‘Law & Order: SVU’ season 16, episode 9 review: Rollins’ past haunts ‘Pattern Seventeen’

We could say that in some ways, Wednesday night’s new episode of “Law & Order: SVU” was in many ways a very good case of misdirection. We went into this installment thinking one thing, but then by the time the episode finished, we were thinking something else entirely.

Specifically, we thought that the big cliffhanger at the conclusion of “Pattern Seventeen” was going to be about Benson, and whether or not child services deemed that she was going to be a worthy mother for Noah. Given how long that played out in this episode, we started to think that more and more.

Then, the truth came out about Rollins and what really happened to her in Atlanta. We thought that there was something off about her and Harry Hamlin’s character, but we eventually learned the truth: He sexually assaulted her, and yet he is still in a position of power.

Is this story over? Far from it. We know already that Hamlin will return at some point later this season. Still, this revelation does inform Kelli Giddish’s character greatly, as we understand more about how connected she is to this job, and how she struggles when it comes to relationships.

As for the rest of the episode tonight, we’d say that solving the case ended up being especially big for Carisi. He proved that he can be a valuable, effective part of the team in getting a serial rapist to confess. As for Benson, it looks likely that she is going to continue taking care of Noah.

(Photo: NBC.)