‘Law & Order: SVU’ 25×09 Review: “Children of Wolves”

Sometimes, we don’t like an episode but can at least see the vision behind it; unfortunately, this does not apply to Law & Order: SVU 25×09. “Children of Wolves” just has far, far too many problems — specifically deeply problematic elements — and nothing even…fits. With less than a true handful of episodes left in this series’ landmark 25th season, we don’t even know if anyone knows who Captain Olivia Benson is supposed to be anymore, much less where her story is going.

From her infantilizing of her pre-teen — or teen? Nobody is really able to do the math here, seeing as how they’ve been inconsistent even in how much they’ve aged the kid up — son, to…whatever that behavior was with her suspect, absolutely everything about who Liv is in this episode is flawed. On multiple levels. And not even in that intriguing “deeply-flawed, fully-human hero” sort of way either. If even a double dose of Mariska Hargitay (both as actor and director) can’t save an episode, that’s…impressive, to say the least. Just…not in a good way. At all.

At least we know Noah still exists? 

It’s probably going to be difficult for us to unpack every single thing wrong with Law & Order: SVU 25×09. In fact, even the personal scenes with Noah…have far too many problems to count. So, let’s start with the comically inconsistent and unexplained part: That box in the closet. First off, if Noah looked for answers in that box, and if he has known his half brother for like a year now, why is he just now, after first asking about The Big Important (still not convinced) Maddie Case™, trying to discuss it? And, as always, WHY IS THE MADDIE CASE THE THING THAT’S SUCH A BIG DEAL — NOT JUST FOR OLIVA BUT FOR NOAH, TOO, NOW??? Of all the things for Noah to just randomly ask about, out of the blue, he has to start with…that.

To be clear: Noah Googled his mom, and the first person he asks about being brought to justice is…the perp from Maddie’s case. Not any of the cases since. And certainly not any of the much, much more impactful ones that would’ve shown up in that type of search. Maddie. But this totally random girl’s thing…prompts him, with literally zero sense of caution, to suddenly take an interest in Mommy’s job and his own origin story. So, of course Olivia gets nervous AF — who wouldn’t? Especially when Noah just saw her get the everloving sh*t beaten out of her last year. And, at least as far as viewers know, neither of them has had a real conversation about that fiasco since — which means…time to just drop a William Lewis flashback in for funsies!

Harmful? Who cares? It’s entertainment — and Maddie is more important of a conversation anyway.

But wait. We were discussing the box.

Ok. The box.

So, it’s there. Noah can easily access it. We get a whole, artsy thing with Oliva putting the box on a higher shelf — as if a kid in Noah’s dancer shape can’t just get something to balance on and…climb up — and then, after this most recent case, she just…decides to bring the box back out. Randomly, just like the original conversation. All that effort, with her injuries in the last year alone…for nothing. Why not?! (To be clear, aiming for something creative isn’t always the wrong approach. Often, we appreciate it. Here, it just puts the emphasis on all the wrong things — kind of a season-wide theme, actually. So. On brand!)

After all that, it’s time to have another very mature, deep conversation with Noah at the end of Law & Order: SVU 25×09. Clearly, the best time and way to approach this is Mother Olivia reading her precious little boy a bedtime. Like it’s a fairytale. At his age. How does it go? Hm. Once upon a time…yadda, yadda. Something about a very pretty lady named Ellie, who was raped and trafficked by a big, mean meanie named Johnny D. They’re both dead now — Ellie overdosed on icky, yucky “just say no” drugs. Johnny D. was shot by a cop (Mommy’s partner at the time! Uncle Nick!!!) after he started shooting people. Don’t worry about any of that, though.

What’s important is that Mommy Olivia found a little, sick baby in a drawer. He wound up in the foster system. But all the things wrong there are too scary for bedtime, and it’s very sad that nobody came forward to claim Baby Noah while all the other bad things were happening. So, let’s skip ahead! Mommy, having just survived the worst horror of her life of horrors, which we will not discuss but you can learn about on the Google dot com, adopted you! Grandma kidnapped you once, but that’s ok! Skip over a lot more things, including what happened last year…and we all lived happily ever after. The end!

