Law & Order: SVU ended last season with Benson (Mariska Hargitay) being held at gun point by the recently freed rapist, kidnapper and murderer, William Lewis (Pablo Schreiber), who always seems to get away with his brutal crimes. Well tonight’s season premiere on NBC at 9p picks up a few hours later with Benson tied to chair, duct tape on her mouth and bruises and burns all over her body.
Since she was on a forced two day leave from the unit, no one has checked in on her and her boyfriend, Cassidy (Dean Winters), had to cancel out on her because he had to work a double shift. Well now Cassidy is worried because he hasn’t heard from her, so he goes to check to see if anyone at SVU has. Captain Donald Cragen (Dann Florek) is afraid that she might’ve gone down one of her “rabbit holes”, so he asks Fin (Ice-T) and Rollins (Kelli Giddish) to check on her because it has been 35 hours since they have heard from her. When they get there; they find her apartment has been ransacked and realize Lewis has her and attacked her.
Now they are all looking for Benson, knowing time is of the essence with him. No matter how good their clues are they keep hitting dead ends and that means even more time she is alone with this psychopath.
As they search for her, we witness what torture he puts her through over and over again. We know she will never be the same, but is that as bad as it is going to get for her?
In this one hour of excellent television, we will feel everyone’s emotions; Benson’s pain and will to live, Lewis’ torment, craziness and anger, and all of the detectives desperation as they try to find her but keep coming up empty handed time and time again.
Then there is a moment that will bring back the feeling you had when Edith hit her would be rapist in the face with a burnt pan on All in the Family. Does that mean she breaks free? You don’t want to know, you just want to follow every moment as it happens. That’s because Mariska Hargitay delivers an Emmy winning performance tonight. I can’t remember the last time when I saw an actress pour her heart and soul into an episode like she did. It is her portrayal that will leave you drained because it is so powerful. She will amaze you so much that you will get off the couch to give her a standing ovation when the episode ends. One that is very much deserved.
But tonight’s episode isn’t only about her, mostly, but not all. Pablo Schreiber proves that he is one to watch with or without a pornstache.
And if you have the energy to watch another Law & Order: SVU episode after this one, then NBC has one waiting to entertain you.
Before we get to SVU, Revolution is back on a new night and time. The episode picks up 6 months after the bombs went off and we see the toll it is taking on all of them. They each take it differently and Revolution is not the show we knew last season. It will be interesting to see how the changes will effect the drama because it is drastically different. I don’t want to say too much because a lot of what I could tell is very spoilerish and I am sure you don’t want that.
