Law & Order: SVU season 20 episode 12 spoilers: This Stone case is personal

Based on early information out there, Law & Order: SVU season 20 episode 12 on January 17 could be big for the entire Stone family. It’s not just about Peter, since the focus of it is a case that goes all the way back to its father. The goal for this episode could be to try to appeal to some longtime fans of the original Law & Order, but we’re also crossing our fingers that this is equally enjoyable who everyone who enjoys the current iteration of SVU, as well. It’s an interesting balancing act for everyone when it comes to how this story is structured.

For a few specifics, including the list of guest stars, take a look below:

01/17/2019 (10:00PM – 11:00PM) (Thursday) : Stone (Philip Winchester) takes up the unsolved cold case of a serial rapist that consumed his father’s career. Also starring Mariska Hargitay, Ice T, Kelli Giddish and Peter Scanavino. Guest starring Jake O’Connor (Gavin Baker), Eden Malyn (April Baker), John Raymond Barker (Karl Patton), Rebecca Creskoff (Claire Newbury), Elizabeth Stahlmann (Amy Gardner), Jude Ciccolella (Edgar Noone) and Ned Eisenberg (Roger Kressler). TV-14 L, V

One of the things that we are interested in seeing with Stone, first and foremost, is whether or not this case ends up consuming him. What makes it so important for him to pick up this cold case now? Is there a new lead, and is he going to have the infrastructure around him so that he can stop — or be convinced to stop — if he goes a little bit too far? We think that this is definitely something worth worrying about entering this episode.

While we do think that there will be a Stone showcase within this episode, we think it’s probably too much of a generalization to say that it’s going to be just about him. Stone is a prosecutor and with that, he doesn’t exactly have an ability to go out and do some of what the SVU team does. He’s going to need them and the interplay between all of these characters should prove fascinating.

Could this storyline continue down the road?

In theory, we do think it’s possible that SVU could pick up this story at some point down the road … if they really want to. The one thing probably keeping that from happening is that this show tends to operate mostly via standalone cases. It could be rather tough for it to come back for more down the road unless there’s a really concentrated effort put into it.

What do you want to see when it comes to Law & Order: SVU season 20 episode 12? Be sure to share right now in the attached comments. (Photo: NBC.)