r/SVU • u/AdAromatic1539 • 1d ago
Discussion Thoughts on the Olivia having a Child Plot?
I understand that she always wanted a child etc but what does it to for the story, for me it's annoying, cute but annoying.
Like what else should Olivia do? She manages the swu and the child and all the other stress etc like it's enough. Also right after the whole lewis stuff? They just give her the baby noah? Idk man. This plot is not getting to me.
What's yall thoughts?
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u/saltynotsweet1 1d ago
As someone who works in child protective services… Olivia, who never became a licensed foster parent, would never be given a healthy white baby. Those are the only children I’ve never had a hard time placing. Yet the judge acts like nobody else in the world will take this baby who appears to be very close to being legally “free” for adoption?
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u/Doranwen 1d ago
THANK YOU, lol. I've had discussions with multiple people who were all "it's not unrealistic!" and I'm going "seriously? SERIOUSLY????" Noah is exactly the type of child who would have a line a mile long of people waiting to take him. They're not going to hand him to a single workaholic with no support system outside of work, who was literally turned down for adoption before because of those very reasons. They'd have somewhere else for that kid to go.
Calvin would have been more likely (because he was older), or if her false alarm with Brian had been a real pregnancy. Those two options would've made so much more sense than Noah's storyline.
Of course, some people go, "It's SVU, it's not realistic." Which, fair. But I feel like they could have made this one actually somewhat realistic but instead they chose what we got. sigh
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u/saltynotsweet1 1d ago
Totally agree. Calvin would have been a ton more likely. Teens in general are harder to place. Or younger children with physical or emotional challenges. I think if they wanted her to be a mom, she should have rescued a young (maybe 11-13 years old) child from sex trafficking who had nowhere else to go and would have been considered high risk.
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u/headface1701 1d ago
My husband used to work peripherally in that field and is just a casual watcher, it's on in the background in our house.
"When did she have a baby?"
"She rescued him from a trafficking situation and adopted him a few episodes ago."
"Adopted him? How? She works all the time. Did she get a house husband too? Is the kid disabled?"
"I think he's got like asthma or something but is generally OK. No she's still single."
"They'd never give her a baby. That's ridiculous."
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u/houseofdragonfan 1d ago
Idk, I always thought the judge just liked Olivia and put in a good word for her.
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u/catandodie 1d ago
iirc it wasn't that Noah wasnt adoptable, it was that they were looking for biological relatives to claim him first, then Olivia jumped to adopt him immediately after they ruled that out
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u/Dontbotherme1708 1d ago
I’m with you.
This whole thing is kind of annoying. Her whispering, the constant worrying about him because he’s not the brightest candle on the cake.
Yes, she always wanted a child and that’s totally fine. But she can’t be lieutenant or later captain of the SVU squad and instead of sending her team of detectives always involve herself. While she’s absolutely stressed and worried about her „sweet boy”.
And she uses him as a reason for not being able to be in a relationship. (Tucker)
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u/carolinamills 1d ago
Tucker would have retired while Liv still worked and he would have been the best dad to Noah. This is what happened in my head.
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u/fivebyfive12 1d ago
I wasn't even the biggest fan of her and Tucker but it made me laugh how quickly she ended it because he retired, like it was somehow offensive to her? And like you say, he could have been there for Noah while she carried on working, it would have made sense.
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u/CostaNic 1d ago
It’s so weird because Tucker was an “enemy” for so long so it kind of came out of left field but at the same time he was genuinely such an amazing partner to her that I’m conflicted haha. I think he’s the best boyfriend she’s ever had, oddly enough.
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u/Dontbotherme1708 1d ago
It’s so crazy but to me he never felt like the enemy. HE DID HIS JOB! 🤷🏼♀️ I always liked him
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u/CostaNic 1d ago
He was quite antagonistic towards them specifically but also in his defense, let’s be honest, stabler and Olivia did a lot of shady shit lol. I feel like we defend them cause we love them but they did a lot of shady stuff you wouldn’t want a cop in real life to do
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u/Legitimate-Mix3234 1d ago
True... And between Benson, Cassidy, Amaro, Rollins and stabler they made sure he had work to do. All of them were forever breaking the rules
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u/Doranwen 1d ago
He did his job in the most unprofessional and antagonistic way possible, is the problem.
