It's no secret that has had its fair share of controversial episodes. Sensitive topics that make people uncomfortable, but also engage them in conversation, are in the show's name. The Special Victims Unit focus on cases that involve sexual assault, rape, or crimes that require a delicate touch, such as when the victims are children.
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SVU has always been a reflection of society's problems, oftentimes ripping its stories straight from the headlines. On a recent episode, the sensitive subject hit closer to home than is the norm. Olivia Benson's (Mariska Hargitay) son came out as bisexual in a difficult yet beautiful episode of the show.
Every person's coming-out story is different, some less painful than others, but all are challenging in some way. In the Jan. 13 episode of SVU, we discover Olivia's 8-year-old son Noah (Ryan Buggle) was being bullied by a kid in his school named Hudson (Andrés Hinspeter-Seda). Evidently Hudson made Noah put on a dog collar, then locked him in a dog cage while forcing him to bark like a dog. Hudson then filmed the entire thing, adding to the humiliation.
Hudson's mom, followed immediately by Olivia, walked in on the middle of this incident. When asked what was going on, both boys claimed they were "just playing." Olivia, ever the detective, did not buy it. When she broached the subject at home, Noah told her, "I don't want to talk about it anymore." A case popped up delaying the chat, but when she revisited it later, Olivia got her answer.
According to Noah, Hudson bullies everyone and it was Noah's turn to be on the receiving end of his cruelty. Then Noah dropped some very telling information. Apparently Hudson focuses on kids who are members of the LGBTQ community, like one kid whose pronouns are they/them. At this point, Noah tells her he's bi. The best part is, the show chose to treat this revelation as it would any conversation. Upon being called brave, Noah said, "Well, it's my truth. I just hadn't told anybody before."
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'SVU' fans are loving everything about Noah's coming-out story.
We're sure there are naysayers out there, but we truly only care about the supportive fans who get how wonderful it was seeing a coming-out story that was received with love by Olivia Benson, and was played so casually. As always, representation matters and it never hurts to have another LGBTQ character for kids (and adults as well) to look to for comfort.
Twitter user @elizabethclrke said, "As a bisexual, that representation means the world to me. I needed a Noah Benson and a mom like Olivia Benson growing up, however I’m so glad SVU chose to represent one of the most underrepresented identities in the LGBTQIA+ community tonight." This tweet touches on a legitimate issue in the LGTBQ community, which is bi-erasure.
According to Health.com, bi-erasure is when bisexuality is "played down, ignored, and essentially erased by mainstream culture." Some struggle with accepting bisexuality because we live in a binary world where black and white thinking dominates the discourse. A character like Noah Benson really makes people feel seen, like Twitter user @auntiesiannan who gleefully wrote, "I wish I'd had representation like Noah Benson when I was growing up. Thank YOU, Ryan Buggle, and the #SVU writers!"
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Ryan posted on Instagram about filming this episode, and the fact that Mariska called him to discuss the script ahead of time. Of course she did! He agreed with his character, writing, "My feelings are the same, there is no shame in being true to yourself and no one deserves to be left out or bullied because of it." We're not crying, you're crying. He also signal boosted GLSEN, an "organization working to create a safe and inclusive K-12 school environment for LGBTQ+ youth," per their Instagram.
Law & Order: SVU airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. EST on NBC.
In Season 23, Episode 11 of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Noah Benson, Olivia Benson's adopted son, came out as bisexual. The scene happened in a loving, casual conversation when Noah and his mom were going for a walk in the park after he opens up to her about being bullied.
Captain Benson (Mariska Hargitay) adopted Noah (Ryan Buggle) back in Season 16 after a long, horrifying ordeal that had to do with sex trafficking and child sexual abuse. On this week's new episode of SVU, directed by Hargitay, Noah starts to ask his mother some questions about his biological parents.
Though she's had serious relationships, Olivia Benson is currently unattached, and has never been married. But she does have a family; she legally adopted her son Noah during season 15. Stabler is a widower, five kids.
Johnny D., aka John Drake, who was part of the “SVU” storyline around the time Benson found Noah, was a sex trafficker and Noah's biological father who also raped Noah's mom, Ellie Porter. “He's a bad guy, right?” Noah asks. A stunned Olivia says yes but adds, “He was.
Noah is the biological son of Ellie Porter (Emma Greenwell), a sex worker who was sexually assaulted by Johnny Drake, who quickly sold her away. Unaware of who the father of her child was, Ellie gave birth to Noah while working for a pimp named Aguilar.
Hargitay gave birth to her first child, August, at age 42, in 2006. She and Hermann then adopted Amaya and Andrew within six months of each other. In January 2024, she told PEOPLE that she is "so grateful that I'm an older mom." "I don't know if I could have handled it when I was younger,” she admitted.
SVU fans will certainly remember the character's tragic origins: born to a sex worker and her assailant, Noah was later sold to a p*rnography producer and eventually left a ward of the state, all before he could talk. After taking temporary custody of the boy, Benson bonded with him, and legally adopted him.
In "Gone Baby Gone", it is revealed that Sheila was behind the kidnapping, and that she intends to take Noah to live with her in Derry, New Hampshire. Benson goes to Sheila's cabin in Franconia, New Hampshire to rescue Noah. When Sheila attacks her, Benson subdues her, arrests her, and takes Noah home.
But when Olivia arrives at the Moulin, she realizes that it's the same hotel where her brother, Simon Marsden, overdosed and died two years earlier. Although Dr. Warner reassures Olivia that based on the police report, Simon's death was due to an accidental overdose, Olivia is convinced that the same ring was involved.
As we all know, Noah is very much not dead, and is later discovered by Olivia and Detective Rollins in the motel room of that child p*rnography producing couple. After days of media attention and no one there to claim the child, they begin calling him "Baby Boy Doe," and he is placed in a series of foster homes.
"Pique" remains one of the darkest SVU episodes, as well as one of the most memorable many years after airing due to its disturbing content. Law & Order: SVU's second season represents the show coming into its own and discovering the sort of stories it wanted to tell.
It was the Season 12 finale in 2011, when Stabler (Chris Meloni) is involved in a shootout and Benson is informed by Captain Cragen that he won't be returning to the squad, to which Benson has a devastated reaction. “I just remember that. I remember that,” she told the outlet, through tears.
After Johnny realized he was going away for a long time, he took an officer hostage and shot down several members of the court. Johnny was taken down by the officers, ultimately leading to his death. Watch Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on Thursdays on NBC and the next day on Peaco*ck.
In season 12, Benson is named the legal guardian of a young boy named Calvin Arliss (Charlie Tahan). Calvin's mother, Vivian (Maria Bello), abandons him and flees when Benson's investigation uncovers that Vivian (also a child of rape) may have killed her mother's rapist, Walter Burlock (R. Lee Ermey).
What happened to Calvin and how did Olivia lose him? Calvin ends up living with Olivia for about a season, until Vivian revokes Olivia's parental rights and decides that Calvin is better off living with his grandparents in Vermont while she goes to rehab.
Benson sleeps with Detective Brian Cassidy (Dean Winters), another member of the "SVU" team, one night. She wants to limit their relationship to one night and one night only, but Cassidy wants more, making for some awkward moments.
Introduction: My name is Aron Pacocha, I am a happy, tasty, innocent, proud, talented, courageous, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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