Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 20 ‘Shock Collar’ is yet another episode that proves this series has lost its way. When a little girl named Haley goes missing, her working mother is set up to look partially responsible due to negligence from the start. Notably absent mother Captain Olivia Benson and her alleged bestie Amanda Rollins walk their kids to school “like a couple of regular moms!!!!!” at the beginning of the episode, but Haley’s mom committed the sin of dragging her along to make deliveries instead of taking her straight to the doctor when she stayed home sick. Because, you know, it’s the regular people who have the free time, and the support, and the financial stability to not need to work regardless of their kid’s health. Not the working moms. Riiiiight.
The episode…does not, in any way, get better from there.
We’re subjected to having to watch footage of kids being tortured, more than once, (apparently) just for the sake of getting some strong reaction shots out of the main cast. The couple that’s been torturing Haley on their “Missy Mayhem” site has some sort of murder-suicide pact for in case the cops ever come calling. So, there’s that whole bit with Liv convincing Nicole the abuser lady to put her gun down. Whatever you do, don’t think about how she shows more care to this scum than she did at most points with the Haley’s mom.
Oh! And speaking of Nicole, she did all of this to her own daughter — right up until she killed her and buried her in the backyard. She wants you to know that she wants her “babies to go to good homes,” though. In this scenario, she means the dogs she and her husband have time to breed and train between all the child abuse.
Seriously, what are we doing here? And did no one think that kids being treated like dogs might remind us that we’ve been burning with rage forever, ever since Noah was in a cage? Like a dog? Clearly, no one did.
Speaking of Noah, while it’s great for the series to acknowledge his existence again — and the “I love you” exchange with him and Liv was, admittedly, touching — he’s just kind of….there? It’s again giving, “well, you asked for it” without any real thought put into his role. Like, why is he walking behind the two Rollins kids on the way to whatever “program” Liv got them into? How is he the oldest kid in that line to enter, and do we really believe he goes to school with those little ones at all? Sure, there are schools that have both “upper” and “lower” type levels that would mix age groups, but generally…the big kids would rather be caught dead than be seen associating with, much less helping, the littles. Even the pizza scene at the end, while cute enough, makes Noah seem very…too old for this sh—. This is the problem of aging kids up while simultaneously keeping their ages ambiguous and aging them back down whenever the mood strikes for “family” fun.
Also on the subject of Noah, there was just yet another attempt to hurt him to get to his mom in the Law & Order crossover…but everything’s all “shiny, happy families” in Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 20. It’s…a choice. Then again, all of the above is still actually an improvement. Because at least he exists. Additionally, the “how does a parent do that to their own kid” exchange near the end of the hour at least attempts to give Olivia a personal moment where she connects the fact that — surprise! — she’s still a mom to a case involving children. So, yay? Gold star.
MORE: Last time Rollins was here, in Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 17, things also didn’t go well — but for very different reasons.
More on Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 20
- Is Noah in the back on that walk to school because he’s tall? Because um. That’s “bad dance studio’s recital number” logic right there. Or maybe he’s just here to lift a heavy instrument case. Spoiler: Schools usually have lockers for those if kids can’t schlepp them to/from. Especially if it’s some fancy “gifted” program we’re apparently in here.
- “I wasn’t paying attention.” The witness? Or…
- You can’t reach the dad on a work/school day, and that’s “shady” to you. Can we, once again, point out how “shady” that would make Liv then? No? Ok.
- “…trying to hide her face.” Hm. Yep. F this take. PEOPLE WHO WEAR RESPIRATORS ARE ONLY “TRYING TO HIDE” FROM THINGS LIKE AIRBORNE PATHOGENS AND POLLUTANTS BUT OK. TV STOP ASSISTING IN THIS NONSENSE FEARMONGERING CHALLENGE.
- …yes. The all caps was necessary. Thanks for asking.
- “So the question is: What did they do with Haley?” …you don’t say.
- But why are you asking if Dylan “maybe had a gig,” when the information from his neighbor seems to indicate that?
- Evidently, child torture websites all have goofy alliterative names.
- Obligatory Psych. lesson from Rollins.
- “There are people all over the world who will pay money to see…all kinds of things.” But why would you tell her this when she’s already worried enough???
- “A few hundred subscribers worldwide” is…nothing.
- “Accident.” All y’all are gross.
- Imagine being hauled in because a kid’s missing and being tortured on some content creator’s account, and you’re like “I didn’t watch much of her because I preferred the other kid they used to abuse more. I subscribed for her!” Vile.
- “I was raised on a farm in Georgia. That sounds like a pack of big dogs to me.” We can now tell the size of the dog, based on its bark and our Georgia
streetfarm cred. Got it. - No, but really, that line was hilarious AF. Not sure that was the intent, but hilarious just the same.
- “What are we looking at?” “Nothing good.” TL;DR that’s the whole Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 20 review.
- “Do you know anybody that has big dogs?” Another unintentionally hilarious moment, I fear.
- Hot take: Breeders are bad. Adopt, don’t shop!
- This lady with her half a dozen guns really went from 0 to 298374398743 with not even the blink of an eye, huh.
- Great reaction, both when Liv sees the bedroom from the videos and when the kid gets dug up…
- …that’s about all that’s great.
- “I still love you,” after she shot you…and when you’re both this sick. K.
- Check out Carisi doing his job!
- “As I said, Ulster County is not my jurisdiction” as he doesn’t even look at her and is just basically like “F y’all. Bye.” Exactly the way to handle this woman. Well done.
- Anyway. If you miss Olivia Benson. Go watch that one Organized Crime episode.
- “You’ve been working this job longer than I have.” “Yeah. And?” “You still don’t know the answer.”
- …but why the shiny, happy “let’s go home” of it all?
- I mean, good that her kid exists again and all, but…can Liv actually spend some one-on-one time with Noah? Does she only get to have a family in the context of spending time with Rollins’ family???
- I really need this series renewed because it doesn’t deserve to go out on this low of a note.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 20? Leave us a comment!
Law & Order: SVU airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.
I have lost interest in this show. I enjoy reading your reviews of it though.
If they can pull their act together for these last few episodes and announce the end, I will be okay.
It seems difficult for this show to correct its course.
Their main character is Benson. They just need to do right by her character and bring the curtain down already. She is a captain, and getting close to retirement. They don’t have any other character worthy enough to carry the series without Benson.
They absolutely don’t have anybody else able to carry the series, and that’s 100% down to never committing to building any characters TO have somebody.
As far as announcing the end goes, I actually…it’s been so bad and stuck in this weird rut of empathizing with all the wrong people lately, I’d usually be like “yeah, put it out of its misery.” But I just can’t bear to think of a show with this subject matter and this length of time on the air ending on such an egregiously low note. ER had some rough years (though none as rough as SVU has been lately) but was able to bounce back for its final two seasons and go out on a good note. I hope SVU has that opportunity. If not, I hope OC at least stays around long enough, and can make a good enough deal with Hargitay (should she be interested in appearing a few times), that Olivia at least gets to go out on a high note.