It turns out that new detective Kate Silver (Julianna Eden Martinez) is no stranger to Captain Benson.
“Broken” – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, pictured: Pictured: (left) Octavio Pisano plays Detective. Joe Velasco, Juliana Aidén Martinez as Det. Kate Silva. Virginia Sherwood/NBC ©2024 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. all rights reserved.
Her father was also a police officer and deputy chief, and was admired by Captain Benson himself. High praise and a free ride from the captain means Benson is evaluating the newest addition to her squad, and she has a big hole to fill.
We learn that three weeks have passed since the agent’s attack. Silva started at SVU, and his ride was actually to the shooting range, where the rest of the team was, because Captain Benson “wanted to make sure everyone was in the game.” However, Silva doesn’t like to be tested.
“Shattered” – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” Pictured: (left) Aimee Donna Kelly as Captain Curry and Mariska Hargitay as Captain Olivia Benson. Ralph Bavaro/NBC ©2024 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. all rights reserved.
The SVU case involves a murder threesome in which law school roommates hooked up after a fourth roommate walked out. Housemate Damon, who suggested a threesome, was assaulted after holding the door open for what he thought was a fourth housemate, Teddy. One of the girls Damon hooked up with, Shirley, was pronounced dead, and another girl, Elodie, was raped. Benson, Finn and Bruno meet a frightened Teddy and are told by the police to report the murder.
Colorado State University investigators discovered a hidden camera in the smoke detector in Shirley’s room, and much to the detectives’ dismay, the camera stopped recording before the crime occurred. Teddy is interrogated and admits that his date set him up, that he came back to find Damon, Elodie and Shirley hooking up, and that he provided an alibi, clearing his name. Bruno and Fin later asked Sam, a law school classmate, whose IP address gave access to Shirley’s camera. He claimed he was innocent, but detectives discovered a motive after discovering Sam had downloaded footage of the threesome and watched it six times and had previously been friended by Shirley.
“Broken” – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, pictured: (left) Ice T as Sgt. Odafin “Fin” Tutuola, Ali Dalbert as Sam, and Kevin Kane as Detective. Terry Bruno. Virginia Sherwood/NBC ©2024 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. all rights reserved.
Shirley’s testimony at a women’s empowerment conference, prompted by Elodie, ultimately puts Sam off. During the trial, Shirley was caught on camera admitting that she wanted to set boundaries in her life, starting with Sam. Sam admitted this after Carisi’s interrogation, repeatedly crying “I’m sorry.”
The season premiere wasn’t as compelling as previous seasons, but after 25 seasons, fans have seen it all, so it’s hard to surprise them. Still, the case is pretty well done. We look forward to learning more about this new detective.
How about Det. Is Silva a good fit for this team? What are your thoughts on the season opener? We’d be interested to hear about it!
