‘Law & Order: SVU’: Mariska Hargitay Teases Episode 6 With Famous Co-Star
Season 22 of Law & Order: SVU is in full swing, and it’s brought a number of guest stars into the mix so far. A few notable celebrities that have returned include Raúl Esparza as Rafael Barba and Tamara Tunie as Dr. Melinda Warner. Episode 6 actually holds three guest stars in the spotlight this week, and it’s another exciting episode of the police procedural.
Mariska Hargitay, who plays Captain Olivia Benson in SVU, recently shared a few photos teasing the episode that premiered on January 21 at 9 p.m. EST. We have all the details.
‘The Long Arm of the Witness’
Episode 6 is titled “The Long Arm of the Witness.” ADA Carisi (Peter Scanavino) and the detectives face Judge Charles Gallagher, also known as “Chip” (Josh Stamberg), who tosses out a case involving a woman who is sexually assaulted. Gallagher has been sexually assaulting women since he was in college, and the truth comes to light during the episode.
In this episode, a number of guest stars appear in addition to Stamberg, including Wentworth Miller as Isaiah Holmes, an ADA. Elizabeth Marvel, who plays defense attorney Rita Calhoun, also returned.
Mariska Hargitay teases episode 6 with a famous co-star
Thursday evening Mariska Hargitay shared some images including one with Ice-T who plays Odafin “Fin” Tutuola, now a Sergeant on the squad. In the behind-the-scenes image, Hargitay and Ice-T are standing side by side in the squadroom. Ice-T has his arm around Hargitay, and they appear to be doing something with their hands. Hargitay wears Benson’s usual black suit combo while Ice-T sports a blue printed shirt and suit jacket.
Hargitay captioned the post on Instagram: “Who’s excited for tonight?? #SVU @nbcsvu #TheLongArmOfTheWitness #OGs.”
Hargitay also shared another image on Instagram of herself, Ice-T as Fin, Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins, Jamie Gray Hyder as Katriona Azar “Kat” Tamin, and Peter Scanavino as ADA Dominick “Sonny” Carisi Jr. The crew watches a television screen in the squadroom in the latest episode. Kat has the remote, and everyone looks extremely serious in the shot. The official social media pages for the show also shared the same image.
Hargitay captioned the post: “#SquadGoals #SVU Tonight at 9pm EST on @NBC #TheLongArmOfTheWitness.”
Season 22, Episode 6
The episode starts with a victim on the stand as a witness. Valentina Palma (Elena Urdaneta) is questioned by Calhoun about her client, Ian Hunter (Dylan James), who Valentina says groped her while dancing, and she “smacked him away.” But the attorney questions her further, including if she asked Ian to give her a ride home, which she did because she didn’t want to take the subway home late at night. However, she fell asleep in the car, and Ian took her to his parents’ house and sexually assaulted her. Valentina came forward two months after the crime, and Calhoun questions her about every little detail.
Another county took jurisdiction over the case because the assault happened in Suffolk County. He’d do more time if charged in the other county, but the judge hearing the case, Judge Charles Gallagher, grants the defenses motion to dismiss, calling Ian an “exemplarily young man” who had been accepted to Vanderbilt Law School. He also added, “I can’t let this court cavalierly destroy Mr. Hunter’s future.”
Obviously the detectives aren’t happy, and neither is Carisi, who sits in on the case in court. Calhoun tells Benson and Carisi that Gallagher wasn’t even supposed to have the case, and he took it to “launch his political career.” Soon after, he announces his candidacy for New York State Attorney General.
“There’s lawlessness in the streets,” Gallagher says on television. “Our suburbs, our way of life are under attack, and so are our sons. The #MeToo pendulum has swung too far.”
When he worked as a prosecutor, Rollins says, “First year he had four high profile rape convictions. All Black and Latino defendants.” He also didn’t prosecute a white man in college in a “he said, she said” in the past as well. It turns out Ian Hunter’s uncle, Tom Burns is helping out on Gallagher’s campaign, and they’ve known each other for three decades. They were even in the same fraternity at Hudson University.
Carisi gets ADA Isaiah Holmes, who is now the head of the civil rights unit, involved who went to school with the judge. He reveals that a woman named April told him that Gallagher raped her while his friend, Tom Burns, forcibly held her down. She reported it, but nothing was ever done about it. But then a campus police officer finds memo books that lead to more women claiming to have been assaulted by Gallagher. A pattern develops, and a number of women were assaulted.
At one point, Gallagher blatantly threatens and insults Carisi, and things almost get physical. But the trial takes place, and many of the women testify against Gallagher. Even Holmes testifies what April told him about her assault and Gallagher’s threats toward him. He didn’t come forward with what he once overheard in regard to Gallagher “bragging” about the assault. The judge had made threats when confronted by Holmes, who regrets not corroborating April’s statement.
In the bathroom later, Holmes is there when Gallagher comes in and he begins insulting him and speaking about April’s assault. But Holmes voice records the whole conversation, and when the judge says she’ll allow the tape to be heard in court, Gallagher takes a deal to avoid it being released. He pleads to sexual misconduct and ends his campaign for Attorney General, agreeing to only doing a year under house arrest. However, the judge decides to force Gallagher to do the time in jail instead. Although the judge will be out on appeal soon, the detectives and attorneys seem satisfied with their win.
