Detective Jake Griffin (Corey Cott) has been stealing hearts on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as the Season 27 newcomer emerges as one of the squad’s most tenacious recruits. But during SVU’s January 15 episode “Fidelis ad Mortem,” Griffin’s entire world got turned upside down when he learned some possibly troubling information about his father, Jimmy.
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From the moment Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) met her recruit, it was clear that Griffin wanted to excel within the NYPD. Griffin’s father, James “Jimmy” Griffin, was a career NYPD officer who died in the line of duty when Griffin was only a teenager, and he’s honored that legacy by becoming a cop himself. Griffin always goes above and beyond to deliver justice, even earning the cheeky nickname “Batman” by the perps he’s put behind bars.
It certainly helps that Griffin has NYPD Detective Chief Kathryn Tynan (Noma Dumezweni) in his corner; Tynan was Jimmy’s longtime partner on the force, and has done whatever she can to shape Griffin up for success after he lost his father.
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Griffin’s infallible gumption has led him to become an undisputed SVU asset, but his drive for the beat was put to the test during Season 27’s latest episode when his father’s legacy was questioned. Here’s what happened:
A suspect name-dropped Jake Griffin’s father during a case
After a nefarious recording on a cassette tape led the SVU to discover the 27-year-old remains of a criminal informant, Benson and her elite squad found themselves investigating a crew of corrupt cops led by a former narcotics officer turned D.A. Investigator, Leo Eikmeier (Nick Sandow).
Leveraging his father’s previous NYPD relationship with Leo, Griffin visited the D.A. investigator at lunch to “tip him off” about the SVU investigation, meanwhile actually planting a recording device to gain a lead to the remote cabin where Leo had discarded a body.
After arresting Leo on the 27-year-old murder charges, Griffin got cheeky in the interrogation box, threatening Leo that they’d expose all of his wrongdoing. Cornered with this bold approach, Leo played a mighty successful mind game on Griffin, bringing up his late father and making him question his legacy.
“I bet you all of Jimmy’s buddies told you your daddy was clean as a baby’s soul,” Leo said with a devilish smirk. “Keep believing that, kid.”
Griffin was rendered speechless by Leo’s blindsiding statement, but with the wealth of evidence against him, the squad was able to bring an end to the corrupt cop’s trail of terror. After Leo was convicted on all charges, Griffin found himself still placated by Leo’s scathing words during his interrogation.
Had Griffin’s father been a dirty cop? There was only one person to ask: Griffin’s longtime mentor, Chief Tynan, his father’s former partner. Tynan took Griffin under her wing shortly after her partner’s death, raising Griffin to become a whip-smart investigator just like Jimmy. But Griffin found himself wondering: who was his father, really?
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Griffin visited Tynan to learn “the truth” about his dad
Like he does most Sundays, Griffin paid Tynan a house visit for some cake and conversation, bringing up his heated interrogation with Leo earlier that day. Upon mention of Leo, Tynan perked up in defense.
“Leo Eikmeier is a murderer-rapist and an embarrassment to this department and the city,” Tynan said, snapping to attention. “Keep that at the forefront of your mind whenever he opens his mouth.”
“Yeah, well, he said dad wasn’t who I thought he was,” Griffin admitted, telling his longtime mentor that he wanted to know what was what to put his mind at ease. “I could find out myself, I guess, but I wanted to ask you first.”
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Clearly privy to whatever insinuations Leo had made in that interrogation room, Tynan leveled with Griffin. “I need you to understand something. Back then, it was a different world,” she explained. “The perps were different, the rules and standards were different. Were there things we did back in the day that wouldn’t fly now? Sure. But was Jimmy a good cop? Absolutely. he was brave, he was loyal.”
After Griffin pointed out that he’d just taken down a corrupt criminal who valued loyalty, Tynan asked him what his ideal outcome of the conversation was: what did Griffin actually want?
“The truth,” Griffin said.
“To what end?” Tynan volleyed back.
“To know,” Griffin shrugged helplessly. “Who he was, you know? And if he was something different, then-“
“You’ll stop loving him?” Tynan snapped. “You’ll stop being a cop?”
“No,” Griffin said, confused by the sudden escalation.
Tynan settled, telling Griffin that he should figure out what he wanted from the line of inquiry before sniffing around for answers, ending the conversation. Tynan then moved on to how Griffin was liking his post at Benson’s squad room. Tynan has been less than thrilled with Benson lately due to feeling the SVU Captain spends too much time in the field, but Griffin doesn’t know that.
After Griffin told Tynan it had been smooth sailing for him, Tynan revealed that she needed to look into a couple of “small cases” down the line. Griffin explained that Benson had him pretty busy at the 16th Precinct, but Tynan brushed this off.
“You’ll find the time,” Tynan said, an order, not a request. An uncomfortable Griffin thanked the Chief for the chat, leaving SVU fans eager to know what is up her sleeve.
Watch Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC and the next day on Peacock.
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