Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 26 Episode 22 Review: Post-Rage
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 26 Episode 22, “Post-Rage,” is a good episode, but doesn’t have the season finale energy one would expect. It does give Velasco the goodbye he deserves, even if his exit isn’t mentioned throughout the episode.
His promotion to Detective Second Grade, the ceremony, and the flashbacks as Benson looks back on his time at SVU are a proper celebration of his character. This shows how far Velasco came from the cop McGrath forced on the unit to a man who could hold his own in Beson’s team.
Given that the show has been spending less and less time with the characters in their personal lives, making Velasco’s exit a discreet momentum doesn’t feel like a shock. It seems to go hand-in-hand with the fact that he has always been a character who comes and goes, not present in every episode.
While Velasco gets a sendoff, Silva gets absolutely nothing. There is no mention of her exit or what will happen to her character after SVU. However, this fits her character as well.
Silva’s existence on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit will feel like a glitch in the matrix. Years from now, most viewers will forget she ever crossed paths with Benson’s team because the show forgot to make her memorable or give her a storyline that mattered to the audience.
Instead of spending time on the new characters to help the audience fall in love with them, the show kept bringing back Amanda Rollins. Granted, that made sense to the storyline, and her return episodes were some of the best Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 26 had. Nonetheless, her constant comebacks took the opportunity away from other characters to shine.
Now that Rollins is officially returning for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 27, Silva’s time at SVU will have meant nothing to the team or the viewers.
Truthfully, the show dropped the ball when it came to her character. Since “Post-Range” is her last episode, there should have been more of her. Or at least they should have given her a proper goodbye.
On the other hand, Curry continues to be a character who makes her presence felt and known on the team. She is there for a reason, and that reason is that she is extremely good at her job.
She has clearly earned her spot, but most importantly, she has gained Benson’s trust. The two captains work perfectly together. They have come to a point that they are so in sync that Fin points out Curry is connecting with her Benson side during the investigation.
Even though her character is stronger than some newer ones, Curry still lacks the depth fans look for when watching the show. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit continues to forget that viewers tune in not only for the cases but because they care about the lives of this team.
It would make Curry a well-rounded character if the show could dive into her personal life and give us more of her backstory. That way, we could truly fall in love with her for everything she is.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 26 was not a memorable season. While the second half of the season had better episodes, the first half lacked the strength the show had gotten fans used to.
The storylines weren’t as interesting as they had been in the past, and the characters lacked the depth that made us love them in the first place. Even though Benson continued to shine for her dedication to the job and the victims, it would have been nice to get more from the rest of the team.
Some viewers might miss Velasco, but Silva will soon be forgotten, which is sad considering the show still needs to create a solid team around Benson. Hopefully, Amanda’s return will make us feel more at home with the show, and Season 27 can deliver what we’ve been missing.
What did you think of this episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!
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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.
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Lara Rosales
By day, Lara Rosales (she/her) is a solo mom by choice and a bilingual writer with a BA in Latin-American Literature who works in PR. By night, she is a TV enjoyer who used to host a podcast (Cats, Milfs & Lesbian Things). You can find her work published on Eulalie Magazine, Geek Girl Authority, Collider, USA Wire, Mentors Collective, Instelite, Noodle, Dear Movies, Nicki Swift, and Flip Screened.