Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 25 Episode 11 Review: Prima Nocta
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 25 Episode 11, “Prima Nocta,” features Amanda Rollins’s return to Manhattan SVU, and she is better than ever.
Not only does she bring her experience as a former SVU detective, but she also has the added benefit of her recent experience as a professor of profiling—all of which help her bring a different perspective to the show.
Truthfully, her appearance is far more entertaining than anything Sykes has done since she first showed up to replace everyone’s favorite blonde.
Even though Carisi had a great moment with Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 25 Episode 9, “Children of Wolves,” this is the first time all season that we have seen him actually enjoying the job.
Rollins and Carisi had a great dynamic even before they got married. Their constant banter actually pushed them to work together as partners.
That is still palpable on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 25 Episode 11, “Prima Nocta.” When they go undercover, everything works smoothly.
Carisi is still your typical worrisome guy (even more so that his wife is working undercover) and Rollins is still the same wild card she was when she worked SVU.
But the two of them paired together, with their skills and instincts, make for one of the best duos we have seen on the show. And their undercover time makes for a great storyline.
It’s nice to once again see what Carisi can do outside the DA’s office and how easily he can slip back into his detective shoes—we hope he keeps doing it.
Throughout Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 25, it has felt impossible for the entire team to work on a case together. For whatever reason, at least one of them is always missing.
However, this time, Velasco and Sykes’s absence isn’t as noticeable. Sure, we miss Velasco’s interruptions, but they wouldn’t have made a difference to the case.
On the contrary, their absence pushes Bruno and Curry to work together, and it turns out great.
Bruno’s sarcasm and sense of humor balance out Curry’s seriousness. The two of them complement each other really well, making them a great duo.
We didn’t get a chance to see that in previous episodes because it always felt like the show was fighting itself to give everyone screen time.
Yet even with Amanda Rollins coming back and taking time away from other detectives, this feels like the most put-together episode, giving everyone involved the perfect time to connect with the story and the audience.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 25 seems to be the season in which Benson works on herself. Two moments prove this.
On the one hand, she recognizes the trauma in one of the survivors, which is the same as hers. The last time we see Jenna, Benson talks about her haircut.
The woman points out it felt like she needed to cut her hair after the trauma she experienced. That is exactly what Benson did after William Lewis.
She sees her trauma in someone else and uses this to elevate Jenna and remind her she is a survivor — something she couldn’t do for herself back then.
On the other hand, during her final conversation with Rollins, both women agree they have more work to do to find what makes them happy.
We know Olivia is happy at her job and with Noah, but something seems to be missing. Could that be a partner? Could it finally be Elliot Stabler?
Even though Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 25 has done very little to point us in the direction of Benson’s romantic happy ending, some viewers still have hope that it might be Stabler.
Maybe this admission that she still has work to do will push her to take the next step. Whether that step is with Stabler or not, we can only hope it will lead her to happiness.
With only a few episodes left in the season, we wonder where this milestone 25 years will take Benson next.
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What did you think of this episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.
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Lara Rosales
Lara Rosales is a bilingual writer with a BA in Latin-American Literature. She works in PR, hosts a podcast (Cats, Milfs & Lesbian Things), and writes on the internet about TV and movies. Some of her articles can be found on Eulalie Magazine, Geek Girl Authority, Collider, USA Wire, Mentors Collective, Instelite, Noodle, Dear Movies, and Flip Screened.