Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 10 took on the broken foster care system.
Benson was determined not to let a kid suspected of murder fall through the cracks, but how well did she do?
Our TV Fanatics Laura Nowak, Jasmine Blu, and Jack Ori tackle the question of how realistic the foster care system was depicted, whether Anthony’s response to Benson at the end made sense, and more.
How realistic did you think the broken foster care and CPS system were depicted in SVU, from 1 (this is completely ridiculous) to 10 (this is exactly how things are)?
Laura: I’d give it an 8. As someone who interned in the foster care system and with abused children, it was heartbreaking and realistic.
Many children don’t trust the system because they’ve been burned so many times.
I was relieved that the group home manager seemed kind but firm towards the boys. Anthony needed someone he could rely on.
Jasmine: I agree with that 8, Laura. They really captured the distrust and disillusionment, but I was definitely relieved that the woman working with the boys at the home seemed like a genuinely good person.
Jack: I’d give it a 9. My experience as a social worker is that there are more people like the group home manager than like the CPS manager, but sadly there are people who are either so burned out they don’t care anymore or who never cared in the first place.
Law & Order: SVU tends to focus on the ones who don’t care if kids fall through the cracks, so I was glad the group home manager was an exception.
Anthony resisted trusting Benson for most of Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 10 but came to have complete faith in her after she helped stop Michael. Did this make sense, or should he still have had some wariness, given his trauma history?
Laura: I thought he’d still have some wariness, but she did save him, so he could have viewed her as his guardian angel, too.
Jasmine: Yeah, I thought that was a bit odd. To me, it felt like one of those times when the series leans heavily into their Saint Olivia Benson shtick.
The turnaround was a bit much to me, but I’m glad he felt safe with her and learned to put faith in the right person at least.
Jack: I thought so too, Jasmine.
I could understand Anthony being grateful and realizing that Benson genuinely wanted to help him, but erasing all his trust issues altogether is unrealistic.
This is especially true in light of how her pep talk on Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 9 seemed to snap Carisi out of his trauma response.
That’s twice in a row, which sends a concerning message about how easy it is to overcome trauma that doesn’t fit SVU’s brand.
Do you think Carisi’s trauma played into how he handled the case at all?
Laura: Carisi seemed to be trying to be cautious and follow the rules. Olivia kept having to remind him not to put Anthony through more trauma.
I generally think Carisi is better at that, but maybe his trauma made him need to follow an exact formula.
Jasmine: Maybe. I can appreciate how they’re trying to ensure that this storyline still lingers a bit so it doesn’t feel like Carisi is magically all better and all is fine.
I don’t know if it’s deliberate writing choices or the actor, but I really like the little nuances there.
Jack: He seemed too much like his regular self to me, though, as Laura pointed out, he wasn’t as sensitive to Anthony’s trauma as usual.
However, it’s possible he was trying too hard to focus on the case so he could keep his mind off his own trauma.
Were you at all surprised that Michael was trafficking his clients?
Laura: I wish I was. I was to the extent that he trafficked that many, but not that he abused Anthony.
Jasmine: Agreed, Laura. When it comes to trafficking, nothing ever surprises me anymore, which sucks.
It was a perfect set-up for him to take advantage, and he did. It’s vile, yet not the least bit surprising anymore.
Jack: I wasn’t surprised either. There were some huge red flags that Michael’s supervisor either missed or deliberately ignored.
As I said in my Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 10 review, Michael ignored ethical guidelines with no consequences, which enabled him to abuse his clients more easily.
Silva had a little more of a role than usual. How do you think she did?
Laura: I really like how she and Bruno paired together. They pair well together, but I still need more time to see what I think of her.
Jasmine: Bruno makes everyone and everything better!
Yeah, I typically like Silva when they actually do something with her. I especially enjoy her energy with Bruno.
The only issue is that all the goodwill they earn with her character disappears when she goes offscreen for long stretches of time.
Jack: I agree 100%, Jasmine.
When they use Silva, she’s great. I especially love how intuitive and observant she is.
But they use her so little that I often wonder what they brought her aboard for.
Anything else not covered above?
Laura: SVU needs to work on their promotion.
The synopsis promoted this as a Velasco episode where Benson, Silva, and Bruno were featured way more.
Jasmine: Really? I know they can be misleading with promotion, but that’s a stretch.
I don’t know. I’m not jiving with much of this season because few episodes leave their mark after the credits roll.
Jack: I think the last two episodes have been better than the first half of the season.
I hope nobody was making a drinking game out of Olivia saying she wasn’t going to let the system fail Anthony again.
That line was REALLY overused on Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 10. I think there were at least four or five instances.
What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline from Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 10?
Laura: I love storylines centered around foster care and Benson fighting for kids, so I loved all of this, but especially when she and Carisi exposed the truth, saying they weren’t giving up on Anthony.
Jasmine: I thought the young actor who played Anthony was really great. I enjoyed his performance.
For some reason, though, it felt like they said his name A LOT, which irritated me.
Jack: See above for my thoughts on that, Jasmine!
I enjoyed every scene the group home manager was in. I know the episode wasn’t really about the way she ran her group home, but I wanted more of her.
Over to you, Law & Order: SVU fanatics.
Hit the comments with your answers to these questions or any other thoughts about Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 10.
Law & Order: SVU airs on NBC on Thursdays at 9/8c and on Peacock on Fridays.
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