As the series shifts to its last four episodes, we peel the layers back on Diaz and Harmon. Their backstories introduce more supporting characters. We meet Diaz’s mother, who holds a disdain for the police, blaming them for Diaz’s brother being in prison. We also learn of Harmon’s ex-husband, a fellow first responder. She mentions the two realized they no longer worked well for each other under the pressure of their careers. 

Episode 5 incorporates some of the series’ darkest cases, stories that would take Olivia Benson an hour to crack over at the Special Victims Unit. The duo responds to a call from a mother angrily banging on her ex-husband’s residence. He was supposed to take their daughter to school, but she never arrived. Diaz and Harmon are greeted by the husband’s girlfriend who swears the little girl wasn’t feeling well, explaining her absence from school. Harmon presses to enter the home, which is in shambles with clear signs of substance misuse. When the girl is nowhere to be found, the woman claims she must have gone for ice cream with her father. Suspicious of the story change, Harmon notices an array of electrical cords connecting the house to a backyard shed. Diaz and Harmon approach the shed and find the father and another man performing an exorcism on the missing child, who is attached to what looks like an electric chair. They are arrested as the girl is rushed to the hospital. 

Later, familial issues rise again when Diaz notices a couple arguing at a gas station. The woman claims her estranged husband suffers from mental health issues and needs to get professional help before being allowed back around their son. Things escalate when the man places his hands in his pockets, alerting Diaz and Harmon to pull their weapons. Diaz de-escalates the situation, only for the man to grab the gasoline hose and drench himself threatening to self-immolate. Diaz desperately pleads to the man how he’s not having a great day either, but this act of violence won’t solve his problems. The man refuses to reason, lighting himself ablaze. Diaz’s split-second thinking rescues the child from the car. The man survives to live another day. 

By the episode’s end, we finally get the truth about the rumors surrounding Harmon and the force. Over a year ago, Harmon called an officer out for being overtly aggressive with a suspect. He retaliated and shoved her. Soon, he was fired along with a few other officers. All this occurred under Sgt. Lasman’s watch, losing his promotion of lieutenant to Bishop. Many blame Harmon, but she never filed an official complaint. 

The final scene shines the light on the series’ soul: examining the morality of the job. Many cop series would have specific episodes dedicated to the fine line police walk as bastions of the law. And in many instances, viewers are guided to side with the officer mainly because they are the main character. L&O: SVU constantly had us root for Christopher Meloni’s Stabler, eyeing Internal Affairs as blockades of justice. Even when Meloni was wrong, we hoped that Olivia would find a way to save her partner from accountability. Unfortunately, that perspective tends to be the norm, as seen in many real-life cases. It is nice to see a flip of that narrative, with Harmon working to be not only a better cop but a better person. 

Rating: 9/10