Wentworth Millerhas been a staple of television since the early 2000s, with major roles inPrison BreakandThe Flash. It shouldn’t be a surprise that he made his way ontoLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit, which has 26 seasons and will soon start its 27th season.
Miller appeared in the first episode ofLaw & Order: SVUSeason 11, titled “Unstable,” as Officer Nate Kendall. Kendall’s storyline opened many plot points that were left unresolved, including one that left an innocent man in prison for 15 years. The show’s creators must have moved on, as Wentworth Miller appeared again as a new character 10 seasons later in Episode 6 of Seasons 21 and 22.
Law and Order: SVU
Wentworth Miller Plays a Loose-Cannon Officer
In “Unstable,” Wentworth Miller plays Nate Kendall, who’s introduced at the start of the episode. Immediately, Nate Kendall seems like he might be an unstable officer. Kendall holds a gun in a suspect’s mouth, after the meth-using suspect inflicted blunt-force trauma on his son. Then, Kendall sees a woman running across the street, who only has a blanket to cover herself up. Kendall goes to talk to her, and she says she was raped in her apartment.
Later, Kendall meets with detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler. Benson and Stabler say they’ll work with the victim from there, but she won’t talk without Kendall there. Benson and Stabler ask Kendall for the story, and he says a Black man was helping her carry groceries to her apartment when he raped her. The detectives then talk with Kendall and the victim for more information. The victim only wants to talk to Kendall, but Kendall acts harshly towards her. The detectives want to catch the rapist, believing he might be a serial rapist, and Kendall’s harsh words actually convince the victim to share more testimony.
With help from surveillance cameras, the detectives find a suspect, Mark Foster, who’s played byOscar-winner Mahershala Ali, Stabler, and Benson go to Foster’s workplace, causing Foster to flee. He’s only apprehended when Kendall, who’s revealing himself to be a loose cannon, hits Foster with a car. Kendall also brings up concerns about the victim identifying Foster, saying that cross-racial identification isn’t always accurate, and she may have been more focused on his weapon than his face. It’s just about the only time Kendall’s right, as the executive ADA says 75% of wrongful convictions start with misidentification.
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Stabler and Benson go to talk to Foster’s ex, where they find Kendall beating her. Kendall says he found her doing meth, while her child was left unattended, and Kendall says he almost shot her. Later, after shoving a pimp on the street, Kendall opens up to Benson about his violent nature. After Kendall’s wife separated from him, he only saw his daughter twice a year. Kendall’s ex-wife started doing meth, and blew herself up while cooking it, as well as Kendall’s daughter.
Odafin Tutuola reveals that Stabler might have convicted the wrong man 10 years ago, as the rape cases from then match the case they’re currently investigating. The detectives learn of another rape that happens right after Foster makes bail. They go to arrest Foster, who’s about to blow up a van with evidence, and Kendall’s the one who stops Foster. Before the detectives can get a confession from Foster, he falls out of a bathroom window and dies. Kendall was the last one with Foster.
The episode leavesa few unresolved plots, as Nate Kendall doesn’t appear in any other episodes. Kendall claims he didn’t push Foster out the window, but the detectives don’t believe him. Perhaps Kendall’s absence from future shows means he was fired from the police force, but the show doesn’t confirm this. Without Foster’s confession, they also couldn’t free Victor Tate, the man Stabler wrongly convicted, forcing him to spend 15 more years in prison. It’s been more than 15 years since this episode aired — maybe Stabler will get to meet with Victor Tate again in Season 27 as he exits prison.
Wentworth Miller Played a Second ‘Law & Order: SVU’ Character
Nate Kendall’s absence from future episodes didn’t stop Wentworth Miller from appearing in the series. In Season 21, Wentworth Miller actually came back to the show as a different character, assistant district attorney Isaiah Holmes. He first appears in Episode 6, titled “Murder at a Bad Address.” Coincidentally, this episode also deals with serial rapists and wrongful convictions. After Dominick Carisi discovers he wrongfully convicted someone, he has to get help from Holmes — his former law professor — to get the conviction overturned.
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Wentworth Miller appeared as Isaiah Holmes one more time, exactly one season later. He shows up in Season 22, Episode 6, titled “The Long Arm of the Witness.” In the episode, the SVU team is trying to convict a judge who’s been accused in multiple rape cases. Holmes went to school with the judge, and helps the team by secretly recording the judge’s confession during an altercation in the bathroom.
It’s a little disappointing that the show moved on from Nate Kendall’s story by giving Wentworth Miller a different role. However, Kendall wasn’t necessarily a good officer, while Isaiah Holmes gets to assist the Special Victims Unit twice, saving an innocent man one time and convicting an evil man in the other. Isaiah Holmes lets Wentworth Miller play a character that’s more true to his own life. The actor came out as gay in 2013 andsaid he was done playing straight rolesaround the same time he started playing Isaiah Holmes.
Where to Watch Wentworth Miller’s ‘Law & Order: SVU’ Episodes
There are a few different streaming options for Wentworth Miller’s threeLaw & Order: SVUepisodes. The show airs on NBC, so naturally, all episodes of the series are available on Peacock.Law & Order: SVUis also available to watch on Hulu, which can also be accessed through Disney+ for those who have a subscription to both. All episodes are available on both Hulu and Peacock, and Wentworth Miller’s appearances can be found in their respective seasons on the streamers. The series will also enter its 27th season this fall on NBC.
