'Law & Order: SVU': Benson Threatens Major Career Change After Unfair Handling of Rape Case

By Daniel S. Levine

Capt. Olivia Benson's future at the New York Police Department is now in jeopardy after another dramatic Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode on Thursday night. Her beef with the new Chief Tommy McGrath reached new heights in "One More Tale of Two Victims," which showed how McGrath chose one rape victim over the other. But for Benson, leading SVU means seeing justice for all victims, not just the ones with NYPD connections. (Spoilers ahead!)

In the episode, there were two victims from two very different backgrounds. The first was Crystal Nunez (Jade Marie Fernandez), and the second was Peggy Grogan (Liz Holtan), the daughter of Deputy Inspector Dermott Grogan (Boris McGiver). The two had very little in common besides both being single moms until the SVU team realized they both stopped at the same ice cream truck. The guy who runs the truck, Travis Hilsdale (Johnny Pemberton), was the rapist for both women. While they had solid evidence to convict Travis on both rapes, McGrath (Terry Serpico) believed Crystal's case would bring reasonable doubt to the jury, so he forced A.D.A. Sonny Carisi (Peter Scanavino) to drop all charges related to Crystal's rape.

law-and-order-svu-10-7-episode-nbc.jpg
(Photo: Virginia Sherwood/NBC)

There were two scenes in the episode where Benson (Mariska Hargitay) seemed close to leaving it all behind. The first came in a meeting with her doctor, who wanted her to retire after her car accident. The doctor said he could just sign the paperwork and she'd be set for life. Benson had no intention of retiring and just wanted to be cleared for full duty. "I need to work. I love my job," she said. Her doctor reminded her that things have changed and things have been stressful. The meeting ended with Benson being told to think about her choices.

Benson might spend more time thinking about it after her clash with McGrath in the end. She was not happy about McGrath treating the two rape cases so differently. "As I told you before in my office, I won't turn my back on any victim," Benson said. "If you stand between me and any victim of sexual assault again, you can take my shield and my gun. In fact, if that's not understood, take it now." McGrath actually laughed at this! "OK Captain Benson. OK, I think we understand each other," he said. "I hope so," Benson said as the episode faded to black.

McGrath was introduced in the Season 23 premiere, pushing Garland (Demore Barnes) out and telling Benson to focus on solve-able cases. Benson, Rollins (Kelli Giddish) and Fin (Ice-T) have all been frustrated by his decisions. They also suspect the new detective, Velasco (Octavio Pisano) is a spy for McGrath. Viewers will have to watch next week's episode on Oct. 14 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC to see the next step of this dramatic clash of personalities in the SVU squad room.

0comments
Start the Conversation

of