About Last Night…MATLOCK, LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, THE PITT, and More

Let’s talk about Thursday night’s TV!

LAW & ORDER: I cannot tell you how pleased I am we got Vi going undercover. Relatedly, it’s interesting this was another episode that felt like it was playing with the show’s format a bit. It works, and it makes the episodes more interesting/unpredictable. (Which also led to us getting almost the entire cast in a scene together, too. It’s crazy how rare that is, in hindsight?)

I get where Shaw’s coming from, but he was playing with fire and I’m curious what impact, if any, this has on his career and his working relationship with Price.

So, is Baxter cheating or…?

GHOSTS: Okay, I laughed at the line about the Schuyler sisters.

But, um, I don’t know how worried we should be about Elias trying to get Jay to sell his soul to the devil?! Elias made that throwaway line about that being one of his tasks and I kind of mentally glossed over it, but now…help? I’m not not worried.

NEXT LEVEL CHEF: It was very funny watching the pro chefs freaking out about the basement. It makes sense, but it was interesting that it felt like the challenges were harder for this group than the others. But the bar should be raised since they’re, well, pros. I’m excited the auditions are over and we’ll see the groups mix together soon.

MATLOCK: Congrats to this show: Somehow, Matty getting high with Senior managed to make me laugh out loud and emotionally destroy me.

If she wasn’t gunning for him/his family, I think Senior might even appreciate this revenge quest Matty is on. (At least based on his reveal to her about his own reaction to his brother’s death.) One of the fascinating things about this episode was that Matty has been multi-tasking for as long as we’ve known her; this was the first hour where there were large periods of time where it felt like she was really distracted and losing focus. (Thanks to last week’s brutal fight with her husband where he acknowledged he sometimes blames her/them pushing for custody for the timing of their daughter’s death, which she kept replaying in her head.) Senior encouraging Matty to apologize out loud for her regrets may have been the most helpful thing anyone could have done for her; the catharsis she seemed to have when she yelled and cried seemed intense and, hopefully, enough to at least help her put this angst to the side, a bit.



LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT: This was the best episode of the season for me, on basically every level.

First of all, Donna Lynne Champlin was incredible as Megan. So much of the episode hinged on her performance, which makes it even more wild she got a straight offer for the part. (Though obviously she’s been fantastic in her previous work, too.) Megan was a roller coaster, but I mean that in a positive way, viewing-wise; the hour allowed us to actually know and care about the survivor and/or main guest character in a way we haven’t had the opportunity to since, I’d argue, at least season 24. It’s infuriating but realistic in 2025 every single thing a survivor does, pre- and post-attack, would be criticized; Megan didn’t react the “normal” way, she wasn’t a model, she had just had a life-changing diagnosis…the defense was going to be brutal. And they were. Champlin had to do so much in the hour, and she navigated it all well. 

A side effect of Megan being a wild card meant it also felt like we got Olivia Benson back, too. Even if you put aside the absolute erasure of any iota of Olivia’s personal life this season (until this episode), so much of what she’s said and done in season 26 could be interchangeable to almost any survivor, any episode. She’s there for them, she gives them words of wisdom…but it’s almost always generic, like lines could be pulled from any episode and inserted into another without it feeling out of place.

But Megan was Megan. She was disassociating, in shock, determined, and/or flailing at various points. And because she was so unpredictable, Olivia’s approach had to keep shifting, too. Olivia tried to be gentle in the immediate aftermath, she opened up about her father when she talked to Megan about displacement, and she was encouraging when she suggested Megan set the record straight on the stand. Olivia walked the line of supportive, but warning, that Megan’s attempt to go vigilante to get justice could also impact her case and land Megan in trouble, too. (And she had to balance that with Megan and as she navigated the case with her team/Carisi.) Olivia felt present and engaged in a way that has been absent for this season so far, which also allowed Mariska Hargitay to give her best performance of the year, too.

Everyone around Olivia was written well, too. Carisi got to actually be the ADA and do a good, effective job. We saw the squad be boots on the ground as they tried to piece together what happened, and also work around Megan’s attempt to get answers, too. It’s been frustrating at points where it’s felt like the show has sidelined its regulars (in episodes they’re physically in), but this was an episode where everyone felt utilized well and the characters actually felt true to who they are. Fingers crossed we actually get more of that.

[For more on the episode, here’s what Champlin shared.]



FOUND: I really appreciate that FOUND isn’t making things simple with Sir and Gabi, as weird as that sounds. It would be so easy to understand her entirely blocking him from contacting her; it would be equally easy to see her keep their connection ongoing, either so she can make sure he knows she’s fine without him, or to continue to utilize their unconventional working partnership. But it’s messy. Gabi wants to shut him out, but can’t quite take that step to permanently block him. It’s extremely human.

Every single flashback about Jamie’s kidnapping makes me sick to my stomach. The person who did this watching Margaret after? Sick!! I just know this is going to hurt.

[For more on the episode, here’s what stars Shanola Hampton and Mark-Paul Gosselaar shared.]

ELSBETH: Well, uh, they definitely succeeded in introducing a new detective who has no patience for Elsbeth. Also, I don’t care if you’re a nepo detective, sexually harassing someone in interrogation…not okay. Good lord.

This was another episode where it felt like they slightly tweaked the format, and I’m intrigued to see how they handle this in season 3, too. (Though assisted suicide has really been a plot device procedurals have used in 2025. This is at least the third instance in two months.)



THE PITT: Noah Wyle has correctly been getting praise for his acting on this show, but more attention should be focused on his writing, too. What a great hour of television.

We’ve obviously been watching storylines spill over into the next episode thanks to the show’s real-time nature, but I really appreciated how we saw beats of how everyone was still reeling from losing the young drowning victim. Robby trying to give an empathetic pep talk about how this stuff impacts you, but everyone getting pulled away because they didn’t really have the time was good both to make these characters feel human and to emphasize how they really do have to put their heads down and just keep moving in order to survive/save others.

It’s gutting it’s necessary, but the pen with the hidden hotline number is brilliant. I’m guessing we won’t see that storyline addressed again this year—and maybe it won’t ever come back—but I hope one day that poor young woman is able to reach out for the help that was offered.

Boy, did I appreciate the (well-deserved) snark from the medical team to the anti-masker. (Especially the question about whether the team doing her treatment should not mask, too, given her preference. I’m sure it won’t make a difference to anti-masking viewers, but.)

I also appreciated how Collins called out the fact that McKay might have been biased in her treatment of a patient who returned to the hospital after just being seen. McKay didn’t melt down, didn’t get extremely defensive; instead, she took the note to be aware of her own potential unconscious biases.

I remain fascinated by Langdon, too. He’s such a good mentor to Mel, but really cuts Santos no slack. (Right or not.) Now that Robby went off on him, I’m interested to see how Langdon’s approach toward Santos changes or if they’ve already reached the point of no return where it just can never be a functional working relationship.

Also, my jaw actually dropped when Dana got punched at the end. Doug felt like a ticking time bomb, one way or the other, but I didn’t see that coming.

Which shows did you watch last night?

Follow @GiveMeMyRemote and @marisaroffman on Twitter for the latest TV news. Connect with other TV fans on GIVE ME MY REMOTE’s official Facebook page.

And be the first to see our exclusive videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases made through links/ads placed on the site.