No, seriously. Even a very mature person would have nightmares after actually learning the real truth behind any of that, so even with our very watered down and goofy version of the storytelling aspect, this is just all very bad. Bad parenting, bad time, bad place, bad idea.

Mockery aside, how much does Olivia actually tell Noah? That’s the real question, seeing as how this very important conversation isn’t given anywhere near the time or respect it deserves in “Children of Wolves.” Honestly, we can’t say this part enough. So, here it is again: Even the babyish version that a woman who only parents her kid once in a blue moon and therefore treats him like he’s still much, much younger than he is…should not be bedtime story material. Then again, spring cleaning baby Noah’s bookshelves as he’s getting ready for bed isn’t exactly normal human behavior either either. So.

…has anyone on this staff met a human, much less a human child or pre-teen/teen/whatever he is this week? Guessing not. Looking at the opening scene, a kid Noah’s age would push back on his mom’s evasiveness. Also: In what storybook universe does Noah Google his mom, only see the headlines about Lewis and Johnny D., and…not go for more details? Come on. If he was curious enough to look in the first place, and his mother isn’t talking about anything age-appropriate with him, he’d absolutely want more details. And, quite honestly, between watching what happened last year, then having Liv come home after being shot not long after, kid ought to have some bottled anger — frustration, at the very least. So, back to my point about a real, human pre-teen/teen/whatever-age would absolutely argue when Mother Dearest tried to dodge the conversation. And yet.

While we’re at it: Has anyone here “met” Olivia Benson? Also guessing…not. Because, yes, she’s evasive. And yes, she’s constantly abandoning Noah these days for the Maddie crap. But no, she wouldn’t traumatize him before bed. And no, she wouldn’t disrespect him by claiming to be honest with him, only to give a Nicktoons version of events either.

Trigger warning, much?

Continuing on with the complete failure that is the “personal” aspect of Law & Order: SVU 25×09, we have a name Olivia Benson — and many viewers — would be happy to never hear again. That, obviously, is William Lewis. Now, to be fair, many of us have wondered how that conversation would go with a certain former partner. However. Throwing this scene out there, with no interest in crafting a larger story there, is just needlessly cheap and cruel.

Time for Captain Obvious: If Lewis comes up when Noah Googles his mother, that’s confirmation of what nearly everyone has said all along: There’s no way Elliot Stabler doesn’t know. He’s an old man who’s not great with the technology and all, sure, but come on. Sorry, not sorry, but Olivia wearing some jewelry Elliot gave her doesn’t take away the fact that Meloni has been back in this franchise, thus putting his character back in Olivia’s orbit for years, and they have never discussed it. It also can’t fix the gross out-of-character behavior of Stabler not returning at the time in the first place…but whatever. (Can’t blame the current team for that…can for a lot of other things — like this episode — though.)

Also, if this huge — huge! — piece of Liv’s history is going to be part of a conversation with literally anyone, it can’t just be thrown in as an “OMG watch her have a flashback that the audience didn’t at all need to see” split second thing and then…basically dropped. Talk about disrespect and, certainly, not “healing.” Maybe this late-night emotional attack is supposed to, in some way, account for how Liv behaves later? If so, that takes a lot of (undeserved) benefit of the doubt for viewers to even consider digging that deeply to try to find a point. Throwing William Lewis up as a red flag, then throwing everything else at the wall to see what sticks (nothing) while ignoring the flag being right there doesn’t count as some master creative plan. If you want to see like planning and execution look like, try the 10:00 hour.

Anyway.

Wildly enough, all of the above (and many more gripes) can be summed up by things Liv actually says in Law & Order: SVU 25×09. Things like “time and a place” and “this is not how we do it.” Come to think of it, “this is not how we do it” kind of sums up the entire episode.

