Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Episode 10 Review: ‘Fidelis ad Mortem’

In Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Episode 10 ‘Fidelis ad Mortem’ the squad brings closure to the family of Tameka Davis, a young Black mother who disappeared 27 years ago. It’s one of the stronger hours this season, one that sees the (again temporary) return of Ice-T as Fin Tutuola, some personal beats, a little bit more insight — but also even more questions — into what’s going on with Tynan and Griffin, and this series taking on police corruption in a way it hasn’t in quite some time. As we see by the end of this episode, the people who should’ve been heroes turned out to be the villains in Tameka and her family’s story. And the gang member sitting in prison is the one who, ultimately, manages to do the right thing. He can’t go back in time and save her, but he can help with the justice process.

The investigation maybe moves a little bit more quickly than one might expect for a case that’s gone cold for so long. Then again, a key piece of evidence — in this case, a recording of Tameka’s assault on a cassette that Captain Curry’s son happens to pick up for its “vintage” appeal — can sometimes work miracles. I’m also more than happy to have fewer predictable red herrings, especially if it means viewers can see Aimé Donna Kelly have her chance to shine as she portrays a Renee Curry who is obviously moved by this case. And really, Kelly’s performance, along with what the guest stars bring to the table, is what makes this episode so good.

MORE: Here’s what happened in the most recent Law & Order crossover.

A difficult case for Captain Curry

There are very obvious parallels between Renee Curry and Tameka Davis. They are both Black women with sons — and then, there’s the extra detail of both of their sons being instrumental in finally solving this case. As I mentioned above, Gabe kind of stumbles upon the tape but then (smartly) brings it to his mom. And one of Jaden Davis’ last memories of his own mother is of her arguing with one of the cops involved in this whole, tragic (and infuriating) mess. Additionally, Captain Curry is infamously formerly from IAB, and at the time of the rape and murders, the perps were NYPD. So, beyond the usual reasons any decent person would feel for the Davis family, for their loss, their decades of unanswered questions, this one feels personal for Curry.

She doesn’t really say anything to that effect, which I very much appreciate. (Viewers are smarter than we look, actually!) Instead, all it takes is caring to look — to see not just what’s represented here, but the work Aimé Donna Kelly does in Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Episode 10. Even before we know anything about the victim, the way she plays Curry’s reaction to finding human remains — the horrified expression, instantly recoiling — is excellent. And as the story unfolds, she just gets better.

Kelly’s best work comes in two places: the family notification scene and the Ahern interrogation. In both, the way she physically occupies the space with her presence, her expression, and her tone of voice all contribute a depth and layers of feeling that, frankly, we’re frequently robbed of. She presents this sense of knowing — of understanding and relating — when Tiffany answers Curry and Benson’s questions. And the look of agony as she pulls out her phone, right after Liv says the phrase “sound recording,” speaks volumes about how much Renee doesn’t want this family to have to hear this, how she doesn’t want to hear it again. She feels so much empathy for these people and their loss, but painfully, she knows that they kind of have to do this if they want to get anywhere on this case.

Later, in the interrogation room, Captain Curry tries so hard to be her usual tough, sure self as she questions Ahern. But she just…can’t maintain it. First, we see the little tells in Kelly’s expression as she tries to hold that response to how awful this all is back. But when she gets to “the sound of Tameka pleading for her life,” there’s that break in her voice right on “pleading” as the professional mask just…abandons her. For his part, Chi McBride is also great as Ahern reacts to hearing about this mother’s last memory. He, too, can’t keep that poker face in place. (But, of course, the perp breaks before Curry does. Obviously.)

In short, after a few episodes that weren’t as strong as the season’s start — and even longer since Kelly had anywhere near this type of material Curry to work with — let’s just say Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Episode 10 was a huge relief. (But yes, it’s also difficult to watch in places because of how well so much of it was done.)

MORE: Here’s what we thought about the SVU Season 27 premiere.

“I actually already found a detective who was undercover for Narcotics back then.”

Another thing that makes Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Episode 10 so good is having Fin Tutuola here, doing Finn Tutuola things. In the process, the hour does a great job of honoring Fin’s history. He gets to make a grand entrance, with the rest of the squad giving him a warm welcome. And Liv’s pleased little smile in his first scene is everything. She’s just so happy to have him on this case with her, as she should be — as we should all be. There’s also great continuity with mentioning he’d previously been undercover for Narcotics just before joining SVU around 2000. So, the timeline works out since Tameka went missing just before that. He likely would’ve been at the end of one of his last undercover ops there, unless I’m forgetting something else in the series’ extensive history. (And if I am, it’s still pretty close?)

