Nooch.1: And the Truth Shall Set You...

Free? Except when your child shows up at school with a suspicious-looking bruise?

The #42Minutes:

After some astute stalking, er, checking of jazz websites, Fin discovers a post from a man he suspects is a rapist who has eluded capture for six years, so the not-yet-sergeant heads down to Cuba, kidnaps Byron Marks, and triumphantly escorts the perp back to NYC and into the 16th Precinct. Skepticism abounds, but, hey! The ends justify the means, right?

Errrr. Not exactly. At least not at first.

Initially, three of the three victims refuse to cooperate, but one eventually comes forward and agrees to testify. However, the case quickly spirals out of control. Was the arrest illegal? Was international law violated? Does Cuba have the right and the will to exploit the tense political relationship with the U.S. (veiled middle finger to Trump?) and bring this guy back to their country?

Turns out, it's all good. Benson's a little ticked because, after all, any malfeasance ultimately muddies her reputation which Fin doesn't quite seem to comprehend.

Before trial, Marks is released. Barba predicts he'll flee. He does.Via a diner bathroom (shocker) and in a "Where's Doctor Rudnick?-esque" moment of panic, the squad locks down the city while Benson frantically tries to get in touch with Karla, a woman Marks raped and a woman who probably would've blown the motherfucker's brains out if Benson hadn't shown up in the nick of time.

Marx's wife still poses a trial problem though, because as Rollins said, Marks is charming and his spouse is resolutely in his corner.

Until Benson takes Karla's statement.

With the wife in the room.

See ya in double digits starting with a two, Byron.

While this plays out, Noah's teacher notices a bruise on his arm and he tells the adults his mom did it which is true but as OMB so gently reminds him before bed one night it's sometimes helpful to tell the whole story especially when it involves potential scrutiny by social workers and we all know how much fun Benson had with the last one.

Rambling Reactions

Dear police officers everywhere,

How in the hell do you not unload and knock the lights out of someone like this smug asshole? 

Bravo, Will Chase. You nailed the creepy, contemptible-yet-charming rapist persona. But you're not going to get the better of Lieutenant Benson who's all like "nah, nah, squad, I got this" when Marks gets in her face and then... 

"You done?"

After Marks lawyers up it's time to re-interview the women he attacked and the three, Joyce, Keisha, and Karla represent a heart-wrenching cross-section of six-year-later survivors. One is irrevocably crushed; another refuses to allow Marks to steal any more precious time.

So the detectives take a crack at Karla who (the writing implies) was, pre-assault, probably a tenacious, independent young woman with a disposition not unlike OMB's, but the rape cast doubt on the reliability of her innate qualities and ironically she eventually found comfort by marrying a domineering spouse--the oafish, sweaty, beer-swilling Frank who is quickly tossed in the "screw 'im" pile when Karla decides she wants to nail the sonofabitch.

"I love you."

What kid hasn't said something like "I want Lucy to be my Mommy?" Shit, that line's tame compared to some of the vitriol I spewed my mother's way during my formative years (for which I am eternally remorseful, btw). OMB seemed genuinely nonplussed. Sorry, dude, you're stuck. Ahhhhhhhbviously Benoah is strong⇒⇒

Can't wait for #SVU29 when Noah's a teenager!

Nevertheless...warning signals abound. Noah talks about Lucy at school and not about Mommy other than the tiny little detail about it being her fingerprints striped across his arm. OMB effectively hangs up on whoever was calling from the school. Letting go of Noah in order to answer the phone...something parents do all the time, right? But these little things add up and will be magnified and scrutinized. Noah's getting older. Parenting is more compli--rather, more layered? Hectic? Fast-paced?  Hell, OMB can't even keep strawberry ice cream and syrup in the house. Shit's getting serious.

TV doesn't make me cry, but TV came close when a frazzled OMB spills her coffee and ROLLINS TO THE RESCUE. Amanda has your back, Liv! I love it! I would also love Fin saying "fuck it" to the promotion and Rollins taking the exam and then they're BFFs and also #BFBadasses. Pretty, pretty please Mr. Noochy? I've made many intriguing yet sincere promises in exchange for fulfilled requests....Oh. That sounded bad. 

