People are tuning out, yet Dick Wolf doesn’t rush to do anything about it.
With shows as long as Law & Order Special Victims Unit, you can’t expect every viewer who joins the show in one day to stick around for the entire run.
Sometimes people stop watching because it gets repetitive and boring, sometimes the crimes just become too much, and sometimes they leave after their favorite cast members.
But probably the worst reason for someone to leave would be a setback for one of the main characters. How bad does the character have to be for watching them and dealing with their flaws to be too much?
Well, Special Victims Unit did its own unfortunate experiment with Olivia Benson to find out.
It’s no secret that the strong and dedicated Olivia Benson was the reason many people fell in love with the show in the first place.
Brilliantly portrayed by Mariska Hargitay, her character has grown and been recognized for her passion for justice since season one.
Though her methods sometimes seemed questionable, the great results always made it all worthwhile.
Until they didn’t. At this point, Benson has everything she’s ever dreamed of, and fans believe it’s made her ten times worse than before.
What people usually call character development, Special Victims Unit fans are willing to call character regression.
As unfortunate as it is, it looks like Olivia Benson has lost all of her charisma and charm, and all that is left is a hunger for power and arrogance.
Nobody likes a know-it-all character, especially in a position where she can easily manipulate people.
Not letting a child get a heart, misleading Rollins to push her agenda and get her to keep her baby, lecturing everyone about the importance of law and legality when she has a huge record of illegal actions behind her own back.
That’s not even a complete list of all Olivia Benson’s low moments, but even those are bad enough to make viewers turn their backs on the show.
Whether or not the writers will pick up on the obvious reason the Special Victims Unit is suffering and be willing to make a change, we will have to wait and see.
