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The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 27 finale proved that Mariska Hargitay’s Capt. Olivia Benson is right where she needs to be.
Things came to a head for the squad in the Thursday, May 14, episode — titled “Monster” — as Benson went head-to-head with Chief Kathryn Tynan (Noma Dumezweni) for one final showdown.
Earlier this season, Tynan suspended Benson from her role as SVU captain. In the interim, newcomer Detective Jake Griffin (Corey Cott) was trying to dig up dirt on Tynan to help put an end to the tension. Because Tynan became a surrogate parent to Griffin after his father’s death in the line of duty, they had a close relationship. However, Griffin discovered on Thursday that Tynan helped his dad (who might have been a dirty cop) cover up a murder.
Elsewhere in the episode, Griffin got shot in the line of duty. When Tynan arrived at the hospital, Tynan threatened Benson’s job for putting her team in danger.
“I’ll have your badge for this,” Tynan told Benson. “Your career is over, and I am no longer sorry about that.”
Benson replied, “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
It was then revealed that Griffin had recorded the conversation with Tynan regarding his father, so it was really Tynan’s career on the line.
Benson made it clear that she had no intention of using the recording but refused to let Tynan “ruin” her career.
SVU showrunner Michele Fazekas told People ahead of the finale that she wanted viewers to understand that the end of Benson’s career is on the horizon.
“Mariska’s been on the show for 27 years. You’ve got to be thinking, ‘This is going to end at some point,’ and so let’s not ignore that,” she said. “Let’s go toward that.”
When crafting season 27, Fazekas wanted Benson to reveal why she’s still doing this job.
“It’s like, ‘I’m doing this because I can’t do anything else,’” Fazekas said. “And so she somewhat recommits herself.”
Before SVU heads into its next season — NBC officially renewed the show last month — Fazekas wanted fans to know that “the most important part is this core group” of detectives.
“I really wanted it to come back to that,” she told People. “They got the guy, all of the stuff with Tynan has been sort of handled.”
Law & Order: SVU is now streaming on Peacock.
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