Here is the discussion topic for Law & Order, “In The Wind” which aired on Thursday, September 25, 2025. Please feel free to add any feedback you have about this episode in the comments!
In case you missed it - former SVU (and Law & Order) Captain Don Cragen has died, and he was commemorated by former colleagues. The segment featured current and some past SVU members.
While I'm sad to see Cragen go, in real life things like this happen. I suppose it was a good excuse to bring his character to the forefront again and reunite old SVU members. RIP Don Cragen!
I loved the episode! It's definitely an improvement compared to the Graziano episodes. I actually like Tynan, too. Even though she might cause some trouble, I like her character so far. The only thing that I found annoying was the ICE storyline being used so many times before. It was sad, too, that Cragen died.
I'm excited to see what Fazekas will do for the show. What do you think Chris?
@SH - I liked it. The pacing was much better that the last few seasons. It felt more like the much earlier SVU seasons where the story moved quickly but still kept the drama. Benson having a new boss is always a problem but for some reason this one seems like it could really be a thorn in her side. I think it was a good, solid start to the season and a good start for the new showrunner.
@SH - on the lighting, I thought maybe it was just me that things looked brighter. I noticed Benson's office had more lights on and I didn't recall seeing so many lights there before. Too many shows these days (especially some of the streaming shows) are so dark it's hard to see anything. This episode was an improvement!
When Benson said to Stabler it felt like we’re entering the “all our friends are dying” era boy did I feel that. SVU debuted when I was 10 years old. I’m 36 now. I’ve had L&O all my life. I mean aside from Benson, Stabler, and Fin, it truly is all new Law & Order casts across the board. Not that I’m saying they’re bad by any means but I can’t help but miss the days of old. Good start to the season!
Yes! Yes! Yes! To all of this episode! Dialogue was so much better. I think for the purposes of exposition and expediency, xters on this show can sometimes say things that feel absurd to organic conversations (& interrogations) in real life. It often gives 1980s cartoon villain yelling, "yes it was meee!!! I hate women, seeee!!! I did it and I'd do it again" Dont get me started on the outburst confessions on the stand. And, I get it- exposition and expediency- but so, so hard to take seriously. The exchanges in interrogations, either on the street or in the precinct, in tonight's ep, felt like dialogue I could buy-in to as really happening.
The ep allowed Liv to come off heroic without being obnoxious. And this to no small degree. It was truly well executed. I think an heroic character is needed in a show like this and I felt it was done in a way that had me firmly on her side instead of rolling my eyes. It's nice to see her passionate about survivors again and not feel like she is over this job and phoning it in.
I think the complexity of the issues of undocumented immigrants could never be fully fleshed out in a single episode. There were elements of this story that felt very simplified, in particular, the moral decision of the immigrant to choose between his freedom and testifying in the case...the resolution at the end that felt like a child's fable where doing the right thing ends in personal reward. Still, this was leaps and bounds better than the case in S20e3 where undocumented immigrants was also a topic driving the story. (1/2)
Scenes in past eps, like students protesting rape culture on campus, hv felt so cartoonish that it left me thinking, "This show is so unserious" and even wondering if they were intentionally mocking these kinds of protests. It always breaks the flow of the ep for me, getting caught up in these distracting thoughts. The pull-up on the ICE raid in this ep was well executed. It didn't feel campy (maybe because they didn't attempt to narrate protesters?). It felt realistic. The seriousness of the episode did not drop-off and devolve into cringe or bad comedy. That scene successfully built on the momentum of the story. Such a brief moment to be writing about but given how these exact transition scenes can often break momentum for me watching this show I give it 10/10. I'll tack on here too, the scene w Liv and Carisi visiting Jorge's cousin. Again, these scenes can get kinda cartoonish. I think they are small and fleeting so less effort is put into them.The acting was believable here. She was really Camila being evasive to real cops, not a new actress running her lines.
This ep had everything including an always-needed Rolivia scene! I'm glad that we didn't hv to wait till Rollins was officially back on the squad to get that. I continue to prefer this idea of them being good friends off-screen instead of Olivia having no idea Rollins was pregnant even tho she was almost due, w Rollins nervous to let Liv know.
Fin's brush w death has been done before but eons better here. I compare to the kid shooting him and Fin covering it up, literally w crazy glue and thru reluctance to disclose. This felt more high stakes. Was a great subplot to utilize more of the the squad and setup a potential impasse between Liv and Fin, a discord I don't think we've seen before. I don't think it needs to drag on all season but it will be interesting to see this relationship challenged a bit. Rollivia has been thru enough
"It is ok if you're tired, cause I'm not" Ngl, this was the line that drew me to this season's premiere. I was in no hurry to watch. I'd get to it if I got to it. But I heard this line and felt it in my bones. I had to watch! And I'm happy I did. Truly a great start. Premieres and finales are often quite good so I'll wait a few more eps before I completely lower my suspicion but I was pleasantly surprised by this ep.
In my wildest fantasies Dan and Tony Gilroy become showrunners for SVU. I really want to see what they would do w the xters and the issues explored but I know we'd get some high quality stories. I will say tho, that after just one ep of this season w Fazekas I felt I had gotten some steps closer to this caliber of storytelling and that is the highest praise I, personally, could give this ep. It was a great start to the season. (2/2)
14 comments:
Why did they have to kill off Donald Cragen. What Incentive did they have to do that. I'm beyond angry right now.
