Dominic Carisi was going to be at the forefront of Law & Order: SVU's winter premiere. The Assistant D.A. has been part of the show for years, but his closeness to the most recent case makes him even more essential than usual. Unfortunately, this closeness has done a number on him psychologically.
The character was caught up in a hostage situation in the fall finale, and forced to watch as innocent people died. He was then forced to trick the perpetrators into taking each other out. It was technically a success for him, in that he got out alive, but the ramifications are still being felt by the character as he rolled into the winter premiere.
Carisi actor claims he's still "detached"
Peter Scanavino, the actor who plays Carisi, claimed that the character's state is even worse than we think. He described him as "detached" during a recent interview with TV Line, and detailed the ways in which the show will be impacted moving forward. "The things that had given his life meaning before that had kind of disappeared," the actor said. "He was just walking through the world, going through the motions."
Furthermore, Carisi learned that one of the perpetrators intends to alter their plea, which means the ADA will have to continue to engage with the case that traumatized him for even longer. This is not going to make the road to recovery any easier.
"I think that’s part of the the anxiety," Scanavino added. "Not 'anxiety,' but maybe 'anger' is more appropriate — with Carisi... How is Carisi able to do what he needs to do while struggling with his trauma, and not make it about him? That’s the kind of struggle that he’s going through."
The character needs time to process and heal
Such a traumatic experience is not going to be solved over the course of a single episode, sadly. The incident occurred one episode ago, and Carisi is going to need time to process and rebuild the sense of comfort and confidence he had prior.
Scanavino is looking forward to playing these adjustments out, even if he has found them to be tricky. "You know, you wanna do something that’s compelling on screen, not just 'I feel nothing, I am a robot,'" he noted. "That’s boring. [Laughs] Hopefully I found the right note to hit."
We're curious to see how those around him react, and ultimately where Carisi will end up by the season finale.