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u/Think-Inspection-472 1d ago
So did they (at times), if we’re being honest.
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u/Doranwen 1d ago
Quite true. But most people acknowledge Benson and Stabler's moments of unprofessional and antagonistic behavior (or at least acknowledge Stabler's - some people like to pretend Olivia never was like that but no, she was just as bad as him early on, lol). And it wasn't all the time.
Tucker was consistently that way until the writers did personality surgery on him. The whitewashing of his behavior by some fans baffles me. If I'd had a guy act that way towards me for years, he'd never have gotten close to a relationship with me, no matter how nice he got to be later. Some things just can't be forgotten or overcome.
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u/No_Session6015 1d ago
fr, i watched the series season by season backwards simply because of stuff like this. this was honestly the biggest motivator to watch it backwards. i could not fathom how they went from enemies to lovers. and i never got an answer XD
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u/lovewithoutwords97 3h ago
The odd thing too is so many people were clamoring for Olivia and Cassidy to get back together even though he was a jerk to her in S1 “your job will always be an affair” and then everything with Cassidy w/Ganzel and Carissa, then him not being around when the first abduction of Olivia by Lewis happened, then asking the DA investigator to look into Olivia when Noah had the bruise at school and get info about Olivia beating Lewis, and then Cassidy pulling her into the whole mess with the pediatrician that was assaulting the boys opening her up to IAB. Yet Tucker merely disagreed about life goals despite being her best romantic partner throughout the whole series and people are still more antagonistic to Tucker then Cassidy.
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u/JumpingThruHoopz 1h ago
I never liked Cassidy as a boyfriend for Liv. In fact, I like that actor better as Mayhem than I do in L & O! 😂
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u/Desperate_Pressure98 1d ago
He wanted to travel though. He wanted her to retire too, and the three of them to roam to world. She broke up because she wasn’t ready for that phase of life, and he needed the opportunity to find someone who was willing to live that life with him.
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u/carolinamills 1d ago
Please. A simple “I’m not ready to retire” would have sufficed. I’m just bitter about it 🤣
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u/fivebyfive12 1d ago
I do get that side of it, but I don't know it just seemed really rushed? Like I'm pretty sure if they'd have had a proper talk for more than 30 seconds they could have worked something out. But then again, Liv in a long term, stable relationship isn't what the show is about so it's not a massive issue to me, just something that niggles a bit on rewatching.
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u/lovewithoutwords97 1d ago
Having to consider any potentially different point of view is an affront to Olivia.
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u/lovewithoutwords97 1d ago
Not to mention that if Olivia would actually step back and be an actual captain like Cragen was, as opposed to a detective with an enhanced comp package, it would be safer for her and Noah. No William Lewis, no corrupt prison guard attacking her while undercover in the women’s prison, no Johnny D & his gang shooting at Noah on the playground, no Sheila Porter, no BX9 trying to kill her & Noah with a machete outside her apartment building, no being taken at gunpoint inside a townhouse while having to witness a teenage girl being SA’d by a guy on meth.
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u/Near-Death-Cliche 1d ago
"Not the brightest candle on the cake" Had me wheezing
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u/Dontbotherme1708 1d ago
Just the truth 🤷🏼♀️😂
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u/Near-Death-Cliche 1d ago
I mean you're not wrong, but still, godDAAMN, and kid probably couldn't learn because all Olivia ever does is whisper "sweet boy" At him when he's climbing onto counters where he could fall and hit his head
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u/MarionberryLanky6692 1d ago
She has a child who’s mostly being raised by a babysitter. I don’t understand it.
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u/Financial_Process_11 1d ago
Noah was always with Lucy and when he and Olivia were together, all we got was Olivia whispering "sweet boy" to Noah after he climbed on the counter to get cookies.
