Tonight on NBC Emmy Award-winning producer Dick Wolf’s crime drama, Law & Order: SUV continues with a new episode called, “Post-Mortem Blues.” On tonight’s episode, Benson is investigated following William Lewis’ death, and a prosecutor convenes a grand jury and calls for her arrest. While two lieutenants advise Benson to save her career at all costs, she wrestles with what’s the right thing to do.
On the last episode the sadistic William Lewis (Schreiber) escaped from prison, arbitrarily killing as he goes. Concerned for Benson’s safety, a security detail was assigned to her 24/7, but it doesn’t take long for Lewis got her back where he left off. With time running out, Benson had to decide how much she was willing to sacrifice in order to save the life of a child. Did you watch the last episode? We did and we have a full and detailed recap, right here for you.
On tonight’s episode Sergeant Benson (Mariska Hargitay) faces the aftermath of the beast’s final act. In the moments after William Lewis’ death, Sergeant Benson (Hargitay) is rescued by the SVU squad, but her torment continues. The Internal Affairs investigation of her actions is deemed inconclusive, and with no evidence to corroborate her story, Prosecutor Derek Strauss (Greg Germann) convenes a grand jury and calls for Benson’s arrest. With increasing pressure from Lt. Tucker (guest star Robert John Burke) and Lt. Murphy (Donal Logue) to save herself any way she can, Benson must choose between her convictions and her badge. Also starring Ice-T (Detective Odafin Tutuola), Danny Pino (Detective Nick Amaro) and Kelli Giddish (Detective Amanda Rollins). Also guest starring Elizabeth Marvel (Rita Calhoun), Bill Irwin (Dr. Lindstrom), Michael Potts (Sgt. Draper), Tamara Tunie (M.E. Warner), Curt Bouril (Det. Carlson) and Nikki Estridge (Det. Delano).
Tonight’s episode looks like it is going to be great and you won’t want to miss it, so be sure to tune in for our live coverage of NBC’s Law & Order: SVU at 9:00 PM EST! While you wait for our recap hit the comments and let us know how excited you are about the new season?
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We see the cops pouring into the abandoned building to save Benson. Lewis tells her that her friends are there and he gets on the police radio to tell the cops they’re playing Russian roulette. He tells Benson to pick up the gun. The little girl watches and cries, all tied up. As the cops get closer, there’s one bullet left as they search for them. Benson tells the girl to look away. Lewis puts it to his head and it clicks. He points the gun at Benson and tells her to say good-bye. He says this is the last thing you’re going to think about before you die then turns the gun on himself as he says it’s the last thing you’ll see.
A shot rings out, the girls screams and the cops come running. Benson is splattered with blood and tells them he was about to shoot her. They tell her not to say another word and they take the girl and Benson out so they can work the scene. Benson is loaded into a car by Lt Murphy who tells her she’s going to the hospital but not to talk to anyone until her union rep shows up. He tells her she did good.
Amaro drives her and looks concerned at her haunted blood spattered face. They take photos of Benson as a nurse checks her out. They ask if there’s anyone to call and she says no. Benson asks about the girl. Amaro tells her that Lewis didn’t sexually assault her, just physically. Benson says Lewis got what he wanted from her instead. Lt Murphy tells Fin to chill as Lt Tucker from Internal Affairs comes in.
Murphy tells Tucker he can’t talk to Benson right now. He tells the IAB guy that he’s head of the unit and Tucker says Benson may have executed a man. He says she was protecting a 12 year old girl and they heard what happened on the radio. Murphy says he can’t talk to her until she’s out of the hospital and not in shock.
Fin tells Murphy, Amaro and Rollins that they need to say they got there in time to see Lewis take his own life. Murphy says they’ll be under oath and that won’t hold up. He tells them to let Benson tell her story rather than telling it for her. Amara, Rollins and Fin take Benson home and offer to stay so she’s not alone but she says she needs some quiet and sleep and has to be at IAB first thing tomorrow.
Amaro asks if she has a lawyer and she says Lewis shot himself so she doesn’t need one. She repeats Lewis’ last words to them and Fin says – screw him. They tell her to get some rest and go. She keeps seeing him kissing on her, touching her and unbuckling her pants while he threatened rape.
Next day, she admits to Tucker and the other IAB guy that she went alone to save Amelia’s life. She says as soon as she showed up, Lewis took her gun, vest and phone. She says he put her in the car and handcuffed her. Benson says Lewis said it was her choice which of them he raped first. Tucker asks what she said and she says she told him to rape her first.
