Five years after Law & Order: SVU fans met Det. Olivia Benson’s estranged half-brother, Simon Marsden (Michael Weston) is back and in desperate need of her help .

“He’s not really well-equipped for the world as it is,” Weston says in this exclusive behind-the-scenes video. “He has a low self-esteem and an inability to push through difficult circumstances with his head up, and so he finds himself getting the short end of the stick a lot and feeling a little sorry for himself.”

In Wednesday’s episode (10/9c, NBC) Benson (Mariska Hargitay) calls on defense attorney Bayard Ellis (returning guest star Andre Braugher) to help when child services threatens to take away Simon’s kids. “He needs his family just like I think Mariska’s character also does,” Weston says. “This is his way of finding his sister, I think, in some deep convoluted, subconscious way. He tracks her down even to his own self-detriment.”

But can Olivia really help him? That remains to be seen. “The beauty of their scenes together is that they are both aching for that connection with a part of their real family.”

You can watch the video here.