But it’s not just “oh, yay. Fin’s back, and they remember what he did before SVU!” No. There’s more to that. For one thing, he knows a guy. And that guy’s able to help the squad start piecing things together. Then, although it takes more than one trip to visit Miles Gibbs, there is 100% no chance anyone other than Fin could’ve believably convinced him to work with the cops. Period. His ability to appeal to people with that kind of past rests solely on who he is and his own past. And the way Ice-T plays those scenes is, much like his character’s ability to connect with others, something unique to him that can’t be replaced.

Just saying, the series makes its own case for why Ice-T and his character are priceless. In fact, one of my few glaring negatives for this hour is that we don’t see even more of him. As someone who witnessed his own mom’s murder, he could’ve brought even more to that stunning scene where Jaden heard his mom’s voice on that tape. But, overall, it’s just great to have both the actor and the character here. (And no, Carisi, you can’t have Fin. WTF. Hands off.)

MORE: In SVU Season 27 Episode 7, he told Liv he needed more time before fully returning to the job.

More Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Episode 10 reactions

I do want to be clear: Just because it’s important that Captain Curry and Sergeant Tutuola are here for this kind of story, that doesn’t mean I don’t wish they could still have more involvement/better writing within just your average cases as well.
Some things that make me feel ancient: The youths being all excited about “original 2002 Levi’s” and “…but doesn’t it hold, like, three songs?” about an old iPod.
A DIY home improvement queen! …who is raising a kid who takes Mandarin in high school, apparently. In my day, that wasn’t even an option!
A boombox in Liv’s office. Amazing!
“Well…must’ve been…hard. To listen to.” “It’s fine, it’s whatever.”
And back to your regularly-scheduled “this makes me feel ancient” programming: “You know, I gotta say, I can’t believe that you pay money for cassette tapes. I still have my old Dire Straits collection. You think that might be worth anything?” “Is that a…band?”
Also, I just absolutely adore Olivia Benson getting to both have her usual little bit of spunk and be all motherly-like in a single moment with that “I hate you” line. (Imagine her treating her own teen son like he’s grown like this.)
“Well, you know how boys are…” Does she, though? Where’s Noah.
“Funny how all this stuff comes back.” Tapes! Records! Lava lamps! (Y’all really didn’t need to bring back most of our fashion, though. Some trends are fine to stay dead.) Cabbage Patch Kids!
Would consider paying that price for an OG My Little Pony and not the weird skinny ones they had when they came back out. Anyway. Back to the episode.
“All right, so…I just want to warn you: If we encounter a rodent of any kind, my reaction will be intense.” I know just the guy to help with that.
“But I happen to know a guy who took down the Westies back in the day.” HE KNOWS A GUY. I know I already pointed this out in the above section, but it’s important!
“There were so many of them. So many bodies. Doesn’t mean that this one didn’t matter.” Maybe to Fin’s guy, Tameka actually mattered, but in general…? Uh…who wants to tell him about the media frenzy around missing white girls that, as a general rule, doesn’t happen with Black women? Society and law enforcement are both fine to let them disappear.
“Well. It’s about time.” And those looks Benson and Curry share. What a moment.
“At least Captain Benson and Captain Curry came in person, Gran.” “Mm.” This woman is (rightly) done with the NYPD, and false hope, and all of it. Honestly, they’re lucky all she wants is answers and not revenge.
This series is known for excellent guest performances, and Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Episode 10 is no exception. When Tameka’s family hears that tape, the overwhelming grief is palpable. But so is her mom’s relief at finally just…knowing. It’s not the news she wanted, but it’s certainly the news she expected by this point. Cecelia Ann Birt’s bittersweet little smile as she plays Tiffany’s reaction to finally hearing her daughter’s voice again is gutting to witness. And the quiet devastation — that eventually beats his best efforts to control it — from Donald Paul as the adult son, who really thought his mom just abandoned him and now feels guilty about being mad all these years…ouch.
“That’s her. That’s my baby.” …and that’s so well done, it even nearly breaks our former IAB Captain.
(It definitely broke me.)
“I didn’t think it’d be so hard.” There’s a child-like quality to this character throughout this, I want to say? And it fits because he’s right back to that little boy whose mommy just…went away one day.
And an insanely good guest performance from Ski Carr, right from the jump: Gibbs’ reaction to that tape tells you he had nothing to do with that murder before literally any police work happens.
“Here we go with the ‘you and me, we’re not so different’ psychobabble BS.” I laughed.
“But there was a third crew that nobody likes to talk about…cause they were all dressed in blue.” The long, intense pause, the slow way he leans in, and the closeup are all excellent touches here.
