‘SVU’ Sneak Peek: Olivia Loses Her Kid and Her Cool

A new sneak peek of Law & Order: SVU teases Lt. Benson’s decisive response to her son’s kidnapping.

Fans have been waiting since the show’s fall finale on Dec. 6 to find out what happened to Noah.

In the cliffhanger episode, Noah’s biological grandmother took the toddler to the mall, where most fans assume he was stolen away by the dark figure who was watching him.

The sneak peek shows Lt. Olivia Benson rushing to the scene. At first, she expresses her panic and hysteria at losing her child, but as soon as she gets to the scene she takes charge. In a triumphant moment, Benson begins ordering the cops on the scene and mall security to secure the building.

The episode is titled “Gone Baby Gone.” It promises to be a brilliant performance by Mariska Hargitay, who walks the fine line between a mother experiencing her worst nightmare and a cop tackling a case with the highest stakes of her life. The clip shows her voice cracking in the station, and she snaps at Fin in the car, yet once they reach the mall it’s all business.

The preview also teases the confrontation between Benson and Grandma Sheila, who swears she only turned her back for ten seconds. Benson doesn’t seem concerned with assigning blame — she wants to find Noah.

The month-long wait between episodes has been tough on fans. It’s bad enough to go without your favorite show for the midseason break, but a cliffhanger like this is practically torture.

The show returns on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.