Peter Stone is not in tonight’s Law and Order: SVU episode

If you’re watching Law and Order: SVU for Peter Stone, you’ll want to know that Philip Winchester’s character does not appear in Wednesday’s episode.

Peter Stone is getting a week off.

One Chicago Center has confirmed that Philip Winchester‘s character does not appear in tonight’s Law & Order: SVU episode, entitled “The Book of Esther.”

Don’t worry, there’s no big change ahead for the former Chicago Justice lead. He’ll be back in next week’s episode; this week’s episode just doesn’t need our favorite Assistant District Attorney.

This episode centers on Detective Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) and her quest to save a girl whom she believes is being held captive by her own family. You can watch a preview here, and here’s a deleted scene between Rollins and Stone from the previous episode:

With the focus on Rollins and her investigation, it makes sense that Stone wouldn’t be featured, since he only comes into each episode when the case of the week needs legal advice or makes it to court.

Still, it’s notable because Wednesday will be the first SVU episode that Philip Winchester hasn’t appeared in since making series regular earlier this season, and so any Chicago Justice fans who may have followed Stone to New York know why he’s not around.

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Now the question is will the show offer any on-screen explanation for Peter Stone’s absence? It’s unlikely, but we’ll pretend he’s taking time off to come back and visit his former colleagues in Chicago. It’d be good timing, too, because Hank Voight’s team could use his help again right about now.

Next: Here's where Peter Stone left off two weeks ago

Since Peter Stone does not appear in this week’s SVU, we’re also taking the week off from our coverage. We’ll be back next week; until then, catch up now with the Dick Wolf category.