Nooch.11 Culture Shock

The #42Minutes

What initially presents as a terrorist investigation turns into an SVU case which turns into a a Barba-led trailblazing mission to dismantle "sexist, misogynistic pig" workplace culture. As an enduring, all-encompassing fix, it doesn't exactly work, but, as he put it, "the wheels are turning" and leaked grand jury proceedings end up hitting Optimum Air where it hurts most. Unfortunately the company's financial downfall doesn't seem like it will translate to any far-reaching substantial change (shocker) and will most likely be disregarded as an isolated incident.

The fight continues...

Also, Fin's onto Chief Dodds' shade and the rest of us will be theorizing about the mystery memo for the rest of the winter.

Be honest, how many of y'all have tried to piece together that upside down inside out text?

Assessment

Sorry, guys, but all I could think about in the first minute was filming that scene and people shouting "LEAN TO THE LEFT. OKAY, NOW LEAN TO THE RIGHT. FLIGHT ATTENDANT! DROP YOUR TRAY! SEATBELTS EVERYONE! SEAT! BELTS!"

Fake airplane scenes are cheesy 90% of the time on any show, and this was no exception. Like...while everyone was excoriating Tara for putting the lives of over 100 people in danger I'm thinking, uh, guys, there were 30 tops. And also why are we bothering with locked cockpit doors when future terrorists can use the beverage carts as battering rams?

Sooo...Flight Risk exemplifies my problemo with SVU making a statement about the egregious and unforgivable doings of real-lifers. In case anyone out there was still ignorant about how corporations and businesses establish and get away with maintaining sexist, toxic, and demeaning means and methods of operation, this episode preached it plain as day.

The manual reads:

1. Embellish minor infractions and contextualize them so the victim appears incompetent, foolish, and derelict in duties.
2. Recite laudatory (yet insubstantial) talking points and platitudes such as "I have two daughters" and "I let my assistant have the day off so she could attend the women's march."
3. Disregard and/or trivialize complaints and debase the plaintiffs.
4. Resolve allegations with empty promises and/or monetary compensation (anything that avoids bad press or the legal system)
5. Have confidence in public outrage's ephemeral nature.

This week in OMB WTF faces...

The episode would have been more interesting if...

A. It focused on Barba's culture-changing crusade...he and Benson pushing all the prickly corporate buttons and maybe being told to stand down but they don't (sort of like in Institutional Fail) and Barba's path away from the show is a political one. I really thought at the end he was going to tell Benson he was running for office.

B. NYPD's own culture was called into question and whatever the hell is going on with Benson and that memo unfolded alongside the case against Optimum Air and the episode ends with Benson and Rollins sitting in her office, bewildered, because how in the hell didn't they notice they, too, were under siege by their employer's very own boys' club?

In other news, Rollins is D.O.N.E. with pilot worship.

For the record, CEChauvinist Petruchio, er, Fleming and his Mengele-esque memo made my skin crawl.

Quotable:

"I felt cheap...devalued."
"I could shrug it off."
In a nutshell, the only ammunition women have to fight back.

"Jurors don't like difficult women."
Not only jurors, OMB.

"An interesting marketing strategy if this was the sixties." The scene at Optimum's headquarters and Benson's what-the-serious-fuck reactions were priceless.

"Come tomorrow there's gonna be a new t-shirt...Logan Carter, rapist."
Cue eye roll. Carisi, you nerd.

And in the Dodds (yes, Fin, we want you to cut him) file...

"They don't need Special Victims inventing a defense for her." Fuck you, Dodds and excuse me is this statement not grounds for him to be reassigned? Damn.

"If there's one thing I hate, it's a hypocrite." See above.

There are plenty of openings for Dodds to be a bad guy. Even though he and Benson seem to be in one of their periods of detente, he's not (nor has he ever been) 100% on her side. We needed neither a memo nor interview rumors to know this, but it's nice to be reminded and I'm excited for all of this to play out...

Thanks but no thanks on the welcome back hug, Amanda.

Appearances

Welcome back gray trench and red blouse with the silver clasps and hello camel blazer!

Benson's clearly (and admittedly) exhausted. Did anyone else notice how unenthusiastic she was as Barba presented his grand plans for changing the world?

