Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 9 Review: ‘First Light’

Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 9 is an episode of television that happened. That, and “hey, at least we’re actually going for continuity with Carisi after his recent trauma” are probably the best things we can say about this one. Oh! And there was a really nice shot of a very determined Olivia Benson after she and Captain Curry went to talk to Katharine Vernon. Hm. What else? Pretty sure Katharine spelling out “anhedonia” at the very beginning of the hour was a warning. So, thanks for the heads up there? Because, seriously, it’s possible to wind up suffering an “inability to experience joy or pleasure” after watching “First Light.”

And that’s not just because it’s a very inelegant and empty, yet somehow very obvious, attempt to draw inspiration from the gutting and horrifying Gisèle Pélicot case. No. That would be bad (and disrespectful) enough. It’s also just so beyond disheartening to see this series in such a slump. That’s especially true when, at this point, its main character — beloved and a light in the darkness to so many — has become nothing more than a plot device for helping others. Here, Benson has one conversation with Carisi that magically snaps him out of a funk and gets him making deals on a case he’d just tanked. He also mentioned not being able to feel happiness while watching his kids open Christmas presents during that scene. But then, by the end, he managed a half grin at the pizza place.

Guess we can say the Olivia Benson superpowers magically healed him at work and home then! Or sent him on a path to healing…or whatever. Such a great self-help tool, that Liv!

At the very least, watching Mariska Hargitay play “Liv makes a passionate plea to her good friend because she’s worried about him” should’ve done something for us. It didn’t. At some point, no performance can save a moment that just fails to fit. One can’t help but wonder if, perhaps, all of this happening during a case with at least some similarity to Carisi’s experience might have helped matters. Trauma doesn’t always make sense, so having it attack you in a situation that has nothing to do with your experience isn’t out of the question. But…well. A series with a recent track record of forcing pieces together that don’t fit probably shouldn’t be slapping “main character as object” together with “other character’s man pain” and such a soulless copy of such a big real-world case.

And yet. That was an episode of television that just happened. Unfortunately.

MORE: Since we’re talking about Carisi’s recent trauma and all, feel free to visit our Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 8 review. Or, if you’d prefer to relive a better episode, see why we thought Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 2 was so much better than a lot of what came before it. Episode 6 wasn’t half bad either!

More on Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 9

• Well. Leland Orser being here to play a slime ball at least made me remember Dr. Dubenko from ER and that time he tried to get a sympathy hookup (or whatever) out of Abby. That’s…something?
• Honestly, this episode was beneath Orser. Should’ve had him join the big ol’ ER reunion on Law & Order classic instead.
• …eh. It was beneath us all.
• Speaking of ER: The thing written on the Vernons’ garage door…the elderly victims in Season 4…yeah.
• Bagels should still have cream cheese, Carisi. Not butter.
• How is it 2025, and these people are shoving flash drives into their computers without even knowing where they came from?
• Cool of Liv to call Carisi on expecting her to “pretend that’s true,” as if she hasn’t run around being all “I’m fine” like a broken record for 84 years.
• “I don’t even know how to start talking about this.” “The best place is…always the beginning.” How profound. What a time waster. Truly.
• Another thing that really doesn’t work here: Captain Benson spends a not-insignificant amount of time convincing Katharine her husband did this. That’s…not how you build a case.
• Also: WTF, Fin? “No mystery to me. His wife cheated, got caught, and now she’s lying about it.” He’s been in this unit how long?
• “Who are we looking for?” “Someone with a one-word vocabulary?” Funny until you think about the “blue collar” comment near the end. All those blue collar folk are so dumb! So true!!! Yee-haw!!!
• “So, Rollins says it was a late night for you.” Ok but remember when Liv didn’t even know Amanda was pregnant for most of her pregnancy because they apparently didn’t talk? Now, they can talk. When it means being plot devices for soothing Rollins’ husband’s man pain. Got it.
• No but seriously, imagine bringing back a character you wrote off — and even gave a decent (considering the situation) ending to! — for…this.
• “He did come dangerously close to a smile on our drive back from Jersey.” Good to know a former IAB Captain is now a babysitter, too.
• “She’d rather believe a palatable lie than a truth so devastating that it would rip her life apart.”
• They talked about college kids being willing to do anything for sex but then…found a professor? If I speak on folks who like to show us how smart they are with their vocabularies but who, apparently, know nothing about academia…
• “My marriage is over.” “But it’s been over for a while. You’re just…finding out now.” Captain Obvious.
• “Well, most of my evidence is about fantasy. So, why should this trial be any different?” Imagine if we respected our victim, like, at all. No spoon-feeding her platitudes (Liv), doubting her (literally everyone), or any of these comments…
• The defense attorney using Benson’s “track record of believing victims” against her…is a choice.
• “He asked me if I knew what the word compersion meant.” No, really. We get it. Words are awesome!
• The “vacant stare” should be evidence enough that this woman was drugged out of her mind and therefore could not consent.
• Hearing the “no safe words” line after a recent article about a garbage person…
• If your ADA isn’t in the right headspace to do his job, he should be pulled off the case. Also, imagine if this whole “personal” moment involved two people, as opposed to one person and…the shell of Liv we’re stuck with these days. Could she not have pointed out how much she had suffered and how her work — or, FFS, God forbid her friends — helped her get through it? No? Why not???
• …oh, right. She’s not here to be a fully fledged character anymore. My bad.
• “I’d like to see him burn in H—…” Same.
• “Your wife took her power back in that courtroom. How’d that make you feel?” Even this is just…a cut, copy, and paste of so many better scenes.
• 15 years? He gets 15 years? Like we got 15 seasons of ER? And Leland Orsen played Dubenko toward the end of it?
• “From where I’m standing, that’s a glorious thing.” This is actually kinda soulless to tell someone when they don’t know what their future looks like — just that it’ll never be the same? Toxic positivity. Look it up.
• …or don’t.
• Also, if changing your life is so “glorious,” maybe Olivia Benson should…get one? For once?
• I want the pizza.
• Honestly, the family scene works better without Rollins being used as filler during the case work. In fact, if you don’t waste the actor’s time like that and/or cut the scenes appropriately, you can even get more, and more fulfilling, family moments in. I said what I said.

Did you think Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 9 had redeeming qualities (other than an excuse to make more ER references)? Let us know in the comments!

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