Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 25 Episode 4 Review: Duty to Report

It is McGrath’s turn to say goodbye on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 25 Episode 4, “Duty to Report,” but he doesn’t do so before showing his true colors.

After a series of violent incidents and the involvement of IAB, McGrath is being transferred, and Benson is once again left without a chief. Will we meet his replacement soon?

Only time will tell, but in the meantime, Benson seems to have a new partner. Can Curry leave her IAB traits behind and join the squad?

Benson’s Compass

While Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 25 has only been on for four episodes, it has become pretty clear that Benson’s storyline and her happiness will be strongly intertwined with whether they find Maddie or not.

After the Lewis saga, Benson became a regular therapy patient, and on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 25 Episode 4, “Duty to Report,” she’s exploring new avenues as she tries a new kind of therapy.

However, luckily for Stabler and Benson shippers, the therapist picks up on the fact that there’s something else on her mind. Picks up on the compass around her neck.

Even though Benson calls Stabler an “interesting friend,” everything seems to point to there being more between them. Maybe even the compass points toward that.

Once again, the idea of the compass leading her to happiness is brought up as the therapist asks her what she’s navigating to.

As much as the majority of us would love to see the longest slow burn in TV history come to fruition, something tells me Benson won’t let herself be happy until Maddie is home safe and sound.

A Goodbye and a Hello

If someone is used to saying goodbye, it is Olivia Benson. And if someone knows what it’s like to deal with angry and violent cops and IAB, it is also Benson.

No one is surprised McGrath’s departure has violent connotations. After all, it was on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 24 that we found out about his anger issues at home.

Benson is more than used to dealing with angry cops (hello Stabler! hello Amaro! hello Cassidy!), but it’s not common for her to get IAB involved.

SVU’s history with IAB (before Benson dated Tucker) hasn’t been great. They butted heads more than once, never trusting each other.

But the fact that Benson gets IAB involved goes hand-in-hand with the season’s theme to show her commitment to the victims. If she hadn’t made that call, Shea’s case would have been compromised.

Bringing Curry on for this case reminds us what it’s like to have another female cop on the squad. Ever since Muncy’s departure, Manhattan SVU has been heavily male-oriented.

Curry jokes about this with Benson, but the truth is that for a squad that deals primarily with female victims, the lack of female detectives could have become an issue later on.

However, as badly as they may need her, is Curry the right option?

Given the fact that cops rarely get along with IAB, we wonder how long the peace can last between them after Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 25 Episode 4, “Duty to Report.”

Maybe another captain should join the squad for Benson to move up in her career. Now that McGrath is gone, could she possibly replace him?

It’s scary to think that since we can’t picture the squad without Benson.

The Suspect

Before Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 25 Episode 4, “Duty to Report,” ends, Fin tells the suspect that he was brave for confessing, and we find out his behavior is a consequence of his father’s violence and attitude towards women.

It’s almost as if the show is trying to make us feel bad for the rapist. This is what happened on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 25 Episode 2, “Truth Embargo,” and it didn’t work out.

We understand that Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has said time and time again that there are times when perps become perps because they were victims first. Still, that doesn’t give them the right to rape someone.

As much as the details help fill out the storyline, there is no reason to try and make us feel bad for an attacker. Hopefully, this is the last time this will happen.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 25 continues to be on track to being a great season.

It is clear that its goal is to celebrate Benson and highlight her 25 years of dedication to the victims. Something we’re reminded of when she lists all of the missing children cases she’s worked on.

Hopefully, this celebration of Benson will include her getting her happy ending.

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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.

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