XX.XV: Friend of the House?

The #42Minutes

Whoever is running the pop-up brothels in Manhattan manages to stay one step ahead of the combined SVU/Vice task force charged with taking them down and complicating matters is the realization that someone from inside NYPD is tipping off the perps. When they screw up and leave an OD victim to die (she doesn't and becomes the key witness), the case starts to unravel and the strings lead to a trio of officers and a judge who unwittingly confesses thanks to side piece Judge Barth.

Fin gets shut down by his old flame Sgt. Baker...or did he get invited to a threesome? Well, either way, more of Phoebe, pretty please.

Verdict

I had to rewatch this morning because I'd had a few Valentine's Day beverages at the pub...but I may have rewatched anyway. This one wasn't bad. The interaction between the squad and Sgt. Baker was awesome and I'll say it again for the people behind the sound-proof writers room walls MORE PHOEBE, PLEASE.

Dirty cops and judges and brothels is nothing new to SVU (anyone get Manhattan Transfer feels?) but the pop-up style was and since the ep was condensed into #42Minutes it wasn't hard to figure out that asking for warrants=brothels dismantling and, duh, Kofax is signing all the warrants.

I wish this story would have unfolded over the course of the season or a few episodes. I found the Judge Barth affair angle oddly tantalizing for some reason and who wouldn't love Sgt. Baker showing up from time to time and she and Fin gradually rekindling their romance?

The writers (or maybe the editors?) didn't do a great job of seamlessly weaving in the Fin-Phoebe (FinOebe? BakOla?)--another reason this premise would have been better if presented over the course of the season.  However, Carisi, who obviously overheard the "meeting for drinks" comment after getting the warrant, trying to be all buddy buddy with Fin in the car during the stakeout was adorable Sonny at his finest...and his behavior lately is starting to worry me...like he's headed for an existential crisis. And where was he going after eating pizza with the Rollinses? To meet that bad guy's niece? Will she gift him those fancy shoes?

Not a Benson-heavy episode but Stone was nowhere to be found so I can live with MariskaLite, wait, that sounds like a beer, anyway, was the ep running short because, even though OMB is always about taking care of the victims, she didn't seem to make that deep of a connection with Ann, so, when she went to see her later it felt afterthought-ish.

Quotable:

"Means the store might have a record of who bought them." I HATE LINES LIKE THIS. DUH. It makes OMB sound like a ten-year-old. And also, even a semi-drunk audience member like me can make that inference. 

Fin-"We need a minute"
Baker-"I'll have a coffee."
LOLOLOLOL I LOVE Sgt. Baker!!!!

"The system is far from perfect but it can work." After this OMB got too preachy for my liking, but I think we all welcome the reassurance.

"...door in splinters..." There was something so badass about this quote. Even though she didn't have much screen time, I loved how "I'm in charge here" OMB was in this ep.

"Take a look and tell me what other idiots went to lock up that day." Sergeant Sass! Made even better by the fact that Esposito is a native New Yorker, accent and all.

Wardrobe:

Bringing back this subheading because Benson was sporting some spiffy new duds...along with a jacket recycled from 17--that and all the IAB, IAB, IAB, well, you know where I'm going with this.

Is it Next Thursday, Yet?

Even though I disagree him returning...again...for more closure...hopefully...for the last time...I'll stop hating on Cassidy for a second because this looks pretty good from the preview clip and I don't want to be in a bad mood during my NY visit. I'm almost positive they're going to pair the two of them up again because why else give him this now-multiseason arc? And also the SVU gods hate me.

So fine...but this will always be Valentine's Day to me:

XX.XIV: Part 33

The #42Minutes

In the bowels of the courthouse among furniture discarded from dead judges' offices, the squad agonizes (well, Fin doesn't) about how they'll spin the evidence in the case of NY vs. Annabeth Pearl who shot her husband three times after, according to everyone but Rollins, years of vicious, unrelenting emotional and psychological abuse. The foursome is loosely divided between Fin and Rollins and Carisi and Liv. The latter wrestle with varying degrees of truth and whether or not to twist it during their testimony so the verdict is more likely to swing in Annabeth's favor. Carisi is "creative" to the point that Stone has to object to his own witness' statement and his "treason" stamps a gigantic question mark on what Stone thought was a slam dunk case. Benson, who was on the list as a rebuttal witness, has to testify and, though she tries at first to nuance Annabeth's confession, she admits Annabeth showed no remorse and, in fact, revealed years of premeditation.

The Verdict

Am I the only one who thought it was a little bit hilarious that Stone walked into court that morning all confident and probably a bit smug and had no clue what was boiling beneath the surface?

The format of the episode--placing everyone immediately in the powder keg--was perfection. The complicated case played out through the squad's legal and moral sparring--exchanges that can only take place among people who know and trust one another. Their debates were relevant and raw--what "color" does truth have to be to equate to justice? What happens when the letter of the law doesn't result in a moral, humane outcome? How does one prove "abuse" when there are no physical injuries? How does one describe terror so it becomes real for people who have never experienced it? (FYI--it's Benson's description of her time with Lewis).

On that note--I'm not necessarily sure Benson revealed Lewis raped her. It doesn't quite fit with how the saga played out (even though, in Psycho/Therapist Benson does correct Lewis and say "rape isn't sex). It seems to me that Benson could have been conflating her own terror with that of the hundreds of victims' accounts she's heard in her career.

