SVU always shines in its fall finales.
Spoilers ahead for Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8, which tells a tense story surrounding the convenience store hostage situation.
Our favorite characters will undoubtedly make it out alive, but that doesn’t mean things won’t be grim in the 2024 finale.
Is Carisi in danger? Say that’s not the case!
Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8 spoilers reveal Carisi gets into a robbery-turned-hostage situation while buying flowers for Rollins.
I don’t really like this metaphor.
“SVU” is meant to be a stand-up for survivors and expose the practices that lead to trauma, but at times, it instead becomes a thriller about police officers themselves being held hostage.
These high-stakes stories can serve as vehicles for protagonists to become survivors, but they are still not as good as stories that help victims of rapists.
Plus, it’s unlikely Carisi, Benson, or Rollins were killed, so when they have a story where they were kidnapped and tortured, the stakes aren’t as high as they need to be.
We’re talking about Carisi, though, who is one half of a fan-favorite couple but seems to have mental health issues, so this might be better than usual.
Carisi’s involvement brings Rollins back to Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8
The best news about this: Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8 spoilers promise more Rollins!
According to the promo video, Benson called Rollins to let her know that Carisi had been robbed at a store and was now being held hostage, which worried Rollins.
Hopefully this will be more than just a cameo appearance.
Rollins is a seasoned SVU detective who has handled more hostage situations than she can handle. She is also a worried wife.
Carisi was the love of her life.
When everything goes bad, he buys her flowers – how sweet is that?
The danger he’s in creates an interesting story for Rollins, although spoilers for Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8 only hint at it.
Rollins is a recovering gambling addict who has been in several destructive relationships in the past.
Both of her daughters came from men she no longer wanted in her life, and she wasn’t used to happy, stable relationships.
The entire time she was with Carisi, she was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
He didn’t leave her because she quit her job as a teacher, or because her new, fulfilling job took her away from her family, but if he died, that was exactly what she would have wanted.
Therefore, Rollins will believe that it is inevitable that Carisi will be injured or killed, and will do everything in his power to prevent this from happening.
Carisi got into trouble in the first place to protect others
Carisi went through a rough time as the primary caregiver for his and Rollins’ children, which may also play a role in this story.
Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8 spoilers reveal that he intentionally put himself in the line of fire because he wanted to protect two women who were targeted by robbers.
The full log line says:
Carisi tries to protect two women who are taken hostage in a tense standoff between police and violent thieves; Benson and Rollins devise a risky plan to keep everyone safe.
So it’s likely that Carisi chose to stop the bandits himself rather than sneak away and call for help.
This has to do with the mental health issues he has seemed to struggle with all season.
Since becoming a father to two little girls, Carisi has worked hard to protect them from the evil in the world.
He becomes obsessed with stopping a pedophile who hasn’t offended yet on Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 7 because he fears Jesse will be harmed long after meeting the man on the street.
This could subconsciously motivate him to stop a robber from harming two women.
Of course, his motives could also be much simpler.
Carisi is a former cop who never quite moved on from his days on SVU. Early in his ADA career, SVU loaned him out when they were shorthanded.
I always thought this was stupid.
If Carisi wants to stay a cop, he’d better get a job as an investigator in the DA’s office (like Anthony in “Blue Bloods”) — You cannot be on both sides of the legal system at the same time.
However, since Carisi is a former cop, it makes sense that he would jump into action when it comes to robberies in progress, especially ones involving criminals threatening innocent people.
What’s Benson’s adventure plan for Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8?
Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8 spoilers don’t reveal much about Benson’s plan, other than that it does exist, but it will likely involve breaking into a store or convincing the robbers to trade Carisi A policeman.
There have been several episodes in the past where Benson has held himself hostage in exchange for someone else, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens again.
Meanwhile, a clip from the promo shows Velasco and Silva running toward the scene, so they may be trying to subdue the robbers while distracted.
Meanwhile, Carisi and the other hostages may come up with a plan of their own that will make Benson’s mission even more dangerous since neither man knows what the other is doing.
Over to you, SVU fanatics.
What do you think of spoilers for Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8?
Did you like this hostage scene, or would you prefer the fall finale to be a more standard SVU story?
Hit the comments and let us know!
“Law & Order: SVU” airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC and Fridays on Peacock. The fall finale will air on November 21, 2024.
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