Let's recap last week's SVU season 26 premiere!
Turns out new Detective Kate Silva (Juliana Aidén Martinez) is no stranger to Captain Benson.
"Fractured" - LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, Pictured: Pictured: (l-r) Octavio Pisano as Det. Joe Velasco, Juliana Aidén Martinez as Det. Kate Silva. Virginia Sherwood/NBC ©2024 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Her father is also a police officer and Deputy Commissioner and has the admiration of Captain Benson herself. High praise from the captain and a free offer of a ride means that Benson is assessing the newest addition to her squad, who has big shoes to fill.
We learn that it’s been three weeks since Det. Silva started at the SVU and that free ride is actually to the gun range where the rest of the squad is because Captain Benson “wants to make sure everyone is on their game.” Silva isn’t fond of being tested, though.
"Fractured" - LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, Pictured: (l-r) Aimé Donna Kelly as Capt. Curry, Mariska Hargitay as Capt. Olivia Benson. Ralph Bavaro /NBC ©2024 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
The SVU's case involves a threesome-turned-murder when law school roommates hook up after the fourth roommate steps out. Roommate Damon, who suggested the threesome, is bludgeoned after opening the door for who he believes to be Teddy, the fourth roommate. Shelly, one of the girls Damon hooked up with has been pronounced dead and the other, Elodie, has been raped. Benson, Fin, and Bruno meet a shaken Teddy who officers tell them reported the murder.
CSU investigators discover a camera hidden in a smoke detector in Shelly's room which had, much to the dismay of the detectives, stopped recording before the crime occurred. After Teddy is questioned and admits that his date stood him up and he comes back to find Damon, Elodie, and Shelly hooking up, he provides an alibi which clears him. Bruno and Fin later question Sam, a fellow law student whose IP address had access to Shelly’s camera. He claims his innocence, but the detectives find motive after discovering Sam downloaded the footage of the threesome and watched it half a dozen times, and had been previously friendzoned by Shelly.
"Fractured" - LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, Pictured: (l-r) Ice T as Sgt. Odafin "Fin" Tutuola, Ari Dalbert as Sam, Kevin Kane as Det. Terry Bruno. Virginia Sherwood/NBC ©2024 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Shelly’s testimony at her women’s empowerment meeting, thanks to Elodie’s tip, is what ultimately brings Sam down. At trial, Shelly is seen on camera admitting that she wants to set boundaries in her life, starting with Sam. Sam then confesses after Carisi’s interrogation by repeatedly crying “I’m sorry.”
This season's premiere has not been as captivating as those of prior seasons, but after 25 seasons fans have seen it all and so it's hard to keep them surprised. This case manages to do a fairly good job of it nonetheless. We're looking forward to learning more about the new detective.
How does Det. Silva fit in with this squad? What did you think of the season opener? We're interested to hear!
