Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 27 Episode 6 Review: Under the Influence
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 27 had a great start with five strong episodes, but Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 27 Episode 6, “Under the Influence,” isn’t on the same level. The storyline feels repetitive, predictable, and dull.
Nevertheless, the episode serves as a great opportunity for viewers to get used to the new pairings running the squad. Rollins and Curry seem to have been established as partners, while Bruno and Griffin continue to work together.
This only poses certain questions: wasn’t Rollins coming back to the team to keep an eye on Griffin? Wasn’t she supposed to be the one Benson trusted? By pairing with Curry, Rollins is unable to do this, and the training of Griffin falls on Bruno.
We must admit, however, that Bruno is doing quite a great job with the newbie.
There is something that stands out within this storyline beyond the victims and the perpetrators.
When Skylar is first found by the other influencer, we hear this woman tell her stream that the ladies should always remember the buddy system. Later on, she also tells Griffin and Bruno that she is at risk just by existing.
These comments stand out because they emphasize the daily dangers women face simply by being women. Even from early childhood, girls are always told to go to the bathroom in groups of at least two and never leave another girl alone. We carry that into adulthood, making sure that no woman is alone or in a dangerous situation.
Just like we see it done on the episode, any woman would jump at the risk of seeing another vulnerable woman in the hands of a predator.
While these statements aren’t shocking revelations, it is important to make them. It is important to highlight that women are at risk simply by existing and going places, but their attacks are never their fault. Existing and living life is no excuse for a woman to be victimized.
Once again, Benson stays ahead of the game. Her experience shines through when she is told the building is new and decides to open the shower drain. A rookie would have never thought of this.
But it is also her experience that makes her unafraid of the brothers and their father’s reputation. She won’t back down simply because a man walks into her squad room screaming; she has seen that one too many times.
Instead, she will use that as a motivation to stand her ground and fight until the very end to bring the victims the justice they deserve. Usually, as proven on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 27 Episode 5, “Feed the Craving,” this is done through her empathy. And while her empathy is key in getting the victims to tell their story, this episode switches things up.
Benson’s empathy becomes the key that opens the secrets Paul is holding against his father and Nathan. Without the empathy that she shows (against her own beliefs) Paul, they wouldn’t have gotten him to switch against his brother and father. Rollins and Curry tried the hard way, but it is Benson’s softness that does it.
That same empathy is shown to the cop whom Raymond Ellis pushed aside to cover up a murder when she allows him to be the one to take Ellis into custody.
While Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 27 Episode 6, “Under the Influence,” is predictable, the dance between interrogation scenes is quite remarkable. Neither Bruno and Griffin nor Rollins and Curry try to be on the suspects’ good side. On the contrary, they go down on them hard.
But watching both pairs work together explains why Benson decided to team them up that way. Even though we wonder when Rollins will start keeping an eye on Griffin, it makes sense that Bruno is the one to break him into the SVU world.
The lack of Fin among these pairs does not go unnoticed, and we hope he comes back to the squad soon.
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 known as a Media Relations Expert. 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, W Spotlight, Collider, USA Wire, Mentors Collective, Instelite, Noodle, Dear Movies, Nicki Swift, and Flip Screened.