Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson somehow ruined the intense story in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 26, episode 13, “Extinguished.” Rather than an ensemble story featuring all of Benson’s Law & Order: SVU season 26 team, “Extinguished” focuses on Velasco (Octavio Pisano). When a girl is raped in a park near Velasco’s home, Benson assigns him the case because he presumably knows the area and the people. Thus, she expects Velasco to be in the best position to catch the rapist. However, Velasco struggles to make headway.
Neighborhood residents don’t trust cops, so Velasco has to contend with protesters demanding he close the case quickly while witnesses refuse to talk and discourage victims from sharing what they know. Additionally, Vigilantes, led by Velasco’s annoying neighbor, chase suspects and beat them up, including one who is innocent. After realizing how chaotic this investigation has become, Benson demands Velasco find a way to make his neighbors cooperate, while Law & Order: SVU’s Fin (Ice-T) warns him that Benson will fire Velasco if he doesn’t find a solution quickly.
Benson Insisted That Velasco Relied On Non-Existent Neighborhood Connections
Benson’s insistence that Velasco could leverage neighborhood connections to solve this case is based on the false assumption that he is a well-known fixture in the area he lives in. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. Velasco mostly keeps to himself, although he has a negative interaction with his neighbor, Danny, because Danny plays heavy metal music at top volume while Velasco is trying to sleep. Thus, it’s unlikely that he has many connections he can exploit to help with the case. This situation is unfortunate, as the case will be nearly impossible to solve without getting witnesses to cooperate.
After Danny leads a mob to beat up a suspect based on a police sketch, DNA evidence rules the man out. Thus, the cops are left with zero leads and nobody willing to come forward. Eventually, Velasco finds a way to work with Danny to get the info he needs, but this strategy is far less likely to work than Benson expects. Since the neighbors already distrust cops and Velasco has done little to ingratiate himself up to this point, it is surprising that he gets anywhere even after agreeing to let Danny work with him.
Why Law & Order: SVU Season 26, Episode 13 Should Have Focused On The Vigilantism Problem Instead
The point of Benson’s demands was for Velasco to ultimately rise to the occasion and find a way to get the case closed. Benson is pleased when he finally is able to arrest the rapist with the help of neighborhood vigilantes, telling him he has “command presence.” However, this moment doesn’t fully feel earned. Velasco only solves the case because an angry mob leads him and Danny to the perp. Furthermore, the residents change their opinion of him and of cops, in general, merely because he asks Danny to pass out flyers.
It would have been a stronger story if Velasco had found a realistic way to deal with the mobs.
It would have been a stronger story if Velasco had found a realistic way to deal with the mobs that are taking justice into their own hands. The idea of Danny’s mob beating up a man who ultimately turns out to be innocent should be terrifying for residents — how do they know they’re not next? Thus, Velasco working to dismantle the vigilante groups while trying to solve the case properly would have proven that he can keep his neighbors safe. This arc would have made the story’s resolution more logical.
Law & Order: SVU Has No Choice But To Make Benson The Villain (Sometimes)
Benson has always been idealistic, and it has often worked out well for her and the people she wants to help. However, her overly positive view of how much the Special Victims Unit can do to help can be problematic now that she is in charge. When Captain Cragen (Dann Florek) headed the unit, Benson might not have agreed with his decisions, but she had to go along with them — thus, in some cases, her idealistic outlook was balanced by Cragen’s experience and pragmatism.
Benson has been the captain for several years, but Law & Order: SVU season 26 has leaned into her strengths and weaknesses as a leader more than any other season. Thus, sometimes Benson is going to make extraordinarily bad decisions because she has too much faith in the cops’ abilities to deliver justice. This explains why she continually insists that Velasco can close this nearly impossible case despite how much of a miracle he needs to do so.
