I was surprised that Mariska Hargitay didn’t get an Emmy nomination this year for her work on Law & Order: SVU — she won in 2006 and has received a total of eight nominations — and I’ll be even more surprised if she isn’t nominated next year, assuming NBC submits the Sept. 25 season premiere’s first hour for consideration. In a word, Mariska was phenomenal.
The first hour of the two-hour premiere picked up right where last season’s nail-biting finale left off, with Olivia Benson in the clutches of murder/rapist William Lewis (Pablo Schreiber). It was an edge-of-your-seat hour, as Olivia was tortured and drugged by the twisted Mr. Lewis, putting one of television’s most take-no-prisoners women — ironically, because she literally takes prisoners for a living — in one of the most vulnerable situations I’ve ever seen. Needless to say, Mariska acted her face off.
Another high point of the first episode, as Entertainment Weekly also points out, was when Olivia talked about Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni), her former partner who left the show in season 12. Fans have long been fascinated by the dynamic between Olivia and Elliot — particularly the romantic dynamic — so it was a nice little treat for long-time fans of the NBC procedural.
Of course, Elliot actually showing up in the episode would have been even more of a treat.
HollywoodLifers, were you blown away by the Law & Order: SVU season premiere? Drop a comment with your review of the episode!
— Andy Swift
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