Season 25 of NBC’s fan-favorite longest-running primetime television show, Law & Order: SVU, is off to an intrepid start. The series is only five episodes into the season. Already Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) has brought closure to the loved ones of a missing girl, brought justice to Chief Tommy McGrath (Terry Serpico) and his family, and brought two new team members into the SVU family, Detective Renee Curry (Aime Donna Kelly) and FBI Agent Shannah Sykes (Jordana Spiro). Season 25 has been a wild ride so far, and after five intense episodes, the mystery of missing teenager Maddie Flynn (Allison Elaine) has finally concluded.
What Happened to Maddie Flynn on ‘Law & Order: SVU’?
SVU’s Season 25 opener starts with the baptism of Amanda Rollins’ (Kelli Giddish) and Dominick Carisi’s (Peter Scanavino) new baby. Meanwhile, fifteen-year-old Maddie Flynn is shopping with her parents at a craft store in another part of the city when she goes missing. At the exact same moment, one set of parents is welcoming their new baby into their community, and another set of parents is living their worst nightmare. What’s worse still is that on returning home after the party, Olivia Benson notices a young girl in a van across the road from her, and though she has the sense that something is off, she has no reason to think the girl is in danger. Unfortunately, an unknowing Liv had been staring directly at Maddie Flynn and her abductor.
When Benson arrives at the abduction scene, she quickly realizes it was Maddie she saw in the van. At the precinct, her SVU team members initially doubt that the girl was Maddie, but agree to look for vans matching the description of the one Benson remembered. The van is found abandoned at a gas station, and while combing the interior for evidence, Benson finds Maddie’s bracelet tucked in between the seat cushions. With little else to go on, the team struggles to find any trace of Maddie’s whereabouts until the manager at a motel recognizes Maddie and calls the police.
Inside the motel room, they find another young girl, who had been missing for months, locked in a large duffle bag and left to drown in an overfilled bathtub. The girl is drugged and in shock. When Benson interviews her, she discovers that she was traveling with a man she knew simply as George from Canada, and he kept her sedated with Fentanyl. She tells them that George travels across the country via Amtrak, making him difficult to find. As the SVU episode wraps up, Maddie is still missing, and Chief McGrath holds a press conference about the recovery of the other young woman, Tanya Garcia (Leilany Celeste).
Maddie Flynn’s Disappearance Hangs Over ‘Law & Order: SVU’ Season 25
SVU Season 25 takes Maddie’s abduction through multiple episodes, adding to the realness of the investigation. Episode 2 opens with Olivia Benson out for a jog when she sees a van that looks just like the one that took Maddie. She chases it down and flings open the door to reveal a very concerned and confused driver with no trace of Maddie. Benson also wears a bracelet identical to the one Maddie left behind as a reminder of her promise to find the girl.
In SVU Season 25, Episode 3, “The Punch List,” Liv gets a call from Maddie’s mother, Eileen Flynn (Leslie Fray). She is at the hospital waiting to find out whether her husband will make it after he attempted to hang himself. Maddie’s abduction is tearing her family apart, and Liv is there to help keep Eileen hopeful. Benson also visits a therapist in the hopes that she can remember something about Maddie’s abduction that will help move the investigation forward.
In SVU Season 25, Episode 4, “Duty to Report,” Liv is distracted by Maddie’s case. While there are a few reminders about Maddie Flynn, the majority of the episode focuses on the rape of Chief McGrath’s daughter and the Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB) investigation against McGrath when he threatens to derail the investigation on multiple occasions with his erratic behavior. IAB investigator Captain Renee Curry (Kelly) works with Benson to ensure everything is done by the books. In the end, Captain Curry tells Liv she wants to transfer to the SVU so she can do some real good. Though her ties to IAB make her highly disliked by the other detectives, it’s clear she will be a valuable addition to the SVU team.
‘Law & Order: SVU’ Season 25 Brings Maddie Flynn Home in Its Latest Episode
SVU Season 25, Episode 5, “Zone Rouge,” is all about Maddie Flynn. The episode begins with a disguised Maddie sitting on a train beside her abductor. He tells her to drink from her water bottle, which is clearly drugged, to keep her subdued. When her kidnapper, George from Canada, goes to the bathroom, Maddie writes a note on her train ticket that says “Call NYPD” and drops it to the man behind her. Unfortunately for her, the man is a drug dealer who wants nothing to do with the law, but the note does make it into the hands of law enforcement eventually when the drug dealer’s girlfriend gives it to a police officer three days later.
Once Benson realizes it was Maddie on the train, an all-out search for the teen and her kidnapper ensues. Benson heads to Pittsburgh, where she teams up with Agent Shannah Sykes (Spiro) of the FBI. Shannah specializes in finding kidnappers and their victims. Shannah uncovers George’s true identity, and she and Benson head out to arrest him when they find he’s on a train headed out of Rochester, NY. Their kidnapper is in custody, but Maddie is still missing. Sykes and Benson track down the man who bought Maddie from George, a voyeur who kept her confined in a basement so he could watch her whenever he wanted. Benson finds the terrified Maddie and takes her to a local hospital for treatment. With Maddie’s ordeal finally over, she is reunited with her family, and Liv finds relief in fulfilling her promise.
As SVU’s “Zone Rouge” concludes, Olivia Benson meets with Agent Sykes. Shannah is incredibly passionate about finding kidnappers and their victims because when she was a child, her sister was abducted and never found. That tragedy drove her to excel in her FBI career but also caused her to close herself off from the world. She confides to Benson that she feels it’s time to stay in one place and build a real life. She explains to Benson that she will remain with the FBI but work in conjunction with the SVU, providing additional resources and access to new cases. The episode ends with a new SVU partner and the happy return of Maddie Flynn to her family. And with that, SVU Season 25 is primed for more exciting cases to come.
