Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: "And the Empire Strikes Back" and "Never Turn Your Back on Them" (2021)

<p>SVU is back!</p><p>Airing on September 23, 2021, "And the Empire Strikes Back" and "Never Turn Your Back on Them" make up the two-part premiere for the twenty-third season of <em>Law &amp; Order: Special Victims Unit. </em>Mariska Hargitay stars as the just, empathetic Captain Olivia Benson, with Ice-T, Kelli Giddish, Peter Scanavino, Jamie Gray Hyder, and Demore Barnes rounding out the cast.</p><p>This confusingly-plotted two-parter follows the SVU team as they pursue a sleazy, entitled Congressman who splits his time between preying on young girls and declaring his presidential ambitions. Oh, and thanks to near-death-experiences and no-holds-barred office politics, two ensemble members ride off into the sunset. And, of course, the episodes also give us a helpful recap of what happened at the end of SVU's sister show <em>Law &amp; Order: Organized Crime.</em></p><p>Yeah, it's a lot.</p><p>Listen to Áine and Kevin weave together an incoherent narrative around sound effect failures,&nbsp;Q, dumb storytelling choices, and the sexual chemistry between Benson and her old partner Elliot Stabler.</p><p>Follow us on the usual social media suspects:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Mystery-to-Me-Podcast-105987494771196" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/mystery_to_me_" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/mysterytomepodcast/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p>And send your mysterious missives to mysterytomepodcast@gmail.com.</p><p><em>Mystery to Me is a production of Mystery Sheet LLC.</em></p><p>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.</p>