One Law & Order: SVU character has been missing for a year, and his absence has not been explained halfway through season 26. Law & Order: SVU season 26 has made several changes in line with its mission to support and empower sexual assault survivors. Notably, Benson (Mariska Hargitay) has a full team for the first time in several years, including a new detective who is intended to be a permanent replacement for Rollins (Kelli Giddish). Rollins herself continues to be an occasional part of the series, but is usually off-screen.
Law & Order: SVU season 26 is more focused on cases than previous seasons have been. While Benson’s family and love life have always been part of the series, currently Law & Order: SVU depicts Benson only as the captain of her squad who encourages victims to come forward. This lack of personal storylines is disappointing to that part of the audience that wants Law & Order: SVU’s Benson and Stabler to get together. Additionally, Benson rarely mentions her son, Noah (Ryan Buggle), who has been an important part of Law & Order: SVU since his adoption in season 16.
Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Has Yet To Feature Noah
Benson has not had any scenes featuring Noah throughout Law & Order: SVU season 26, which is more than halfway over. Conversely, the shortened season 25 featured Noah in the premiere episode, and season 24 included a subplot about Noah discovering he had a half-brother whom he wanted to get to know.
Noah’s absence is especially strange given that several other storylines featured detectives’ children. Most notably, Benson spoke about parenthood in general terms when Carisi was worried about a pedophile targeting Jessie. This story would have been more powerful had it featured parallel scenes involving Benson parenting Noah. Similarly, Benson offered herself as a hostage to save Carisi in Law & Order: SVU season 26, episode 8 without any thought as to what would happen to Noah if she were incapacitated.
Why Noah’s Appearance Is So Important To Benson’s Arc In Law & Order: SVU
Ever since Noah was introduced, Benson has struggled to balance her work demands with her son’s needs. A social worker initially questioned whether Benson was the best person to adopt Noah because of her busy work schedule and her single-minded focus on the job, and she had to prove that she was capable of giving him the time and attention he needed. Over the years, Benson has dealt with everything from Noah being kidnapped by his maternal grandmother to bullying. When he was 11, Noah later came out to Benson as bisexual, which would be interesting to follow up on.
Her attempts to raise a teenage boy and her fear that he could be influenced by his peers’ disrespect for women’s boundaries would be a powerful subplot…
Benson’s storyline with Noah has been left unfinished because of his sudden absence from Law & Order: SVU season 26. Her attempts to raise a teenage boy and her fear that he could be influenced by his peers’ disrespect for women’s boundaries would be a powerful subplot that would complement Law & Order: SVU’s main focus. Benson sees firsthand the pain some teenage boys inflict upon girls, and in the past has questioned whether she will be able to instill values such as respect for women’s bodies as Noah gets older, and this story should continue now.
Did Ryan Buggle Leave Law & Order: SVU?
Although there has been no official announcement, it seems like Ryan Buggle is not part of the Law & Order: SVU season 26 cast. In addition to not being featured in any episodes, the Internet Movie Database lists Buggle as having appeared in the series from 2017-2024, and he has no upcoming episodes of Law & Order: SVU. Additionally, Buggle has removed the mention of his role in Law & Order: SVU from his Instagram bio. Although changes in social media bios don’t definitively point to a change in status, this update suggests that Buggle is no longer with the show.
Ryan Buggle will appear in a TV movie called Love in Storytown, which is currently in post-production. Thus, he should be finished working on this project and be able to return to Law & Order: SVU. No official reason has been given for his continued absence. However, Buggle may now look too old for the part of Noah, judging from his recent photos. If this is the case, Law & Order: SVU should adjust its storylines to accommodate his appearance or recast Noah with a younger actor rather than writing him out without explanation.
