Spoilers ahead for the winter premiere of Law and order: SVU Season 24, titled “Jumped In”.
Law and order: SVU returned to NBC with a winter premiere that didn’t make things easy for Benson and Co. in the new year. Her decision to push for gang members to be convicted of rape that fall came back to haunt her, as she was viciously attacked and nearly killed. Her attack didn’t scare her from wanting to seek justice, which meant working again with Captain Duarte of the Bronx Gang Unit. Maurice Compte, who plays Duarte, spoke with Gossipify about the episode, his character’s attraction to Benson, and his work with him. SVU main protagonist Mariska Hargitay.
Unfortunately, Benson made some powerful enemies last fall when he had two BX9 members convicted of rape when Duarte wanted to use them to try to bring down his boss, Oscar Papa. That said, attacking her outside her apartment building as she walked with his young son, they ensured that Benson would focus on taking down the gang and investigating sex crimes…even if it meant going to jail. Bronx and collaborating with Duarte. They didn’t really get off to a good start as colleagues!
“Jumped In” was Maurice Compte’s second appearance in his recurring guest star role as Duarte, following his debut in September. (You can stream the episode with a Peacock Premium subscription.) Speaking with Gossipify, she asked if her character sees Benson any differently now that she’s apparently ready to try and catch Oscar Papa. Duarte and Benson in their first episode was about a conflict, and he strongly believed that they should prioritize Dad over rape convictions. The actor shared:
From the outset, as you have seen, there is only one underlying tension. She’s a strong woman, and Duarte is very attracted to strong women… Mariska has a way of coming in, and she really stands still in a room and a situation and I think Duarte is very attracted to Benson in that sense. way. I love the attraction. He always came to see Mariska and said… ‘It’s amazing.’ It is funny. She’s a loving character… She’s fun to watch.
Mariska Hargitay starred in Law and order: SVU for over 20 years and over 500 episodes, so is it any wonder she can easily turn heads like Olivia Benson? There’s no denying the tension between them since their very first episode, but Duarte has seen a new side of her after her attack, and apparently that side is deeply attractive to him. Both characters can read different things in this tension!
Sure, there are different types of attraction (and Stabler in Organized crime might have something to say if Duarte has romanticism in mind). Benson has a lot to do now that he’s signed on to sue BX9 as he helps save the Bronx’s Special Victims Department from scandal. There was also more to Duarte’s feelings about being associated with her than just attraction to her, as the actor continued:
There’s a bit of “I told you so, I knew you’d be back,” but… [also] the fact that he’s going to come back and she’s like, ‘These guys came after me and my family, we’re going to take them down.’ There was a little bit of “I told you so” in it, but there was something like “she totally can do it.” I can see it. I see this woman breaking down a steel door to reach out to the people who did this to fix the problem. And it’s just Duarte on a normal day, so the connection between them makes her even more visible to him, where she sees her more like, ‘Wow. Good. I love it.’
Duarte can see a new connection between them in turn after being attacked, but so can Maurice Compte he pointed out that these are very different people . As a cop, his goal is often to heal and help, and he wants to help gang members of teenagers who had no other choice… while taking down Oscar Papa. For his part, Duarte believes in blind justice.
It remains to be seen whether either accepts the other’s point of view, or whether Benson develops some sort of attraction to him some time after his attack. SVU done recently deal with her feelings for Stabler in a way that didn’t hint that the ex partners would be taking it to the next level anytime soon!
Find out what’s next for Benson and Co. with new episodes of Law and order: SVU Thursdays at 9:00 pm ET on NBC at 2023 television season Between Right at 20:00 and Law and order: organized crime – who start a new dangerous secret arc – at 10pm SVU he’s entered a new era without Amanda Rollins, and her absence didn’t really help Benson in the winter premiere.
Source: Cinemablend
