Kate Silva revealed why she left Homicide in Law and Order: SVU season 26 episode 6

When Det. Kate Silva's arc was teased ahead of Law and Order: SVU season 26's premiere, I'd assumed the procedural would give us pieces of why she'd left Homicide to join the Special Victims Unit but that wasn't the case. In fact, she didn't have much screentime in the opening episodes of the season but that all changed in episode 6, "Rorschach."

Not only was Silva an integral part of the case, she was so dogged about getting to the bottom of who tried to kill Ellie, the young lady fighting for her life in the hospital, that it was her who caught on that it was likely the boyfriend, Chris. She proved it once the FBI sent back the weapon used in the attack. He'd embedded the knife in the tree to stab himself in the hopes that he would die because he'd thought he'd murdered the woman he loved in a fit of rage.

Before the episode closed, Det. Terry Bruno asked Silva why she transferred to the SVU. She'd flexed her skills from working in Homicide on this case. While the work she'd previously been doing was grueling and harrowing, it didn't often require being face-to-face and confronted with the survivor of someone's heinous act. Silva's previous unit got justice for the deceased but the SVU strives to get it for the living which can take its own toll.

The detective's response to Bruno wasn't at all what I expected. From Juliana Aidén Martinez's interviews on her character, I knew that Silva was doing penance for something that happened in her past but would have never guessed it had to do with an incident from her childhood. Here's what she told Bruno.

Why did Kate Silva join the SVU?

When she was a kid, Silva was at a sleepover at her best friend's apartment in Washington Heights. At one point in the night, she'd gotten up to use the bathroom and when she looked out the window she saw a woman was being attacked by a man.

There weren't many people around but Silva did see an old woman in her window, so she assumed the adult would call the cops. But the woman didn't. Silva thinks the lady must have just watched what happened and then went on with her life like she didn't see someone being attacked. The next morning, on her way home, Silva saw that the area had become a crime scene. She later found out the woman who needed help had been raped and murdered. The detective never learned whether the guy was caught.

Silva has been carrying the guilt of her inaction since then. It's why she chose to go into Homicide and now why she's joined the SVU. As Bruno pointed out, her professional decisions have to do with penance she's paying for that moment in her life that she cannot change, to which she agreed it's "something like that."

Martinez has shared that the reason for Silva's transfer will be explored throughout the season, so this won't be the last we hear of her seeking penance.

Law and Order: SVU airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. Next day streaming is available on Peacock. Stay tuned to Americans Undercover for coverage. Follow us on X for livetweet threads and more content.