Law and Order: SVU aired its fall finale on Thursday. There was plenty that went down in the episode, and most of it revolved around Dominick Carisi (Peter Scanavino). The Assistant District Attorney and spouse of Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddick) was pulled into a harrowing situation involving hostages.
SPOILERS AHEAD: A chance visit to a deli leads Carisi to be taken at gunpoint by robbers. He's forced to stand by as one civilian gets assaulted and another killed. He eventually concocted a scheme that forced the two robbers to question their loyalty and take each other out.
Peter Scanavino claims Carisi will be 'detached'
It was a smart bit of business on Carisi's part, but as the final moments of the episode suggest, the character will be sifting through the trauma of this encounter for a while. It was easy to infer as one of the viewers, but the actor who plays Carisi confirmed it during a recent TV Insider interview.
Peter Scanavino told the outlet that fans will see a "different" Carisi moving forward. The hostage standoff did something to the character psychologically that even he isn't fully aware of, and it is going to manifest in unpredictable ways. The actor claims these changes will "ripple" throughout season 26:
"There’s definitely a different Carisi that emerges, almost like a slight detachment as he’s trying to process this and the unexpected emotional toil."
Naturally, Carisi's trauma will have an impact on his marriage. Scanavino told TV Insider that there will be some communication issues between Carisi and Rollins moving forward, as a result of the ADA's disconnect.
The character will be forced to confront his trauma
"I think when these things happen, it’s stressful for everybody involved," the actor posited. "It can be painful for a loved one to see, another loved one going through something and you don’t know how to help." It's going to take time and patience on the part of Rollins, especially, as Scanavino noted, Carisi is reluctant to address his trauma in a therapy setting.
Carisi and Rollins have been through a lot over the years, and it'll be intriguing to see how they navigate an issue that stems from within, rather than a tangible one that can be solved through grit and determination. It's a novel storyline for Law & Order: SVU, and one that will undoubtedly bring out different layers and intricacies of their characters.
Law & Order: SVU returns on Thursday, January 16.