‘Law & Order: SVU’ season 18, episode 8 preview: A reflective story for Mariska Hargitay’s Benson

This season of “Law & Order: SVU” took a pretty mighty hiatus midway through its season, but that was not exactly one that was initiated by choice. Instead, it came about mostly as a result of the show having to take breaks for various different things.

At this point, we’re mostly just happy now that the show is back, and we’re glad to be saying that there is going to be a whole lot more to come in terms of drama and intrigue. “Chasing Theo” is the title for the next new installment, and this is one that could cause a little bit more introspective than the standard case — especially for Mariska Hargitay’s character of Benson.

Synopsis – “A 6 year-old boy disappears from his bed in the midst of a wild, drug-fueled party thrown by his mother. With a child’s life on the line, the case causes Benson (Mariska Hargitay) to scrutinize her own role as a mother.”

It’s not all that often that you get two episodes in a row of the show that have this sort of reflection in them, given that “Next Chapter” will feature at the very least some contemplation — especially when it comes to Tucker starting to think a little bit more about his future. This is the sort of case that is going to hurt Benson’s heart in some way, just because it would be impossible for it not to when you consider that she is also a parent, and she is someone who spends a great deal of her time worrying for her child’s safety.

Promo – The synopsis actually does serve as a nice microcosm for everything that we’ve just spelled out. Namely, we mean that in the context of a party that has gone terribly south, and a mother trying to defend herself in the midst of a situation that looks indefensible.

(Photo: NBC.)