Petition for the immediate return of bangless Benson. C'mon, people.

Tracking Tucker

What I would've given for a freshly-showered Tucker to come waltzing into the living room while Dodds was there...

And I can't believe Barson Tweeps didn't go ga-ga over this (then again, I probably have most of those people muted)...

Excuuuuuse me but the only hand Benson is supposed to touch when looking at a phone is TUCKER'S!

Head Scratchers

1. Now Dodds is at the apartment? Sheesh. Can I get a fucking invite? I'll tidy up...

2. Is my Cassidy-as-Fin's-Source theory correct? I actually hope not because my stomach turns thinking about how the writers could make OMB buy Cassidy's attempt at redemption and go running back into his arms and that would be so ridiculous and OOC but I really do think these people hate me that much.

Is It Next Wednesday, Yet?

Important, poignant story? Yes.
Gripping television? No.

Loose threads abound, though...

Is Barba's departure temporary or permanent? Punitive or self-imposed? Will Stone be friend or foe? Is McCoy's return Munch-esque or something more meaningful than a cameo? How long will Fin keep whatever he knows from Benson and will his gallant deed end up backfiring? Can I not be constantly dreading Bensidy 3.0?

What the hell else are they going to do to Liv?

In the meantime, would it be possible for OMB to get some fucking sleep in the next two weeks?

Oh, Mother!

The #42 Minutes

Let's work backwards...

Nobody wants to see Mariel go to prison for killing her mother and Barba slips up by stepping into a crowded elevator while talking on the phone. The caller is concerned about the death penalty and Barba agrees that punishment would not exactly fit the crime but he says this in the presence of jurors (c'mon, Barba you didn't notice Miss Funky Blue Glasses of all people?) so a pissed-off Judge Barth declares a mistrial. Barba's in trouble, but a more palatable version of justice is served. We'll see how this factors in to the arrival of Peter Stone in a few weeks.

The case begins when SVU is called to a special needs school to investigate a rape, but the actual crime lies elsewhere, in the actions of Mariel's mentally-ill mother who, had she not been bludgeoned to death, probably would have spent the rest of her life in a hospital. You know it's bad when even the doctor emerges, stunned, from the interrogation room and says, "Uh, guys, this woman is seriously fucked up there's no way she can be held responsible for her actions no matter how egregious they may be."

I paraphrase, of course.

Assessment

Two weeks after the kidnapping, Mother and Son Benson are still reeling from, as Fin called it "road trip with Grandma." Noah doesn't want to sleep alone and he's having Sheila dreams and Liv's having flashbacks and I'm no child psychologist but Eddie-in-jail surrounded by police cars seems to indicate Noah won't so easily forget what happened and OMB will not be able to ignore it away.

The pessimist in me predicted Benson's inner turmoil would be cast aside or minimized, but it wasn't and it was beautifully written and acted.

HOWEVER...

One thing that annoys the hell out of me is when there is too much of a contrived effort to connect the cases with the squad's personal lives. Of course, it's fiction and we only have #42Minutes, so everything's contrived, but there is a glaring distinction between Sheila and Dawn, and Barba and Benson implicitly acknowledging the similarity of the two mothers was a big-time, eye-roll-worthy stretch and if Benson lets that woman back into her life my head will explode and SVU will be down a viewer which isn't such a big deal because ratings are pretty good. My hope is Sheila spends her twilight years in federal lockup and I can't imagine Benson road-tripping for visits.

Ordinarily I find Benson's compassion and gigantic heart endearing, but those qualities occasionally come around to haunt her and my concern for her well-being is manifesting as anger and I really hate being angry at anyone, especially OMB.

Hello, Doc Warner and welcome back, but WHERE THE HELL HAVE YA BEEN? We couldn't get one little line about why we haven't seen her since Season 17 and for someone who was a hashtag subject she sure didn't get much screen time. Since Benson's apartment was open for business, I thought maybe she would join the party but everything I think about this show ends up either wrong or not happening so IDK why I even try anymore.

Safe to say The Little Mermaid won't be queued up in the Benson household anytime soon...or ever.

