Spoilers forward for Episode 12 of Regulation & Order: SVU Season 26, known as “Calculated” and set to stream with a Peacock subscription.
Regulation & Order: SVU returned from every week off within the 2025 TV schedule to ship a mini crossover with Regulation & Order‘s Nick Baxter making an look, however Tony Goldwyn‘s cameo did not grow to be probably the most compelling a part of the newest episode. Detective Kate Silva was the main target, when her undercover work bought a particular wants man arrested amongst a bunch of 49 precise pedophiles. Wracked with guilt for a lot of “Calculated,” Silva appeared like she may not be for much longer in Benson’s unit, however I’ve by no means been extra hopeful to see extra of Juliana Aidén Martinez within the function.
Silva landed the task of luring pedophiles to a lodge room below the impression that they have been assembly a 14-year-old lady, and it took a toll. Her instincts instructed her one thing was off about anyone named Matt, who gave the impression of an precise child to her however her Particular Victims colleagues insisted needed to be a 32-year-old pedophile who was simply actually nice at pretending to be a child.
The kicker got here when Matt got here to the lodge on the lookout for “Amy,” Silva’s undercover title, and he turned out to be an grownup man with particular wants. He did not even know what condoms have been and needed to ask a person at a deli for assist shopping for them, which made it all of the extra appalling to Silva that they have been arresting him together with 49 really despicable criminals.
Sadly, as a part of a serious deal that Carisi had organized after getting his wake-up name, they could not simply minimize Matt unfastened, and the remainder of the unit weren’t all that sympathetic to Silva’s emotions of guilt. They reminded her that what works for investigations in Murder does not work for Particular Victims, and the remainder of the workforce definitely has extra expertise in investigating intercourse crimes than Silva does, however I could not assist however assume they have been being harsh on her.
Happily, Silva did recruit Benson to her trigger, and Benson pulled Carisi alongside together with her when she went to Regulation & Order‘s Baxter – a.okay.a. that present’s substitute for Sam Waterston‘s Jack McCoy – to ask him to intervene on Matt’s behalf. Regardless of Carisi’s chagrin at Benson stopping Baxter within the parking storage, Silva’s want was granted as Matt was minimize unfastened. She additionally has extra cause than ever to belief Benson’s judgment.
And Matt being let loose did not simply make Silva really feel like she was freed from the case. She took it upon herself to drop the excellent news on Matt and his mother herself, then agreed to play Skyrim with Matt as his new pal. This was arguably SVU‘s greatest showcase for Juliana Aidén Martinez as an actress since she joined for Season 26.
Earlier episodes dropped some backstory for Silva; now, I am extra invested in her as a personality, and I really hope that her impolite awakening about Particular Victims vs. Murder does not lead to any second ideas about staying in Benson’s squad. Fortunately, she does briefly seem within the promo for the following episode, though the upcoming SVU installment appears to be shifting the main target over to Velasco. Have a look:
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For extra Regulation & Order: SVU, hold tuning in to NBC on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET between Regulation & Order at 8 p.m. and Discovered at 10 p.m. It stays to be seen if Benson and her workforce will share the display screen with Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 each time Christopher Meloni‘s drama arrives on Peacock later this 12 months.