‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’ Recap – ‘Cornered’

11/22/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT -- "Cornered" Episode 26008 -- Pictured: Peter Scanavino as A.D.A Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr. -- (Photo by: Peter Kramer/NBC)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 2608 of ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.

There is a hard belief in our world that police officers and those involved in law enforcement in any capacity, are immune from the struggles from the world. Such as having crimes committed against them, and there is merit to that line of thinking. After all, some of them, make enough money to live in an insulated world where their kids go to great private schools and they’re in the office night and day, and avoid the ugly stuff. Not to mention, special training should allow for a cop, for instance, to recognize trouble when it arrives and be able to avoid it or quell it before it brings them harm. But this view… isn’t one hundred percent accurate in the slightest. Because anyone can be a victim of crime at any time, even officers of the law. As evidenced by this week’s episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on NBC.

Although, it did not seem as though ‘Cornered’ was going to focus on that. Since this episode opened up in a supremely bright manner. With ADA Carisi going about his day, getting coffee from his favorite local deli and he even made a second voyage there to pick up some flowers for one of his staff members. But that is when this day took quite the turn, out of the blue, as days where people run into crime often do. In that, his favorite deli was being held up, and he was forced to try and cool the situation down. But the arrival of Benson, who was expecting him at an important meeting and received some advice on where to go to find him… came to discover he was in distress and that led to a harrowing story. One that was tense, terrifying, and deeply explored the lesson, and what being in the middle of a crime is like… and its impact upon even the toughest of people.

Which the story accomplished by taking us through an hourlong nightmare. Wherein Carisi was held at gunpoint with two women who were also in the deli, and its dying cashier. Where he did his best to delay an all-out breach to preserve life and get Boyd, and Deonte, the perpetrators, to stand down, with minimal luck. For Boyd was a madman and crossed all kinds of lines in this story in an effort to stick it to the man and enjoy life the way he saw it, and that brought about moments that made us deeply uncomfortable and pushed Carisi to his breaking point. Because despite his genius as a lawyer, and his past as an NYPD cop, he was helpless here. He was just a guy that could only hope for the best and prepare for the worst and that made all of us wonder if he was going to make it out of this nightmare alive or if something awful was about to happen.

But thankfully, Benson’s attempts to trade places with her dear friend, and Carisi’s own genius as a lawyer, led to resolution of this madness. Because eventually he was able to plant enough seeds to get Deonte to turn on Boyd and blast him, and that led to a raid and the arrest of Deonte. Who was going to pay for this for certain and that… seemed like a happy ending but it was anything but. Simply because, there was a loss of innocent life, one would be forever changed by Boyd’s actions and Carisi, was broken by this. Because he was now a victim, a statistic and that which he tried to prevent and despite his claims of strength and claims of stability, it was clear, he was transformed for the worse, and that a long road lie ahead for this brilliant prosecutor. One that would require so much support and so much love for him to heal.

All of which made for a stunning midseason finale. Because we so rarely understand the fact that anyone can be a victim of crime, even those as talented as Carisi. Because crime doesn’t care about rank, experience and standing. It’s just a force of nature that rips lives apart and shatters minds, as it did here, and that was a sobering lesson to learn. Courtesy of a story that put us on the edge of our seats from beginning to end. Simply because we did not see this coming, nor did we expect this episode to go as hard as it did. But this series will absolutely let loose when the moment is right, and it certainly did here, and truly it is safe to say that we are all worried about Carisi and will be counting down the days until the show’s return in 2025. To see if this brave man can make peace with being part of the problem he is trying so desperately to solve or if trauma and fear will make him hesitant to live life to the fullest. Until next time.

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