Toward the end of Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Episode 3, Captain Benson tells ADA Carisi something that pretty much sums up the journey the case of the week takes us on: “Just when I think that I’ve seen everything, the world proves me wrong.” The investigation starts with Detectives Bruno and Griffin trying to collect a sample that may finally pin down a particularly slippery suspect, but that (quite literally) gets blown apart when someone bombs the clinic they’re visiting to pick up their evidence. That case — the bombing one, not the one with the rapist — initially looks like it’s going to be about anti-natalist protesters going full-on violent extremist. If, like the average SVU fan you’ve seen it all, this is where you start angry-typing about this series and its frequent demonization of proteste—…wait. Maybe not.
But no, maybe it’s about a nasty older man pretending to care about as many causes as possible just to prey on attractive 20-somethings. Or, no. That’s not it either. By the end of this long and winding road, we find out that all of these twists and turns are just the result of a very pathetic excuse for a lawyer trying to frame the protesters so he can get away with the murder of his own client. He thinks he knows everything, and he covers his tracks pretty well. But he doesn’t quite pull it off. Our elite squad, ADA Carisi included, is just too good for him.
If someone were to scribble the above summary down on paper and bring it to me, I’d be like “OMG train wreck. What are we actually doing here, SVU?!” But, well. It looks like, to paraphrase our beloved Benson, just when I think that I’ve seen everything, this episode proves me wrong. Because no, nothing I’d expect to happen here really does. The stereotypical, unhinged “youth” protester characters dance right up to the line of being disrespectful to people who are truly passionate about sane causes. But then, the story takes a sharp, welcome turn into “hey, the folks who make protesters look bad are actually not always the activists.” And no, Dr. Mukherjee’s estranged husband doesn’t murder her in a rage, or for money, or whatever. It’s…the divorce lawyer.
The way we see the process of working this case, all the puzzle pieces slowly falling into place, just simply makes sense by the end. The story is complicated, maybe even overly so for some viewers, but it manages to work and work well. So, if nothing else, Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Episode 3 is surprising, and it’s a tangled up bundle of mess in a way that’s entertaining. (As opposed to, you know, likely to cause rage.) But ‘A Vicious Circle’ also weaves in some opportunities, some subtle and others more obvious, for the squad to have those little personal moments that make these fictional characters worth caring about.
So, it looks like we’re three for three with good episodes this season. A win.
MORE: Nope, still not over Elliot just casually telling Olivia “love you” in the Season 27 premiere. (Thanks for asking.)
Velasco exit doesn’t leave SVU viewers empty-handed
In the middle of all the chaos, Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Episode 3 delivers on an exit storyline for Detective Velasco (Octavio Pisano) that, unlike so many others — and one big, bald one in particular — is as painless and thoughtful as possible. But saying goodbye is never fully painless, which is something this hour acknowledges instead of glossing over. In the scene where Velasco tells Olivia about the DEA offer, Pisano and Mariska Hargitay do some excellent work together. Pisano gives us a subdued, almost regretful sort of Velasco. The character is so cautious with his Captain, respectful. Because he knows her now. He knows she may be Bada** Benson and all, but she’s also human. And he recognizes that, even in the handful of years he’s been at SVU, she’s experienced far, far too much loss.
Hargitay is, well, Hargitay. When Liv needs to draw her detective out, nudge him into telling her what he needs to tell her, she’s open and creates a safe space to talk. And when Captain Benson hears the hard part — that this means Velasco will leave, go all the way across the country and (maybe?) never look back — there’s what I can probably only describe as a whole person sitting there. Olivia’s honest with him about why she stays in the simplest terms possible, without it sounding like Benson Catchphrase O’Clock. And there’s a certain pride, possibly even a little bit of a sense of recognizing a bit of herself there, when Benson hears Velasco talk about the thrill this last case gave him.
But that smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes, especially not by the end. Because it hurts. There’s no putting on a brave face to mask any and all feeling, though. Instead, it’s more like Captain Benson is being honest — with both herself and Detective Velasco — that this is sad news for her. At the same time, the happiness for him is also very genuine. Yes, it is possible to feel two completely opposite ways about a single thing at once. And understanding that allows for much, much, much better storytelling that gives actors much, much, much, much, much more to work with.
Later, in its closing moments, Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Episode 3 also gives Velasco a chance to say goodbye to Fin. I think what I find most interesting here is how Pisano, once again, brings a sense of gravity and hesitance to the moment, but it’s completely different this time. This is more…just not quite having the words for how much Fin helped him. Fin seems a bit more willing/able to let go here, but Ice-T also plays him as just…exhausted. As full of wisdom as ever, yet not quite with that same energy and light as usual. It could just be a matter of the character still recovering from the attack, but there’s also something underneath it all that speaks to all of these years just taking a toll on him.
One thing I talk about a lot (or at least feel like I talk about a lot) with some of the other dramas I cover is how some of the most emotional scenes are the quietest ones. They’re the ones where nothing seems to happen when we compare them to episodes that are otherwise packed with action and/or information, the ones that are the most emotional because the performances are so carefully controlled. I think these two scenes are some of the best examples of that type of work that SVU has delivered, especially for any non-EO developments, in a long time.
And this particular hour, with its twisty-turny case, makes a very clear example of how much easier and more natural it is to do these kinds of scenes than to avoid them. They ground the rest of it, make it all fit together even in places where it shouldn’t.
