Mariska Hargitay and Peter Scanavino are teaming up in the interrogation room once again on Law and Order: SVU — this time for a “complicated” case.
Us Weekly’s exclusive clip from the Thursday, March 13, episode shows Captain Olivia Benson (Hargitay) speaking with a suspect, who might also be a victim, alongside ADA Dominick “Sonny” Carisi, Jr. (Scanavino).
“I swear, I didn’t know he was 16,” guest star Marilyn Caserta, playing a woman named Stacey Moran, claims as Benson walks into the room. “He was drinking at the hotel bar.”
Carisi is quick to note that her ignorance is “not a legal defense,” but Benson asks to “hear more” of her story.
The episode — titled “Undertow” — follows the aftermath of Stacey hooking up with someone underage at a bar, seemingly without knowing.
“Like I said earlier, I had a few drinks at the bar,” Caserta’s character said. “It must’ve hit me harder than I realized.”
Mariska Hargitay and Peter Scanavino Peter Kramer/NBC
Carisi responded, “Again, legally, that’s not an excuse.”
Benson asks Stacey if she was “blacked out” when the incident allegedly went down.
“Before the pool, he handed me a small bottle of vodka. After a few sips, I felt like nothing I’ve felt before,” Stacey explains. “Uninhibited and high.”
Benson follows up by asking if Stacey was forced “in any way” during her night out.
“No,” she replies. “But he looked like a man. If I knew his age, I never would have even talked to him.”
Benson adds, “We understand that this is complicated,” while Carisi chimes in with the legalities of it all.
Peter Scanavino and Mariska Hargitay Michele K. Short/NBC
“Regardless of how you might feel about it, this was a criminal act,” he says.
Benson and Carisi’s relationship has been at the forefront of this season — especially as he continues to recover from a prior trauma.
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Earlier this year, Scanavino told Us exclusively that his real-life friendship with Hargitay “mirrors” the onscreen relationship between Carisi and Benson.
“When I came on the show, I always respected her. I looked up to her as an actor and even as a friend. I think Carisi did as well, as a detective,” he explained in January. “As their relationship has grown, so has mine with Mariska. It’s one of the most important relationships I have in my life. She’s one of my best friends.”
Law & Order: SVU season 26 airs on NBC Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET and streams the next day on Peacock.
