Fortunately, we haven’t gone there… at least not yet.

Instead, the episode switched halfway through to the tension between Benson and Chief Tynan, while Carisi also struggled to make his case.

The Problems at Trial Demonstrated the Dangers of Jumping to Conclusions

I didn’t like how the case was initially handled, especially by Bruno.

The cops went into it assuming Greg was lying about everything, simply because his story was strange, and Benson had to intervene when Bruno kept yelling at the guy despite Greg’s demand for a lawyer.

I don’t agree with Chief Tynan that Benson didn’t have enough control over her detectives, but Bruno should have suffered more consequences than he did.

Carisi yelled at Griffin, and Tynan complained that Griffin looked incompetent on the stand.

I’m not Griffin’s biggest fan, but come on!

Bruno admitted that he let his opinion get in the way, but that wasn’t enough. He’s a far more senior detective than Griffin, so why did everyone virtually ignore his role in this?

The detectives should have investigated more thoroughly before jumping to conclusions, but Carisi could also have better prepared Griffin.

It didn’t make sense to me that Carisi warned Griffin to brush up on his cross-examination — isn’t it Carisi’s job as the DA to prep his witnesses for trial, especially given that he was worried about the information in the report?

Griffin’s biggest blunder on the stand was that he kept saying he “determined guilt” rather than “obtained probable cause for arrest.”

That was a rookie mistake — cops should know the difference between their jobs and Carisi’s before they agree to testify — but it was also partially on Carisi.

Carisi clearly didn’t practice any testimony with Griffin, or he would have excised that problematic phrase long before Griffith took the stand.

This whole mess — along with Benson’s testimony — illustrated a core conflict between the SVU team and the rest of the world.

Benson believes survivors, as she should, so she and her team take it for granted that the claims survivors make are FACTS (unless proven otherwise).

Why Did We Need This Eccentric Detective?

I felt like SVU was trying to introduce a character with a similar personality to the late, great Detective Munch, but it didn’t work.

He came off as strange, period, and his personality was distracting.

Plus, it irritated me that his name was Whelan. I’m not over Jamie Whelan’s death at the end of Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 3, and I didn’t need to be reminded of him every time this weirdo was on-screen.

Beyond that, I wasn’t sure what he added to Law & Order: Season 27 Episode 8.

I know SVU wanted to add some local color, or maybe some humor, but I just didn’t think this character was worth it.

Half of Chief Tynan’s Problems With Benson Were The Chief’s Own Fault

Look, Benson is far from perfect, and Tynan did have a couple of solid points.

Law & Order: SVU fans have been complaining for several years now that Benson shouldn’t be out in the field if she’s the team leader, but Law & Order: SVU has insisted on this unrealistic trope for most of the decade that Benson has been in charge.

And Benson’s standing up to Tynan is completely in character, but Tynan is also right that the way Benson speaks to her, ignores her commands, and hangs up on her is generally considered extremely unprofessional.

That said, Tynan brought a lot of this on herself.

Tynan was the one who insisted Griffin be part of the team in the first place, so it seemed ridiculous for her to complain about his performance now.

She also had a lot of nerve complaining about Benson not being able to supervise her detectives, when the reason Benson wasn’t in the squad room at the start of the case was that she was at a conference Tynan insisted she attend.

As for the mess with the press conference, Tynan did the best she could, but she also didn’t understand why Benson couldn’t just drop everything to attend at a moment’s notice.

Even Though It Would Never Fly In Real Life, I Loved Benson Standing Up To Tynan

She’s used to Deputy Chiefs who have no idea what SVU is all about, and Tynan is nothing compared to McGrath and his nonsense.

What did you think of Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Episode 8?

We’ve got almost two months before it returns. What are you most looking forward to?

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