The squad is on edge as Carisi waits for a verdict in Maddie's kidnapping case. Benson tries to help the Flynn family pick up the pieces of their broken life.
Carisi is confident in the strength of his case against George Brouchard. The criminal is guilty of kidnapping and sexually abusing Maddie Flynn. A conviction is inevitable. And yet, he completely missed the defendant manipulating one of the jurors during the trial. Everyone believes the evidence is overwhelming. The testimony is devastating and emotional. Complications arise simply through George's charm. A mistrial is declared because one juror refuses to convict. In fact, she declares her love for the defendant. She suddenly knows that they are destined to be together. It's completely ridiculous. However, it's enough to send everything into chaos once more. It's perceived that the first trial was routine. This mistake is costly. It requires everyone to go through the trial all over again. It's worth it because of the strength of the evidence. However, Carisi has new reasons to doubt. He is back during the job he is suppose to be doing. Yet his distraction almost derails justice.
George's manipulation working during the first trial makes him even more confident. Velasco doesn't understand why the case even went to trial. It potentially shows the District Attorney's office as not doing its job. A plea deal should have been negotiated. That would have spared the entire Flynn family from this tragedy. George was never going to agree to that. He believed in his own prowess. He continuously fought the system because he believed in his own sense of victimhood. Carisi ultimately used that ego against him. It still carries a lot of favor for George for awhile. He's so confident in his own skills that he fires his lawyer and decides to represent himself. That too is a ridiculous twist especially as it's perceived he's actually capable of this job. It's meant to be yet another intimidation tactic. It's a way for him to threaten the witnesses in this case while enjoying the luxuries of confronting his accusers. Olivia isn't at the center of the drama despite her connection to Maddie the entire season. She isn't targeted by the emotional distortion of the facts. George spares her of that. However, he still believes he can create enough reasonable doubt to be released.
Eileen even believes that too. She worries the man who took her daughter and nearly destroyed their family will get away with it. He has outsmarted the criminal justice system. Olivia continually tells her to trust the process. Carisi is good at this job. Olivia has seen it many times over the years. That trust is wearing thin for Eileen. She believes she has to take justice into her own hands. She is the only one willing to do it. She has to stop George before he harms anyone else. She too believes she has the prowess to defeat this adversary. She ultimately gets arrested with her own misdemeanor for threatening him. She holds him at gunpoint. The weapon isn't loaded. The police don't know that. Olivia has to reach out to the woman she has had to comfort for months now. Olivia is worried about this family. They suffer relapses. They don't know what they are doing. This is the hardest struggle they've ever had to face. Olivia wants to offer healing. It takes time for that to work. The show even speeds up the process. That's how it has always portrayed the criminal justice system. Convictions occur swiftly. The injuries are still fresh. That creates the potent and searing drama.
Carisi eventually gets the victory. He stresses. He worries about all the time he's away from Rollins and the kids. He's still committed to the case. He knows how to deliver a closing argument that will cement the guilty verdict. That's what it all comes down to. It's about offering his own psychological assessment of the defendant when George was powerless to rebut it. That was his strategy. The conviction isn't the end of the turmoil for the Flynn family. Olivia continues to help. EMDR therapy was beneficial to her. She's hoping the same can be true for Maddie. She has the trust of this family to explore this new option when other therapy techniques have failed. The family has had their ups and downs throughout this entire story. They've been upset by the lack of progress. They are filled with relief by the horror finally being over. The pain still remains. Olivia wants to alleviate as much as she can. She doesn't have the power to take it all away. She remains a vital support system. She leads with that empathy. It doesn't overpower her either. She's back to being the stable force everyone needs. She too dealt with the turmoil of this case. And now, she has emerged on the other side willing to engage with humanity beyond the limits of her job while still being a commanding and effective captain.
