Guardians and Gladiators (Season 22, Episode 1)
Premise: After a white woman’s false 911 call gets a Black man arrested at the scene of a rape in Central Park, the squad faces a lawsuit, an IAB inquiry and a distrustful grand jury.
- Air date
- Season/Episode
- Season 22, Episode 1
- Starring
- Capt. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Sgt. Odafin “Fin” Tutuola (Ice-T), Det. Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish), Det. Katriona “Kat” Tamin (Jamie Gray Hyder), Deputy Chief Christian Garland (Demore Barnes), IAB Capt. Renee Curry (Aimé Donna Kelly), ADA Dominick “Sonny” Carisi Jr. (Peter Scanavino)
- Guest stars
- Blake Morris as Jayvon Brown, Peter Hargrave as Joe Murphy, Carolyn Baeumler as Colleen Reynolds, Chevy Martinez as Eric Aquino, Lou Martini Jr. as Counselor Freddo
- Ripped from the headlines
- Inspired by the Central Park birdwatching incident and by the murder of George Floyd.
- Director
- Norberto Barba
- Writers
- Story: Warren Leight & Julie Martin & Melody Cooper; Story & teleplay: Brendan Feeney & Denis Hamill & Monet Hurst-Mendoza
Summary
“Guardians and Gladiators” opens in Central Park’s Ramble, where Colleen Reynolds calls 911 to say a Black man, Jayvon Brown, is threatening her and her young son, while Jayvon livestreams that he is only working out. Moments later the boy finds a young man semi-conscious, bleeding from the head with his pants down. Uniformed officers cuff Jayvon, who has two outstanding warrants, as onlookers film. Before passing out, the victim, Eric Aquino, a medical resident moved to the ER during the pandemic, tells Benson he was raped.
Jayvon finally explains a gap in his morning: he was with his Narcotics Anonymous sponsor and kept quiet to protect a promotion. The sponsor confirms it and the charges are dropped, but Jayvon will not help the police. Traffic cameras show Eric leaving a Ninth Avenue bar with a man who was filming officers at the arrest; his posts lead to an ex-girlfriend who names him as Joe Murphy. Murphy comes in offering to back up the police, and the squad takes his DNA from a face mask. He admits going into the park with Eric but says he pushed Eric away and ran when Eric came on to him.
Deputy Chief Garland tells Benson and Fin that Jayvon is suing the NYPD, naming them both, and warns Fin, facing his second lawsuit of the year, that the department may sacrifice its own. At Internal Affairs, Capt. Renee Curry reveals that Benson and Amaro stopped and frisked Jayvon in 2013 and notes that nobody checked Colleen, who has a record of false accusations. Curry divides officers into baton-swinging gladiators and well-meaning guardians blind to their part in systemic racism, and places Benson among the guardians. Benson later admits to Garland that she is questioning her own bias.
Murphy’s DNA matches. His lawyer, Freddo, hired by the bar’s owner, floats a misdemeanor plea; Carisi charges attempted murder, assault and a criminal sexual act instead. At the grand jury a juror challenges Fin over Jayvon’s arrest and his own shooting of a Black man, and Fin and Carisi quarrel afterward. Murphy then waives immunity and testifies that he had a consensual encounter with Eric, hid it because he is bisexual, never hurt him and was pressured by police into his earlier account. The grand jury refuses to indict.
Spoiler, the ending: Eric remains unconscious, and his brother blames the police. Noah asks Benson whether she is racist and whether she has apologized. She visits Jayvon, who has lost his job since the papers reported he is in recovery, and tells him the DA is charging Colleen with filing a false report. She says the NYPD has a lot of work to do, and he agrees.
Why it stands out
- The Season 22 premiere aired on November 12, 2020; the COVID-19 pandemic cut the season to 16 episodes and pushed Christopher Meloni’s planned return as Elliot Stabler from this episode to mid-season.
- Demore Barnes, who recurred as Deputy Chief Christian Garland in Season 21, becomes a series regular with this episode.
- Aimé Donna Kelly makes her first appearance as IAB Capt. Renee Curry.