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SVU preview: What to watch for in Peter Stone’s first episode

By Brittany Frederick

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT -- "The Undiscovered Country" Episode 1913 -- Pictured: (l-r) Philip Winchester as Peter Stone, Sam Waterston as DA Jack McCoy -- (Photo by: Michael Parmelee/NBC)
LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT -- "The Undiscovered Country" Episode 1913 -- Pictured: (l-r) Philip Winchester as Peter Stone, Sam Waterston as DA Jack McCoy -- (Photo by: Michael Parmelee/NBC) /
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What should you watch for when Chicago Justice’s Peter Stone comes to SVU? Look ahead to tonight’s episode with our SVU season 19, episode 13 preview.

Peter Stone is coming home in tonight’s Law and Order: SVU, as Philip Winchester takes Stone from Chicago Justice to Dick Wolf‘s other franchise.

It’s an important move both on and off-screen, as this is the first time a One Chicago main cast member has transitioned over to the Law and Order world for more than just guest appearances in crossovers.

Plus, it has the potential to seriously upset the status quo, as anyone who saw Chicago Justice is well aware that Peter Stone is a disruptor who never goes anywhere unnoticed.

So what are we expecting to see in tonight’s episode? Here are the three things that we have to watch out for:

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1) How many people Peter ticks off

Peter Stone isn’t going to be Peter Stone unless he’s in conflict with somebody. In Chicago Justice season 1, he upset every single one of his colleagues at least once. So how many fights will he pick when he joins the cast of SVU?

The fact that he’s got an opinion and is willing to fight for it is what makes the character appealing. He’s not the kind of character who can just sit behind a desk. He’s the one who takes a stance and stands up for it, even if that means he has to get into a tiff with the other good guys. And anything less than that is going to be a waste of his character.

Besides, imagine the idea of an argument between Philip Winchester and Raul Esparza (who stars as SVU‘s lead prosecutor Rafael Barba). Who doesn’t want to see that? That could be some of the best TV of the year right there, if the show allows Peter to be Peter.

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2) How much SVU delves into Peter’s past

Here’s where things get dicey. This isn’t Chicago Justice anymore, so this isn’t Peter’s story. He’s on SVU to support the story being told by Barba, Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and everyone else, which makes us wonder how much time the series will devote to him. But it really ought to find some space to keep fleshing him out, because the opportunity’s here on a silver platter.

“The Undiscovered Country” includes a scene, which you can watch below, of Peter and New York District Attorney Jack McCoy (fellow guest star Sam Waterston) discussing Peter’s dad, Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty). It’s a really great segment and just leaves us wanting more. What’s it like for Peter to come back to his hometown, to be standing in the shadow of his father that he spent so long trying to get away from?

That’s a whole story in and of itself—but that also requires SVU having the space to tell a story about one of its supporting characters while also servicing its main characters and case of the week. That could be a big ask.

3) Why Peter decides to leave Chicago

If you’ve watched the clip above, you know that this episode reveals what brought Peter Stone to New York. (Sniff.) But Law and Order: SVU also has to explain why he’s going to stay.

This is just Philip Winchester’s first episode; he’s scheduled to recur in multiple episodes through the rest of SVU season 19. And for the fans of Chicago Justice, as well as the aforementioned need for character development, it’s important to discuss why he’d leave the Windy City.

This is a big move for Peter. Everything we’ve seen about him says he’s loyal and that he’d stay and fight. Just saying that he wants to uphold his dad’s legacy isn’t enough; he’s doing that in his own way, and doing it very well, in Chicago. He’s got a great job there as the State’s Attorney’s right hand man, with a second chair whom he personally picked.

It’d be a huge decision for him to say he’s going to leave these people he’s fought in the trenches with and go to New York, where he presumably would be just one more ADA among many (it’s not totally clear what his position is yet). So here’s hoping that SVU sheds some light on why Chicago’s top lawyer would choose to blow up the perfect career, because that’s what we’ll be asking.

Next: Why Chicago Justice deserves a second watch

Don’t miss Peter Stone’s move from Chicago Justice to Law and Order: SVU tonight at 9 p.m. on NBC. For complete coverage, follow the Chicago Justice category at One Chicago Center.

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