‘Law & Order: SVU’ season 16 spoilers: A big Mariska Hargitay – ‘Pattern Seventeen’ tease

Fans of “Law & Order: SVU,” we certainly hope at the moment that you are pretty patient. After all, the NBC series is not going to be returning to TV with new episodes until Wednesday, December 10, which means that the show is off the air for more than just this little Thanksgiving hiatus.

When it gets back, though, you better be prepared for some hard times for Olivia Benson. There are a pair of different teases from showrunner Warren Leight and also the show’s Writers Room, and both of them revolve around what is going on with Mariska Hargitay’s character and baby Noah. Specifically, these are further reasons to worry about whether or not she is going to be able to keep her foster child. There are questions regarding Noah’s health and past, and basically all of it is a further reminder that sometimes, it seems like Benson’s backed into a corner when it comes to dealing with Child Services.

Still, she obviously loves the child very much, and that is why we personally believe that she is going to succeed in caring for her in the long-term. This show has done quite a few devastating storylines over the years, but seeing one that involved Benson losing her child may be too much on the emotional scale. Does that mean the show is absolutely not doing it? Hardly. We’re going to have to wait to find out.

Just in case you are going to be hankering some more “SVU” until the next new episode airs, there’s probably going to be cable marathons on throughout the Thanksgiving holiday. There typically is.

Photo: NBC