While I'm sad to see Cragen go, in real life things like this happen. I suppose it was a good excuse to bring his character to the forefront again and reunite old SVU members. RIP Don Cragen!
I loved the episode! It's definitely an improvement compared to the Graziano episodes. I actually like Tynan, too. Even though she might cause some trouble, I like her character so far. The only thing that I found annoying was the ICE storyline being used so many times before. It was sad, too, that Cragen died.
I'm excited to see what Fazekas will do for the show. What do you think Chris?
@SH - I liked it. The pacing was much better that the last few seasons. It felt more like the much earlier SVU seasons where the story moved quickly but still kept the drama. Benson having a new boss is always a problem but for some reason this one seems like it could really be a thorn in her side. I think it was a good, solid start to the season and a good start for the new showrunner.
I agree! I'm looking forward to this season! I think its maturity also increased, especially compared to the Maddie episodes back in season 25...
Is it just me or is the lighting in the episode better? It's similar to season 23, where Warren Leight improved the lighting.
@SH - on the lighting, I thought maybe it was just me that things looked brighter. I noticed Benson's office had more lights on and I didn't recall seeing so many lights there before. Too many shows these days (especially some of the streaming shows) are so dark it's hard to see anything. This episode was an improvement!
It was definitely an improvement!
When Benson said to Stabler it felt like we’re entering the “all our friends are dying” era boy did I feel that. SVU debuted when I was 10 years old. I’m 36 now. I’ve had L&O all my life. I mean aside from Benson, Stabler, and Fin, it truly is all new Law & Order casts across the board. Not that I’m saying they’re bad by any means but I can’t help but miss the days of old. Good start to the season!
Yes! Yes! Yes! To all of this episode!
Dialogue was so much better. I think for the purposes of exposition and expediency, xters on this show can sometimes say things that feel absurd to organic conversations (& interrogations) in real life. It often gives 1980s cartoon villain yelling, "yes it was meee!!! I hate women, seeee!!! I did it and I'd do it again" Dont get me started on the outburst confessions on the stand. And, I get it- exposition and expediency- but so, so hard to take seriously. The exchanges in interrogations, either on the street or in the precinct, in tonight's ep, felt like dialogue I could buy-in to as really happening.
The ep allowed Liv to come off heroic without being obnoxious. And this to no small degree. It was truly well executed. I think an heroic character is needed in a show like this and I felt it was done in a way that had me firmly on her side instead of rolling my eyes. It's nice to see her passionate about survivors again and not feel like she is over this job and phoning it in.
I think the complexity of the issues of undocumented immigrants could never be fully fleshed out in a single episode. There were elements of this story that felt very simplified, in particular, the moral decision of the immigrant to choose between his freedom and testifying in the case...the resolution at the end that felt like a child's fable where doing the right thing ends in personal reward. Still, this was leaps and bounds better than the case in S20e3 where undocumented immigrants was also a topic driving the story. (1/2)
Scenes in past eps, like students protesting rape culture on campus, hv felt so cartoonish that it left me thinking, "This show is so unserious" and even wondering if they were intentionally mocking these kinds of protests. It always breaks the flow of the ep for me, getting caught up in these distracting thoughts. The pull-up on the ICE raid in this ep was well executed. It didn't feel campy (maybe because they didn't attempt to narrate protesters?). It felt realistic. The seriousness of the episode did not drop-off and devolve into cringe or bad comedy. That scene successfully built on the momentum of the story. Such a brief moment to be writing about but given how these exact transition scenes can often break momentum for me watching this show I give it 10/10. I'll tack on here too, the scene w Liv and Carisi visiting Jorge's cousin. Again, these scenes can get kinda cartoonish. I think they are small and fleeting so less effort is put into them.The acting was believable here. She was really Camila being evasive to real cops, not a new actress running her lines.
This ep had everything including an always-needed Rolivia scene! I'm glad that we didn't hv to wait till Rollins was officially back on the squad to get that. I continue to prefer this idea of them being good friends off-screen instead of Olivia having no idea Rollins was pregnant even tho she was almost due, w Rollins nervous to let Liv know.
Fin's brush w death has been done before but eons better here. I compare to the kid shooting him and Fin covering it up, literally w crazy glue and thru reluctance to disclose. This felt more high stakes. Was a great subplot to utilize more of the the squad and setup a potential impasse between Liv and Fin, a discord I don't think we've seen before. I don't think it needs to drag on all season but it will be interesting to see this relationship challenged a bit. Rollivia has been thru enough
"It is ok if you're tired, cause I'm not" Ngl, this was the line that drew me to this season's premiere. I was in no hurry to watch. I'd get to it if I got to it. But I heard this line and felt it in my bones. I had to watch! And I'm happy I did. Truly a great start. Premieres and finales are often quite good so I'll wait a few more eps before I completely lower my suspicion but I was pleasantly surprised by this ep.
In my wildest fantasies Dan and Tony Gilroy become showrunners for SVU. I really want to see what they would do w the xters and the issues explored but I know we'd get some high quality stories. I will say tho, that after just one ep of this season w Fazekas I felt I had gotten some steps closer to this caliber of storytelling and that is the highest praise I, personally, could give this ep. It was a great start to the season. (2/2)
I feel the same way.
Agreed. I was saddened to see it. I hate off-screen deaths though.
I know what you mean. I felt that too. 42 years old here.
Good episode all around. End of era and the beginning of a new one. Sad to see that Cragen passed away off screen. 😢
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