Well, that's one way to get people's attention. New showrunner Michele Fazekas seems to be clocked in and on fire for the new season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The second episode of the landmark 27th Season, "A Waiver of Consent," concluded in a shocking way, on network television at least. Fans watched in cautious confusion, saying things like 'oh haha Olivia (Mariska Hargitay) is wearing the same outfit she wore on Organized Crime' and then, it's revealed that's done on purpose. The scene features Hargitay's Captain Olivia Benson and Kevin Kane's Detective Terry Bruno as he rushes in to tell her that Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) is in the hospital. Losing all her grace she's acquired as a decorated NYPD Captain, Olivia rushes out (dropping her phone in the process) to rush to Elliot's side.
The scene sets the stage for the episode of Law & Order: Organized Crime that aired afterward. The second episode, "Dante's Inferno" features Hargitay as a guest star as the Organized Crime Control Bureau tries to take down a ring of truck drivers that are trafficking women. And while that's perfect, wonderful, and delightful for fans everywhere to see Olivia's reaction before the events of "Dante's Inferno," the next day brought confusion. The version uploaded to NBC's streaming service, Peacock, featured a completely different ending that hinted to fans that the newest detective, Griffin Ellis (Corey Cott) may be up to no good. The scene featuring Bruno and Benson is nowhere to be found on streaming. The controversial change made the internet explode as fans voiced concerns about what that means for the canon of the series, or how those tuning in for this week's episode of SVU (who didn't rewatch on streaming) would be able to follow whatever thread was set up by the added scene?
What the Network-Only Ending Does for the Law & Order Franchise
Fans are hopeful that both are canon to the series, even if that means that the timeline of Season 5 of Organized Crime is inadvertently retconned to be concurrent with Season 27 of SVU. Since Season 5 is a re-air, many fans assumed it was to get network audiences up to date after the move to Peacock. Now, it changes things around, and it's seemingly less and less like the scene was simply to keep people watching into the following episode of Organized Crime. The scene has been shared to the official Law & Order Instagram, despite still being missing from the streaming version of the episode.
That, accompanied by not one, but two clips from the Organized Crime episode, drives home that the scene is meant to be taken as canon. With the readjusted timeline that also puts Stabler's "Love you. Night," into a completely different perspective. The man would be heading undercover soon after the death of his former Captain, and the last thing he said to Olivia (on camera anyways) was that he loves her. Her rushing to his bedside, the famous "stand there and watch me get naked" scene coming now after "Love you. Night," is adding fuel to the fire that a 27-year-long slowburn may be finally inching towards endgame.
Outside the EO of it all, reconfiguring the episodes to be concurrent is also giving Organized Crime its best shot for a Season 6 renewal, whether that be on the network or remaining on Peacock. Ratings for "Dante's Inferno" (a rerun, mind you) nearly beat those of a brand-new episode of Law & Order Season 25 last week. Throughout the series' Season 5 run on Peacock, it appeared in Peacock's Top 10 each week, peaking at number 2. If that wasn't enough to show the powers that be that the show deserves a sixth season, hopefully its continued strong presence on Law & Order Thursday nights may do just that. It may also open up the possibility of another triple crossover. That's especially of interest after fans were confused to see the Season 5 premiere occurring on the same day as the SVU and Law & Order crossover, with only an isolated scene from Meloni's Detective Stabler.
New episodes of SVU air on Thursdays on NBC. Stay with Collider for the latest updates.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 Crime Drama Mystery Release Date September 20, 1999 Network NBC Showrunner Michael S. Chernuchin, David Graziano Directors Jean de Segonzac, David Platt, Peter Leto, Alex Chapple, Juan José Campanella, Norberto Barba, Constantine Makris, Martha Mitchell, Arthur W. Forney, Michael Slovis, Steve Shill, Alex Zakrzewski, Michael Pressman, Helen Shaver, Mariska Hargitay, Michael Smith, Ted Kotcheff, Fred Berner, Jonathan Kaplan, Holly Dale, Jonathan Herron, Jud Taylor, Adam Bernstein, Jim McKay Writers Judith McCreary, David Graziano, Michael S. Chernuchin, Daniel Truly, Jonathan Greene, Amanda Green, Lisa Marie Petersen, Allison Intrieri, Lawrence Kaplow, Jose Molina, Matt Klypka, Michael R. Perry, Samantha Corbin-Miller, Barbie Kligman, Robert F. Campbell, Candice Sanchez McFarlane, Gwendolyn M. Parker, René Balcer, Robert Nathan, Wendy West, Speed Weed, Ryan Causey, Chris Brancato, Christos N. Gage Cast See All Mariska Hargitay Olivia Benson Ice-T Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola Dann Florek Donald Cragen Richard Belzer John Munch Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH Streaming BUY
Franchise(s) Law and Order Creator(s) Dick Wolf Powered by Expand Collapse