Crime Dynamic Duos: Blue Bloods (Danny / Baez) vs. Law & Order: SVU (Benson / Rollins)

Welcome to CarterMatt’s Crime Dynamic Duos 2018! This is the third year in which we’re doing this tournament, which is a way to honor some of the best crime-solvers in all of TV. This tournament runs throughout the month of August, and over the course of it we describe what makes certain pairs the perfect crime-fighting duo while also allowing you to share some of your thoughts on the competition! Each article is accompanied with a description and a poll; the winning duo will advance to the next round leading up to the winner being announced on September 1!

What are the rules of the tournament? Basically, all eligible shows have to still be in the midst of their run on TV as of August 1, and at least one character involved needs to be involved in solving crimes in some capacity. They can be a cop, a private investigator, a federal agent, a lawyer or a high-ranking officer. What matters is that they put plenty of bad people away.

Voting Rules – Vote however often you like! Voting for Round 2 is open until Sunday, August 19 at 1:00 p.m. Pacific time; round 3 will kick off the following day. The image at the top of the article should explain everything.

In today’s showdown, we are officially closing the door on round 2! Danny and Baez of Blue Bloods are facing off against Rollins and Benson of Law & Order: SVU. There’s only a little more than 24 hours to vote on this one, so be sure to hit the polls hard immediately!

Danny and Baez, Blue Bloods (#3 seed) – With 69% of the vote in their first-round battle against Pride and Wade of NCIS: New Orleans, Donnie Wahlberg and Marisa Ramirez’s characters are entering this round with a little bit of momentum. They’ve also done fairly well in this tournament before, so we’re certainly not surprised to see them here. They’re consistently effective in their jobs on the CBS show and they care about each other — there’s actually something refreshing about them as the rare platonic crime-fighting duo who still show affection and respect. Moving into season 9, we certainly expect them to take on more tough cases.

Benson and Rollins, Law & Order: SVU (#2 seed) – Even though Olivia is technically Amanda’s superior, we do like it when these two characters get to work together, whether it be at the precinct or out in the field. We like that they do have a great friendship, but they’re not afraid to stand up for themselves and challenge each other if the situation calls for it. We know that with Benson in particular, she’s certainly not afraid to square off with Rollins when the situation calls for it. Their showdown with Garcia and Alvez of Criminal Minds was fairly close in the first round, but they still emerged victorious with 58% of the vote.

Photo: NBC