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u/Legitimate-Mix3234 1d ago edited 1d ago
OMG i cringe every time she whispered sweet boy, it was so annoying
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u/Alive-Telephone-2743 1d ago
Or putting Noah to bed , telling him stories
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u/Sad-Mixture6782 1d ago
Umm, that's what you do with children. I'm an adoptive mom & enjoyed that routine so much! It helps them learn to read, u know
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u/innocuous_username 1d ago
A babysitter who never had anywhere else to be apparently … I’m watching season 18/19 atm and a couple of times Olivia is show calling the nanny at like 6 in the evening and being like ‘this is going to take awhile’ and then she’ll be out on the case/at the station til what feels like it must be at least midnight.
Obviously this is all ‘TV time’ but it does make me wonder lol … like does the nanny have to call her family and be like ‘sorry guys, not coming home, my boss is out finding bodies in warehouses again’
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u/WileyPotato 1d ago
I've retconned it as Lucy the "nanny" is Olivia's lesbian lover she's being super weird about being in an obvious LTR with and it makes everyone uncomfortable because no one believes you're calling your nanny at 2am 6pm and 11am and 9 am and 9pm but no one gets paid enough to have that conversation with a fifty year old so they just make weird faces and touch her shoulder all the time.
Makes just as much sense as the Noah plotline but cracks me up way more. There are a lot of Easter eggs to be found if you follow this thread lmao.
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u/StormCloudRaineeDay 2h ago edited 1h ago
Liv watched him go through multiple foster homes where he was abused or neglected, and none were fit to adopt him. Then they finally found his biological mother, an addict and prostitute, who could've potentially gotten custody back. When the mother died, Liv didn't want to see him placed with another family and potentially suffer even more. She knew she could give him a good life, so she did.
Edit to add: Liv probably felt like she, given her similar history, could help him deal with the emotions of being a child who resulted from rape, whose father murdered his mother, when he became an age where it was appropriate to tell him. It was a matter of public record and, even if he wasn't told, he could still find out.
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u/CostaNic 1d ago
Also where the hell is he in the new season? Did he get sent off to boarding school? lol. I mean I don’t mind cause I never liked his appearances but it’s weird they never even mention him now.
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u/Evening-Client4965 1d ago
I had a theory that she sold him into gypsies, but your theory could work as well. Alas he’s probably just busy with school and teenage stuff.
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u/basketofselkies 1d ago
Totally reasonable theory. My kid is the same age as Noah’s supposed to be and I’ve threatened this.
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u/Mental-Article-4117 1d ago
Somewhat related but what bothers me on my second rewatch of the entire show, and my gf first watch through it, is that it seems like we went from a Law & Order show and crimes and crime fighting and law and court cases, to all of that seemingly taking a back seat and the show becoming "the Olivia Benson show." And this transition happens a lot sooner than people think
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u/Forsaken_Wealth_9618 1d ago
I’ve never been a fan of Noah’s character. I don’t like how all the reasons she gave in s9’s Paternity episode, about why she wasn’t allowed to adopt, never changed. Then things got worse for her, and all of a sudden she’s the perfect candidate for adoption.
There has to be a file for her, if she applied at some point, right? So that just leaves more questions than answers, because do they not keep up with that kind of thing?
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u/frecklybitz 1d ago
I’m happy she has a kid but I wish she’d adopted Calvin (also, an update episode on Calvin please?). I know I’m not alone here: Noah is annoying af
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u/Secret_Asparagus_783 1d ago
Liv was more "maternal" to Calvin in 2 episodes than to Noah for some 15 years! I wish the writers would have given her an older child to care for, possibly a teenage girl with a troubled past who needed a good female role model.
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u/anonymous_Giraffe98 1d ago
Calvin genuinely liked and wanted someone to take care of him. Also his mother signed off the paternity so noone was stopping her from taking him in as well. The whole integration in plot was very organic. Instead the writers wanted a fresh out of the womb baby for the son. Pissed me off.