MORE: When Velasco first told Benson about his undercover work in Episode 2, we were worried that his story would end very, very badly. It’s nice to be wrong on that. Now, if only Detective Silva’s last episode had at all been a proper one.
More Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Episode 3 reactions
- Still a big fan of Bruno’s “grow up” line, still totally unsure what I think of Griffin overall.
- “The FBI is working with the possibility that somebody may have mistook your practice for an abortion clinic.” Sounds about right, considering the absolute foolery around IVF in recent years. But, to be clear: Bombing neither kind of clinic is ok, especially if you care to claim about…anything or anyone, really.
- “Well. You got your wish, Griff.” “I take it all back.” And I believe him? Huh.
- “But planting a bomb? That’s a huge change in his behavior.” “So is going to prison.” On the one hand, new dude has a point; but on the other, OMG LOOK AT HER FACE.
- And that “…ok” is giving Mama Pao from Drag Race Philippines and her very-giffed (gifed?) shady “…ok.”
- “This guy is a twerp. We press him, I bet he folds in two minutes. “You remind me of someone.” I can come up with at least two off the top of my head.
- Have I mentioned lately that I love how they’re actually using Captain Curry this season??? “Again, this isn’t his case” alone, as simple as it is, is golden.
- See also: “How am I gonna explain that to the Feds? Hey, Feds. I know he lied about the rape, but…yeah! Let’s trust him about the bomb!” Aimé Donna Kelly, your delivery is everything. I hope you know that. If you don’t, someone should tell you I said this.
- It’s at this point where I remembered a storyline from ER Season 4…except that Dr. Mukherjee isn’t elderly.
- Even just the scenes that are just the squad talking about evidence have a great rhythm and chemistry to them.
- Also, I just think that Olivia Benson pointing at the bruising pattern using first the arm of her glasses and then her finger…
- “…a plumber, about to earn a doctor’s inheritance.” Given what we learn about this Olson dude, his elitism here some truly nasty work. Plumbers work hard, actually! What they do requires training! Good luck to the rest of us without them! But sure. Look down your nose at them, Mr. Fancy Lawyer…who’s actually a total loser, both at his job and in life. Good one!
- “Because if you want us to think you’re being cooperative…cooperate.” Good delivery there from Kevin Kane. And good work, overall, to Bruno for dealing with New Dude.
- “LIFE IS A DEATH SENTENCE.” Potential for some hardcore emo lyrics, right here.
- “Your life ends with you. You were born without your consent.” Curry’s reaction to this! Absolute, understated comedy gold from both Kelly and Hargitay with a lot of the anti-natalist…stuff in this episode.
- “You’re gonna tell her the truth. And not a word otherwise.” This is a quiet sort of strength; so is letting go later in the hour. You don’t need to constantly torture a female character to prove she’s strong, actually!
- “Ladies, consider a condom next time.”
- “Sir. Have you considered having kids, and can I convince you otherwise?” Would be a great line aimed at a lot of dudes…but especially Mr. “Crotch Milk.”
- Oh, Curry’s not having it.
- “I wouldn’t wish life on anybody.” Look: Points were made.
- “He’s not like guys my age. He’s kind, and compassionate, and super smart, and he really believes in our cause.” I do kind of wish there was a way to acknowledge how familiar that might sound to Olivia. Then again, it’s also nice to get to pretend the Burton Lowe episodes, especially the second one, never happened, huh.
- “Well, then, it’s kind of amazing that he…couldn’t outrun my detectives.” Her. Tone.
- Oh, my GOD. This whole interrogation. A master of her craft, showing us how it’s done. (I mean that about both the real “her” and the fictional one.)
- “I don’t think that you care about activism. I don’t think that you care about change, or progress.” The number of people I want to scream this at for reasons…
- …and then she just gets more and more…her? Alive? Ready to destroy this man?
- Notice Griffin in the back there taking it all in, too. Watch and learn, buddy.
- Also: The glasses. Work.
- Oh, ok. He plays a creep to get this creep talking super well.
- It’s the non-verbal journey of “WTF” between Benson and Curry when they hear about Autumn for me.
- I still have no idea what to make of Tynan??? She says the reassuring words to Velasco, but they aren’t exactly warm. Then again, they’re not quite threatening either???? Fascinating character. I just very badly want to know her deal already!
- Do…do people still say “easy-peasy,” though?
- The way her jaw drops when he mentions San Diego.
- “Velasco, I haven’t stayed with SVU out of loyalty. I would never expect anyone to do that. I’m here because I think that it’s the place that I can do the most good. You need to be where you can do the most good.”
- “Are you ok?” “How do you feel when you have to take down a dirty cop?” “It’s the worst.” Oh! You mean Benson and Carisi can work together without him playing pretend cop AND take a very brief personal beat that lets them both have human emotions?!
- “Not an interrogation. It’s a trial.” Everything about the “trial” scene in the interrogation room is fantastic. What a way to use every skill Carisi has, effectively use time and sets in the real world, and build up to that final nail in Olson’s coffin. Amazing, truly amazing. Especially when Carisi gets right up in his face there after Bruno brings in that last bit of evidence.
- “…you got no follow through.” I feel attacked.
- “Too lazy to do the job in full.” Same.
- I…did not expect this to hurt so much, but it…does? Ok then! Unfair, but well done. Respect.
- “You don’t have to say a word. I already know.” Most Fin thing ever.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Episode 3 ‘A Vicious Cycle’? Leave us a comment!
New episodes of Law & Order: SVU air Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.
