Law & Order Season 27 Assembles Old Guard Fan-Favorites — But for Nostalgia or Tragedy?

After a few lackluster seasons, Law & Order: SVU Season 27 sounds like a vast improvement. 

For starters, Amanda (Kelli Giddish) will be back full-time. It’s a nice reprieve after a revolving door of new characters who haven’t quite fallen into place.

And now, a special episode includes an extensive line-up of returns. However, this makes us wonder if the team is celebrating or mourning Cap. Don Cragen.

We’re not sure when it will air, but the line-up seems similar to Law & Order: SVU’s 500th episode, and includes Chris Meloni (Elliot Stabler), Brian Cassidy (Dean Winters), and Dr. George Huang (BD Wong).

While Don Cragen has appeared on Law & Order: Organized Crime, he did not appear on Law & Order: SVU Season 23 Episode 6, which is the show’s milestone 500th episode.

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Cragen has always treated his team like family, so it would make sense for everyone, particularly many of these heavy-hitter characters, to return for an episode that centers around him.

He has already retired, so it won’t be for a retirement party. Yet, some of the photos Chris Meloni posted on Instagram seem celebratory. It could suggest it could be a milestone birthday party.

It’s endearing that the cast is close in real life, and we can’t wait to see them interact on-screen again.

We hope they wouldn’t have everyone return for a memorial for him, though it’s entirely possible. Funerals tend to bring people home, even when they haven’t stayed in touch.

Elliot Stabler is the least surprising guest star.

He still kept in touch with Don Cragen, and coming on Law & Order: SVU allows him to visit with his old friends and see Olivia.

We all know that the three of them were close, and even if something tragic happens to Cragen, the two of them will lean on each other.

Dr. George Huang doesn’t surprise me either. Although he hasn’t appeared in a decade, he worked closely with the original Law & Order: SVU team and should be included.

I only wish they would bring him back more often, as some of the newer cases really needed a psychiatrist’s point of view.

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While he and Olivia disagreed last time he appeared, he is needed on the team.

I have never been a Brian Cassidy fan, so I’m ambivalent about his return, but I’ll admit he was an essential part of the canvas.

If something happened to Cragen, he should be there.

Cassidy knew him better than some of the newbies.

The series recently began taping, so hopefully we’ll hear more info soon.

If Law & Order: SVU begins the season by honoring one of the finest characters and gathering fan-favorite returns, this season is off to a great start.

Maybe it’s finally returning to the basics it’s been promising: character arcs, better cases, and building relationships.

Over to you, Law & Order: SVU, Fanatics. Do you think all these returns concern Cragen? If so, who else should return for this special episode?

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Let us know in the comments.

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