only to be escorted away while the hostage negotiation team yelled that she shouldn’t be there.
When Carisi finally walks out of the deli, she has some emotional scenes with him, but the scenes before her are a waste because she doesn’t have much to do. If the show is going to use her, she should be more actively involved in solving problems.
Other Thoughts Contributing to Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Midseason Transcript
- Kate Silva was a great addition to the team, but she disappeared for a few episodes after her introduction, which made no sense. This is one way in which the idea of rotating actors to save money is problematic for the show.
- SVU continues to pretend that Elliot Stabler doesn’t exist. While I’m neutral on Benson/Stabler, it’s a bad idea, especially when some of the cases look like they’d fit right in with Law & Order: Organized Crime.
- Likewise, SVU didn’t respond despite Benson’s move to Law & Order, even though the question of whether a brain-dead victim needs to be taken off life support came up on Law & Order two weeks before it did. SVU》on.
- Despite major issues with the writing, several strong cases emerged, and Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 6 was a better case than Law & Order Season 23 on the Gabby Petito case. A better version.
Over to you, SVU fanatics.
What do you think of Season 26 so far? How would you rate it?
Vote in our poll to make your voice heard, then voice your thoughts in the comments.
Law & Order: SVU Season 26 airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC and Fridays on Peacock. The show will return with new episodes on January 16, 2025.
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