Olivia Benson is back in therapy. In the exclusive sneak peek of Law & Order: SVU, above, Mariska Hargitay's Captain Benson seeks the guidance of her Dr. Peter Lindstrom (Bill Irwin). This is the first time fans have seen her in therapy since 2017 and from their conversation, it seems the first time Benson has been back to see him since making captain.
"Congratulations," he tells her.
"Thank you. I actually owe some of that to you," Benson tells him.
"So, what? You're coming to thank me?" Lindstrom asks.
What brings Benson back to Dr. Lindstrom? An ex-boyfriend, Ed Tucker (Robert John Burke), to be exact. Benson got an invite to Tucker's retirement party. It will be the first time she sees him since they broke up.
"It's crazy. I've had guns in my face and I'm afraid to see an ex-boyfriend," Benson confesses.
What's she so afraid of?
"Regret. The pain that I caused him," Benson reveals.
And that's when Lindstrom imparts some sage advice. Click play on the video above to see what he tells her.
In "The Longest Night of Rain," Benson investigates a police officer's accusations of sexual assault and Tucker's retirement party ends in tragedy, according to NBC. In addition to Irwin and Burke, guest stars include Michael Gaston and Holly Robinson Peete.
Executive producer Warren Leight previously teased Tucker's return in an interview with E! News. "The one she let get away," Leight said. "It's bittersweet when they meet up again…it's not to the altar we run."
Leight also had a warning: "Not to give too much away but there's some stress coming up for Benson in the next few episodes...some real difficult episodes for her coming up. So, it's never easy for our guys."
Law & Order: SVU airs Thursdays, 10 p.m. on NBC.
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)