Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Hints That Carisi’s Trauma Arc Is Far From Over With Just 1 Line

One line in Law & Order: SVU season 26, episode 12, titled “Calculated,” suggests that Carisi’s (Peter Scanavino) trauma storyline is far from over. Carisi has had a difficult time throughout Law & Order: SVU season 26. Becoming a stepfather to Rollins’ (Kelli Giddish) pre-teen daughters made him overly worried about pedophiles and other predators getting to them, especially after a pervert leered at his 9-year-old on the street. Carisi’s situation went from bad to worse when he was held hostage during a robbery, and he refused to seek therapy after his rescue.

Despite this strong storyline, it appeared that Law & Order: SVU was poised to wrap up Carisi’s issue too quickly, as he seemed to pull himself together and get refocused on a case after Benson gave him a pep talk in Law & Order: SVU season 26, episode 9. However, during “Calculated,” Carisi butted heads with both Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Law & Order: SVU’s Kate Silva (Juliana Aiden Martinez) after he refused to drop charges against an intellectually disabled man. This incident suggested he was still acting in response to trauma.

Benson Accuses Carisi Of Overcompensating In Law & Order: SVU Season 26, Episode 12

Carisi got on Benson’s bad side early in “Calculated,” when he was willing to cut a deal with a perp who sold nude photos of his students to pedophiles. Carisi reasoned that this guy could give him 50 convictions, while Benson would rather throw the book at the suspect in front of her. During their argument, Benson accused Carisi of overcompensating, asking him if he was trying to prove he had it together enough to do his job by being so ruthless.

While Carisi was offended by Benson’s statement, he never directly denied it. Instead, he focused on how important it was to get these perverts off the streets before they hurt more kids. This line reinforced Benson’s suspicions, as that was the same attitude Carisi took when he insisted on investigating the man who leered at his daughter on the street. Thus, it’s likely that Benson was correct and Carisi was still allowing his trauma to dictate his choices.

Why Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Needs To Continue Carisi’s Trauma Story

Law & Order: SVU has long had a mission of empowering trauma survivors, so it doesn’t make sense for Carisi’s trauma to last for only one episode. Ending the story so quickly would suggest that survivors can “snap out of it” or otherwise easily get over their mental health condition. This is not the type of message this show usually sends, and a negative and unrealistic message like that would contradict Law & Order: SVU’s stated purpose.

Having Carisi struggle with his mental health condition would also be a strong set-up for a potential Law & Order: SVU spin-off featuring Rollins and Carisi.

Furthermore, this story is a strong arc for Carisi, who has little to do now that Rollins is no longer in the show. Having Carisi struggle with his mental health condition would also be a strong set-up for a potential Law & Order: SVU spin-off featuring Rollins and Carisi, as her job-related travel leaves her unable to be home to support him most of the time. Thus, the procedural should finish this compelling Carisi story properly.