Benson's mental health crisis has been brewing for a while.
She has been on edge since Maddie Flynn's disappearance and hyperfocused on Maddie's case, and later on reconnecting with a previous victim who is now a cop.
On Law & Order: SVU Season 25 Episode 9, Benson nearly crossed a line she wouldn't have been able to come back from after dealing with a particularly horrific case. Where will she go from here?
It didn't help anything that an overly curious Noah asked about William Lewis, the man who kidnapped and tortured Benson on Law & Order: SVU Season 15 Episode 1.
The brief flashback gave me the creeps, so Benson was likely triggered big time.
The perp she was dealing with seemed like a mini-Lewis in the making, too. He had little empathy or remorse, kidnapped and tormented a fifteen-year-old girl, and helped brutally rape and murder another one.
Benson's dealt with this type of criminal her entire career, but lately, all the evil in the world is getting to her, and this perp was far too much like the man who had hurt her. No wonder her mental health issues took over.
Rosie's Father: How much? We'll pay any ransom, just tell us the amount.
Benson: We have no reason to believe this crime was financially motivated. We haven't received any request like that.
Rosie's father: Then why did they do this?
Carisi: I know this is hard to wrap your mind around, but some people just want to cause others pain.
From the beginning, the chances were slim to none that Rosie would survive the attack. The doctor bluntly told Benson to find the next-of-kin ASAP, while Sydney was missing and at risk of suffering the same fate.
Rescuing Sydney without any loss of life was good news, but that didn't soften the blow of Rosie's death minutes after the stand-off ended. That was the outcome Benson had hoped against hope to avoid.
Rosie's death was senseless. The boys attacked her for no real reason, injuring her so severely she wasn't likely ever to recover. This time, there was no inspiring speech Benson could give to help her.
The only peace Rosie could find was in death, and that is not an outcome Olivia Benson was prepared for.
She couldn't even take solace in having rescued Sydney when now Sydney would have to live with survivor's guilt after her horrific ordeal. She did offer words of comfort to Sydney, but there were no real answers she could give her.
If Seth had no empathy, Benson had too much of it. As usual, she was determined to put a stop to Seth's terrorizing Sydney without any loss of life.
Her approach was interesting. She kept focusing on convincing Seth that he had other choices he could make and didn't have to give in to his desire to hurt others, which got him to surrender.
That was all fine, but what happened afterward was not.
On Law & Order: SVU Season 25 Episode 4, Benson reported Chief McGrath after he pulled his gun out in the middle of the street while fighting with the father of the neighbor who had raped McGrath's daughter. McGrath was suspended pending an investigation and put in his retirement papers.
That was all as it should be, yet Benson did something arguably worse.
She and Velasco took the suspect to the park in handcuffs, where Benson "reenacted" the scene by choking and dragging him and then demanded a full confession.
Had she not realized what she was doing and decided to back off, that confession would not have been admissible, and that would have been the least of her problems.
Seth could sue her for police brutality, and she could face an IAB investigation and possibly the end of her career -- but that likely won't happen because everyone who suspects she did something wrong is looking the other way, and Velasco'll keep his mouth shut.
That is seriously uncool. Some fans feel Benson is treated like she walks on water, and this double standard doesn't help that. Hopefully, this comes back to bite her later -- or at least, she realizes she needs more help than she's been getting to prevent something worse from happening.
The hour began with Benson reading Noah Little Red Riding Hood while Rosie walked through the park wearing a red hoodie. She was obviously supposed to be a modern-day Little Red Riding Hood, especially considering the episode was called "Children of Wolves."
This was an odd choice, but it made sense, given Noah's question after hearing the story. He wondered if the traditional ending, when Little Red Riding Hood decides never to go off the path she's supposed to be on again, was a happy ending, and his mom had no answer for that question.
Rosie's case demonstrated that there is no simple way to protect children from predators in real life.
Rosie and Sydney weren't breaking any rules as they walked through the park. If anything, they angered their attackers because they were strong and confident enough to stand up to their catcalling.
Similarly, Benson couldn't protect Noah from the horrors of his early life or the fact that his biological father was a rapist, no matter how much she wanted to.
He's old enough now to want to know where he came from, and he understands some of the evil things Benson has seen, though not wholly.
Benson is often soft-spoken with Noah. Even when he's doing something inappropriate, like searching through her things, she speaks to him almost as an equal rather than imposing consequences.
It was imperative to find the right balance with this issue because Noah, like many adopted children, wanted to understand where he came from and had solid reasons for his misbehavior.
At least his biological father is not alive and can't influence him to commit crimes, as happened recently on Neighbours, but this is a delicate situation nonetheless.
I couldn't help thinking Benson would be better off talking to Noah about his history in front of a therapist who could help him process what she wanted to tell him.
Your turn, Law & Order: SVU fanatics.
What did you think about Noah's curiosity, this horrific case, and the line Benson crossed?
Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know.
Law & Order: SVU airs on NBC on Thursdays at 9/8c. New episodes drop on Peacock the day after they air.
