Season 24 of Law & Order: SVU is nearly at an end, but fans don't have to wait until the finale next week for Special Victims to find a seriously twisted case. In the new episode on May 11, called "Bad Things," a jogger accidentally discovers a victim who will trigger Muncy's memory... and not in a good way. Take a look at Muncy (Molly Burnett) and Churlish (Jasmine Batchelor) connecting the dots between the new victim and a former suspect who got away with his crimes in the exclusive episode clip, seen above!
The clip reveals that a man was discovered in such a bad state that officers called in Special Victims, after he gave a jogger a serious scare by reaching out at her from where he was held captive below ground, surrounded by candy wrappers. Before EMTs took him for treatment, Muncy and Churlish only had enough time with the victim to learn that his name was Mark, he'd been under ground for weeks, and he'd said "I'll be good" to the jogger who found him.
And while that wasn't much to go on, it was enough for Muncy to flash back to a case earlier in Season 24, when a man by the name of Elias Olsen committed some crimes that were... well, to quote SVU's opening narration, especially heinous. They involved using food to control captive women and teaching them a mantra of "Good girls get good things. Bad girls get bad things."
Muncy also has a tricky history with Elias, as she injured him in that earlier episode of Season 24 and then botched his trial in the otherwise emotionally poignant fall finale, when she was provoked during testimony. If this victim is a sign that Elias is committing crimes again, it's easy to understand why Muncy looked more horrified than usual on this crime scene. At least she and Churlish have come to terms with each other recently!
While it remains to be seen if Elias truly is behind the latest crime, he's certainly memorable from his initial episode, which is available streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription and demonstrated why Mariska Hargitay's Benson is still the heart of the Law & Order franchise. "Bad Things" also comes at an interesting time in Season 24, and not just because it's the penultimate episode. SVU is on the verge of participating in a two-week crossover with Christopher Meloni's Law & Order: Organized Crime following a troubling reveal about Stabler.
Whether this case that may or may not involve Elias extends into the crossover is unknown at this point, but Muncy may have an uphill battle if she wants to prove that Elias is behind what happened to Mark. Will Muncy take it personally, to the point that Benson doubts her objectivity? Will she and Churlish keep working well together? And will Special Victims get justice for Elias' victim this time? The promo for the May 11 episode provides another peek at what's ahead:
The "Bad Things" episode of Law & Order: SVU airs on May 11 at 9 p.m. ET, following Law & Order (in the wake of a complicated episode for Cosgrove and his daughter) at 8 p.m. and Organized Crime (which gets the crossover action going) at 10 p.m., all on NBC. Episodes also stream on Peacock the day after they air.
