Law And Order: SVU’s Season 27 Death Changes The Franchise Forever, But There Was One Perk

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Be warned, this contains spoilers for the first episode of Law & Order: SVU’s 27th season, titled “In the Wind.” The episode is currently available to stream with a Peacock subscription and is scheduled to premiere in 2025.

Season 27 of *Law & Order: SVU* kicked off with shocking developments for Olivia Benson and her team, and these changes have lasting impact. The episode “In the Wind” featured the death of Captain Cragen, a character who’s been with the franchise since the very beginning of both *SVU* and the original *Law & Order*. Even though he’d only made occasional appearances recently, his loss is significant. While the episode was sad, it offered a poignant moment for dedicated fans.

The Death Of Captain Cragen

The 27th season of the show began with Captain Olivia Benson heading to a memorial service for Captain Donald Cragen, her supervisor for the first fifteen seasons. The episode didn’t reveal how Cragen died, instead choosing to honor the character, similar to the short tribute given to Richard Belzer’s John Munch after Belzer passed away in 2023.

Despite reports, Dann Florek is still alive and even appeared in a recent episode, credited as a ‘Special Guest Appearance’. He was last seen in a milestone 500th episode in 2021, and also joined Christopher Meloni in several episodes of *Law & Order: Organized Crime* between 2022 and 2024. Throughout his 25-year career across *SVU*, *Organized Crime*, and the original *Law & Order*, Florek has played the character Cragen in hundreds of episodes.

As a longtime fan, I have to say, killing off Cragen on *SVU* felt huge – a real turning point for the whole *Law & Order* franchise. He’s been around since the beginning, a total institution! It was a really emotional way to kick off Season 27, and it definitely made Olivia and Fin think about their own futures. Though, it was cool to see some familiar faces from *SVU*’s past show up for the memorial, which was a nice touch.

Law & Order Reunions From The Classic Seasons (And Also Cassidy)

Dann Florek joined three other former stars of *SVU* for the Season 27 premiere. We already knew Christopher Meloni would be back as Stabler alongside Mariska Hargitay’s Benson, but I was happy to see BD Wong return as Dr. George Huang. Wong, along with Florek and Meloni, was a vital part of what many fans consider the show’s best era – when Detectives Benson, Stabler, Tutuola, and Munch worked under Captain Cragen.

Dean Winters made an appearance, though his character, Brian Cassidy, first appeared way back in the show’s very first episode in 1999 and didn’t have a significant role again until Season 13 in 2012. While both Winters and BD Wong didn’t have many scenes in the Season 27 premiere, Christopher Meloni definitely did.

Mariska Hargitay recently made an appearance on *Law & Order: Organized Crime*, but the episode “In the Wind” marked the first time her character, Benson, shared a scene with Stabler on *SVU* since 2023. As a fan of seeing Hargitay and Meloni together, it was a satisfying moment – even though I don’t follow the romantic “Bensler” storyline.

Stabler and the other character shared a private moment by her car instead of attending the memorial service. It was a touching scene, balancing sweetness and sadness as they reminisced about their time with Cragen and acknowledged the recent losses they’ve both experienced. After a hug, Stabler told her he loved her – a more genuine and well-timed expression of affection compared to a previous, awkward attempt on *Organized Crime*.

Watching them together, it really felt like Mariska and Kelli have been spending time together outside of work, which was a welcome change. The uncomfortable tension from past seasons was gone, and it reminded me of their great chemistry in Mariska’s recent *Organized Crime* appearance. It was especially heartwarming to see, considering how recently we lost Cragen. Here, check it out:

Whether we’ll see Meloni again on *SVU* this season is still unknown, especially with the future of *Organized Crime* uncertain after its last episode in June. But you can continue watching new episodes of *Law & Order: SVU* Season 27 on NBC Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET. Let’s hope Fin recovers quickly from his injuries in the first episode, and that Benson and Fin can resolve their disagreement without it causing further issues.

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2025-09-27 13:40