Reviewer Rating: 3/5.0
3
Violent, armed robbers. Unnecessary death. Carisi is in danger.
Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8 tells an adrenaline-pumping story designed to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
Benson was taken hostage twice and Rollins was kidnapped from her therapist’s office once by a stalker, so this type of story is nothing new, but it’s worth points for the scare factor regardless.
The Consequences Will Be Better Than Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8
Every police procedural implements the “cops in danger” trope at least once, but lately, it seems like most of them are doing it once a season.
It’s easy to become desensitized to it when you know your favorite characters aren’t leaving the show no matter what and aren’t going to be killed off.
Additionally, these stories do not belong to SVU.
This series is supposed to be about empowering survivors of sexual assault, but sometimes, we get a full hour of one of its heroes being held hostage.
The aftermath of these stories is much better because it shows the police (yes I know Carisi is an ADA but he used to be a cop and he was in cop mode the whole episode) with the same things they suffered Trauma struggles to help others deal with it.
But there are other ways to achieve this, especially through Carisi.
The man has been suffering from vicarious trauma all season and is nearly broken.
Last week, he was preoccupied with getting a pedophile off the streets, as if that would magically keep his daughters safe.
If Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8 wants to set up a mental health storyline for Carisi, they don’t need to have him randomly held hostage.
Instead, he might lose a lawsuit he really wanted to win, involving a man who preyed on young girls.
This could lead to a final scene where he completely breaks down, making it feel like a long time has passed since SVU returned on January 16th.
Still, the final scene, in which Carisi insists he’s okay even though it’s obvious he’s not, is still powerful.
What particularly touched me was Rollins calling him “Sonny” instead of Carisi.
The two of them usually call each other by their last name, but her not doing so shows her concern for him.
It’s weird for the kids to be with Rollins’ mother, though. Last I heard, she cut ties with Rollins because she no longer supported King’s nonsense.
Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8 Wasted Rollins’ Involvement
Rollins wasn’t in a lot of episodes, so when she was there, I’d rather she did more than fight with the hostage negotiators and be told to go for a walk.
The synopsis for this episode says that Benson and Rollins hatch a risky plan, but I don’t see Rollins doing anything.
She’s not as useless as the “A-list” hostage negotiator who can’t even get a criminal to talk to him, but I’d rather she had a subplot about a ghost gun she’s trying to get off the street.
Rollins has a much more interesting use than anything on the sidewalk outside the deli.
Carisi’s performance made this episode
If you’re a Carisi fan, you might enjoy Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8.
This shouldn’t just be Carisi’s episode. Given that Benson has a full team and that she and Rollins are currently as experienced in hostage negotiations as the actual negotiators, we’re going to need a bigger team than we have.
However, this was an important episode for Carisi. Peter Scanavino does his best work yet in this hostage situation.
His determination to stay with Ali and try to save his life was great. This guy is more than just a store clerk to him. He was a friend of mine and Carisi’s reaction when Ali died broke my heart.
Carisi: I’m sorry I couldn’t save your friend.
Elizabeth: I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.
I also loved the way Carisi used psychology and legal knowledge to confuse the robbers and throw sand in his intimidation campaign.
Boyd reacted violently to the loss of control, but was confused by the fact that Carisi wasn’t as scared of him as he’d hoped.
Carisi’s interactions with Deonte were so genuine that he fooled me too.
I also think that if Deonte helped them out, he was sincere in helping Deonte out of a situation. I guess I should know better, but I feel like Deonte is redeemable.
He’s young, naive, and has spent too much time in the system, and while Carisi is right that he could be held accountable for felony murder, I don’t feel like he actually pulled the trigger on anyone. Enough of Boyd’s bullshit, this should count for something.
(He also looked like he could play young Randall Pearson on This Is Us, and the fact that his last name was Mosley distracted me thinking that was Gabby ( Gabi’s last name in Found, so what’s the weird mashup going on here?
Anyway, I especially liked Carisi telling him to either help him or go home in a body bag. It was a powerful exchange, and although Deonte’s response was that he knew Carisi used to work for Benson, I found it confusing.
I don’t understand how they could find that by looking at his phone. Does he save Benson as “Captain Olivia Benson (my former boss)”?
Tess’s rape has nothing to do with Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8
The situation described in the synopsis is more in line with SVU’s mission than what actually happened.
If Carisi was trying to stop a rape in progress and ended up being held hostage, then this would at least be a real SVU case.
Instead, Tess’s rape felt like it was added in to make it relevant to SVU.
She was traumatized, and Benson and Rollins comforted her after she was eventually released, but she was a small character and felt little impactful – the opposite of what SVU usually stood for.
Over to you, SVU fanatics!
What are your thoughts on this hostage situation centered on Carisi?
Does it live up to your expectations for SVU in general or the fall finale?
Vote in our poll to rank this episode, and voice your thoughts in the comments.
“Law & Order: SVU” 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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