LAW & ORDER Post-Mortem: David Ajala on Walker’s Decision and Tension with Riley

November 13, 2025 by Marisa Roffman

LAW & ORDER — “Guardian” Episode 25007 — Pictured: (l-r) Reid Scott as Detective Vincent Riley, David Ajala as Det. Theo Walker — (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC)

[Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Thursday, November 13 episode of LAW & ORDER.]

Riley (Reid Scott) and Walker’s (David Ajala) partnership got off to a shaky start on the Thursday, November 13 episode of LAW & ORDER.

After hearing testimony at the trial of Jim Pickett (Ryan O’Nan), Walker sought out evidence to prove whether their murder victim had previously been violent with his guardian-turned-killer prior to his death. Walker found a video that proved the young man had been…but didn’t turn it over to the lawyers.

Riley went to verify the information himself, and then confronted Walker about his actions. Riley said he understood why the detective did what he did, but he wouldn’t work with a lone wolf—either Walker needed to change so they could have a partnership or he’d ask for a new partner.

“I think for him, for our man, Theo Walker, he’s been so used to working independently by himself,” Ajala explains to Give Me My Remote in the video below. “He’s now going to have to arrive at a place where he can trust in his partner, and his partner can trust in him, too. But that’s gonna be very fun to navigate and unpack that. I think the audience is gonna enjoy that.”

Ajala praised the fact that the writers left “Guardian” open-ended for how Walker will handle things going forward. “I think the way the episode ends, you’re not sure what direction this relationship, this partnership, is going to go,” he says. “Because Walker doesn’t say, ‘Okay, great, I can do that; we’re buddies.’ It’s not that. But I thought that’s a very real thing, that we negotiate each other’s differences and try and find commonality to work together. I like how it’s not just very conveniently wrapped up. It’s a thing that they will continue to explore.”

And Walker will continue to adjust to actually having a partner. “It’s nice because it’s not too heavy-handed, and it’s quite light and fun,” he says. “And Walker can also be like, ‘Oh my bad.’ So he acknowledges it, which is healthy, because it’s a give-and-take relationship. And even if he goes, ‘Okay, my bad,’ whatever it might be, at least Riley knows that Walker is trying.”

Things have been considerably smoother for Ajala and Scott off-screen as they continue to adjust to their own new partnership.

“Reid is wonderful to work with,” Ajala says. “He comes well prepared. And I don’t overly discuss character stuff with him, in general, because I’m still figuring out the character. But what I might say to him, before doing a scene…is, ‘You see this scene here? Walker has respect for you. But you also have to understand that trust in people is not easy to do, so don’t take it personal.’ And just saying that is enough for him to now play the scene, you know?”

“I’m very simple with how I approach the work,” he continues. “You know, the drama is complicated and whatnot, but my approach to it is quite simple. Once we have that understanding, we just play the scenes. It feels very seamless and easy.”

Walker’s decision not to turn over the evidence—which, as he noted to Riley, was legal—may or may not have played a role in the team getting a conviction. In the aftermath of that decision, “I feel like justice is a very important thing, and I would like to think that our man, Theo Walker, has a healthy moral compass,” Ajala says. “It’s not to say that that moral compass cannot be shaken every now and then, but when it does settle, I feel like it’s very healthy. But it’s by any means necessary to get justice, you know? And it’s a very fine line. But I feel like not everybody can operate like that, because you have to have a healthy moral compass going into it, because things can get very gray, very quickly.”

Outside of that, the actor had a big first episode, being heavily involved in the police investigation and testifying in court. “It was quite busy, especially when we’re in the courtroom,” Ajala says. “And there I am, there Walker is, testifying. That felt a little overwhelming, because there I was on set, and there was, like, maybe 40 to 60 background artists. And then there’s a crew; that’s another, like 50 [people]. So there’s a lot of people watching while I’m doing [my acting].”

“And that felt a little…” Ajala blows out an exaggerated breath, before continuing: “And I thought, ‘Is this Theo feeling this? Was this David feeling this? Whatever way, let me lean into it.’ Theo Walker is just feeling the weight of the situation. And that might be his nerves coming through, which makes him very human. So I wanted to just lean into that and just trust in that.”

Check out more from Ajala, including his tease about Walker possibly going undercover…

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, Thursdays, 9/8c, NBC

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LAW & ORDER Post-Mortem: David Ajala on Walker’s Decision and Tension with Riley

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