Make police brutality great again!

Speaking of “this is not how we do it,” we present to you, Captain Benson’s conduct during her investigation. It starts off as kind of annoying and silly — we’re really continuing our personal conversation from earlier with ADA Carisi outside a dying victim’s hospital room in stead of, at the very least, finding the cafeteria ? Ok then — and gets downright offensive. Surely, everyone who hates Detective Stabler with a fiery passion for how unstable, violent, dangerous, “poster boy for rage,” etc. he is will be calling Liv out for how she treats her suspect in Law & Order: SVU 25×09, right?

Does Hargitay do a wonderful job of showing Olivia’s disgust with…eh, everything about the case, pretty much? Sure. Is it enough to make this airing on television in 2024 in any way ok? Absolutely not. She’s talented…but no one is that talented. Again, the fairest interpretation here is that the conversation with Noah triggered her, and that kind of…monster within (if you will) works its way to the surface when Benson makes an attempt at “negotiating” with her suspect. Sure. Fine. Whatever. We can go there. Then again, if she’s in that terrible of a place, she has no business in the field. (For what it’s worth, as the Captain, she has far too much time in the field anyway.)

So, ok. This guy is a monster. Liv’s not in a great place. Poorly done? Sure. But we can live with it.

What we absolutely can not live with is what comes after Captain Benson successfully gets Seth to come out, arrests him, and…does her little “reenactment” with him. There is nothing ok about this. Nothing. There are plenty of examples of cops, even our beloved and “perfect” Olivia Benson, doings “bad guy” (to borrow Noah’s aged-down language) things under the guise of being the “good guys” on procedurals. Sometimes, (like that one time Liv decked that dude not too long after Baldy left?) viewers might even knowingly cheer on some of the more problematic moments. But, as parts of society at least attempt to grow and do better, it’d be really nice if our entertainment tried to keep up instead of constantly failing to do so.

Like, again. Are we supposed to be appalled at what the series protagonist is doing? Because, um. We most certainly are. If not, what’s the goal here? “Sometimes, we make mistakes when we’re in a bad place”? Because that’s weak. Anti-hero? Absolutely not. Because we don’t even have a gray area to try to speak of. Not to mention, the entire scene is made 1000 times worse by the fact that Olivia does all of this in front of her subordinate, who is clearly uncomfortable but not at all in a place to call her out — shoutout to Octavio Pisano for nailing that performance, by the way.

But no, that’s not even the absolute worst piece of the puzzle here. Let’s talk about what happens toward the end of Law & Order: SVU 25×09. In the first place, ADA Carisi — who has, once again, spent more time playing cop than doing his actual job — mentions Seth’s lawyers have a “strong claim of coercion if [the case] goes to trial.” Instead of showing any remorse, whatsoever — much less any concern about justice for her victims, whatsoever — Liv…is all tough girl, “let him try. I’m ready.” She should know better, considering she was very much in the wrong. Apparently, she does not. Carisi doesn’t really press the issue, possibly because he knows his friend’s mental state. (Maybe we could quit with the conflicts of interest here and…not have BFFs be our ADAs? No? Ok.)

We’re still not at the worst of the worst, though.

See, let’s talk about Captain Curry. Formerly from IAB. Remember her?

What Law & Order: SVU 25×09 does to this character, and the message the episode sends while doing so, is so offensive, it’s hard to even put it into words. This is a former IAB Captain, just giving Liv the “girl, teehee, you were baaaaad” without having any real conversation, whatsoever. Are we seriously supposed to believe this is something she would let go, given her past characterization? Yeah, that’s a no from us. That, in and of itself, is pretty horrible — like, what? We leave IAB and immediately decide “you can have a lot of misconduct, as a treat”? Absolutely not. What Liv did isn’t of the “let’s be gal pals and break some rules” variety that was set up earlier in the season; it’s something very, very troubling and serious.

