The Season 28 premiere of “SVU,” on Oct. 8 on NBC, wasn’t a play on the news by design. According to showrunner Michele Fazekas, the episode was written and shot in July. But it will feel incredibly timely given its similarities to the Cornell 7 gang rape case — which “SVU” star Mariska Hargitay has publicly condemned, calling for justice to be served.
Det. Griffin and Capt. Curry (Aimé Donna Kelly) question the three men. One of the suspects, Scott, works for a tech startup and claims the night was “weird” but consensual, and involved Josh, Daniel (his cousin), Emily and himself at Josh’s mom’s place. “Eventually we were in the bedroom, and I can safely say I’ve never done anything like that… Have sex with someone and then watch other people have sex with that person,” he says. When Det. Griffin presses him on whether she offered consent, he says, “She didn’t say ‘no’ and she was acting very into it.” Sgt. Tutuola (Ice-T) questions Daniel, a guy with a girlfriend sticking to the same story, and Sgt. Rollins (Kelli Giddish) and Det. Bruno take on Josh, a lab technician friendzoned by Emily, who hints at culpability by refusing to engage with the police and may be “the weak link.” Meanwhile, Josh’s mom won’t cooperate with Benson, though she thinks she can crack her.
At trial, defense attorney Andrea Vargas (Lindsay Mendez) grills Emily on the stand: “You can’t honestly sit here right now and say whether or not you consented?” “Did you push them away and make them stop… or were you encouraging them?” “You never said ‘no,’ did you Emily? And then when you woke up, you changed your mind!” The callousness of her questioning brings Emily to tears.
Vargas subsequently offers Carisi a deal: The men will cop to misdemeanor “forcible touching” — it won’t get them any extra time in jail, but will land them on the sex offender registry. Carisi urges Benson to accept the deal otherwise “they’re gonna walk,” and Hawkins sides with Benson in fighting it out, sparking conflict between the ADA and the commanding officer. A hung jury makes the case go to a retrial.
Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Gwen Sharpe (J. Smith-Cameron) strategize in “Law & Order: SVU.”
Virginia Sherwood/NBC
Scott and Daniel are found guilty of rape in the first degree — as Benson exits the courtroom, however, she locks eyes with Carisi and a look of guilt washes over her face. She got the result she wanted, but at what cost?
According to Hargitay, “Volition” held special importance for her due to the current laws surrounding consent, stating that if survivors choose to consume drinks or drugs they “cannot legally claim that they were unable to consent to sex — unless they were physically unconscious or unable to speak.”
