VII: A Psych Defense Without the Psych Defense

#42Minutes

After mortally wounded Charlie Mill is found by a neighbor, the squad is called to investigate a gruesome crime scene. Two more bodies. Coffee brewing. Cereal bowls out. No evidence of forced entry. The detectives zero in on the Mill's nanny who, admittedly, looks very guilty...bloody clothes and hiding in your brother's closet will do that for ya. The nanny gets a pass, though, because something weird is up with the Mill's financials. Eventually they uncover a scam perpetrated by Mrs. Mill; she's embezzled millions of dollars and her law firm is on to the racket. To "save" her family from the inevitable financial ruin and the consequences of her eventual incarceration, Anne Mill murdered her family and capped the whole thing off with her own suicide after a jury convicted her of one charge.

Verdict

Was the "20 years" of experience Benson claimed a nod to the 20th season? Because, um, her math is off.

And...this was an SVU case because? Not all crimes involving children automatically default to SVU. Wouldn't it go to Homicide?

I was convinced the writers were going to mimic the UWS killer nanny case from 2012--a tragedy that still makes me sick to my stomach, so the nanny in "Caretaker" functioned as a plausible red herring. As soon as the squad caught on to Anne's illegal financial schemes, the plot should have shifted to a shrink-centered case. This was the perfect time to introduce and develop Dr. Abernathy, but the writers gave her a minute or so of screen time, she quickly diagnosed Anne, and then Benson got to play shrink on the stand in the courtroom. I'm all for Benson getting the majority of the screen time, but this choice didn't make much sense, considering the defense's strategy.

Representation!

And hey, no Stone sister connection in this one but, instead of Delaney Williams as Buchanan, O'Boyle shows up to remind us Stone used to work in Chicago. Can you take him back to the Windy City with, ya, dude?

Finally, if we concede Benson has shrugged off most of her former reservations about Rollins, can we stop with the constant single mom angst? We get it. And please stop using the plot to ram their burgeoning BFFness down our throats (even though I'm sure the Rollivia faction went gaga over that hug).

Also--Carisi doesn't know the legacy of the White Horse? I have a hard time believing that...

Quotable

Carisi and Benson ponder Fin's assertion, "wouldn't be the first homewreckin' nanny on the Upper West Side."

Speaking of Fin...here's the rest of this week's FinSass:

"Musta been a helluva poem."

"She's in Rikers, I don't think they're gonna give her the key."

"Look who you're talking to, dude."

"Jesus I can't believe this."

"Mother's don't kill their babies."

WHAT? That scene in the middle of the episode (see pic below) was reminiscent of a cheesy whodunit. Why is anyone in this squad shocked? This is not their first instance of filicide.

This week in OOC OMB dialogue:

"Sometimes life just sucks."

"You should keep those flowers --sometimes we just need a little pretty."

Shouldn't SVU writers be required to watch a few of the past episodes? I mean, there are plenty from which to choose.

Fucking flowers again...

Is it Next Thursday Yet?

The holidays are upon us and OMB needs to reconsider her shopping list...other than that I don't know what I'm looking forward to or not looking forward to. Right now the show feels rudderless and the only consistent threads are elements I care nothing about (Rollins baby drama and Stone).

Adios!