Minds outta the gutter people.

"Imma call them and tell 'em to fuck off, Liv"

For a second though I forgot Mr. Noochy was in charge. Wouldn't it have been so Eid-y to have OMB say something like "I don't know what's going on...considering his DNA...who knows what he's thinking." ???????

Thank gawwd those days are over.

Oh, almost forgot, backing up a bit to the unconvinced Mrs. Smiley. When she asked about Noah's father and said she was sorry to hear he was deceased? Give Mariska a fucking Emmy and a Presidential Medal of Freedom and another Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame just for this expression:

 So...Cassidy hated retirement (did he take Tucker's job?) so he's back which isn't news to Benson because apparently upon his arrival back in New York they were supposed to meet for coffee but didn't because if you don't have time to keep the Bensons' fave ice cream in supply who has time to meet with Brian fucking Cassidy? In a not-insignificant move, OMB does not invite him in and is it not a conflict of interest for her former live-in boyfriend to investigate the child abuse accusation?

And, yeah, @Noochone, I can barely write child abuse and OMB in the same sentence...I woulda thrown a hell of a lot more at the TV in addition to the shoe but my husband woulda fucking killed me. He's already mad that I shushed him as soon as I heard the words "In the criminal justice system..."

*eye roll
You would think he would know better by now.

After Cassidy left I'm pretty sure OMB put Noah to bed and called Tucker.

On the not-so-positive side...

I'm ambivalent about whether or not Fin would actually do what he did...take it upon himself to track a perp down in Cuba. He's a pusher....remember?

At times, there was glaring awkwardness when Benoah was together, particularly in the strawberry ice cream scene. I think it's intentional...like OMB is still trying to figure out this mothering thing and overthinking...or maybe she's significantly less self-assured in that role than she is as Lieutenant.

Also, ummm, OMB...helllo? You don't remember your kid almost getting killed?

Despite my vehement objections to the new Noah, I must admit Ryan did a good job being almost five.

 Quotable

You could drag him by the hair over a street of rusty razor blades for all I care...as long as he ends up in Sing Sing. Rollins is in prime, familiar form. STFU and be a cop is right, Carisi. Speaking of Sonny, is it his character evolving or Nooch going a little OOC...but the old annoying-yet-adorable Carisi struck me only as annoying...and a little too bitter and hostile and angry. Maybe a bad breakup with #34B?

Counting breadcrumbs...KARLA I WANNA HUG YOU (but I'm sure the OMB hug was better).

Barba and Dworkin going all highbrow law-school in their verbal tȇte-a-tȇtes. I couldn't keep up. Damn. I'm still dizzy.

Rafael. Yes, OMB, you and me both were floored that you told Karla to point a loaded gun at you. That was weird. A tense, powerful scene...but damn you're gonna risk your life for Marks? It's not like Karla would've received less prison time for killing a cop instead of a rapist.

I'm the one who asks the questions. Along with everything else Mariska Hargitay said. Damn. We all know she's good, but this #42Minutes showcased her range. The toggling back and forth between Mommy and Lieutenant could have been a gigantic clusterfuck but she poured her heart and soul into this one and the result was an excruciatingly wonderful display of compassion and empathy, confidence and experience, anguish and incredulity, skepticism and remorse, invincibility and pissed-offness...because who in their right fucking mind would accuse Olivia Benson of harming a child?

Wardrobe

Patterned blouse! White blazer! Octopus PJs! Cuban Casual Fin!

And I give an A+++++++++++ for OMB's hair. I spent all morning trying to replicate that but it's humid as fuck here and also I'm not her.

 But can we not comb Ryan's/Noah's hair to the side like it was in the last scene? Nerd.

Is it Next Wednesday Yet?

So...the grueling slog through the Chernuchinwoods begins. Liv operates with a certain degree of (deserved) entitlement, but the professional courtesy she's used to doesn't apply to parenthood. Big sigh. Deep breath. I can't stop watching now.

Another thing I can't believe as I'm typing these words is what I'm about to type Dear God and a certain friend of mine please forgive me, but OMB having to prove herself in uncharted waters? I think I'm here for it even though this means enduring the torture of Benson parrying blows from the wrong side of the interrogation table...so I better be prepared for Thursday morning wine hangovers.

