The #42Minutes
The episode opens at Far Rockaway by Andrew--an upscale seafood restaurant--where intense Chef Leibowitz (he has the restaurant's logo tatted on his hand!) barks out orders and he and right-hand-woman Kayla serve fancy entrees to a pair of overly-jolly journalists. For a split second the audience is led to believe it might be these two men who assault Kayla who is later taken to SVU after an altercation with a not-guilty Uber driver. SVU investigates, but they don't get much other than a consensual wine-cellar sex claim by Andrew and a sip of Montrachet for Fin as a disapproving Carisi looks on. They dig a little deeper and find three accusations against Andrew from Brooklyn and also discover his pattern of keeping panties as trophies. Nevertheless, the problem is they're in Brooklyn and their Peter Stone alleges he couldn't prosecute because the cases had too many weak links and holes and Kayla doesn't want to move forward with the charges because she's raking in six figures. But the good news is...Stone's sister was killed so he gets Kayla to testify and Benson is willing to leak the story to a tabloid to get more victims to come forward, only, the newest accuser, Bethany, points the finger at the seemingly squeaky-clean Chris Hodges rather than Andrew. In an interview lifted almost entirely from the Kavanaugh hearings, she recounts to Benson an assault which occurred in high school with crystal clear detail. When confronted with this info, Hodges gets all pissy and blames Andrew, agrees to wear a wire and participate in a sting, and SVU gets a twofer because the convo gives them enough evidence to arrest both men.
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| Yeah, the juice sorta looks like the brown stuff Ed drank, right buddy? I'm sad, too. |
Also, Noah doesn't like olives.
Verdict
No joke, the only ONLY reason I continue to watch is Mariska Hargitay (did she request some time off or something because the star wasn't exactly featured and I could be wrong but the show sorta lives and dies with her). The "ripped from the headlines" plots feel lazy, the dialogue cheap and corny, and I am so, so, so, so weary of Peter Stone's anguished, pensive face on the fucking screen. Nothing against Philip Winchester, but I also can't stand his clipped, forlorn way he delivers his lines. You don't need to sell Stone's sadness anymore, dude. We get it.
The episode wasn't all that suspenseful, and I must have been the only one not shocked that the #MeToo advocate Hodges ended up being a bad guy, too. It was a convenient way for the writers to neatly denounce rapist chefs and rapist office seekers in only one #42Minute block and also hitch it to next week's Mea Culpa (more about that at the end of the post).
One thing I thought odd about the investigation (or maybe it was the editing) was that after Kayla walked out of SVU providing no leads other than it wasn't the Uber driver, the squad immediately went to the restaurant merely based on the driver's records. Without a willing, complaining victim, would that actually have happened?
When Benson and Stone finally agree they really, really need Kayla to cooperate (duh), Stone, not Benson, goes to see her. WHYYYYYYYYYY? He's not a fucking cop. He's a young-ish, successful, powerful white male with a few months of SVU prosecuting experience and he's the one tasked with convincing Kayla...AND the writers went there and clumsily wove sister Stone's murder into a reason why Kayla should fight back (and she flipped a little too quickly, btw). Give me a fucking break. The sympathy cow has been milked dry.
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| "But why?" Oh, shut up, Rollins. These writers write like it's freaking Groundhog Day. |
Liv's new funky apartment paint job is cute...
I know many fans have been anti-Noah storylines for a long time. Until Sheila, I liked them. However, where are we going with stubborn Noah? Who cares? All kids are brats. Do any kids like salad? Is he acting out because his mother is never there (yawn)....enough already.
Annnnnd of course we must squeeze in a little female bonding scene about yet another ugly moment from Rollins' past....
Benson leaking the deets to the reporter in the dark stairwell was hot...I hope that doesn't come back to bite her but surely she has a fistful of "the ends justify the means" cards to play by now.
I did have to chuckle, though, at the osso buco...thanks, Kayla, another dish Noah can taste and spit out.
Quotable:
This week in "we're trying to be crude and authentic" lines that are actually so obnoxious they're laughable:
"banged her against the Bordeaux"
"three berry shortcake that'll give you both wood"
"Want half of my cinnamon raisin bagel?" Who says the whole name of the bagel? Also, I didn't believe for a second Rollins was bothered by Fin's barb...her retort was spot on "What's my type, Fin? Broke?" Rollins can take it and dish it.
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| "NOT ANYMORE!" |
Is It Next Thursday, Yet?
Okay, the pot brownie was funny, but, for the second time in a month, Fin crosses a line and takes a sip of Montrachet while in the wine cellar. Fin clearly gives no fucks and maybe feels invincible with that Sergeant's badge and whatever dirt he has on Dodds, but will he go too far at some point and end up with his career in jeopardy?
I'll gladly eat my blog a week from now, but I don't see how this whole Peter Stone sexual assault case ends well. Scenario 1: the accuser is lying. Scenario 2: the accuser may or may not be telling the truth but alcohol was involved and details are fuzzy and Stone gets a pass though, moving forward, he is continually under suspicion and Benson doesn't trust him.
Stone's probably going to get to interrogate his accuser on the stand and how will Benson react considering she knows what that's like and we know a) representing yourself is a boneheaded decision and b) Stone's not leaving so maybe our best hope is a suspension (served for a long time, off screen)
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| Me when thinking about post-S17 SVU |
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