Noah’s Return In Law & Order: SVU Is A Symptom of A Serious Problem The Procedural Needs To Fix ASAP

Noah’s (Ryan Buggle) short return to Law & Order: SVU season 26, episode 19, titled “Playing With Fire Part 2,” points to a significant problem within the procedural’s storytelling that needs to be fixed quickly. Noah has had subplots every season since Benson adopted him in Law & Order: SVU season 16. As he has gotten older, these stories have gotten more complex, particularly when he came out to Benson as bisexual after a bullying incident with a playmate when he was eleven years old. However, Noah was absent without explanation for most of Law & Order: SVU season 26.

This oversight is only one of several changes in the season. The procedural has become more of an ensemble series, focusing on the cases that Benson’s Law & Order: SVU season 26 team is trying to solve and giving more characters subplots and backstories. Noah appears for the first time in season 26 during the 2025 Law & Order crossover, but his short appearance in the episode is unsatisfying for several reasons.

Noah’s Cameo After His Long Absence In Law & Order: SVU Explained

He Has A Brief Scene In The School Parking Lot

When Noah was last seen in Law & Order: SVU season 25, he was a child on the cusp of adolescence who still wanted Benson to read him bedtime stories even though he was too old for that activity. Afterward, he disappeared for nearly a year, so his reappearance as a teenager in “Playing With Fire” who has already begun puberty is somewhat shocking. Noah’s new maturity makes his contribution to the plot less realistic, as it involves him almost getting in a car with a stranger right before Benson comes to school to pick him up.

Noah appears to be about fifteen years old, which makes the whole arc somewhat silly. His only appearance involves his friends telling Benson that Noah is talking to some guy in a car. Benson sends him to her own vehicle and chases the bad guy off, leading to Stabler beating up the villain later to ensure he stays away from Benson and her son. However, there are no follow-up scenes with Benson and Noah in which she addresses the incident (or the fact that the teenage son of an SVU detective should know basic stranger safety rules.)

Law & Order: SVU Has Sidelined Benson’s Personal Stories (& That Needs To Change)

Benson Can Be Part Of An Ensemble Without Being Cheated Out Of Stories Of Her Own

From the beginning, Benson has been Law & Order: SVU‘s central character. Many of Law & Order: SVU‘s best stories revolve around Benson’s personal life, including her fears of being a rapist like her father, her struggles with intimacy, and even a flirtation with alcoholism in season 17. While Benson still has a prominent role in Law & Order: SVU‘s season 26 cast, her personal stories have mostly evaporated.

This needs to be tweaked, however. It’s understandable that the procedural was seeking a better balance after Benson’s obsession with Maddie Flynn and her family during Law & Order: SVU season 25 fell flat. That story centered Benson in a negative and uninteresting way, and the series has attempted to correct that mistake by making other characters more central. However, eliminating Benson’s stories altogether tilts the focus too far in the opposite direction, especially considering the importance of Benson’s advocacy for survivors to the procedural’s mission.

Why Benson’s Stories Should Never Be Ignored By Law & Order: SVU

She Is An Inspiring Figure For Several Reasons

One of the reasons that Law & Order: SVU continues to be popular 25 years after its premiere is that Benson is the type of cop many survivors wish they had encountered in real life: empathetic, smart, and determined to do whatever it takes to get justice. While other cops in the procedural have varying degrees of empathy, Benson’s approach is unique; she goes beyond fighting to arrest and convict perpetrators of sex crimes, often connecting survivors with resources or offering them much-needed encouragement. While she sometimes goes too far, there is no doubt that Benson genuinely intends to help.

Benson’s ability to assist the people she works with comes from her own history as a trauma survivor. She is the product of rape and has survived multiple kidnappings and other violent crimes. These aspects of her history aren’t merely plot points; her ability to survive them drives her empathy and desire to help other survivors. Thus, Law & Order: SVU needs to keep Benson central in order to continue its mission of being a beacon of hope for survivors.