The long-running crime drama series has had its share of poorly written characters, but this one takes the cake.
The NBC series, following a team of professional cops solving the most complex and hard-to-make-sense-of crimes, premiered way back in 1999 and still has a devoted following thanks to its brilliant story arcs and engaging characters. The heart of the series is undoubtedly Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), who is widely regarded as one of the best female characters in television history.
So, it came as a bit of a surprise that the most nonsensical character in the entire series is none other than her half-brother.
We’re talking about Simon Marsden, the son of serial rapist Joseph Hollister, who also happens to be Olivia’s biological father. Olivia and Simon meet as adults and there was some promise of a rewarding redemption arc seeing how they might have experienced a shared trauma as kids. Unfortunately, nothing came of it and the new character’s arc turned into a drag.
The impression fans got was that the writers didn’t know what to do with Simon: they laid a very promising foundation but completely failed to execute on it. Simon is introduced as a drug addict and his substance abuse features prominently, ruining his relationship with his wife and son.
In season 21, both fans and Olivia were shocked to learn that Simon had died of an overdose: it felt like the writers had run out of ideas for Simon and simply killed him off. A lot of fans were sorely disappointed to see a most promising character disposed of in such an abrupt manner.
Longtime Law & Order: SVU viewers are beginning to see a pattern in how the writers handle Olivia’s extended family: while other characters’ relatives tend to have interesting story arcs, when it comes to Olivia, she’s constantly getting her family members taken away from her. Simon is just the tip of the iceberg. After his untimely demise, people instantly recalled Olivia’s mother Serena, who the writers disposed of rather crudely by having her fall down some stairs early on in the show.
Seeing how there is no end in sight for Law & Order: SVU, hope springs eternal that past mistakes can be put to rights and Olivia will finally meet a distant relative who will stick around and help drive the development of her character.