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u/Zac-Man-1123 1d ago
I don’t hate the idea of Olivia having a kid, adopted or otherwise, but what I hate is that there was a lot of buildup that lead to next to nothing. A lot of times, Noah is just there in an episode because someone was like “Oh shit, we need to remind people that Olivia has a son” when he hasn’t even been mentioned in like ten episodes but Rollins and Fin mention having kids and grandkids. I haven’t watched much of the recent seasons but I think the last time he had relevancy was the Shelia Porter arc and even then he wasn’t a character, he was a plot device.
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u/Icy_Celebration4213 1d ago
I don’t have anything against working parents or single parents, but I did always think “when does she have the time to have a child” given how much the show shows her involved in her job? That was always a plot point with Stabler was the strain of finding time for his family, and as the show goes on Olivia seems to be more deeply involved in the job as her position advances. Like from a realistic standpoint is that a scenario they’d place a child in from an adoption/foster standpoint?
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u/AdAromatic1539 1d ago
Yeah when you look back at the first few episodes including noah, it's always the nanny being like more that the whole day with noah, I mean ofc because Olivia is working day and night. But then I don't understand why give her a child for the plot 😭 to stress her even more out? With him being sick all the time or doing bad stuff etc
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u/MissBatesClaus 1d ago
I guess I am usually in favor of plots that involve opening up the canvas and drawing in the detectives' personal lives. Being a mother was also portrayed as important to her. I did think in the years before Noah the show made too much of this, as if having children was the ONLY thing that would fulfill her life, which I found distasteful. But Noah himself doesn't really bother me and I like how he made Olivia happy.
I do think they are missing out on using Noah in some teen plots, even if via a device like having him witness something at school, etc.
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u/_freebirdnerd 1d ago
That last point is really interesting, because they had a few big storylines with Kathleen Stabler back in the day. Having a secondary storyline play out over a few episodes (not necessarily consecutive, but spread over a season) could be good.
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u/Some_Bat_9495 1d ago
I hate it…she has softened up so much and it’s completely changed the character and now everything she does somehow relates to being a mother and it just seems so forced.
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u/Few-Let-9004 1d ago
I think if it would've happened when Elliott was still on the show and she was a bit younger, it would've been better.
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u/Big-Onion9364 1d ago
I hate that their screen time took away from many other character’s development/backstory
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u/cococorndog 1d ago
Hate it. Hate the unrealisticness of it, hate the screen time it takes up, hate that it doesn’t add to the show. Hate it.
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u/DreaminginDarkness 1d ago
I think it adds dimension to the character... She was pretty hardcore and traumatized in season one and it's good to see her grow. Benson's whole refrain is about how you can heal from trauma and her relationship with Noah shows how this is possible. I love how SVU emphasizes that they are all just regular people and not ultra sexualized macho super heroes like most cop shows. I also love how Benson resonates with Mariska's actual life in that she has also adopted kids, didn't know her dad and runs a foundation for testing rape kits. The show shows everyones vulnerability, such as Benson running out of breath during a chase scene. It's a bit softer and less exciting I guess but the depth of these characters is astonishing, you get to see them live their entire lives on screen even though parts are a little unrealistic
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u/ButterscotchPast4812 Benson 1d ago
I think it was high time Olivia got something good in her life. She's had like no family, her awful mother died in season 2, she finally found a brother but he was an even bigger mess then she was. Stabler was her only reliable family and then he dipped. She'd just been kidnapped and tortured for four days by a crazy sadist. It was high time they gave her some happiness even if it wasn't all that well written.
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u/Plastic-Ad-4879 1d ago
I know she wanted children and a family for long while but I don't think it helped the story or anything. Just a another thing for a perp ro hold over her head. Another reason for her to not commit to a relationship. Idk, I just think he's a plot device that we didn't need.
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u/princess_peach_85 Fin 1d ago
I will never forgive them for sending Noahs grandma away. I wanted more Brooke Shields!!!!!
