More recently, Benson has turned up on Law & Order a couple of times a season, usually to butt heads with Brady or Price over how they’re treating survivors.

The 2026 crossover felt more like an extended episode of Law & Order: SVU, and Benson was surprisingly mellow about certain injustices.

Benson’s Empathy Toward Brady Was a Nice Change Of Pace

Most Law & Order crossover episodes turn Benson and Brady into adversaries, but not this time.

While Benson had insisted on doing things her way during the Law & Order: SVU Season 26 crossover, this time she was far more willing to treat Brady as a friend and partner.

A lot of that had to do with Brady being willing to open up ever so slightly about her trauma, which is a language Benson understands well.

As soon as Benson learned that Brady had come so close to being shot herself, Benson’s attitude softened.

I loved that Benson was so supportive of Brady.

It wasn’t a surprise, but because these two women have butted heads before, it was extra sweet that it didn’t happen this time.

I prefer two strong women working together and supporting one another to the power struggles we often see on TV, even if Benson’s past ones have been more justified by her passion for helping survivors.

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Benson not only understood Brady’s trauma, but offered her the same non-judgmental support she would to any survivor.

It was a role reversal from the previous visit, when Benson was annoyed that Brady kept reining her in so they wouldn’t lose the case, and it worked perfectly.

Brady’s Mistake Was Obvious, Even If She Was Operating From Trauma

My least favorite Law & Order trope is that the cops often get what they want by making ridiculous threats.

This type of behavior is often treated as if it is standard police procedure, and Brady even fell back on that when she claimed that cops “are allowed to lie” to get information from suspects.

I liked that Benson told her not to beat herself up about it and that cops can only do the best they can when they get triggered, but nevertheless, I’m glad Brady faced some consequences for it.

It’s about time that coercive behavior is called out. Suspects have rights for a reason.

The judge was quick to rule without hearing Brady’s side of the story, but Price’s response was stupid.

If anything, he should have asked for a short recess to find out what Brady had to say about this before the judge ruled, not helped the defense by giving a non-answer about how Brady is a good cop without explaining any specifics.

The judge’s decision to throw out this evidence, which magically made the defendant no longer a flight risk, felt slightly contrived to me.

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I wasn’t sure why that evidence was the only proof the defendant was a flight risk. Either she has the means and opportunity to flee, or she doesn’t.

Was Sarah’s Abuse Made Up?

I was surprised that Benson assumed Sarah was lying about being abused.

Benson typically errs on the side of believing claims until proven otherwise, and with good reason.

The world is quick enough to assume survivors are liars, especially those who would have a motive to make up abuse, and Benson doesn’t want to add to that.

It’s understandable that she would doubt Sarah’s story since Sarah never said anything about abuse until she was arrested, but the Benson I’m familiar with would have quietly investigated to see if there was any truth to the claims, on the grounds that a survivor is a survivor regardless of what pain she also inflicted on others.

Benson was also far more mellow than usual about letting that creepy guy go to get Sarah.

I guess she saw it as standing up for all the women who had been trafficked, but it felt slightly out of character.

The Hate Group Angle Would Have Made for a Perfect FBI Crossover Too (Just Saying)

I wasn’t a fan of the involvement of the white supremacist group in this mess.

It’s important to keep shining a light on racism, especially in these times when many people feel emboldened to say and do the most awful things to each other, but it felt like a distraction from the fact that these women were trafficked in the first place.

Instead, Benson got into a debate with Price over whether gene editing to cure disease is ever ethical, and the case quickly shifted to the question of whether to let the creepy eugenicist go.

That said, FBI also recently dealt with a group that decided they were a sovereign nation that didn’t accept non-whites, so this would have been the perfect time for a brief cameo.

Nothing huge — just a video call or brief consultation would have been enough

What did you think of the 2026 SVU Crossover?

Hit the comments with your thoughts — good, bad, or otherwise — and don’t forget to share this article with your friends so they can join the conversation.