Mariska Hargitay’s recent sneak peek at the filming of Law & Order: SVU Season 27 Episode 1 included a surprise.
Velasco is back.
I’ve always been neutral on Velasco, and I thought he got a beautiful send-off. His return only makes me more upset about the way Law & Order: SVU treated Silva.
Silva? Who’s That?
Kate Silva was supposed to be a permanent part of Benson’s team, but they utilized her so infrequently that many viewers are unfamiliar with her name.
She’s the woman who transferred in from Homicide, did very little for most of the season, had a few strong episodes, and disappeared without explanation.
Juliana Aidén Martinez, who played her, got a new gig on FBI, so she’s not coming back for a farewell episode.
I hope FBI treats her character better than Silva — Scola has also had a revolving door of mostly-female partners. We don’t need a repeat of the deplorable writing and casual dismissal Silva experienced.
Silva Had So Much Untapped Potential
On paper, Silva was a great character, but the writers failed to capitalize on her potential.
She transferred from Homicide and got along well with Fin and Bruno. She should have been amazing.
Remember all the way back on Law & Order: SVU Season 1 when Munch lamented leaving Homicide because dead victims can’t tell you about their ongoing pain?
Silva could have brought a similar perspective.
One of the few things we learned about her during her brief run was that she transferred from Homicide because it was too gory for her.
She could have struggled with the cases she took on, but no. That would have meant giving her a story.
Silva also had an affinity for working with young trauma survivors — a backstory reveal explaining why would have aligned with SVU’s standard storytelling.
She didn’t get that either.
And now Velasco gets a wonderful send-off complete with flashbacks, even though he’d only been there three years and was a pain in Benson’s butt most of that time, but Silva … just disappears?
Unacceptable.
Silva Deserved To At Least Have An Exit Story
Silva was invisible for her run and turned out to be not so permanent.
Instead, she was a forgettable character who became yet another female detective to leave SVU after one season or less.
They’ve resolved one part of the problem — Rollins will return full-time, so there’s no longer a need for random female detectives to replace her.
Still, it adds insult to injury that Silva received such poor writing, was made so invisible, and doesn’t even get a proper exit story, while Velasco gets one and a return in the season premiere.
I absolutely hate when Dick Wolf shows explain exits after the fact instead of giving the character a damn story to explain where they went!
Sometimes, it’s unavoidable — Christopher Meloni, for example, decided not to renew his contract between seasons, so there was no way to film a proper exit for him.
But at least we could infer Stabler’s original exit from his final episode.
Silva had very little to do on Law & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 22. The only thing I remember is that she congratulated Velasco on his promotion.
It’s Not That I’m Not Happy For Velasco Fans
I know some people were heartbroken about Velasco, too, and some who felt (rightfully) incensed that two characters of Latino heritage were let go from the series.
Of course, we don’t know all the reasons why either of them left, but that didn’t look good.
Anyway, I’m thrilled for Velasco’s fans. It’s great that he’s back for at least one more episode, and he likely will be recurring since he got a promotion.
I expect he’ll be like Rollins was last season: not working directly for SVU, but consulting with them every so often.
Still, I wish the series had treated Silva with half as much respect.
It’s too late now, and they can’t be fix it, so let’s hope the new Law & Order: SVU showrunner learned from the previous ones’ mistakes in this area.
I want to hear what you think.
Are you a Velasco fan? Do you agree or disagree with me about how much worse Silva was treated?
Either way, hit the comments and share this article with your friends so they can join in too. Let’s get a robust conversation going in the comments!
Watch Law & Order: SVU Online
Law & Order: SVU will return for Season 27 on NBC on Thursdays at 9/8c and Peacock on Fridays in the fall of 2025. All 26 seasons are available to stream on Peacock.
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