TVLINE | First off, congrats on Griff making it through this season. How early did you know he was going to get shot — and live?
COREY COTT | I heard on set a rumor that someone was getting shot and I was like, “Oh no.” And then I convinced one of our writers to tell me. He said, “Yeah, you’re getting shot,” and I was like, “Oh.” But he immediately was like, “But you survive!,” and I was like, “OK, thank God!” [Laughs] … Obviously, we’re always aware that we could, get the ax at any time. But thankfully,, they’re keeping Griff around. He made it through. We’ll see what’s in store for him in [Season] 28. But yeah, it was a little bit of whiplash. I was devastated, and then I was excited.
TVLINE | The last time we talked, Griff’s allegiances were a little less solid. But it’s clear here: He’s fully #TeamBenson — even before the start of this episode.
At this point in the season, it’s clear that there’s a complete lack of trust [with Tynan]. There’s been lies. There’s been negligence. There’s just been flat-out breaking of procedure. And the only one who’s consistently been challenging him and pushing him — but a source of truth, encouragement, expertise, strategy, and just a good person — has been Benson. So at this point, there’s really no choice for him but to join alongside her fully.
TVLINE | How do you think Griff is doing with everything he’s learned about his father?
A big part of maturing and growing up — and I’m just saying this as a human, myself, and let alone a character, but I’ll get to that point — is accepting and surrendering to the notion that good people do bad things, bad people do good things, and life is full of volatility and unpredictability. Very few things are black-and-white.
… So applying all that to the situation with Tynan is really, really important to him and valuable to see his arc because he has to go: OK. Yes, I’m pursuing the truth. At at the end of the day, that’s what matters. And I can also sit here and accept that my dad made some really bad choices, and that’s a really complicated position to be in.
TVLINE | Near the end of the episode, Griff is shot and he’s on the verge of shooting Caine as Benson comes in. Before Griff’s injury flares, it seems very possible that he might kill Caine. Is that an accurate read on that scene?
Definitely. I think you could argue that if Benson hadn’t walked in there, he probably would have killed him. Mariska [Hargitay] and I, we talked about that a bit. That look, when I look at her as she comes in, it’s almost me asking, “Do I have permission to kill him?” I saw what she did to me was I think she’s giving me permission to do what I think is right — not to necessarily killh im or not kill him, but to do my job. And whether you wanna argue that Griff made a conscious choice not to kill him, or the injury took over, that’s kind of up to the audience member to interpret.
If you think about the arc of Benson and Griff throughout the season, a lot of it is her telling me I’m going against protocol, instructing me to do better, educating me in good faith, but teaching me how to be a better detective. [In the finale], instead of giving me the options of what to do, there was a huge growth moment for our relationship there — of her going, “I trust you. You do what you think is right.”
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