About Last Night…MATLOCK, FOUND, THE PITT, and More

Let’s talk about Thursday night’s TV!

LAW & ORDER: Oh, this was a gutting case. The quiet anger from Brady and Riley stemming from them being parents trying to solve a child’s death was really well played/understated, and it was just a terrible situation all around. I felt awful for Emily, obviously, whose death kickstarted this, but I also felt awful for Melinda. What absolute hell to be in such a mental health episode, while also being prevented from actually getting the treatment she desperately needed. (And how great was Allison Miller? I’ve missed watching her on my TV.)

I don’t get what Nolan did, though. Derek knowing he’s partially responsible for his daughter’s death isn’t an actual punishment. If Nolan couldn’t do the questioning of Amanda, couldn’t someone else? (Also, don’t bluff with these kinds of stakes. My goodness.) Fingers crossed we never see Derek again because it also feels like nothing will change his mind about mental health care; let us hope neither of the other children have any kind of mental health issues in the future.

I did love that we got to see that beat of Riley and his daughter. The scenes were brief, but actually told us so much about their relationship. I also loved that she’s also aware of the toll the job takes on him, but in an understanding way. These little moments help round out the characters and show so much/give additional weight going forward every time we see Riley deal with a child-centric case.

[For more on the episode, here’s what star Reid Scott shared.]



NEXT LEVEL CHEF: It’s interesting they had different devices on each floor for cooking because that feels like that makes things even more unbalanced. Not sure I liked that.

But, wow, I can’t believe Beatrice was put in the head-to-head. I am kind of surprised Iman was eliminated based on the judging comments, but her teammates were gross about Team Gordon, so they made me a little less sad about it all. It’s very weird how the other teams are targeting them with smack talk. (Especially given how young Team Gordon is, too.)

GHOSTS: Oh my God, Thor trying to not go to Alberta’s party to prove a point, while also accidentally showing up? I laughed. But I’m glad they actually talked and she realized she accidentally offended him/they were able to actually make up.

It’ll be interesting to see where this Sass triangle goes…

MATLOCK: I can’t believe this show played us again. (I love you MATLOCK writers. Never change.)

We barely had a chance to rejoice in the apparent revelation that Olympia was not the person Matty was actually targeting before Olympia revealed she had been on to Matty for months. Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. My simultaneous stomach drop mixed with absolute thrill as the montage showed how Olympia had been quietly collecting evidence was thrilling and heartbreaking. It made me want to scream and cheer. It made me want to rewatch the whole season to see if any of this was more obvious in hindsight—similar to how I rewatched the pilot after the reveal that Matty was conning everyone. Skye P. Marshall and Kathy Bates were just gems in this episode. And, boy, do I dread what comes next. (I also can’t wait.)

(But, my God, CBS, why did you put the end scene in the freaking promos?!)



LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT: This episode was, unfortunately, a mess.

The show has often struggled with how survivors are treated by the system (by the cops and ADAs), as frequently they have to be persuaded to testify and/or face their attacker, etc. It’s certainly not the right approach to strong-arm survivors in real life, but makes for good TV, makes for good moments of suspense; I get why that tactic is utilized in fiction even if I don’t love it.

But the way Tess was treated, largely, by several of our characters was gross. Of course everyone cares about and wants justice for Carisi—as they should—with Amanda and Olivia being the most invested in this case going well. But Tess’ well-being felt like an afterthought, with the concern being about whether she could testify versus what toll this might take on her. Carisi acknowledged the delicate line he was walking, but Amanda and Olivia seemed oblivious to how their own tension about the case was impacting Tess; it didn’t feel the latter two even really saw-saw Tess for much of the hour. It’s wild to me that Velasco was the only one who actually acknowledged Tess’ specific trauma, who noted that her scream in the aftermath of the assault haunted him.

That’s also echoing the same problem from the last episode: This was yet another sequel to an installment from this season that probably didn’t merit an entire full hour. Rather than leaning entirely into the court aspect here (presumably because they had an ADA and a defense attorney we had never seen before), Tess went through hell, again, before she got to a place where she could testify. She went through so much already in the first hour, and watching her sob when Velasco and Fin found her just broke my heart.



The other big issue was the Carisi of it all. When “Cornered” aired, one of my biggest frustrations with the hour was when it aired in the season because Carisi had already been spiraling. It felt like this arc should have led off the season so his previous actions were in the aftermath of the trauma/him not knowing how to handle it or been a breaking point and he realized he needed help. Instead, it was neither. It would be easy to pin his unrecognizable actions in the 2025 episodes (minus “First Light,” where the show specifically acknowledged his PTSD) as him struggling in the aftermath of this case…but he’s largely been that way all season, even pre-dating the bodega. We saw flashes of this last season, too. There’s not a single action we’ve seen in 2025 that doesn’t align with the character the show has told us he was last year pre-“Cornered.”