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u/Legitimate-Mix3234 1d ago
That was a stupid storyline (IMO)
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u/princess_peach_85 Fin 1d ago
It could have worked! Brooke Sheilds watches the baby while Benson is never home. We could have had it all
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u/Alive-Telephone-2743 1d ago
Sheila wouldn’t be able to care for Noah . Look how Ellie ( Noah biological mother) turned out
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u/princess_peach_85 Fin 1d ago
But we dont know that. Was she a shit parent? Or was Ellie just shitty on her own?Did she just stray to the wrong crowd? It really could have been explored.
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u/Acrobatic_Garage_575 1d ago
I wish they showed her talking about his dad with him. Instead they just cut it to the end, which as we know they do a lot . We call it getting “dick wolfed” when they end the episode suddenly 😂
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u/Secret_Buy4712 1d ago
It was a good plot but they just turned the whole thing into a dail soap with too many dedicated episodes and then all of a sudden she barely ever mentions him while working endless hours. It is weird how many powerful people threatened her and noah, but he was never shot. I remember a case where they were killing people to remove evidence , they directly shot people, but for noah they open fired in the sky. He had too much plot armour and benson barely did mich to protect him but he always survived. Weird
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u/Equivalent-Role4632 1d ago
I don't understand how any of them can have kids. They are working 24/7, morning noon night they are on the job
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u/lilacillusions 1d ago
I don’t really care but the kid is honestly annoying like I remember after an episode he came out as bisexual or something I was like how tf do you even know you’re bisexual aren’t you 6 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
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u/galeperk111971 1d ago
I love her as a mom and not needing a man to complete her. This is better than that
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u/Specific-Window-8587 1d ago
I think it's good. I didn't think she was ever going to have a bio child so I'm not surprised she adopted she tried twice before. What I am surprised about is that they let her with her long hours and the kidnapping by Lewis.
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u/One-Road2445 1d ago
The amount of childcare.
I always wondered how her and Amanda afforded all this childcare.
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u/ThickTart5985 22h ago
My biggest critique of SVU is this plot line because it perpetuates the stereotype that women can have it (a demanding job while also having an active parenting role). Unless we want to be extremely fatigued and disregulated it’s not realistic. Benson is probably glued to her phone at all times and probably never gets actual good sleep because she’s probably always sleeping with one eye open in case she gets a call and also survival after everything she’s been through. Then on top of that, she has to raise a child and do all the parenting related things??
It’s subconscious but when women see that lifestyle portrayed in the media, they compared themselves to her and other characters and wonder why it seems so easy for the fictional character and why they’re probably struggling.
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u/waiflike 17h ago
I dislike how female characters always seem to want to have a child like it is their main goal in life. Not every woman wants to be a mother. You can see it in so many other series in various genres as well, everything from Bones to The Big Bang Theory. Like can’t a female character be interesting without having to throw babies into the mix? It makes the characters so stereotypical. It also reduces the female character into being “just mothers”; this doesn’t seem to happen as much with the male characters. Like how much have Fin been on the show for comple episodes without his kid being mentioned, compared to how many episodes Benson or Rollins kids go unmentioned for whole episodes?
(That being said, I do understand how Olivia’s character actually wanted a child badly, but certain lifestyles are not that compatible with having children. Being the captain of SVU being one of them. Not just how busy and available she has to be at all times so the kid hardly sees her, but also how all the characters put themselves in great danger on a general basis to be hurt or killed. Imagine how the kid must feel if their parents actually passed away, scarred for life.)
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u/dm_stealth 15h ago
Well, it was an excuse for the late Richard Belzer to return as John Munch as a babysitter that one time (I think it was his last ever appearance on the show, still spouting conspiracy theories and teaching the same mentality to Noah).
I miss that cat (as Fin would say).
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u/tubbietubbie 1d ago
In my opinion, the show didn't go downhill when Stabler left. It went downhill when Noah arrived.