What other incriminating evidence will the investigation exhume? How can one bruise and a miscommunication on the part of a preschooler erupt into...THIS?

A season-long fight to maintain custody makes me cringe. I hate to repeat sentiments from my last post, but constantly knocking Benson to the ground will get old quickly no matter how much we like to see her fight back.

Shaking up her world...not obliterating it...right Mike?

I do wonder if Brooke Shields is the new Child Services czar harboring a vendetta because of what happened in Institutional Fail...when they were told to back off but didn't?

I cannot wait to see Benson unleash her fury and direct it at Cassidy and I hope he tries to finesse her a little and wants to have that coffee and Benson mentions they really shouldn't since he's investigating her and all and he snidely says something about Tucker and she swipes back in Ed's defense. (FYI...Tucker appears in all blog posts)

Nooch.1 was a pleasant surprise...a mix of personal and professional (see you Eidiot it can be done)...and dare I say...maybe, almost, never mind, I'm not gonna say it...ok, I will...I thought there was a teeny tiny bit too much Noah...

I have pep in my step today...

It might be...

Good.

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep...

HI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Note: I am writing as if I haven't already read the episode. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, trust me. Don't read Spoiler TV's "preview."

FYI: I hate repetitive punctuation to convey emotion but I do it anyway and I also balk at y'all but I type it often though I rarely say it unless I'm at a bar in Albany, Georgia researching for a thesis but never mind this is about #SVU19 and also I must warn you I love run-on sentences, no, I take that back, I love MY run-on sentences because I am literally talking as I type and I talk really fast because I'm not originally from the South, a fact I point out more than I need to and without prompting. Especially lately.

So the story is...I stumbled upon Fanfiction.net because I loved #Tuckson and I thought, Hey! I can write a few stories. So I did and people liked them and then I wrote this little series called Truce which I love and wish was canon and started including author's notes which turned into brief reviews of the episodes I included in the stories which led me to the idea that I would start a blog and review S18 eps in my grammatically incorrect, profanity-laden style.

Disclaimers:

I love #Tuckson. Unabashedly. Steadfastly. For some...annoyingly.
I love 2.0 (Until 2.0, SVU marathons were merely reliable hangover-weathering companions)
I never liked Stabler and I do not wish for his return.
Eidteen...more about that later.

Current #SVU19 Mood:

I wish I could be cautiously optimistic since I do generally tend to look on the bright side of things. But I can't get there. Know why? Because I was LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME. So I'm really prepared to live in the world where Heartfelt Passages was the series finale and never watch the show again. Can you believe I actually thought I would like R---E--? There's a tweet somewhere to prove it. @LariskaPargitay called me out on it once :-)

I did. I had MAJOR hopes. Because who could take the threads Mr. Leight left and fuck them up?

*raises hand

"I know! I know!"

Good luck, Chicago.

Instead of the teased  "bigger, badder, Benson" (I STG I did not dream this) leading a shell-shocked yet resolute squad we got a different Lieutenant each week (also wildly different weather patterns and double backs on dates but who pays attention to that shit, right?). One day she says take the money the next day, don't; the job was her life then it wasn't then it was again; and I could go on and on or you could read last year's recaps and then there was Eidteen's version of "gray areas" AKA victim blaming and it was excruciating to watch survivors portrayed as "deserving it" for whatever reason.

To add insult to injury, nothing else made sense. I still can't figure out why exactly Tuckson broke up other than it was the C-word (more about that in a minute). I'm also not sure about Fin's Army Ranger stint or Carisi's 34B, or Kim or How Involved is Declan? or Baby Ken-and-Alejandro or the threat to Barba's life...

The barrage of guest stars both returning and new has excited everyone; however, let me remind you that the Joe Biden teasers were more exciting than his actual appearance. In fairness Belzer's cameo wasn't so exciting either but I love Warren and hate Rick and this is my blog so there. But remember, "Bye Munch" ???? GAHHHHHHH! I miss Jack-as-Noah already.

