The Season 16 winter finale of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit airs on NBC on Wednesday night, and it looks like this will be a good one. Fans have been anxious for a new episode after a few weeks without one, and they will surely be frustrated to be facing the winter hiatus now. What Law and Order: SVU spoilers are available for the December 10 episode titled “Pattern Seventeen”? When will new episodes return in the new year?
As star Mariska Hargitay tweeted , “Pattern Seventeen” tackles a topic very important to her: the rape kit backlog. As IMDb notes in its Law & Order: SVU spoiler synopsis , the team will be tackling a case where young girls are being assaulted in the early mornings. As the details of the case are discussed, Detective Rollins notes that there are similarities to a case she worked on in Atlanta.
Rollins will make contact with her old team, and she will learn that the rape kits in the Atlanta cases were never tested. Harry Hamlin guest stars as Atlanta SVU Chief Patton, and it seems he will detail that he didn’t believe any of the rape cases had been worth pursuing.
Sergeant Benson, played by Mariska Hargitay, will be under a lot of pressure with this case as the team struggles to find a suspect and the media pressure mounts. It is discovered that the serial rapist may have struck in multiple locations across the nation and it’s up to Benson and the team to bring him to justice.
Olivia will have to face Deputy Chief William Dodds, with Peter Gallagher returning in the role, to answer for the lack of progress in the case. Hargitay’s real-life husband, Peter Hermann , will also be back during this episode in his recurring role of defense attorney Trevor Langan.
Also ahead in “Pattern Seventeen,” Law & Order: SVU spoilers indicate that Olivia will be faced with the possibility that she might lose Noah. Showrunner Warren Leight teased a page of the script for Wednesday’s episode that seemingly shares some insight into the Noah situation.
Benson knows that Child Services wants a hearing, and she’s told it’s related to Noah’s health issues. Benson says he has lung issues, and Langan says that rib fractures were found. Benson says they are old and her doctor has already looked at them. It seems, though, that Child Services isn’t satisfied with the information they have. Could Benson lose Noah?
By the sounds of things, this winter finale will be a powerful one. When does Law & Order: SVU return with new episodes in 2015? According to the Futon Critic , it would appear that the next new episode after the winter hiatus will air on Wednesday, January 7. The wait won’t be too long, and it seems that fans will have a lot to absorb as they head into the break.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit airs its Season 16 winter finale on NBC on Wednesday, December 10.
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