Ice T’s Love Island Reference on SVU Is the Crossover We Didn’t Know We Needed
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has always excelled at balancing gripping investigations with heartfelt moments that reveal the personal quirks of its elite squad. And as it turns out, Sgt. Fin Tutuola (Ice T) has Love Island on his mind.
Fin mentions the Peacock dating competition series in SVU Season 27’s “A Vicious Circle” after his trusted Detective Joe Velasco (Octavio Pisano) visited him at home, giving viewers a small, humanizing glimpse into the man behind the badge. Fin’s tough exterior and dry wit has elevated the squad room for decades, and while many fans know that Fin is a big video gamer (as is Ice T himself off-screen), Season 27 delivered another relatable detail about his beloved persona.
The idea that one of the SVU‘s most unflappable detectives may also spend his downtime casting votes on his favorite couples in Fiji on the Love Island app is delightfully down-to-earth. Hey, even NYC’s toughest investigators need a little escape!
Fin made a cheeky Love Island reference on SVU Season 27
Fin has been recovering following his hospitalization in the Season 27 premiere of SVU, so he wasn’t around when Velasco told Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) that he was leaving the Manhattan squad to accept an undercover assignment with the DEA in San Diego. But before heading West, Velasco paid Fin a visit to bid farewell. Upon opening the door, Fin was pleasantly surprised.
“I don’t recall inviting you over here to my Love Island watch party,” Fin joked, inviting Velasco inside.
“How’s physical therapy going?” Velasco asked him.
“What, you came here to nurse me?” Fin teased. “At least my last girl was clean-shaven.”
Velasco chuckled and stopped beating around the bush.
“You know, I was thinking about that time that we talked. About how you and I both did bad things,” Velasco told him, adding that they’ve tried to balance the karmic scales with their police work.
“Mhm,” Fin said, recalling their Season 23 conversation.
“Well, I realized something. I realized that when I’m in it, when I’m doing the job, I don’t think about the scale anymore,” Velasco told Fin proudly. “Like, I don’t think about myself at all.”
“You going somewhere [with this]?” Fin asked.
“I just wanna say thank you for everything,” Velasco told Fin earnestly, sad to say goodbye.
Fin Tutuola was one of Velasco’s first friends at the SVU
The random reveal of Fin’s Love Island fandom is delightful, yet comes at a bittersweet time as he bids farewell to one of his most reliable investigators, Detective Velasco, who has been saving lives as a member of Benson and Fin’s elite squad since Season 23. Velasco moved to the United States from Ciudad Juárez, fleeing Mexico as a teenager to avoid the clutches of a dangerous street gang.
Velasco opened up to Fin about his dark past in Season 23, Episode 8 (“Nightmare in Drill City”). Velasco told his Sergeant that he’d wanted to join the gang as a teenager, and in an effort to impress the gang leader, he lured a man into a trap where he was brutally tortured.
“I swore to God that if he lived I would only do good from then on,” Velasco revealed, adding that after learning the man survived the torturous ordeal, Velasco told his mother he needed help and within two days, he was on a bus to Nebraska and eventually New York.
“My point is, I got away with it, and I kept my promise,” Velasco confessed, surprised to be opening up to Fin. “I’ve never told anyone that.”
“Well, I did my share of dirt back in the day, and a lot of it,” Fin reassured Velasco, connecting with him on the same level. “And I’m still trying to balance the scales myself.”