Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 26 Episode 1 Review: Fractured

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 25 disappointed many fans. What should have been a milestone season didn’t feel like one. So the stakes were high for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 26 Episode 1, “Fractured.”

The beginning of the episode shows great potential, but everything gets lost as the episode goes on, and the storyline itself forgets what it is about. Once the copaganda takes over, the victims are forgotten until the end of the episode, when the show remembers what it truly represents.

Of course a procedural show with a main character who works as captain of the NYPD will heavily advocate for the police. However, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has always been about victims and survivors of sexual abuse, harassment, or assault. So, what is the need to interfere in such a storyline with a bit of copaganda that makes no sense?

The investigation seems to be going well; everyone on the team is on the same page, and then it all goes to hell.

For this particular storyline, it makes no sense that the students attack the cops who are talking to Sam as a possible suspect in the rape and murder of the other students. We know the show loves to take stories from the headlines, and more than once, we have seen incidents between students and cops reported on the news.

However, on this particular episode, introducing the copaganda and the idea that the NYPD wasn’t doing anything (they are just victims of the frenzy or whatever they say) makes the episode lose the focus of the case. It isn’t necessary to add scenes in which the arresting officers are the victims of hate.

On the contrary, it simply makes the audience wonder what the point of those moments is. We have the same reaction when students protest outside the court for Sam’s release.

Why are they advocating for him when the evidence is very clear? The truth and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit history tells us that if the accused had been a person of color, more than half of those students wouldn’t be there advocating for their freedom.

The show should have avoided the unnecessary copaganda and the nonsensical protest to instead focus on the case and the fact that Elodie was raped and Shelli was murdered.

The copaganda of it all isn’t the only disappointing moment of this premiere that could have been.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 26 has a new intro that steers away from the typical squad room to situate the team members in the hallway under the precinct’s number. This seems odd.

As exciting as it is to see another female detective as part of the intro, we can only wonder why Curry isn’t in it. Silva is the newest addition to the team, and we have yet to learn about who she is. Curry has been around for a while, so hasn’t that earned her a spot in the title?

The truth is that the show continues to add characters without giving room for the already existing ones to grow. The squad room has become a revolving door with only Benson and Fin as its stable pillars.

Last season, there weren’t enough group scenes, and every episode sacrificed one or two characters to give enough screen time to the rest. Even though Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 26 Episode 1, “Fractured,” has everyone present, it doesn’t promise enough time to get to know the new detective (or dive deeper into existing characters).

Right now, Silva seems to be Velasco’s new partner, and oddly enough, it makes sense. Sadly, Velasco’s last partner didn’t last long, so we hope Silva’s future looks brighter.

If one focuses on the case like the episode should have done all along, a few things must be highlighted for better or worse.

The first one is the fact that Shelli’s mom waltzes into the crime scene as if her daughter wasn’t lying dead on the bed. Aren’t there cops at the door preventing this from happening? Why are they allowing a vulnerable mother to see her daughter in the worst state possible?

But as terrible as that is, it gives Benson the first moment of the season to be her compassionate self, caring for someone who has just experienced the worst day of her life. Truthfully, that is the main reason why so many viewers keep tuning in.

The fact that everyone acts shocked at the news of the students being in a threesome as if that is the biggest crime committed is quite surprising. Isn’t this supposed to be a show that advocates for people (mainly women) to feel empowered in their sexuality and have the autonomy to choose what to do? Those judging faces sure don’t look like advocates.

Last but not least, why does it take so long for them to realize that Shelli didn’t put the camera in the smoke detector? While viewers are probably screaming at their TVs that someone had to put it there, it takes several scenes for the detectives to come to that conclusion. Thank you, Curry, for thinking outside the box.

It isn’t all terrible on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 26 Episode 1, “Fractured.” The episode does get a few things right.

When it finally refocuses back to the case, Carisi has one of his best performances as a lawyer. Even though fans still don’t know if having him work as a lawyer is the best of his capabilities, this episode proves he can actually get it right.

The lighting of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 26 promises to be excellent, allowing viewers to see what is happening instead of second-guessing every movement. And as always, one can rely on Fin to bring funny moments that make tough cases bearable.

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

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