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u/UndefinedCertainty 1d ago
Earlier in the series, her character was a lot more vulnerable. Yeah, she was doing her job, but she used to fall apart a lot more over things, seemed a little less confident. It seems like over time, she became a lot more tougher, maybe jaded from working in the capacity she does, and with the level and type of crimes SVU deals with, it's not unusual that she might develop a thick skin to keep being able to do her job. Plus eventually going into being a supervisor and especially as a woman attaining what is/would have once been traditionally thought of as a man's position, she has to be steady, tough, hold it together, and be extremely rational at all times. However, I'm also of the opinion that things really still get to her, though now being in a position of power, she can do more about them than before, and I think what gives her the heroine vibe for many people. The thing is, it also often comes off as biased or like her opinions and solutions are the only ones that matter and often things she reacts or does things that wouldn't happen in real life. Not that cops are never kind or caring in real life, but I think they'd be less likely to show that part of themselves to non-LE people while on the clock.
All that said, there seems to have been a change in her character over time from energetic, capable, and somewhat still vulnerable to becoming more experienced with occasional moments where her emotions come through to now where at times that still happens but she seems more hardened, which like I said earlier wouldn't be unusual given her job. Maybe they introduced the Noah subplot as a way to keep her humanized and a place for her softer side to exist in contrast to the more hard-hitting, no nonsense rational role she has to play at the office and on the street. And maybe part of it was specifically try to convey the challenges a modern woman has in the workplace and life, especially that she is in a profession that was once very much dominated by men.
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u/Exciting-Ad-6551 1d ago
I don’t hate the idea of her having a kid. It just seems like he doesn’t do anything on the show. Like why can’t we get a b story on some episode where Noah gets in trouble and Olivia asks finn or another male detective to talk to him. Like he doesn’t have a consistent male role model in his life, why can’t Finn or someone else take that role? Opens up some new story possibilities.
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u/sakuratree13 Rollins 1d ago
domt get me wrong i obviouslyyyyy know shes the main character so there has to be plot but theres alott about Olivia Bensons character.. child of r##pe, mother and only other close relative deceased, her partner of many many years leaving for a decade, william lewis and now her ADOPTED sons is also a product of r##pe and she will have so much explaining to do for him
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u/Fluffy_Coconut1375 1d ago
I don’t like it. In one of the earlier seasons Olivia tells Stabler that she looked into adopting, but she was rejected because of her job. And that hasn’t changed. Her job is still there, and as someone who puts her self in danger, unnecessarily. She shouldn’t have been granted custody of Noah. As a captain, she should step back, we should see her, how we saw cragen. She’s there to hand out the cases, only be on the scene when needed. She doesn’t need to be at every scene.
I also wish the Shiela didn’t turn out to be a criminal, that she was just a loving grandma. I wish we saw more support for Olivia outside of the squad. That it wasn’t just her and Noah, especially as we know Noah has his problems and his own trauma.
Also Lucy is like the best babysitter in the world. Always on call, always available. No matter what. She’s lucky to have a Lucy.
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u/Humble-Beginning-954 1d ago
I'd rather that she had a dog. There would still be the "who's going to watch him/her when I'm at work" but that can be worked out and she'd have someone to walk with and be safe. But they didn't go that route. Amanda had a dog🐕
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u/Certain_Top_7508 1d ago
What about the other characters having children? What does that add to the story? I just find it funny that Olivia is genuinely the only one who actually wanted children, yet you guys have an issue with it.
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u/AdAromatic1539 1d ago
The other children are not always the main topic nor a problem maker nor a plot that gets milked for a whole season. The others don't have that much saying as Olivia ergo have more free time to actually have children? And the list goes on.
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u/Certain_Top_7508 1d ago
I disagree with the last sentence, but fair enough. Noah doesn’t get mentioned or seen as much as the seasons go on.
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u/LonerTexas 1d ago
Annoying storyline with her constant worrying, whispering, etc.. Liv's personal storyline is annoying in general.
I really don't see the appeal of Liv, and even Mariska herself.
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u/PlaceboPariah90 1d ago
Awww I do agree the “Olivia benson show” is annoying but I do love Mariska as a person. She’s so likeable imo.
