Law & Order: SVU season 19 episode 22 review: Is Fin sticking around?

Law & Order: SVU logo

Going into Law & Order: SVU season 19 episode 22, one thing was clear: We were gearing up for one of the most gut-wrenching cases of the entire season. There are few things harder to watch than elder abuse and over the course of this episode, it happened on a couple of different occasions.

The first victim that we saw in the episode was a woman named Madelyn Thomas who suffered from Alzheimer’s. Unfortunately, that meant that it was really difficult for her to remember the rape or to identify the responsible person. The second, meanwhile, died before they could get the proper evidence needed to bring them in. This caused the SVU team to have to circle back to the victim with Alzheimer’s. Eventually, though, Madelyn was able to identify the man responsible — she wasn’t able to recall all of the specifics, but it was clear the moment that she saw the picture that he was connected to something that was traumatic to her.

While Benson and the team knew that they had the right rapist in Henry, the next challenge came in convincing the jury and the judge of that. Madelyn was able to convince the judge as who she was but beyond that, there were some struggles. Because of those Stone was unable to bring forward a case against Henry — Madelyn wasn’t viewed as a reliable source and with that, the case was dismissed.

Following this, the SVU team had to make a bigger play: Going to the press with the story. They were able to use that in order to find other victims from other parts of the city — all it took was seeing the photo in the news for people to come forward. With that, it also started to become clear just how disturbed Henry actually was. There was no way for him to get out of this situation and with that, it looks like he will go to jail for a rather long time.

On a different note…

Is Fin getting transferred over? He has a promotion but with that, there are clear advantages and disadvantages. That is something that we’re probably going to hear more about over the course of the next couple of episodes. For now, though, know this: Fin was transferred back! He’s not going to be going anywhere in the near future.

CarterMatt Verdict

Ultimately, Law & Order: SVU season 19 episode 22 was a painful, difficult episode to watch; yet, it was also supremely well-done in exposing the terrible things that can happen in nursing homes. They are some of the most-ignored people out there and with that, they are deserving of the most attention.

What did you think about Law & Order: SVU season 19 episode 22 as a whole? Share in the comments below!

(Photo: NBC.)

Love TV? Be sure to like Matt & Jess on Facebook for more updates!