Law & Order: SVU Is Bringing Fin Back for Season 28, But I Have One Big Concern

I’m so psyched that Fin will be returning to Law & Order: SVU… with one caveat.

Fin was sorely missed during Law & Order: SVU Season 27, when he rarely appeared as the show tried to stay within a small budget.

Fin’s on-screen reason for his absence was that he needed to deal with the psychological trauma after he was attacked by a suspect and lost his gun, but will the series remember that when he returns?

A Show About Trauma Shouldn’t Forget, But…

Law & Order: SVU already made this mistake once, with Carisi.

I was never a fan of how Carisi’s trauma was written in the first place.

After becoming a victim of an armed robbery, Carisi expressed his pain by being arrogant and borderline obnoxious.

• Average Joe Season 2 Episode 5 Review: Cathy Is Doing Too Much, But the Boys Will Be Alright
  by Whitney Evans
• The Paper Season 2 Review: Keep Your Friends Close and Your Co-Workers Closer
  by Sam Huang
• Reacher Season 4 Episode 7’s Explosive Hour Did In Fact “Snap That Shit” — And It Was Glorious
  by Jasmine Blu

Still, that was better than what happened during Law & Order: SVU Season 27, which was… nothing.

Carisi’s trauma abruptly disappeared and was rarely, if ever, mentioned, and life went on as if it had never happened.

Carisi Deserved Better, and So Does Fin

Law & Order: SVU Season 27 established that Fin was more deeply traumatized than he admitted after the incident in which a perp took his gun.

This is especially interesting for him because Fin isn’t the kind of man who would normally admit to feeling afraid after something like this.

@media (max-width: 768px) {
.tvf-google-cta {
padding: 22px 14px !important;
}

.tvf-google-cta p {
font-size: 22px !important;
line-height: 1.25 !important;
margin-bottom: 16px !important;
}

.tvf-google-cta a {
font-size: 14px !important;
padding: 10px 18px !important;
border-radius: 34px !important;
line-height: 1.3 !important;
}
}

Fin, in his younger days, would have dealt with the issue a lot differently, and now the double whammy of being a lot closer to mandatory retirement than he’d like and not dealing well with the trauma should affect him profoundly.

I’m not saying that every episode has to be about Fin’s struggles with trauma or that it should be done in an exaggerated or stereotypical manner, mind you.

That would be as bad as ignoring his trauma altogether and, in fact, is one of the problems I had with Carisi’s storyline.

However, it should affect him in ways unique to who he is.

Many of us are familiar with typical trauma symptoms like hypervigilance, and Fin can certainly have some of that.

• Fire Country Still Hasn’t Learned Its Lesson, and the Season 5 Promo Proves It
  by Denis Kimathi
• The Story of Her Becomes the Story of Them: NCIS: Origins Season 3 Brings Gibbs Out of Retirement
  by Jasmine Blu
• Less Bailey on The Rookie Is a Blessing — But DWTS’ Stacked Cast Tipping the Scales? That’s a Curse!
  by Jasmine Blu

It’s important that he doesn’t have the same problems Benson did after she was kidnapped.

They’re different people who experienced very different traumas, so they shouldn’t respond in the same manner. Besides, that would be boring.

It would be especially cool if Fin had some less typical symptoms of trauma.

TV, including Law & Order: SVU, often defaults to showing full-blown flashbacks because that’s easier visually than other trauma symptoms, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Fin has always been somewhat cynical.

He’s the one who usually questions whether the victim is telling the truth or if there’s another explanation for a supposed crime.

So it wouldn’t be a stretch for him to become even more cynical — and people might not notice right away that it’s coming from trauma.

THAT would make for some fascinating drama!

What do you all think?

Do you want Law & Order: SVU to address Fin’s trauma when he returns, and if so, how?

Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to share this article with your friends so they can join in the conversation.

Impatient for SVU to return? Check out our reviews of Season 27 and earlier!

Law & Order: SVU will return on NBC on October 8, 2026. Recent seasons are available on Peacock, while older seasons are now on Hulu.

TV Fanatic is searching for passionate contributors to share their voices across various article types. Think you have what it takes to be a TV Fanatic? Click here for more information and next steps.    

The post Law & Order: SVU Is Bringing Fin Back for Season 28, But I Have One Big Concern appeared first on TV Fanatic.