Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 24 Episode 14 Review: Dutch Tears

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 24 Episode 14, “Dutch Tears,” celebrates everything that Fin Tutuola has been for the last 22 years. Without him, the show truly wouldn’t be the same.

This new episode starts in a fun, lighthearted mood that reminds us that even though the show can be dark, the relationships between the characters give it the warmth it needs to succeed. It is particularly true when you think about Fin and Olivia’s friendship.

These two characters have been around for over two decades and watching them work together has been an absolute pleasure. This Fin-centered episode is here to remind us of that, but also to remind us why Fin has been such a key component on the show.

If you have been around long enough, you have come to realize that at times Fin seemed more of a background character than what he should have been. He would pop up throughout the episodes, say one funny line, and then he was gone.

Thankfully, “Dutch Tears” changes the game, and as fans we get to see more of Fin and all the reasons why we love him so much.

Yes, the funny one-liners are still present (even though Bruno is trying to take that role for himself), but the complexity of this character gets to shine through. Just like Olivia highlighted at the beginning of the episode, Fin has grown and come a long way.

Law & Order: SVU wouldn’t be what it is without this character. After Elliot’s departure, he was the one partner that never left Benson and always had her back.

This has always been reciprocated by Olivia. Once again, she does this during the first minutes of the episode when she makes sure he gets home safe and she reminds him how proud she is of him.

It is nice to watch the rest of the team recognize Fin for his hard work and dedication after feeling that for a long time he wasn’t given the place he had earned.

As happy as we are to see Ice T get the screen time he deserves, we can’t help but realize that the episode isn’t perfect and there are a few flaws.

For starters, where’s Phoebe? Fin says she is working, but wouldn’t this have been the perfect episode for her character to come back?

After being alone for so long, Fin finally found his life partner, but she isn’t mentioned or seen enough. Phoebe being at his party would have been a nice nod to his personal growth but it wouldn’t have fit the storyline on “Dutch Tears.”

Phoebe isn’t the only character missing. In order to fully celebrate Fin, there are plenty of other characters who should have shown up.

Elliot Stabler should have been there. If Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime worked together more closely, this would have been a possibility. But both shows continue to function as if they were completely different franchises.

Sadly, with Kelli Giddish’s departure, Amanda is also missing. Carisi is the only one to point this out by mentioning Amanda also had to work and couldn’t make it.

Characters missing isn’t the only mistake Law & Order: SVU makes.

Is it really necessary to drag the victim around town as they investigate what happened? This works perfectly when the bar is raided and they need to get an ID, but before that it only puts stress on Dutch.

The same stress and fear that Bruno instilled in him when Dutch asked why he hadn’t shot the perp. We get it, Bruno is the character that adds some humor to the situation, but where was the compassion?

That compassion is also lacking in Fin for a moment when he gets frustrated because Dutch can’t ID the man who assaulted him. Shouldn’t they know better after working at Special Victims Unit for such a long time?

The lack of compassion can partially be forgiven when Fin mentions Munch. Comparing Bruno to his older partner and pointing out that humor is a coping mechanism, is a nice nod to the older Law & Order: SVU days.

Hopefully, just like Munch, Bruno will continue to grow as a character and every episode won’t focus on what funny thing he can say next.

It seems like for Law & Order: SVU to allow other characters to shine, the show reduces Benson’s screen time. Isn’t there another way to give every character the place they have earned?

The few scenes between Benson and Fin are pure gold because Mariska Hargitay and Ice T have the chemistry necessary to make this friendship stand out. So, why try to take that away? There should be balance between the storylines focused on other characters and the amount of Olivia on the episode.

However, less Olivia means more Carisi and it actually makes up for the lack of Captain Benson. Watching Carisi be so present on “Dutch Tears” is a reminder of why he always belonged in Manhattan SVU.

As much as he has grown as a lawyer, the days in which he was just a detective are still some of the best Carisi episodes we have ever gotten. Fans miss that, so it is nice to see him in action once more.

Even though the episode isn’t perfect, it is nice to see one of the longest-running characters in the Wolf Universe be celebrated. Fin deserves every bit of praise he gets.

Hopefully, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 24 Episode 14, “Dutch Tears,” isn’t the exception and Fin will stop being a background character with one-liners. There is so much more to that character that needs to be explored.

It will be interesting to see if the show dives into the aftermath of what this case means for Fin and it won’t be brushed off as just a filler episode.

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Law & Order: SVU airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.

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