To be clear: Bending the rules for the right reasons can lead to good storytelling, but this episode includes neither of those things. Are we done yet? No. Because there are, as with every other problematic aspect of “Children of Wolves,” more layers to discuss here.

Due to rank, Velasco couldn’t do anything about Captain Benson’s behavior. Same goes for Bruno, during that very brief moment where he hinted at something being wrong. Friendship, formerly having Liv as his commanding officer, and also at least pretending to care about the lines between policing and the DA’s office also prevented Carisi from holding Olivia accountable. Captain Curry, at least in rank, could speak to Captain Benson as an equal. But nope! Can’t have that!

Here’s the worst of the worst, though. In having Curry address Benson’s actions in a conspiratorial, besties being like “girl, you’re so bad!!!!” kind of way, rather than really standing against police misconduct, we’re looking at a Black woman in the U.S. essentially signing off on a white cop’s brutality. How the f**k did nobody stop this from going to air? In 2024. Unbelievable. The message this sends, especially when paired with the deeply racist and anti-reform nonsense that aired earlier this season…no words. Not even sure there are any variations on WTF that will ever fit here. Certainly, just because Curry’s a Black woman doesn’t mean she has to forever be some token, flawless crusader. But…this is just inappropriate AF.

Do better.

More on Law & Order: SVU 25×09

• Pretty sure what we discussed here would’ve been a way, way more fitting room design for a boy Noah’s age…
• “Mom? Whatever happened to that girl?” Completely out of nowhere. Just…random AF.
• Literally, the only appropriate parts of that opening scene in Noah’s room are: Liv being flustered AF (on brand) and the mention of “invasion of privacy.”
• “Is it really that scary?” Ah, yes. Lie…but then, turn around and tell whatever grossly-simplified version you want at the end of the episode. Brilliant. 10/10. No notes. (0/10, all the notes.)
• Ok but he’s old enough that you could’ve told him about your own dad and “how great you turned out.” (Foggy on the “great” with respect to this episode, though.)
• Great reaction from Hargitay after she leaves the room.
• Cool AF shot from inside the closet…time-wasting, considering there’s a seemingly-instant change with it anyway, though.
• “That’s a woeful understatement.” He’s not wrong! Also…Fin would’ve been the appropriate person for this conversation. Just off the top of my head, good reasons Fin should’ve been the one: Actually there during the Lewis case. Is someone who calls Liv on her BS. Has experience with kids that age. Calls Liv on her BS. (Yes, again. Huge emphasis here).
• No, Law & Order: SVU 25×09 did not break the streak of “we have literally no idea how to use Peter Scanavino now.” Carisi shouldn’t be Liv’s sounding board for this particular issue, shouldn’t be out in the field so much, and shouldn’t be an ADA who barely spends time in the courtroom. And, again, he needed to be harder on Liv re: her conduct here.
• “He just wants to know that Maddie’s kidnapper is going to prison.” Why. Is. This. Case. Everyone’s. End. All.
• No, Liv, you won’t “rip him apart.” His lawyers get one whiff of how overly-attached you became to Maddie’s case, and it’s done for. You belong nowhere near the stand there or for this current case.
• Ah, yes. Noah is still a kid who believes in…whatever she said about bad guys…even after what he witnesses last year. BFFR.
• “I could use an ADA riding shotgun.” No, you could not. Possibly later to keep you honest. But not right at the moment, no. If you want to spend more time with your pals, make time.
• Ah, yes. The woman picked up on the lip gloss. Riveting.
• The Olivia Benson/Mariska Hargitay jaw drop.
• “You doing alright?” “Not really!” Love the delivery, proud of Liv for admitting she’s not ok. But the WTF of this conversation happening here now, and her still working despite realizing she’s not ok, both overshadow the positives.
• “Noah’s a strong kid, Liv.” “Is he strong enough to find out that his father’s a rapist?” “You were.” !!!!!!