Quotable:

"The law says she's guilty, but your heart says she's not."
Dear Barba and Benson, the two of you have a combined fifty or so years in law enforcement...buck up...you know at least one juror is going to dig in and refuse to convict.

"Not what he wanted."
"You. Are. Hurting. Her."
PAGING DR. LINDSTROM!

"You're a single mom. You're a full time cop. Your life is not easy. It's okay to say that out loud every once in a while."
Will someone please embroider that on a pillow for Liv as well?

Get with it, Dad.

Wardrobe:

Speaking for the minority, I prefer Benson in her work clothes.

Tracking Tucker...

I'm not EVEN gonna mention Liv sleeping ALONE on the hospital sofa...

Oh wait, I just did.

Maybe Noah will leave Eddie in a taxi in the coming weeks...that elephant is too painful.

Hey! That's Ed's!

Head Scratchers:

1. For once the Rollins-Olivia convos didn't have their typical edginess, but why exactly did Rollins go to Liv rather than mention her initial skepticism about Dawn to Fin? I'm intrigued...maybe we'll get some Finlivia power struggle tension and I have not abandoned hope for a Sergeant Rollins.
2. No Christmas tree?
3. Mariel's Dad...what a punk

Kelli, you so awesome!

Is It Next Wednesday, Yet?

Even though I nearly dozed off a few times  (and, no, not because of the booze), I suppose Pathological's lack of suspense was a needed respite after last week's torture. The episode was more bridge than captivating case--hopefully all this Sheila mess will fade and everyone else can have their turn with drama with Barba apparently next in line for the wringer.


"Some can cooperate...and others prey on each other..."
We'll see how this plays out in the sky next week.

"I don't know what the fuck to do."

Gone Sheila Gone (Finally)

The #42 Minutes

All hands (except Dodds') are on deck for the multi-state Noah-hunt! The detectives' frenzied search begins at the six-floor (but OMB doesn't care if its sixty) Mall of Manhattan and culminates in a rural New Hampshire cabin where sociopath Sheila finally loses it but OMB is there to hug her before leading her out in handcuffs.

In between, Dodds orders Benson to stand down (hahaha) and she and Sheila hang at Sheila's apartment then at the precinct until Carisi visits Awesome Baby and has to inform his Lieutenant that Grandma Sheila was behind this all along. Benson whips around to see Sheila missing from the interrogation room where she was supposed to be looking at sex offender photos. Fin and Liv hurry to Sheila's apartment but find nothing except for Ellie's missing portrait. Carisi and Rollins track the kidnapper's car to a bus station and everything seems really fucked until OMB thinks to involve Sheila's family court lawyer who gives up the name of a PI who leads them to Juan Ortoli, who, like everyone else, was conned by Sheila. Noah saves the day by waking up and running to Mommy only to be shoved safely outside while Benson beats the crap out of Sheila. Oh wait, that's what I wanted to happen. Benson did not beat the crap out of Sheila nor did she snap her neck or perform a police-sanctioned take-down maneuver.

I pity the next perp. Both the empathy and restraint tanks have gotta be about empty.

Assessment

Some (more in the past year than ever before) SVU episodes have such hackneyed, predictable writing that the only saving grace is the acting. The SVU cast has the ability to redeem an entire script due to their sheer talent. Gone Baby Gone doesn't fall into this category, but it came close. (Also...surely someone mentioned the title was not exactly original?)

The people raving about the episode are actually raving about Mariska Hargitay's performance and deservedly so. She was brilliant. It's still early, but if she doesn't get an Emmy nod this summer, something is seriously out of whack in the ATAS. She nailed this episode as both terrified parent and savvy cop. Everyone else was absolutely on point--Barba as devoted yet brutally honest friend, Carisi and Rollins relentlessly pursuing leads, and Fin letting Dodds think he's a loyal soldier.

But THIS WAS NOT A SURPRISE! (Not only had many of us been predicting this outcome since Grandma's arrival, but the opening montage also pretty much let the cat the rest of the way out of the bag) Perhaps  Nooch and Company cared less about keeping her involvement under wraps and wanted the audience to feel Benson's inner turmoil as she realizes and comes to terms with her near-devastating decision to trust Sheila. If that's the case, mission accomplished. I'm still reeling from "I can't breathe" and the Barba hug and gawwwwd I'm giving myself another stress headache. But still...the actual script was disappointingly linear and devoid of genuine suspense (we all knew Noah would be fine and there was nothing more to Sheila's involvement other than...she did it, oh, and maybe that she seduced the lawn guy). 