They asked if he raped her and she says no because she didn’t struggle. She says that turned him off and he stopped once she gave up. Rita Calhoun interrupts the meeting and Tucker tells her they’re in the middle of something. She says she’s been retained to represent Benson and that the interview is over. They tell her that Benson consented to make a statement and she reminds them that she has 48 hours to make her IAB statement and that she and her client need to consult. She tells them to get her a statement of what she said.
Benson doesn’t think it’s an issue but Rita reminds her that she made a publicized statement that she abused Lewis. She says there’s a chance it could go to trial. She tells Benson not to tell her anything else so she can put her on the stand if she needs to. She tells her she could risk jail, losing her job and pension. Calhoun says no more talking about it.
At Peter Lindstrom’s office, he tells Benson she’s stressed but she says she knew the risk involved. He says it’s over and she says it’s not because Lewis wants to be in her head. He tells her sometimes shooting someone can offer closure. He tells her that she’s alive and he’s gone and she asks – is he?
Dr. Warner finished the autopsy on Lewis and she says she can’t confirm that he shot himself. She says most suicides put the gun right to their head. Murphy tells her that Lewis did that to muddy the waters. Fin tells her they heard him force her to play Russian roulette and says they heard it. She says she didn’t.
IAB asks Benson what hand he shot himself with and she says he deliberately switched hands. She says in round one he held it in his right hand but then in the final round, he switched to his left, pointed the gun at her and then turned it on himself. Tucker asks why Lewis would have killed himself instead of her. Tucker says they have no problem with him being dead but her suicide story seems like a bad cover-up.
Benson insists she didn’t shoot him. Tucker asks if there was a chance she struggled with him for the gun and it went off. He says that’s a case that IAB can close. He looks at her pointedly, trying to get her to agree to that stance, but she insists that’s not what happened.
Olivia sits at her desk in the precinct as Murphy comes in and calls her to his office. She closes her laptop and follows him. She asks what the problem is and he asks why she’s there. She closes the door and says she works there. He tells her they agreed she would take some time off to get over this. She says she does better on the job.
Murphy tells her that IAB wants to call it justifiable homicide. She says that’s not what happened and he tells her to play ball and align her story to the facts they found. He tells her IAB wants to do the right thing and she should let them. Benson says she doesn’t trust IAB and isn’t sure she trusts Murphy either.
Amaro, Fin and Rollins all discuss the case in a holding cell. Murphy joins them and asks if they’re all on break. He tells them that IAB has a theory on the shooting. Amaro says that’s what they want them to think. Amaro says he won’t lie and Murphy reminds him that none of them saw what happened and says that’s all IAB needs to know.
Murphy tells Tucker that over the radio he heard the Russian roulette scenario. Fin says they heard him tell Benson to pull the trigger and then they heard there were two chambers left. Rollins says they heard the single shot live and then they ran upstairs. She admits they didn’t see who fired but he was dead on the table and Benson was duct taped to the table.
They ask Amaro if it’s possible Benson shot her. Amara says on the way to the hospital, she made a spontaneous admission that Lewis killed himself. Tucker says she’s not a reliable witness and Amaro says she didn’t shoot him and they’re not hanging this on her.
Murphy calls Amaro into his office and asks him to close the door. He asks how it went at IAB and Amaro says it’s confidential. Murphy says he compromised Benson. He tells him to sit down and then says he knows he’s been there for three years and has been struggling. Amaro says they lost some good men and Murphy reminds him he shot a kid and is living apart from his family.
Murphy says he read his file and knows his marriage broke up. He says it’s tough. Murphy says he gets the sense he doesn’t give up and that makes him a good detective. Murphy says this job takes a toll and sometimes you lose perspective.
Benson and her lawyer come in that night because the report is due tonight. Tucker tells her she needs to understand the repercussions of her account of events. They tell her the new Brooklyn DA might want to make this a case of a cover-up and then it won’t go away. Tucker asks Calhoun if she wants to talk to her client but Benson says she’s not changing her statement. They tell her they are going to report that they didn’t find any evidence to dispute her version of the events and wish her luck.
The crew gathers at Benson’s house to drink wine and discuss they’re glad that Lewis is gone for good. Murphy shows up and refuses a drink. He says Barba fought it, but the Brooklyn DA will be sending a target letter and are convening a grand jury about Lewis’ death. He tells her he’s sorry. Benson is floored.
At the grand jury hearing, Dr. Warner is on the stand and is being asked about the cross hand shooting by ADA Stauss. She says he could have shot himself with his left hand. He tears this testimony up and then asks what blood spatter and GSR there would be if Benson shot him and she says suicide would have left the same evidence. She says that’s why she ruled it a CUPY – because the evidence could go either way.