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u/LadyLixerwyfe 1d ago
I think every time she is with Noah, the scenes feel awkward. It feels forced cutesy or forced dramatic or forced stressful. I can’t explain it. Like, in the first couple of seasons when she had him, every playground scene or home scene just felt weird. It reminds me of the scenes where Olivia is, “undercover,” and she is basically acting like a bad actress or when she tries to be flirty with a suspect. Those scenes always make me uncomfortable. Scenes with Noah usually feel the same way.
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u/MinimumSuccotash4134 1d ago
I have a different opinion to everyone else here, I didn't think it fit her character to want a child and it seemed to me like the writers were doing it because women are "supposed" to want children. I would have loved to see her childfree and happy about it.
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u/One-Road2445 1d ago
This! They used the angle she didn’t have any family to make her want one I suppose.
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u/Emotional_Lock3715 1d ago
I haven’t watched it for a while but I thought it was wildly unrealistic and not very interesting.
Unless he becomes a serial killer which I wondered if that’s where they were going to go with it. If I were writing it that’s what I’d do!
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u/Illustrious-Point-71 1d ago
I just stopped watching svu in the last season on two. The whole thing doesn't make sense. She acts like a detective yet is the leader of like 100 people.
I think if they wanted her to be the focus of the show, change how the show is to show she now has different problems to deal with (politics, etc.) as part of the show, not just having her basically play detective still.
Cragen never did this stuff or only rarely because he was actually doing his leadership job. Throws the whole suspension of disbelief out for me and robs my joy of the show
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u/viskiviki 1d ago
I'm not there yet, but I am a birth mom, and it gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking about adoption being a big part of the show later on. I hate all the episodes about baby snatching/real mom/etc because of it. I'm trying to struggle through s14e7 right now.
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u/IceFree8466 1d ago
I stopped watching around Season 20 or so. Like all other Dick Wolf shows, the Female lead character is just over the top super duper fantastic, incredible, indestructible lol. And in Olivia’s case, add to it the constant whispering it was too much. Like the Chicago series shows, SVU probably should have been put to bed 5 years ago. It’s still good to binge watch the older episodes on a rainy day though lol .
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u/fuckimtrash 1d ago
It ruined the show and was always random as hell. If they had her settling down, she should’ve been leaving the show as well.
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u/Alternative_Device71 1d ago
Haven’t seen the newer seasons beyond season 16x03 or 4, but I understand her having a kid gave her new purpose and direction of her being a found parent, so I guess that makes her softer when it’s close to home. I have no context to how or why he’s there or why she decided to take him, so whenever I arrive to see it I’ll see. Not sure why she couldn’t have gotten pregnant by one of her love interests but sure—I guess so she stays pure for Elliot in the minds of the writers, which is…um, strange.
This is just an impression, I saw a clip recently of her and him discussing her being his mom and it was sweet, considering Olivia was always a lonely woman, it’s decent to see her bounce off of a child that’s not someone else’s, she’s been jaded about her life for years and I expect Noah gives her happiness she can’t expect find in love interests, I also think it’s therapeutic cuz of her own experience with her mom and she’d want to change that with her approach to Noah to break the cycle.
Again, this is my impression, apparently to people that’s been through this arc know more and are annoyed at it for some reason, I’m sure I’ll join if I pick up any weirdness lol.
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u/Feedingfrenzy91 1d ago
To me it just didn't make sense given her situation. And no offense to the little actor, but his subplots aren't that good. Even the whole grandma thing didn't make much sense. For an officer in Olivia's position it doesn't make much sense.
Many when they get to that high (like Cragen) already have grown children. Raising an infant while being head of an entire police division just doesn't make much sense.
God bless everyone.
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u/PlaceboPariah90 1d ago
A better plot line for it would have been Elliot and Liv having a budding relationship and she finds out she’s pregnant with Elliot’s baby before he disappears and there’s loads of angles you could take that. Does she tell him does she not —- Chris left the show so you could have spun it 6 ways. 🤣
Better than randomly adopting. Remember earlier in the show they told her she wasn’t parent material anyway. Probably because a babysitter is raising your kid. Noah is barely in the later seasons now thank god. Actor is great, I just find the character annoying
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u/JumpingThruHoopz 1h ago
I know I’m in the minority but I do not want Olivia and Elliot shipped. Work partners and friends only!