They could've traded some Sheila-Benson time for more of Dodds running interference or running the investigation and Benson resisting and disagreeing and going rogue.

Or Cassidy could've been involved. 

I hate that asshole.

Re-watch Drinking Game

Drink when Sheila says "I" because remember, this is all about her!

Spoiler: she says "I" 13 times.

Quotable:

"You're not a cop in New Hampshire, just do it." You don't have to ask Rollins twice, Lieu. I loved that scene in the Ortoli house. Well done, detectives.

"You think you've seen emotional, wait 'til I tell her this." Poor Fin. 

#Squad

"You prevent the next mess."

"Maybe you wanted this to work out too much."

I always love Barba, especially when his legal expertise is showcased along with his insight and his genuine (platonic) affection for Benson. He is absolutely right, and, looking back, one has to wonder how this person could not only appear out of nowhere but be subject to so little scrutiny on the part of the Lieutenant who has a wealth of resources at her disposal and could have been alerted to Sheila's nefarious transactions (turning off utilities; draining bank accounts, etc.) earlier. 

I hate to think about Benson's reaction when and if Barba leaves.

My heart...

Wardrobe:

I am chagrined to say I wasn't paying one bit of attention except for Noah complaining once again that something was too big. And was that Ellie's childhood bed he slept in?

Tucker Files

I would take all this family crap a little more seriously if Benson hadn't let Tucker leave or if the breakup was due to an actual reason other than Noah climbing on the counter. Let's face it. At the end of the day the #SVU "family" is but an ephemeral placeholder for the real thing. ALL of those people will eventually leave; they have their own families (even though Fin's seem to have fallen by the wayside). Cute gathering at the end, but that's an every-once-in-a-while occurrence. The Bensons are currently a party of two.

And I will never forgive whoever decided the elephant's name was Eddie.

Unless Tucker returns and "the three of us" live happily ever after. 

Then we're all good. No harm; no foul.

Head Scratchers

1. How did driver's license or passport facial recognition not get a hit on Juan earlier? They had a clear picture of his face.
2. Paid cash for the car but Sheila used a credit card for the car seat? And she also left Noah alone while she bought burgers? And Noah didn't question the black phone screen?
3. Being "in from New Jersey" somehow precludes one from knowing where they were 30 minutes ago?
4. The PI didn't alert anyone when Sheila requested fake passports?
5. OMB went to the cabin alone? I get not wanting to spook Sheila (after all, she had to be getting irritated he wouldn't shut up about Mommy), but, come on. She could've asked for backup on standby without going full on SWAT. That was dumb (and bolstered Dodds' worries she wasn't thinking rationally and I hate when he's right). Carisi and Rollins didn't alert anyone about Juan's cabin BEFORE they went there? OMB didn't clear the perimeter before entering the cabin? Noah didn't wake up at Grandma Sheila's shriek? 
6. And finally...Juan thought he was going to RUN AWAY? LOLOLOLOLOL

Is it Next Wednesday Yet?

Hopefully the Sheila saga is over and we don't have to see her trial or her plea deal or Noah visiting her in prison. 

I don't think the final exchange between "Dick" Dodds and Fin was insignificant. Apparently, the Dodds-Benson Eidteen détente was either short-lived or forgotten (fine with me, I mean, Season 18 doesn't even exist on Hulu so, if it's not there, did it really happen)? I have a hard time believing Dodds wasn't following the squad's movements and had no clue about Benson's whereabouts. And why, when Fin told him she had been at home waiting by the phone...why did Dodds ask if she was alone? I was SO begging and pleading for Fin's response to be "I'm sure Tucker was with her." Yes, I know, I need to let it go.

Anyway...in addition to Benson losing all trust for everyone on Earth when it comes to her son, this Dodds thing could come back to burn Fin and OMB down the line. If, of course, we're doing that whole continuity thing.

For future reference, the only person allowed to call Noah "sweet boy" is his Mommy.