Fin tells the others that Strauss is pushing Warner to get her to change her testimony and Benson says Lewis knew what he was doing when he changed hands. Benson asks if they asked about her former assault of him and Amaro says everyone knows that’s not true. Calhoun comes in and tells them not to talk about the case.
Amaro says Strauss is ambitious and won’t rubber stamp IAB’s report. Benson asks what his end game is. Back at the grand jury, one of her security people – Det Carlson – testifies that she tricked them to escape and pursue Lewis. The other guard says Benson ditched her by saying she had to go to the bathroom. Strauss asks why she went to these lengths and she says Benson wanted to take him down herself.
Amaro is on the stand and says when they came in, Benson was cuffed and tied up. Strauss hones in on why the radio went silent right before the shooting. He says it’s convenient that they didn’t hear the shooting on the radio or see it. Strauss asks if he’s happy that Lewis is dead and Amaro says any decent person would be. Strauss says everyone has the right to due process and not be subjected to police brutality.
Strauss next has Amelia on the stand and asks if Benson asked her to turn away. She says she did. Strauss asks what she heard right before the gun went off. She says she doesn’t remember but they were taking turns and it was his idea to play Russian roulette. She says she heard clicks and metal scraping and could hear sirens.
He asks what the last thing was Lewis said and she says it was goodbye and then a shot. She says she thought he killed Benson because she didn’t hear her crying or screaming. Strauss hones in on the fact that Benson didn’t have a reaction. He asks if he heard Benson says anything else and she said he’s gone, he’s gone. She says she didn’t hear her say he shot himself. Outside, Amelia hugs Benson and says she’s sorry and it was like he was putting words in her mouth.
Calhoun comes over and tells Benson that she has a lot of friends at King’s County and Strauss has enemies. Murphy comes up and says there is a subpoena for the doctor Lewis talked to and says Strauss is trying to make her look like a dirty cop. We see Benson having a flashback to beating Lewis when she steps out in front a of a cab. Calhoun grabs her out of the way. She says she didn’t see it.
Strauss has Fin on the stand. He confirms that he didn’t see who fired the shot. He asks him about a year ago and Benson being alone with Lewis. Fin says Lewis kidnapped her. Strauss asks what condition Lewis was in when he got to the house. Strauss says it’s convenient that he got there too late to stop a beating or shooting. Strauss asks if he would overlook this.
They call in the jury forewoman for Lewis’ trial. She says she watched in horror as Lewis questioned Benson about his injuries that she suffered. She lists off horrible injuries. Strauss asks if she believes that Benson used excessive force and asked that it be put into the trial record. She says she thinks Benson had a vendetta against him and was trying to cripple him for life. This is the juror that helped him escape.
Benson tells Lindstrom if she says the assault happened, they can arrest her. If she doesn’t, she still faces bad consequences. She’s frustrated. Lindstrom tells her he thinks she’s been fighting for herself for a long time – since she was a kid and in an abusive household. He says years later, she’s in a situation where a horrible man is about to hurt a little girl and she risks her life. Benson thinks about it and Lindstrom says it’s time for her to let him go.
Benson comes to see Murphy to tell him she’s starting her retirement paperwork so she doesn’t lose her pension if they indict her. He tells her the whole squad thinks the sky is falling. He says he doesn’t want to lose her and says for her to go testify but she says she would have to lie under oath about the beating and doesn’t want to do that again. He says no one should have to.
Murphy testifies next. Strauss asks about his orders to Benson. Murphy says he trusted her judgment. He says he was notified shortly after she left her detail and that he thinks she did the right thing. He says they tracked her as back-up not because he thinks she was out to hurt him. Strauss calls Benson’s credibility into question.
Strauss cuts him off and Murphy says he has more information they need to hear. A grand juror says he wants to know what he wanted to say. Strauss tries to shut it down. The juror insists. Murphy says he ordered Benson to make the public confession as an effort to lure the weasel out. He tells them she performed an act of bravery. He tells them Lewis raped old ladies and little girls. He says Strauss has not mentioned once Lewis’ barbaric ways and all the people he killed. Murphy tells them that thanks to Benson he won’t hurt anyone again unless they allow Lewis to exert his power over them now.
Benson knocks on his door and is pleased that the grand jury refused to indict her. She says she heard he saved her and her shield. She says he lied for her and he tells her he told the larger truth. He says he’s staying on and asks if she’ll be his second in command. She agrees. He tells her he’ll see her bright and early.
Benson goes down to see Lewis’ body in the morgue. She thanks Warner for showing her.
