Why Fin Suddenly Became Benson’s “Boss” on Law & Order: SVU: “Not My Idea…”

The faithful Sergeant wasn’t going to let the squad room unravel amid the Benson’s latest crisis on SVU.

While Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) navigates an era of unprecedented change on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, we can rely on the indomitable Sgt. Fin Tutuola (Ice T) to hold down the fort.

After nearly three decades of glimmering service, Benson has been torn from her longtime post. Benson’s new boss, the tenacious Chief of Detectives Kathryn Tynan (Noma Dumezweni), has suspended Benson, forcing the SVU Captain to fight for her career after filing an appeal. Benson’s elite squad of detectives has been rocked by the seismic shift in their squad room, and Tynan has been swift in making power plays to push Benson further away. Fortunately for Benson, she has a loyal ride-or-die keeping tabs on her unit, and Fin isn’t going to let his steadfast Captain go down without a fight.

Benson’s suspension hasn’t halted the squad’s typical hectic day-to-day, so even though the SVU was in a state of peril, they were plenty distracted after a woman named Nora was brutally attacked and assaulted while enjoying a party among old friends. But after the squad’s investigation revealed that there were no signs of forced entry, they realized Nora’s assailant was a member of her friend group, a crew of friends from college she’d known for 20 years. 

But if anyone can sniff out a liar, it’s Fin. Check out how Fin took command during SVU‘s “Old Friends,” below:

Benson’s elite squad has been shuffled around amid her absence on SVU Season 27

After Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) made her way to Nora at the crime scene, she was shocked to discover Renee Curry (Aimé Donna Kelly) already there scanning for evidence. Earlier this season, as one of Tynan’s many power plays, Curry was reassigned as the executive officer at the 16th Precinct. With Benson out of the office, Tynan assigned Curry back to the SVU, a bittersweet maneuver that only proves that Tynan has used Curry as a pawn in her tirade against Benson.

Regardless of the power plays, everyone at the SVU was happy to see Curry once again. As Fin arrived on the crime scene, he gleefully said, “Welcome back, Curry!”

“Thanks, you too,” Curry said. After working part-time for a while, Fin has returned to his post full-time, albeit for unpredictable reasons.

“Yeah, not how I wanted it, but yeah,” Fin said, addressing the elephant in the room.

“Tynan made him acting SVU supervisor,” Curry told Rollins gravely.

“Oh, wow,” Rollins said, struggling to process the power shift.

“Not my idea of a good time, but here we are,” Fin shrugged, just as displeased with these change-ups as the rest of the squad. Unable to do anything about their predicament, Fin quipped, “Any signs of forced entry?”

After diligently scooping up all of the pertinent details, Fin gave the next steps for Rollins and Curry as he made moves to contain the crime scene and potential suspects. Fin was smooth and direct, giving the squad some much-needed calm amid the chaos.

“Supervisor Tutuola looks good on him,” Curry told Rollins as Fin made his way toward the crime scene.

“Yeah, just don’t tell him that,” Rollins smirked.

Fin wasted no time gathering the potential suspects and witnesses into the same room, telling them that they wouldn’t be leaving the house until they’d gathered a proper snapshot of the night and where it turned south.

Benson encouraged Fin to take the lead on SVU: “On it, boss”

Back at the precinct, Fin gave a deliberation on the potential suspects, meanwhile waiting for an update about Nora’s condition in the hospital. In the middle of his presentation, Benson stopped by the precinct, clearly grappling with being out of the loop. Benson let them know that she was officially on a stay of suspension, so she could resume working while her appeal was ongoing. The hearing would be in 30 days.

Benson was eager to change the subject, encouraging Fin to continue. Unsure of what to do in her demoted position, Benson took a seat at one of the desks in the squad room, getting cozy for Fin’s presentation of the evidence.

“Actually, the view from here is kind of nice,” Benson said, kicking her feet up. “So you take the lead on this, Fin, and I’ll be your right hand.”

Needless to say, it was surreal as Fin resumed his demonstration, divvying out commands just like Benson would. Well-versed in her magic touch with survivors, Fin encouraged Benson to visit Nora in the hospital to learn more about her so-called friends.

“On it, boss,” Benson said with a grin.

After speaking with Nora and learning about the unsavory side of her male friends, the SVU navigated a winding investigation of he-said-she-said-he-said in which it was clear this friend group wasn’t as tight-knit as they seemed. Nora’s assailant was revealed to be one of her closest friends and confidantes who’d grown furious over her rejecting him. Despite her fallen status at the SVU, it was Benson who successfully coaxed a confession from the perp, saving the squad tons of time down the line at trial.