“Ok. So. A possible rape and murder from 27 years ago, and our main suspects are cops…Let’s hear it.” Her face. Olivia Benson is tired of the headache the good ol’ boys in blue are going to give her over this before it even gets started.
“…and the very cops she was helping killed her.” Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Episode 10 really just said it, huh.
Even so, I guess this is where I put my other main criticism for this episode: There’s a lot of “oh, it was so different back then” and “oh, we’re so much better now” in how we tell this story. And, in some ways, that’s true. But fundamentally, cops are still…cops, and they still get away with way, way too much violence against innocent people. Especially Black and brown ones.
“Kind of shocking isn’t it? How small we all are. At the end. Thank you. For bringing my daughter home.” My heart.
The word choice of “went away” is very smart here. It brings us back to the child who lost his mom and his (lack of) understanding of what happened.
“I’ve been mad at her for leaving me for so long.” “Me being mad at her kind of…kept her alive.” OUCH.
Not Liv doing the chin rub thing.
“If these snakes kept this secret for this long…” Bruno really got away with that. I love this for him.
“Gotta go!” Not guilty at all!
But also: I laughed.
Ok but if Griffin is so good at playing up the “aw, shucks” nepo baby act with Leo, we really can’t trust anything about him, huh? So, we’re really still kind of at square one with trying to figure out what his deal is and whether or not Benson can trust him. Yes, there’s that scene with Chief Tynan toward the end of Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Episode 10, but it still doesn’t totally answer to how much of him is him on these cases and how much is him playing a role. Considering how much he genuinely seems to want to know if Leo was telling the truth about his dad, and his deeply uncomfortable reaction to Tynan both deflecting and saying she might want him to look into some things, he could very well have been an unwitting participant in…something up until this point.
Which means, the real question is: What does he do next?
“…a bit of a putz.” “I mean, he’s not wrong.”
Very lovely visuals, especially that lighting and the long shot, with Griffin’s trip down the well.
(Anyone else think of Timmy O’Toole on The Simpsons, or are you normal?)
“You know, my old partner at Bronx SVU used to say there’s only two kinds of perps: Honest crooks and crooked police. Well, at least one of them can look themselves in the mirror.”
“I bet you all of Jimmy’s buddies told you your daddy was clean as a baby’s soul.” Corey Cott does that instant shift in Griffin’s demeanor so well here.
Curry’s sense of betrayal when Ahern admits they manipulated Tameka to get rich!
“It’s not like we had a choice.” Oh…that look and those crossed arms…Y’all are lucky Renee Curry wasn’t “referred” for the reasons Benson and Stabler were…
This man really is haunted by what he’s been covering up for the others all these years, though.
(Is this where I make a joke about “it’s been 27 years,” plus that facial expression, plus…them?)
“…but I’d just like to underscore how much locking up two dirty cops would give the department the boost it needs…in light of all the, uh, recent bad press.” She’s lucky that’s 2026 Captain Benson she’s insulting to her face in front of Baxter like this and not, you know, the old detective version who was just as much of problem child as her partner at times — much less the immediately post-breakup one. Because, uh. Liv’s over here glaring daggers like she’s about to start slapping someone or F***ing up people’s sandwiches or something.
See also: Her reaction to that insult (and throwback to the end of Episode 8), disguised as complimenting her on her hard work, from Tynan’s “we all know how much you love being in the trenches” line.
The tension here…whew.
Yet another excellent scene for Ice-T: “Tell me what you know, and I promise I will show up to your parole hearing and tell the parole board what you did to help Tameka.”
“You help put some murderous, raping cop away, and the parole board will look at you differently.” If only.
“I don’t know. What, am I supposed to do your job for you?” I cracked up.
The way this man talks about Tameka…he love-loved her.
Yeah, Carisi’s right that Liv’s talking about herself here…super work on the complete over-reaction from Mariska Hargitay.
Mmmm cheesecake.
But what won’t Tynan tell this man?
“Back then, it was a different world. The perps were different. The rules and standards were different. Were there thing we did back in the day that wouldn’t fly now?” I mean…yes and no to this. It’s complicated. Like I said above, cops are still cops. It’s like, things have changed, but they’ve also stayed way too much the same. People are having conversations, but nobody’s listening — not in a permanent way, at least.
But what I will say is if Tynan believes this, then whatever she wants her boy to look into had better not have anything to do with the old Benson and Stabler days. You can’t come at Liv’s 2983743 run-ins with IAB if you, uh, apparently have skeletons in your own closet or, at the very least, are protecting your old partner’s. Period.
But if she does, I do look forward to that showdown. Good luck, Tynan. No, really. Good. Luck.