So the show also telling us (via the practice testimony) that Amanda thinks Carisi hasn’t left the bodega…we were not seeing that. I’m sure she’s correct! She’s seeing him at home, she knows the impact it would have on him. But if the show wanted to actually tell any kind of consistent storytelling with ongoing trauma, we could have seen just flashes of that in the months since it aired. Heck, “First Light” itself quasi-tried to pretend that Carisi was magically fixed. (Was he? Of course not.) 

And things were, uh, bad here. Carisi crossed way too many lines (in ways that should have professional ramifications, though I doubt they will) and undermined the Brooklyn ADA (including tracking her down at dinner to tell her basic information she clearly knew about how to do her job?!)…I just don’t know what they’re doing with him.

As Olivia noted, Carisi was a victim in this, and we’ve seen time and time again that our team struggles when they’re on the other side of things. But this was rough, especially paired with how Tess was treated by almost everyone. Peter Scanavino seemed to do the best he could with what was given to him, but it feels like Carisi keeps being backed into a corner there’s really no getting out from.

I also really, really, really wish we had just ended the episode with Tess and Carisi hugging, which was one of the only good, human moments of the hour. You could see how much those characters needed it and the relief in both of them. Again, as much as Amanda and Olivia love Carisi (and they do), it felt overly simplistic for them to follow that by saying to Carisi that Tess made the decision to move on and he should, too. (Or, as Olivia said, she thinks he already had. Which…?!) That’s not how mental health works. That’s not how trauma and PTSD work. The lines of dialogue undermined a genuinely lovely beat.

At this point, the storyline feels akin to last season’s Maddie arc—where there were a couple of natural endings they ignored to keep extending the story. I truly hope this is the end of this plotline because they haven’t done any justice to “Cornered” in the follow-up hours.



FOUND: Okay, stating the obvious, but I feel like Gabi should never be held hostage by anyone else for the rest of her life. I get where the father was coming from. I’m glad M&A was able to help him. But oh my God, that poor woman has survived enough. But Gabi getting through to him by opening up herself was beautiful and well done. I’m glad she allowed herself to be vulnerable, even if it was under terrible circumstances.

And, wow, I was surprised by Jamie’s reaction to his mother being held hostage, too. (Lovely, to be clear. But surprising.)

Also: Well, well, well…Heather’s true connection is now out there. I can’t wait to see Heather and Sir together now that we know they’re siblings and find out what kind of mayhem they’ve been up to. (Or she’s been up to, given how protective he is of Gabi.)

[For more on the episode, here’s what Danielle Savre shared about the big twist.]

ELSBETH: For as eccentric as Elsbeth can be, it’s rare it feels like she actually steps out of line. Last night’s episode felt like that, though. Bringing cookies to a crime scene where someone was killed? She was also a bit too…something…to the people who had just lost their partner before her Elsbeth senses went off.

Whether this is true or not, it felt like the entire episode was done just to have the decluttering montage. It was cute! But…

It’s also odd because in many ways this felt finale-like with so many relationship beats (complete with a video call from Angus), though it’s obviously not.

(I miss Kaya and Elsbeth working together in their normal capacity, though.)

GREY’S ANATOMY: I actually am surprised Teddy wasn’t able to go through with the whole open marriage thing, but as soon as she pulled back, I knew that Owen would cross that line. Oy. Mess.

I really loved Simone and Amelia, though, and their working dynamic. I really, really, hope the show leans into that dynamic more in the future.



THE PITT: An absolutely brutal hour. I loved it so much. We knew we were going to be emotionally attacked from the get-go because we ended with Robby’s breakdown, but oh my God.

Robby praying in Hebrew was beautifully heartbreaking, with him trying to self-soothe, lost in his own world, until Whitaker was able to reach him. Whitaker was correct: They were, uh, screwed without him.

But the emotional hits kept coming. Langdon telling Jake if Robby couldn’t save Leah, no one could…what a moment for all of them. It doesn’t negate what Langdon has done, and he obviously still needs to get help, but his vouching for Robby may have done wonders for the Jake/Robby relationship in the immediate aftermath of this trauma. Jake will need Robby to get through this. Robby needs to know that Leah’s death—which he wasn’t responsible for—won’t cost him Jake. (I also really love that Jake’s mom was supportive of everyone, too: She made sure Robby knew that Jake loved him.)

(Also, thank God the shooter wasn’t Robby’s patient because Robby may have ended up on the ground and literally never gotten up.)

After this shift/day from hell, how are they still saying “quiet”? Has the universe not traumatized you enough?? And now we get measles?! Depressing how relevant that was given this was filmed in January.

On a (somehow?) lighter note: One of the moments of the episode for me was Robby so thoroughly supporting Mel. His telling her not to apologize for caring about patients and how lucky they were to have her might be a thing that sticks with her for her entire career.

I cannot believe the season is almost over. I miss them all already.

P.S.- FREE MCKAY?! I know she shouldn’t have cut off her ankle monitor. I get that. But how were the officers so unkind given what the ED very publicly just went through? Also, there is blood everywhere on the floor, it was clearly an emergency situation. (Relatedly, I loved seeing Fiona Dourif work with her father, Brad, in the episode. Yay for that.)

Which shows did you watch last night?

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