Tensions flare and guns go off in one of the most personal SVUs in years.
By: Jacob Politte, Online Editor
Law & Order SVU: “The Longest Night Of Rain”
Season 21, Episode 12
Airdate: 1/30/20
“The Longest Night Of Rain” is one of the emotionally heavier episodes of SVU in recent memory. It also serves as a series wrap for Robert John Burke, whose character Ed Tucker meets a tragic, permanent end after a 17-year tenure on the show.
Since his introduction in the season 3 episode “Counterfeit,” Ed Tucker was arguably SVU’s most consistent antagonist. In his roles as a Lieutenant and Captain with the Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB), he was a constant thorn in the unit’s side. He arrested Detective Elliot Stabler more than once. He arrested then Detective Olivia Benson for a murder that she did not committ. He arrested Detective Amanda Rollins for shooting a man who was an intruder in her own apartment. Fans hated this man with a passion for the longest time.
Suddenly, however, Tucker seemed to begin turning over a new leaf in Season 15… right around the time that Benson was put in charge of SVU. He went out of his way to try to help her when she was navigating murky legal waters following her final confrontation with William Lewis. He encouraged her to take the Lieutenant’s Exam. He noticed when Benson was drinking maybe a little too much boxed wine and got her to stop. And he saved her life as a hostage negotiator when she was held hostage with a family in a Manhattan townhouse.
Despite all of this, it was surprising, and quite honestly baffling, when it was revealed that Tucker and Benson had become a romantic item in the middle of Season 17. It’s one of the more questionable decisions of showrunner Warren Leight’s initial tenure. After everything that this man had done… how could she ever wind up falling in love with him? I never bought it. Luckily they broke it off the following season when they had a difference of opinion on their futures… and we haven’t seen Tucker since.
When I saw that Burke was guest starring, I had a bad feeling that Leight was going to take us back to the Benson/Tucker relationship. Those fears were largely invalid. I was largely surprised by this hour, and to be quite honest, I’m not quite sure how I ultimately feel about it.
Ed Tucker is dead. There is no point in beating around the bush any longer. He killed himself a few days after his retirement party, after revealing to Benson that he’s had cancer in the lungs and brain for years… and now it’s terminal.
My father had lung cancer. He survived two years with the illness before passing away at age 50. By the end, he was completely bed-ridden, on hospice, and a shell of his former self.
Like Tucker, he began to have massive lapses in memory. He remembered the people closest to him, but the ones from years past might as well have been complete strangers.
Cancer is the absolute worst thing to watch someone go through. It’s a horrible experience watching someone you care about wither away.
Ed Tucker is a fictional character, but when I watched him reveal that he had cancer, I immediately thought of my dad. And despite the fact that I don’t like the character, I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for him. No one should ever have to go through that.
I don’t like that Ed Tucker killed himself. I think it was a selfish decision, and that it’s taking the easy way out. It’s completely inconsistent with who the character was. Even as an antagonist, the man had morals.
But, and I hope this doesn’t sound as horrible as it does in my head, I do respect the character’s decision. This was a man who realized he had little time left, and wanted to spare his loved ones any extended period of pain.
Suicide, however, is never the answer. This episode makes that very clear. Tucker isn’t the only cop to take their own life during this hour; the episode’s special victim, Rachel Wilson, was a former NYPD officer who Tucker’s old partner Gary Wald raped in 2004. Officer Tamin’s old sergeant, Ralphie Morris, also takes his life following being questioned by Tamin and Benson about Wald.
Suicides among the police force are an epidemic that I don’t see talked about a lot. I’m glad SVU decided to address it head on, and with such a fantastic episode to boot.
JACOB’S FINAL RULINGS:
– Thank you to Robert John Burke for the incredible work that he has put in on this show for the last 17 years.
– Benson’s had a really rough season. First her half-brother overdoses, now Tucker is gone… please stop torturing this woman.
– Tucker having cancer really goes a long way justifying his sudden change in behavior over the last few years.
– Noah is not in this episode. That’s perfectly fine. Noah can just never appear again and that would also be fine. I’m indifferent to that kid until he becomes a serial killer.
– Finally, Benson’s therapist gets some real stuff to do besides sit in an office! Seriously, I’ve always really liked Dr. Lindstrom a lot, and I was thrilled that actor Bill Irwin had some really meaty story to work with this episode. I’ve never been so excited to see a therapist get robbed before!
– I’m not sure we’ll be seeing him again though, because Benson completely violates any trust he has with her when she arranges an appointment under false pretenses to obtain confidential information. She even has Carisi take him to court, and he rightfully loses. They definitely deserved that. Stop getting in your own way, Olivia.
– On that note, it’s been a rough season for therapists on this show. I did not recap the episodes that featured Rollins’ abduction, but I hope they gave Dr. Hanover a nice vacation after all that she went through.
One more thing: the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. If you are struggling and having suicidal thoughts, please give them a call. You matter, and your life matters.
