Recap:
The detectives are called to a gruesome rape/homicide/hate crime scene at Samra, a family-owned Inwood restaurant. The investigation is hopelessly lead-less until Yusef, brother/uncle to the victims and frightened undocumented gay Syrian is chased down and IDs one of the perps as a former employee, Hector Ramirez, who had recently been fired because of his own undocumented status. So this seems like good news, but Hector's formidable activist-attorney is a pain in the ass for SVU but the larger pain in the ass is ICE because they snatch Yusef off the street despite Carisi desperately screaming I'M NYPD and Yusef is a material witness in a rape/homicide but the ICE officers could care fucking less and Benson leads everyone from detention center to detention center only to eventually learn Yusef has been swiftly deported, so Barba has no choice but to drop the charges against Hector, rival immigrant communities erupt into violent clashes, and Hector is held hostage when he's trying to get drunk (gawwwd, I hate it when that happens). Then there's a lot of talking and Benson growing increasingly pissed off and then Eid, in his SVU swan song, sullies Benson one final time and has her threaten Hector's wife with deportation in order to get him to talk (more about this later).
Hector cracks and names his accomplices. Luckily one of them is a really really bad guy who not only rapes people but also abuses his wife but wifey isn't all about cooperating even when Rollins takes a page out of OOC OMB's playbook and threatens HER with arrest and foster care for her son. As if we weren't having enough fun, Hector is shot and killed, and Maya Samra suddenly remembers that the two rapists took their ski masks off during the attack and she saw their faces and Barba's like "ok, cool, let's roll" despite an incredulous Benson going all wtf on him. OMB is already dubious about Barba's case and Maya makes it worse by conveniently claiming on the stand that she told the Lieutenant about seeing the men's faces weeks before Hector died.
Benson refuses to follow Barba's implicit suggestion that she lie on the stand, but we circle back to Carleen who Benson convinces to do the right thing and testify, her husband almost pulls a Johnny D in court when she does so, Barba triumphantly announced the convictions on the courthouse steps, he and Benson make up and there's some exchange about God (wth), but all is not well in our favorite sanctuary city because Dodds shows up with the news that a mosque was firebombed, killing five people. Doleful expressions all around. So much for the celebrating. Except for me. I've never been so elated for an episode and a season to end in my entire life.
Ramblings:
Rollins. Surely you've seen worse crime scenes than this. Ah, it's okay, you're better when you're busting into perps' houses and telling their wives to calm down. Speaking of busting into houses, I love, love, loved #BadassBenson's pursuit of Yusef, but I will never, ever understand how Mariska runs in those boots. I also cannot understand why my idea for an NYC "Olivia Benson Boot 5K" to benefit JHF was never brought to fruition.
You know what else? Too much Dodds. And I think too much Dodds because I'm so worried the writers are going to pair him with OMB and I HATE that because, well, do I have to keep beating this dead horse? Ok, I will, BECAUSE SHE BELONGS WITH TUCKER. In fact, when she went to answer the knock at the door (um, we all knew it wasn't Lucy btw, wouldn't she just maybe give a courtesy knock and let herself in at this point?) for a split second I completely forgot __k __d wrote this ep with his lackey and thought, ooooo, maybe they're surprising us with Tucker and intentionally didn't credit him and she called him because Barba asking her to lie on the stand just about made her head explode and she needed some Tuckversation and--FUCK it's fucking Chief Dodds. The good news is, their parting words seemed more on the mentor-mentee level and I'm cool with that. However, I still argue the residual effects of Mike's death were not properly addressed in eidteen (more about that in a future, all-eidteen-encompassing post), and they hurried this new chummy relationship...would have been a nice subplot to this season but SOMEBODY REMIND ME THIS IS EIDTEEN, DAMMIT. Get it together, AJ. Also, the stab at a Community Policing-esque ending was an eid and a miss.
Okay, so, suggestion for 19....never mind I'll save that for later.
Nexto...I'm all about tapping into crises and uncertainty, how-fucking-ever, when one tries to cram every single socioeconopolitical (yes, I created a word) issue into #42Minutes times two, the preaching gets in the way of the story which wasn't all that good to begin with. Rulie began their "rant" with the EPA and continued to include "a perfect American family." sanctuary city, refugee camps, sanctuary city, Muslim travel ban, sanctuary city, undocumented people living in the shadows, sanctuary city, Trump sycophants, sanctuary city, MATERIAL WITNESS IN A RAPE-HOMICIDE, Mexicans love tequila and raping, sanctuary city. Did I mention sanctuary city?
Why must Rulie force these actors to constantly state the obvious? Or have Carisi and Fin act like kids who just got their first Playskool forensics kit and have Carisi say "so you're saying someone else was here during the commission of the crime?" COME ON. This is bordering on satire.
The thing is, wherever your opinions fall in our country's current state of fucked-up-ness, NONE of these issues are new or unfamiliar. What did stoke my interest and could've been at the center of these eps is the tension between immigrant communities. Too often "immigrants" are seen as one faceless mass and we discount the fact that, in this episode's case, the Hispanic and Muslim communities were about as friendly to one another as Pope Francis looked in his photos with Trump. Why not create a story there? Why not peel back some layers and show there is more to immigration reform than simple legislation?
Eid, you were going all out tonight, weren't ya, brother? Let's forget about Barba asking Benson to lie for a second and focus on the fact that BARBA WOULD HAVE KNOWN a ten-year-old schoolboy (not even a gifted one!) would immediately poke holes in Maya's story. Why let Maya testify without first trying their damnedest to flip Lisa Munson, er, Carleen?
And...just to be petty...Liv's totally okay with Noah perched on the chair three feet from the floor all by himself and she broke up with Tucker because the kid climbed on the counter to reach for a cookie?
Ain't No Party Like An #SVU Party.
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| No, I didn't drink all of it, I was simply gathering recycling. I also had tropical punch flavored vodka but the last time I drank that I mistook it for Tahitian Treat and was out of commission for three days. Getting old sucks. |
Fashion:
Can we get Fin out of the blazer? He looks uncomfortable. He hasn't been promoted. Sergeant Rollins is #SVU19 #Goals. Not sure how all that would shake out but that's why we have writers like Kevin.
Benson in camel. Love. But Benson with her hair pulled back in that clip and aviators...just...I wish once in my life, maybe on Halloween or something, to look half that badass. Did that make sense?
Also, I noticed Carisi had a tie bar and Tucker wears a tie bar and I miss Tucker.
Quotable.
"Muslim restaurant." I am totally being serious here. I'm Catholic. I would not classify my people's cuisine as "Catholic." Are we talking Halal? Are we talking Middle Eastern? Or Indonesian? Or am I being too nitpicky?
"Let's calm down." This was after Barba discounted Hector's fingerprints on the security camera. The thing is, nobody was really worked up at that point. Which leads me to... "Intense" I STG, Twitter people, I really would like specific, very personal, intricate stories in which you explain what was so
"intense" about this episode. I often check the clock during #SVU, but I never wish it would move FASTER. JFC.
"Or else I'm gonna have to do something that...that I've never done before." Do I need to elaborate? At least I'll be able to work this line into my fic. I didn't think eidteen could top its previous crimes against OMB but this one took the cake. Nice work, Dick. I mean Rick. I mean both.
Is It Next Wednesday, Yet?
"It was a hell of a year."
I have a feeling Mariska was only half in-character when she uttered that line.
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