"In the wind" refers to the disappearance of an important person. In the opening episode of SVU 27, some crucial figures are in the wind: Fin's assailants, and a scared witness on the run from ICE.
This elegant script borrows a page from Michael Connelly: if you're a cop, it's a really big deal when you lose your gun. It doesn't look good. Connelly's Bosch recently handled this problem in a typically iconoclastic way. In SVU, Fin lies about his gun mishap "to protect Benson." (Benson looks incompetent if one of her deputies is shown to be incompetent.) Of course the coverup is worse than the misstep. Benson's new boss--theater legend Noma Dumezweni--knows about the problem, and she uses it as leverage. She invites Benson for a chat--and silently waits to see if Benson will volunteer any info about the gun. When Benson remains quiet, Noma says, "I'm so pleased that Fin found his gun." This is code for another message: "You won't hide anything from me."
The new showrunner helped to draft the best years of SVU (around seasons 3, 4, and 5)--and I appreciate the way that she uses Cragen. Given that Cragen is dead, we might think that the show will move on from him. But in fact he is "loud in death." Benson talks to a victim who is about to walk away from a job because her recent history has left her shattered. Benson says, "I know what you're thinking. At times in your life, if you don't believe in yourself, you need someone older and wiser who will believe on your behalf." She is talking about Cragen--and, in this moment, she is *becoming* Cragen for another person. I thought this was moving.
I'm optimistic about this season.
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