While I'm on that subject I'll start with one concern and that's the recasting of Noah...to a kid three years older than actual Noah should be. And of course I immediately followed the new kid on Instagram and Twitter, but it's going to take me a minute or a few drinks to swallow the jump from "another story" and Lucy and Day Care to what? Second grade? And actual conversations? Certainly they won't try and pass him off as four...can they do that with creative camera angles and poor new Noah altering his speech? Have we time hopped three years?

So Brooke Shields is there to fuck with Benoah, and I'm nowhere near others' levels of excitement at the return of Jack McCoy. Philip Winchester is no Raul Esparza and I hope we're not trading one for the other.

Then there's Cassidy.

I fucking hate him. I have hated that character from the beginning. What a fucking immature ass. As far as his relationship with Olivia goes, he is someone who she thought she had to settle for...and then he ends up essentially telling her what she wants is not what he wants. Now I know Mr. Noochy has said that he hasn't watched a bunch of episodes, but the writers have (and wrote some), and my argument is this:

How can you watch the Leight years and think, at 17.23 that Benson and Cassidy should be a couple? Really?

I concede however, that the Cassidy exit wasn't neatly done so I'm cool with some closure, but pairing him with Benson...again...with a kid...I'm not buying it. And presumably he's IAB? So the conflict of interest thing all over again?

And for those of you screaming, "HEY! YOU WERE COOL WITH TUCKER CHANGING, MAYBE CASSIDY HAS CHANGED AS WELL?"

Touché. But I still don't see it. Let's agree to disagree.

Plus, Bobby Burke is way hotter than Dean Winters, and I will fight you to the death on that point.

We'll see if Tucker's name is mentioned. I'm guessing it will be...but the relationship between Tucker and Benson was too artfully crafted to be dismissed the way it was in S18 and I hope this season, at the very least, gives me some closure because going from we're going to Paris and probs exchanging fucking wedding rings to "it's complicated" without the in-between is cruel and stupid and not all that creative.

Want to know my Tuckson thoughts? Read here.

Finally, I am so not looking forward to Benson being "dragged through the woods" on a regular basis. Sure, most humans have to weather some protracted storms at certain periods in their lives, but using this tactic as a regular plot line will get old fast. I hope I'm exaggerating, but Mr. Chernushowrunner boasting about how neat it will be to see OMB in constant personal and/or professional peril already makes me want to start gobbling Xanax and chasing it with Jameson. First of all, hasn't that been done? Season 16? Meanie Social Worker Ms. Jackson? Demanding Chief Dodds? Second of all, it seems like an easy way out. What's wrong with a confident sagely Benson who imparts her wisdom and experience to her squad (maybe do that as she grooms Rollins to take over because I've said it before--I want Amanda as Sarge; the rank just doesn't seem Fin-ish). I'm not asking for corny unicorns and rainbows, surely the very essence of her job results in certain degrees of constant angst and I'm sure she worries every second about every decision she makes regarding Noah, but can we not alternate human punching bags? Why does OMB have to keeping taking it on the chin? This better not turn into Rollins, Fin, and Carisi solving crimes and Benson alternating between Family Court and Lindstrom's couch.

AND THE MOST GLARING CONCERN AWARD GOES TO:

"Broken Woman."

Look. The cast and writers and everyone seem happy and they're tweeting and morale is high and fans are once again engaged...at least my sector of the fandom is...I hear there were some who were never disheartened or disillusioned last season...

This approach is unnerving. It implies a weakness and a desperation antithetical to the character. Olivia Benson rose in the ranks and commands one of Manhattan's elite units. She is a survivor, imperfect at times, but dogged in the pursuit of justice and devoted to being the mother she never had. She may be too stubborn, too insistent on doing things her way, too independent, and too "I'm fine." 

She may have let Tucker walk out of her apartment too easily. 

But Broken?

I'll keep an open mind and, well, the people running the show have slightly more writing credits than I have; maybe something happened off-camera between seasons. Maybe the Noah-drama will prove insurmountable. Maybe she'll get a little too friendly with the booze again. However, we were assured she'd emerge a better person...

But I have trust issues now.

Happy SVU Eve!

Despite all of the above, I may have worked up a little optimism! 

If all else is hopeless, I'm looking forward to the Benson blazer game. I've been saving all summer to copy her new duds.

With knock-offs of course.