‘Law & Order: SVU’ season 17 spoilers: More on Brad Garrett’s arc, upcoming finale

“Law & Order: SVU” is returning on Wednesday after a lengthy hiatus, and with that, we’ve also got some further news for you on a pair of episodes that are going to help wrap things up a little bit later this spring.

As you may have heard, former “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “Fargo” star Brad Garrett is going to be appearing in a pair of episodes, and the synopses below do a good job of setting up precisely who his character is, and how he in turn could cause massive problems for ADA Barba.

“Intersecting Lives” (May 18) – “A corrections officer (Garrett) is arrested for sexually assaulting female inmates in and out of prison, and the union that supports him targets Barba (Raúl Esparza) and the SVU.”

“Heartfelt Passages” (May 25, season finale) – “When the investigation of Corrections Officer Gary Munson (guest star Brad Garrett) deepens, he and his union take drastic actions that threaten the lives of ADA Barba (Raúl Esparza) and the SVU squad.”

Given our love of the Barba character, it is nice to see him put into the spotlight at the end of the season, though with that being said, of course we would want to have him involved in something that could not end up leading to his imminent death. Hopefully, he will find a way to survive this. Overall, this does look like a finale that could really emphasize the courtroom side of the show, which is something that we do co-sign given that it is an angle that often does not get enough love on “SVU.”

One other sad note: “Heartfelt Passages” is the last episode to feature Warren Leight as showrunner.

(Photo: NBC.)