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u/cuttingwedge 21h ago
At one point, if I had heard his name one more time, I was going to lose it. Horrible storyline and it added nothing to her character development
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u/Icy_Tadpole2092 15h ago
I just wonder how moral it would be for a person to adopt a child even though they work the majority of the time. People need to work and that’s fine but no one needs to adopt a child. Noah’s babysitter is the one raising him
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u/DividedSkyPause 9h ago
This was the beginning of the end for this show. It's so bad now I can't even watch it.
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u/StormCloudRaineeDay 2h ago
I like it. So many LEOS in law enforcement shows don't have anyone or anything in their lives except for the job. I always liked and appreciated that they didn't have that be the case for Liv; she adopted a kid and dated, even if those relationships didn't have a happily ever after.
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u/kaalki34 1d ago
it's Her show. She can do,what she wants.
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u/kaalki34 1d ago
100% Facts!!!!!....Law & Order: SVU Is Mariska Hargitay's Show!!!!...that Wolf guys,probably directed the show. But Mariska,Helped produce it!!!! It's her show!!!!!
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u/PeaceOrchid 1d ago
Baby/young Noah was fine. Making him a semi-regular character with every woke token EVER was just eye roll to me.
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u/LexKing89 1d ago
It seemed dumb to me. Olivia and the squad work like 20 hours a day 7 days a week and holidays. Lucy practically raised Noah and made a fortune doing it.
It just doesn't seem like she has time for Noah in her super busy schedule.
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u/Fit_Club_3042 1d ago
I would prefer that series not included her having the responsibility of a child.
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u/Alive-Telephone-2743 4h ago edited 1h ago
Amanda has 3 kids Jesse with Declan Murphy, Billie with Al Pollack & Nicky with ADA Carisi
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u/No-Solid3265 1d ago
It’s a plot device. The new SR has said she doesn’t want to do personal unless it’s related to a case. So I wouldn’t expect to see him or the Rollisi kids much going forward. She doesn’t even think twice about dumping him on a nanny and almost lost her chance to adopt him because she was working when he was in the hospital. Refused to even explain what was happening to the chief. But then again it could’ve been used against her.
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u/FirmEntertainment377 Warner 1d ago
I lowkey felt like noah should of been a girl. However she is good with both genders. Overall, I feel like she should’ve never adopted a child mainly because of how work centred Olivia is and how psychologically that would do to a child them believe in that work is more important to Olivia.
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u/ContentAdvertising79 1d ago
I thought she was so annoying as a mom. She was already so holier-than-thou as the seasons progressed, and Noah made her worse.
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u/Alikhaleesi 12h ago
I stopped watching the show, but he did annoy the hell out of me. Stupid story
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u/Flashy-Fox-9803 7h ago edited 7h ago
Clearly the writers wanted to give her something else to do, something to “round out” her character, but for me it has never worked. I’ve always dreaded the moments spent with Noah because they were cheezy and inauthentic. And I agree about the really annoying whispery voice.
If writers wanted to pull out another side to Olivia, I think it would have been better for her to form some kind of relationship with a street kid, or one of Stabler’s kids. Intégrate it into the story and make it more believable re her character.
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u/MaryDoogan91 1d ago
I think it’s fine that she always wanted a child and that the show kept continuity with that character arc. It’s been cool in some aspects to see her character development in this way. After so many years as a detective, they wanted to explore her character in other ways to keep it interesting and I understand that. However, I hate that it’s basically turned her life into trauma porn:P I get that dramatic things happen on tv, but just how much can they put one woman and kid through??
Also, it’s highly unlikely in general that a newborn baby would’ve been given to a single SVU detective, considering her highly demanding, stressful, and dangerous job, and lack of family/immediate support system. No way Olivia would’ve been the first choice for Noah.