Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 12 finally gave Silva something to do!
The story featured her butting heads with most of the team after Carisi insisted on pressing charges against a man with an intellectual disability.
Our TV Fanatic writers Laura Nowak, Jasmine Blu, and Jack Ori debate how well Silva did, whether Benson had a point about Carisi’s behavior, and more.
Was Benson right that Carisi was pushing too hard in this case because he wants to prove he has it together after his traumatic response earlier in the season?
Laura: This may be unpopular, but I thought Benson was annoying here.
She’s made many deals to get the bigger fish, so why shouldn’t Carisi? Granted, he should have listened when Matthew’s case came up since he’s never cared much about numbers.
Jasmine: I’ll disagree with Laura because Carisi was getting on every last nerve I had with this one.
It definitely felt like he was overcompensating, and then he didn’t want to listen to anything or anyone while he did.
Benson wasn’t wrong about how this should’ve been a federal case.
It honestly felt like he was removed from the emotional aspects of this case or something, but that was similar for all the men on this case compared to the women.
It rubbed me the wrong way.
I wouldn’t have wanted to strike a deal with Dollar Store Bradley Cooper, either. Hmph.
Jack: Dollar Store Bradley Cooper! That has me doubled over, Jasmine.
I also agreed with Benson. It wasn’t so much that Carisi made the decisions he did but that he insisted on going full-steam ahead without considering all the relevant facts.
I was also glad that Benson brought up Carisi’s trauma. I don’t think that should be swept under the rug after half an episode. Her line gave me hope that Carisi’s trauma story will be a part of future episodes of Law & Order: SVU.
This was Silva’s biggest episode to date! How did she do?
Laura: I really enjoyed seeing more of her and how conflicted she was when she saw that Matthew wasn’t a young teen but someone with autism who likely acted like a child.
I wished she had gotten to fix the situation herself, and we’d seen even more character growth.
Jasmine: I loved seeing more of Silva! I keep saying it, but she’s so great when they actually show her and know what to do with her.
They set it up so that she was almost like a younger version or a new generation of Olivia, and I liked the parallels.
I thought she did fantastic, even when she had to face some of the irritating moments of everyone acting as if she was too “green” to accept how things worked or she was getting too emotional.
I loved that she stuck to her guns and advocated for Matthew.
Jack: I also thought that Silva was like a young Benson.
Additionally, as I said in my Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 12 review, Benson is at her best when mentoring younger cops, so I really enjoyed their dynamic.
I did NOT enjoy every single cop telling Silva she was just confused because she is used to working homicide cases.
I’m glad she ignored that nonsense.
Was Baxter’s crossover appearance from Law & Order worth it?
Laura: Not really. Again, I would have preferred seeing Silva working with Carisi to remedy this situation.
Jasmine: Narratively, not really. Did I care, though?
No, because my two favorite Nepo baby icons share the screen briefly, making me giggle and kick my feet.
Tony and Mariska played off one another well in that short scene, and I ate it up with a spoon. I’d love more.
Jack: I was disappointed.
Once again, Law & Order: SVU hyped up something that turned out to be a lot of nothing.
Baxter’s appearance was extremely short.
We didn’t even get his decision on-screen. Benson told everyone that he’d agreed to drop the case after he’d only agreed on-screen to think about it.
I’d much rather Baxter confront Carisi about his erratic behavior on-screen. Carisi needs some tough love — I didn’t like him at all during Law & Order: SVU Season 26.
Was Silva agreeing to come back and play Skyrim with Matthew at the end, risking another Maddie Flynn situation (getting too involved)?
Laura: I hadn’t even thought of that. I doubt we’ll even see him again.
Silva isn’t Benson. I thought it was a sweet moment that she followed up with him and noticed he needed a friend.
Jasmine: I didn’t even consider that either. I thought it was an endearing moment, and it never crossed my mind that it could be something that would become an issue down the road.
Even if she checks in with him once every blue moon, it wouldn’t be the same as what Liv did with Maddie.
Jack: I didn’t think about it until later.
I guess that stupid Maddie Flynn story scars me and don’t want a repeat!
Were the other cops right that dropping Matthew’s case from the get-go would risk losing all the cases from the sting?
Laura: Unlikely. Even the judge looked shocked by them prosecuting Matthew when he saw him in court.
Compassion would have been a good thing.
Jasmine: The problem is that once he got to court and they laid his case out in the first place, they’d face similar scrutiny if that’s what they were afraid of, as he never should’ve been brought in.
I would think going through with it and having little things, like Bruno encouraging Silva to tell Matthew to bring condoms when he clearly didn’t know what they were, wouldn’t look so hot on the record, and would open up a can of worms for their other cases.
Jack: I see what you’re saying, Jasmine.
I agree with Laura, though. Matthew’s case was different than the others.
The other men were eager to get condoms and get in that room. Matthew didn’t know what condoms were and was looking for a friend.
Those are not the same thing, and I hope the judge will see if anyone tried to pull a fast one based on dropping Matthew’s case.
Anything not mentioned above.
Laura: There is a fine line between treating people with special needs the same and showing them compassion when you can tell they don’t understand.
It’s a topic that needs to be represented more on television. I felt for both Matthew and Silva.
Unrelated, with all these cases related to teens, why haven’t we heard about or seen Noah?
Jasmine: Agreed. And, yeah, where is Noah? It is odd that they don’t even mention him anymore.
Silva was the only character who didn’t get on my nerves during this episode. I’m really proud of her for sticking to her guns.
I hate when series act like a cop’s compassion can be a weakness rather than their greatest strength.
Jack: I was also thinking about Noah during this episode. He was about the same age as the kids being targeted online.
You’d think Benson would at least want to check in and ensure he knows not to meet online friends in person without talking to her first.
Jasmine, I was also annoyed with everyone. There seemed to be an awful lot of uncalled-for condescension toward Silva.
What was your favorite scene, quote, or story from Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 12?
Laura: I liked the end when Silva told Matthew and him that the case was being dropped.
Jasmine: I liked everything with Silva. She killed this episode!
In this installment, we got to see and understand her better. It’s the most strides they’ve made with her character, and it was enough to make me want more.
Jack: I loved Silva in Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 12, too. She’s been underused this season, and it shows.
Over to you, SVU fanatics.
What are your thoughts about Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 12?
Hit the comments to answer these Round Table questions or share any other thoughts about the episode.
Law & Order: SVU airs on NBC on Thursdays at 9/8c and streams on Peacock on Fridays.
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