Law and Order SVU season 19, episode 19 preview: Sunk Cost Fallacy

How will Peter Stone be affected when SVU brings back Alex Cabot? Look ahead to tonight’s episode with our Law and Order SVU season 19, episode 19 preview.

All the buzz about tonight’s episode of Law & Order: SVU surrounds the return of Alex Cabot, the fan favorite ADA played by Stephanie March. But how will Cabot’s arrival affect the man who has her job now?

Obviously, many fans of the show will be focused on Cabot, who’s come back multiple times since leaving the show at the end of season 5, and even briefly starred in her own spin-off show called Conviction.

But we’re equally interested in how her coming back into the picture will affect the show’s current ADA, Peter Stone (Philip Winchester).

One of the neat things about the “Order” part of the whole Law & Order franchise is that several of the old prosecutors come back into the fold, in various ways.

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Paul Robinette (Richard Brooks) came back as a defense attorney and later squared off with Peter on Chicago Justice.

Jamie Ross (Carey Lowell) made two appearances as a defense attorney once she left the show, and then she came back in another spin-off, Law & Order: Trial By Jury, as a judge.

Michael Cutter (Linus Roache) appeared on SVU as a Bureau Chief ADA, while his second chair Connie Rubirosa (Alana de la Garza) guest starred as an Assistant U.S. Attorney.

Then, of course, there’s the peerless Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston), who’s still hanging around as the District Attorney.

That ability to bring back former characters and contrast them against the new ones on a fairly consistent basis is not something you see on most TV shows, and it adds a little bit of additional perspective for viewers who have been watching along.

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Whatever Cabot is involved with this time, naturally the SVU team will be inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt (to a point) because she’s earned their trust and respect. Stone has no idea who she is, and therefore to him it’s going to be much more black and white.

Likewise, she has no idea who he is, and could possibly look at him as this upstart new guy who’s just in her way or (she thinks) has no idea what he’s doing. We could see some real fireworks here, and that could be fun, if the script allows for it—just look back at “Service” to see that we don’t always have time for those beats.

As you can see from the clip above, Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) has a limit to how much she’ll let Cabot get away with, too. So if Stone and Cabot butt heads, whose side will she wind up on? It could be no one’s side—she could be trying to moderate between the two or even have her own opinion. And that’s what has made this season of SVU so entertaining, is having these different perspectives and watching people try to hash them out.

The return of Alexandra Cabot is great for long-time fans, but it could also bring something new to the table for those who haven’t been watching all that time. Plus, there’s also a personal subplot for Stone regarding another appearance by his sister—so his past is coming back into play this week, too. He could have a rough day at the office, which might make it a great episode for fans to watch. There’s only one way to find out!

Next: Here's where SVU left off last week

What do you think will happen in tonight’s Law & Order: SVU episode? Leave your predictions for “Sunk Cost Fallacy” in the comments and then tune in tonight to see what actually happens.

Law & Order: SVU airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

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