Rerun season continues in the 2023 TV schedule for some of primetime's biggest shows due to the effects of the WGA writers strike and SAG-AFTRA actors strike, and NBC has been repeating episodes of Law & Order: SVU on Thursday nights. As a fan of the show who misses seeing Benson and Co. tackling new cases, I'm tuning in and just revisited the middle episode of Season 24's BX9 gang arc. Called "Soldier Up," the episode actually ended on a win for the Special Victims and Gangs units. It hit a little bit different this time since I know the tragedy that comes next, and I'm left wishing that one character hadn't died by the end of the arc.
The death admittedly didn't happen until "Blood Out," which will repeat next week to close out the three-part arc, but seeing the character in action in "Soldier Up" reminded me of what he brought to the show... and what he could have kept bringing if not for his demise. This was Captain Mike Duarte's last full episode alive, and it proves in hindsight that he could have been a great character to recur.
There wasn't exactly a lot of love lost between Benson and Duarte in the first couple of episodes that teamed them up, but the Manhattan SVU captain was beginning to see some redeeming qualities in the Bronx Gangs captain. She seemed impressed that he stared down the barrel of a gun that could have easily torn through his bulletproof vest and he then took his would-be killer down with a nonlethal shot. Then, she learned – from Oscar Papa, of all people – that Duarte would buy supplies for the pregnant girlfriends of young men mixed up in BX9, and rented out an ice cream truck for neighborhood kids. He did have a heart!
At the same time, Duarte was seeing more and more that Olivia Benson has a spine of steel beneath all of her empathy and advocacy for victims. She didn't even consider his suggestion that they grab a drink, but she also showed no hesitation (or remorse) when given the opportunity to punch a gang member in the face. The first episode of the BX9 arc built up what actor Maurice Compte described as Duarte's "attraction" to Benson as he was "very much drawn" to her, and "Soldier Up" showed more of what they were like as a duo.
Was Duarte my favorite character at the time that this arc first aired? No, and even after rewatching and enjoying his interactions with Benson (and Maurice Compte's with Mariska Hargitay) even more, I can't say that I would have wanted to see the Gangs captain on a weekly basis. But he brought a side out of Benson that doesn't appear often, and that can be valuable in a show that has been telling her story for more than two decades and 500 episodes. He could have recurred!
Plus, I'd be lying if I said I'm not at least a little bit sad that we never got to see Duarte, Benson, and Stabler in the same room. Stabler went berserk on Oscar Papa when they crossed paths in the SVU/Organized Crime crossover that ended the 2022-2023 season back in the spring; how would he have reacted to Duarte's dynamic with Benson? Duarte did outrank him, after all, and Stabler and Benson weren't really back on the best of terms with each other until the very end of the spring season. Alas, Stabler didn't appear in the BX9 arc until after Duarte was murdered,. Oh, what might have been!
There were some additions to the cast that came out of this arc, though, and "Soldier Up" showed Bruno and Churlish in action more than in their first episode. Neither characters were on top of my ranking of the SVU Season 24 newcomers, but I'd be happy to see both of them back whenever Season 25 premieres, especially in light of the finale saying goodbye to Muncy. I'll see if I feel any differently after rewatching the third episode of the BX9 arc next week and witness Duarte's shockingly brutal death again (and that near-miss kiss that had SVU and OC fans buzzing).
You can join me in rewatching episodes of Law & Order: SVU Season 24 on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. If you don't want to wait, you can also find the show streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription and/or a Hulu subscription.
