‘Law & Order: SVU’ Sneak Peek: Benson Gets Pushback Trying to Help Teen (VIDEO)

It doesn’t look like Captain Olivia Benson’s (Mariska Hargitay) usual approach when trying to help a potential victim is going to work in the May 4 episode of Law & Order: SVU.

In “Debatable,” Benson tries to help a student after she’s assaulted on a field trip, and Sergeant Odafin “Fin” Tutuola (Ice T) suspects a witness in the case may not be telling the whole truth. TV Insider has an exclusive sneak peek of Benson and Detective Grace Muncy (Molly Burnett) talking to Naomi (Olivia Daponde) after the debate team student sets a bus on fire during a school trip.

Benson offers the teen snacks, but “I told the other detective I’m good,” Naomi says. “You’re on the debate team, right? All about getting down to the truth? It’s a lot like our job,” Muncy says before asking why she set the bus on fire. “I don’t know why I did it,” the girl says.

Benson, after all her years with SVU, does have a theory. “Maybe something else triggered it, maybe something you don’t even realize is connected,” she suggests. But Naomi doesn’t want to hear it. “Are you paying attention? I said I don’t know why,” she repeated.

Was Naomi sharing her hotel room with anyone? She’s the only girl on the team. “That’s gotta be rough,” Benson tells her. Naomi agrees with Muncy that guys can be jerks (though she says “all the time” rather than just “sometimes”). “Sometimes trauma can make us behave in surprising ways, like make us angry, make us violent,” Benson says. Watch Naomi push back on Benson’s theory in the rest of the clip above.

There are only a few episodes left of Law & Order: SVU Season 24, but there is good news: We know Kelli Giddish is returning as Amanda Rollins for the finale, and the drama has already been renewed.

Law & Order: SVU, Thursdays, 9/8c, NBC