Critic’s Score: 3 / 5.0
3
Violent, armed robbers. Pointless deaths. Carisi in peril.
Legislation & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8 supplied an adrenaline-pounding story meant to maintain the viewers on the sting of their seats.
Benson’s been held hostage twice, and a stalker kidnapped Rollins from her therapist’s workplace as soon as, so it’s not like this sort of story is something new, however it will get factors for the joys issue anyway.
The Aftermath Will Be Higher Than Legislation & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8
Each police procedural does the cop-in-danger trope at the least as soon as, however currently, it looks like most of them do it as soon as a season.
It’s simple to turn out to be desensitized to it when you understand your favourite character won’t depart the present and won’t be killed off, it doesn’t matter what.
Moreover, these tales don’t belong on SVU.
This collection is meant to be about empowering sexual assault survivors, and as an alternative, infrequently, we get a whole hour of one of many heroes being held hostage.
The aftermath of those tales is much better as a result of it reveals the cops (and sure, I do know Carisi is an ADA, however he was once a cop, and he was in cop mode this complete episode) fighting the identical trauma they’ve been serving to others cope with.
However there are different methods to get there, significantly with Carisi.
The person’s been coping with vicarious trauma and virtually breaking down all season lengthy.
Final week he was hyperfocusing on getting one pedophile off the streets, as if that was going to magically make his women protected.
If Legislation & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8 wished to arrange a psychological well being storyline for Carisi, they didn’t must have him get randomly held hostage.
As an alternative, he might have misplaced a case he actually wished to win, one involving somebody who preys on younger women.
That would have led to a strong remaining scene wherein he utterly broke down, making it really feel like a REALLY very long time earlier than SVU returns on January 16.
Nonetheless, the closing scenes, wherein Carisi insisted he was okay regardless that it was apparent he wasn’t, had been sturdy.
I used to be particularly touched by Rollins calling him “Sonny” slightly than Carisi.
These two often name one another by their final names, so her refusal to take action confirmed how apprehensive she was about him.
It was bizarre that the youngsters had been with Rollins’ mom, although. Final I heard, she was disowning Rollins for not enabling Kim’s nonsense anymore.
Legislation & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8 Wasted Rollins’ Involvement
Rollins doesn’t seem in lots of episodes, so when she is round, I’d slightly she do greater than battle with a hostage negotiator and get informed to take a stroll.
The logline for this episode mentioned that Benson and Rollins devise a dangerous plan, however I didn’t see Rollins doing a lot of something.
She wasn’t as ineffective because the “top-notch” hostage negotiator, who couldn’t even get the perps to speak to him, however I’d have slightly she had a subplot in regards to the ghost weapons she’s attempting to get off the streets.
That might have been a much more fascinating use of Rollins than no matter that was on the sidewalk exterior the deli.
Carisi’s Efficiency Made This Episode
When you’re a Carisi fan, you in all probability loved Legislation & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8.
It shouldn’t have been a Carisi-only episode. We would have liked extra of an ensemble than we bought, contemplating that Benson has a full crew and that, at this level, she and Rollins are as skilled with hostage negotiation because the precise negotiators.
Nonetheless, this was a robust episode for Carisi. Peter Scanavino did a few of his greatest work thus far throughout this hostage situation.
His dedication to stick with Ali and attempt to save his life was nice. This man wasn’t only a retailer clerk to him. He was a pal, and Carisi’s response when Ali died broke my coronary heart.
Carisi: I’m sorry I couldn’t save your pal.
Elizabeth: I’m sorry I couldn’t save yours.
I additionally loved the best way that Carisi used psychology and his data of the legislation to confuse the robbers and throw sand of their intimidation operation.
Boyd reacted violently to not being in management, however it additionally confused him that Carisi wasn’t as petrified of him as he wished him to be.
Carisi’s interactions with Deonte had been so heartfelt that he fooled me, too.
I additionally thought he was real about serving to Deonte out if Deonte helped get them out of the scenario. I ought to have identified higher, I suppose, however I felt like Deonte was redeemable.
He was younger, naive, and had spent an excessive amount of time within the system because it was, and though Carisi was proper that he may very well be held chargeable for felony homicide, I felt like the truth that he didn’t really pull his set off on anybody till he’d had sufficient of Boyd’s crap ought to rely for one thing.
(He additionally seemed like he might have performed a younger Randall Pearson on This Is Us and his final identify being Mosley bought me all distracted excited about how that’s Gabi’s final identify on Discovered, so what bizarre mash-up was occurring right here?)
Anyway, I particularly favored when Carisi informed him it was both assist him out or go house in a physique bag. That was a strong trade, although I discovered it complicated that Deonte’s response was that he knew Carisi used to work for Benson.
I don’t perceive how they may discover that out by trying on his cellphone. Does he have Benson saved as “Captain Olivia Benson (my former boss)?”
Tess’ Rape Was Tangential to Legislation & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8
The scenario described within the logline was far more carefully aligned with SVU’s mission than what performed out.
If Carisi had tried to cease a rape in progress and ended up in a hostage scenario, that might have at the least been an precise SVU case.
As an alternative, Tess’ rape felt prefer it was added in to make it related to SVU.
She was traumatized, and Benson and Rollins comforted her after she was lastly launched, however she was such a minor character that it didn’t really feel impactful — and that’s the alternative of what SVU often stands for.
Over to you, SVU fanatics!
What did you consider this Carisi-centered hostage scenario?
Did it meet your expectations for SVU on the whole or for the autumn finale?
Vote in our ballot to rank this episode, after which hit the feedback along with your ideas.
Legislation & Order: SVU airs on NBC on Thursdays at 9/8c and on Peacock on Fridays. It can return with all-new episodes on January 16, 2025.
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