• Also, as long as we’re repeating ourselves over and over: If he Googled and found Johnny D.’s name, even “just” in headlines, he already knows.
•  “You know whose fault this is? The guys who attacked her.” You don’t say.
• “Where is Sidney right now?” Olivia Benson is Ghostface.
• Ah, yes. Liv just knows. Here we go again!
• Did we need to see this girl getting choked? No, we did not. WTF.
• “I heard the stress in her voice.” Sure, Jan.
• “She’s raised mostly by her nanny.” Liv’s kid can relate.
• I need this series to just…never mention social media, ever.
• What is it with the way this series is portraying young victims’ moms this year? Demanding, “shrill,” irrational, always with guilting Liv and expecting her to be their god-like savior…can we not?
• Are we going to pretend the wasteful narration of that security footage is for accessibility because…
• The stepmom has her teen’s passwords written down at home??? Do folks actually do this??? Yikes.
• We’ve done the boat search before. And better.
• “Feel a lot better if I had a gun.” “Well, that would be illegal.” Glad we’re acknowledging this, if nothing else. I guess.
• “There’s our wolfpack.” “They all seem like they know each other.” Um. PACKS normally do????
• “So, this is what? Just totally random?” @ this episode.
• “There’s not a lot of white gangs in the city.” Bet I could find some white supremacist groups in the news with the world’s easiest Google but ok. They don’t count as “gangs,” I guess.
• Check student body psych visits. After what they did…” Sure. Let’s demonize and stigmatize mental illness further, Captain. Why not?
• This is really how these people see women/moms, huh.
• The dad…wants to pay…for justice. Ok then.
• “Your scene. My case. Are we clear.” Oh, hey. Captain Benson has entered the chat!
• …annnnnnnnd quickly exited.
• Why is she torturing the mother with the detail about the snipers, though??? WTF, Liv.
• This entire phone conversation actually makes Ghostface look good. Like. At least dude’s not claiming to be the hero. Olivia, on the other hand, is. Just…oy gevalt.
• If I speak about the “poisonous venom pulsing through” Liv’s veins voice here…
• What’s with the whispering?
• We get it. You think he’s an animal. No need to keep saying it.
• Also: Is “animal” an excuse for what comes next? Because, um. Purposely scaring the crap out of an animal, dragging them around, and just way overstepping your bounds in general? Also a zillion kids of wrong.
• “It’s not that hard to ignore the animal parts of yourself.” 1) LMAO WTF dialogue????? 2) And yet, Liv…does not ignore hers here.
• The inconsistency with the rain…oof.
• No, for real. Can not believe this “reenactment” is a thing a whole group of people thought was ok to air in 2024.
• “I just…closed my eyes. Pretended it was all a dream.” @ this episode if you change dream to nightmare.
• “Evidently, you scared him.” “He said that?” I see we’re a lying liar who lies.
• “You’re lucky I’m not in IAB anymore.” I mean, you know what she did was wrong. You have contacts. Use them instead of doing the conspiratorial “look” and letting it go.
• Seriously, WTF even is this apartment? I’m tired.
• “What kind of story is it?” “That sort of depends on the way the story ends, doesn’t it?” Um. Yes and no. This is a way, way, way childish and over-simplified way of looking at it. So much for “it’s complicated.”
• “Ours ends in a happy place. You and me. Right here.”
• “You know what they say about endings, don’t you? Every one is a new beginning.” And this addresses his questions, much less makes sense in the context of…anything…how. What’s the new beginning? Writing and characterization that make sense? Sign us up if so.
• “…this beautiful woman named Ellie…” Thought for a minute Liv was going to tell him about “this beautiful woman” named Olivia who was trapped by a cycle of bad writing.
• Was this review coherent? Almost surely not. Then again, the episode wasn’t either, so…yeah.

Thoughts on Law & Order: SVU 25×09 “Children of Wolves”? Leave us a comment!

Law & Order: SVU airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.