Throughout Season 24 of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) has had her hands full with the Bronx-based BX9 gang, leading to some interesting character combinations.
Teaming up with Mike Duarte (Maurice Compte), the captain of the NYPD’s Bronx Gang Unit, Benson has found himself in a number of life-threatening situations while trying to get justice for the people BX9 hurt. During all this chaos, Benson’s concerns about SVU often clash with Duarte’s gang-related goals, making for some tense scenes between the two.
But in the end, Duarte and Benson are two sides of the same coin as commanders, which made the ending of Law & Order: SVU Season 24 Episode 12, “Blood Out,” even more heartbreaking. Let’s go back and remember Duarte’s sad SVU story.
Who is Duarte on Law & Order: SVU?
We meet Duarte in Season 24 Episode 2, “The One You Feed”, when Benson encounters the Bronx-based BX9 gang. As part of their sneaky initiation ritual, the BX9 gang sexually assaults women.
Benson began working with Captain Duarte of the Bronx Gangs Unit, who had Detective Grace Muncy (Molly Burnett) moved to the Manhattan Special Victims Unit when she did amazing work with certain victims. Benson and Duarte struggled to stay on the same wavelength as they tried to achieve their goals, but by the end of the day they became good friends as colleagues.
If you’re curious about the departure of several cast members from Law & Order: SVU, we can fill you in on the details:
Benson’s fight with the BX9 gang became the focus of “Jumped In” after she and her son were attacked by members of the gang while walking home. Benson and Duarte reunited while expediting their search for Oscar Papa, the leader of the BX9 gang, and they were successful in their search.
Oscar was on trial for his crimes in episode 12, but it was immediately clear that his arrest caused some scary things. And because Duarte was in charge of the investigation, his life was in danger.
Afterwards, Duarte and Benson had a drink together and mocking how they had both made concessions during their investigation, they went their separate ways. Duarte went to the corner shop. Just when fans thought the BX9 gang had been busted, their happy ending was shattered.
The fact that three mysterious men walked in just after Duarte made him suspicious. Duarte told the clerk to call the police, and when he pulled out his gun, the men attacked him with machetes. Duarte was seriously injured in the attack and died shortly afterwards during surgery.
After a thrilling four-episode arc, Duarte tragically left SVU, but fans will never forget his hard work and his part in putting BX9’s evil leader behind bars. As the BX9 chapter comes to a close, everyone watches Benson as she deals with the fallout from Duarte’s death. You can watch Law & Order: SVU every Thursday at 9/8c on NBC and the following day on Peacock.
