‘Law & Order: SVU’ season 18, episode 7 teaser: Carisi, Benson get introspective

It is still really strange to think that this is January, and there have only been six episodes of “Law & Order: SVU” to air this season. Blame a number of scheduling quirks for that! While not getting a tremendous amount of a show we love is a little bit of a bummer, at the same time it does just mean that there is going to be more episodes to enjoy over the coming months. This includes tomorrow night’s “Next Chapter,” and we’ve got a quick tease for you below of what to expect from it.

This tease was first shared by the show’s writers room in a post on Twitter, and it features a conversation between Carisi (Peter Scanavino) and Benson (Mariska Hargitay) that is absolutely introspective. At one point during the middle of an intense case — one that, per some promos, could put Carisi’s life in jeopardy — we have Benson starting to look towards the future and what it could mean.

While it’s hard to extrapolate too much from just a few lines of a script, our initial take on this conversation is that it makes sense for Benson to be thinking about the future of her career and her life at this point. She and Tucker have been in a relationship for some time, and with him contemplating retirement, this is a time where her own future could be a focal point in her mind. While we don’t imagine her going anywhere in the near future, the thoughts still make sense. She also still has a child to think about, and this is a dangerous job to have. It can be rewarding sense you do help people who desperately need it, but that doesn’t lower the stakes.

By the time we make it to the end of this episode, we should have a greater idea as to what Benson’s headspace is — and also what if Carisi makes it out of the story in one piece.

(Photo: NBC.)