On the other hand...there is some space in the past arc...and, of course, there's the ambiguous non-verbal reply to the abortion question...we'll see if the writers connect the two. I hope not.

On the other, other hand...I have a sick feeling that all roads lead to Cassidy and the two of them fully disclosing the truth of their pasts...and maybe that's why Benson was feeling pressure when things were getting serious with Tucker. I'd always been under the impression she revealed everything to him, but maybe she didn't, knew he wanted her to, and it ended up driving an emotional wedge between them...I could be riffing wayyyy too much here (and I hope I am), but...it's possible. Still, Cassidy=yuck.

Lastly-WTF Rollins? Look, I go back in forth between loving and hating her, but her skepticism toward victims, her tendency to more often than not assume men are being unfairly accused, and, to quote Tucker, her THIN BLUE LINE CRAP (when she was raped by her former [cop] boss in Atlanta makes me want Liv to boot her ass out of SVU. She needs therapy, quickly, so she doesn't pass down this bullshit to her daughters.

Why didn't they turn on the fan?

Also...Annabeth reminded me of Carisi's sister and I spent way too much time thinking about that.

Quotable

"You and I are done talking." Okay, this was from Manhattan transfer, but the bleeding heart sneer from Stone reminded me of that moment in Barba's office and also reminded me I miss Barba. 

"She saw it...she saw it..." Benson talking about the gun as a threat and she started to get worked up and then she launched into the heart-wrenching description of terror...And. I. Just...GAHHHHHH she's good.

"That's not rape." Peter, your SVU education is not yet over, you ass.

"All it takes is a little love." Too many hints at love, pretty, marriage...and with Cassidy in view, well, see above.

"Believe you me." Nooch, seriously? I HATE that phrase. But, to your credit, it was the only bad one in the ep.

Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom. The main character's "personal curse was his belief that he was too strong to need to be a part of the human family."

Is it Next Thursday, Yet?

One has to wonder if this will create ongoing tension between Stone and the squad. I doubt it because this writing crew doesn't seem to like much continuity from one episode to the next, but one can always hope.

Can Alex Chapple direct every episode, please? Damn those shots were amazing. Can't go wrong beginning an episode with someone walking into a bar and laying a gun and a wedding ring on the table.

So, this was good. Definitely in the top two post-Leight years episodes and maybe sneaking into the top ten of all time but I'm irritated that Nooch has been hiding these writing chops from us for so long.

XX.XIII: Céline Says Goodbye (and rubs salt in my Tuckson wounds)

#42Minutes

SVU is called to a gruesome murder scene in Hamilton Heights and the victim's daughters said they were being attacked when their father walked in, interrupted the assault, and ended up paying with his life. It doesn't take long for the medical examiner and the detectives to conclude the girls' story doesn't jibe with the evidence, and, as the story and initial untruths unravel (Fin was clutch in catching the spelling error!), it turns out that the all-too-helpful and concerned neighbor Greg is the bad guy.

In other news, Rollins has her baby and there's a much appreciated send off for Dr. Al.

Verdict

The episode was semi-interesting, but, even so, I'm not confident SVU will ever again attain Leight Years quality. Even when there aren't any maddening WTF moments, the show lacks the pop it used to have. In this particular episode, there weren't very many paths to go down...the perp was either Dad or Greg (one way or another)...and the girls were either psychotic and evil or lashing out as a result of being victimized. Sigh.

And a few other things...

1. The actors didn't match Britney's and Laura's ages. Laura seemed older than Britney but Laura was only 13.

2. Did CSU get the day off? Why is Carisi inspecting the broken window like he's O'Halloran? Wouldn't someone have already alerted them about the impossibility of someone unlatching the window from outside?

3. Rollins' baby and then Al's proposal got in the way of the main plot. The whole baby daddy, posh apartment drama has been annoying, dull, and I sincerely hope that distraction is over.

4. Too many implied (or maybe I inferred) Tuckson references--Benson doesn't have a ring which Tucker was supposed to give her, Carisi stole Tucker's line in a hospital hallway not identical but similar enough to the one in Heartfelt Passages, and Benson sleeping alone on the bench....rather than on Tucker's shoulder. I. Just.....

I did have to laugh at Liv's reaction to Al's proposal...oh, okay, well, let's move on...like, she and Amanda have a much closer relationship now but even OMB has had it with Rollins' rollercoaster of a personal life.

If Stone has to be on the show, I can accept this amount of screen time.

Quotable

"And the baby." That'll get him every time as any loyal SVU viewer knows. 

"I don't love you." WE ALL KNEW IT, ROLLINS! Good for you. Now, move in with Carisi and move on with your life and get a good nanny because we don't need to see your kids anymore.

"What could possibly go wrong?" I love snarky Benson. 

And these expressions say it all...

Is it Next Wednesday Thursday, Yet?

They aired the perfect teaser because I cannot wait to see how "keep your bleeding heart out of my courtroom" plays out...awww, Stone, you crossed a big fat line there, dude. Put him in his place, OMB!

I live my life constantly worried that "Facing Demons" is the conclusion of "Chasing Demons" and even though it seemed Benson and Cassidy put some (more) closure on their relationship, there's still his abuse and her abortion hanging out there unresolved....can we please be done with this dude on the show? Did he save Dick Wolf's life or something a while back?

Dryuary's over, y'all! Cheers!