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

Written by John Edward Betancourt

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT -- "Excavated" Episode 26002 -- Pictured: (l-r) Mariska Hargitay as Capt. Olivia Benson, Johanna Braddy as Maggie -- (Photo by: Scott Gries/NBC)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 26002 of ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’. To revisit the Season 26 Premiere, click here. Also, this article contains discussions regarding sexual abuse, which may be triggering to some individuals.
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One belief that we all hold to, is that the people that dedicate their lives to civil service, be it through running for office or by wearing a badge or sitting behind a bench in a black robe… are the best of us. And it makes sense as to why we hold to that. Because it takes a special mind to want to serve the public trust on a daily basis, and in the case of judicial work and law enforcement, see such difficult corners of the human condition. So, they have to be the best of us, right? Well, as it turns out, that belief isn’t always true and sometimes people serve the public trust for different reasons and are not the best of us, as evidenced by this week’s episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on NBC.

For ‘Excavated’ introduced us to a woman named Maggie, who was the stepdaughter of a famous Federal Judge named Andrews and well… she was doing her best to live a decent life. Simply because Maggie had her struggles with substance abuse, and was mostly adrift in this life, and a big move for her family revealed why her life hadn’t quite turned out the way she expected. For she uncovered a diary from her stepfather that outlined what appeared to be acts of sexual abuse that he imparted upon her in her youth, and that unsettled her. Mainly because the outline was truth and old memories began to come up, and she of course, turned to Captain Benson and her unit to find justice and well, that led to the reminder in question, that not all of the people that serve the people are good people. 

Simply because, it took little time for this former judge to flex his muscles as quickly as possible. To appear above the law and accusation because of his reputation and all that it stood for, an indicator and reminder of how men like Andrews can and will hide behind their title when challenged, especially when they have done something terribly wrong. Because as the SVU team dug into this case, they managed to uncover… that there was physical evidence present here that affirmed that Maggie wasn’t lying, and that meant a trial was on the horizon. One where awful truths came forth. In that, Andrews was guilty and enabled by his wife in in the hopes of preserving image and preserving his standing as a judge.

All of which brought forth a shocking episode to say the least, one that showcased that evil knows no bounds and cares not about titles and career choices. It just exists in all forms, and even the people we look up to are capable of such matters, for reasons that we may never quite understand. In fact, they were unclear here since all Andrews could muster about his decision to cross the line and do horrible things to a child was to say that he wanted to know what innocence was like. As though robbing it from someone else would somehow give him understanding, and that was… an unsettling answer to give for his crimes. One that hammered home a more vital lesson regarding our longstanding belief that men like him are pillars of the community because they choose a noble career path.

In that, the time has come for us to look at the role of public service as noble, and see the people who choose that path, as people, plain and simple. Because people are flawed, and some do indeed become corrupt with power and choose a dark path, as Andrews did here, and looking at the position as noble versus the person… will ease some of that shock and horror when guys like Andrews cross the line and help us prop up the ones who are worth celebrating in that field. But lessons aside, make no mistake about it, this was a tough episode to watch. Because it did dig into some difficult subject matter, and deeply explored the last impacting of what Andrews did, and this is one that will stay with us for a while. Courtesy of its harrowing reminder of the darkness that bad people are capable of when they think they are somehow special or noble. Until next time.

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