Cheers to the End!

The #42Minutes

All victims, dead or alive, lead to Rob Miller in the season finale and every time Benson and the squad make inroads, they're derailed either by flimsy evidence or uncooperative witnesses until Peter Stone says "fuck this" (he didn't really say it but he was thinking it) and arranges a series of shady transactions, effectively framing Miller. Even though his attorney busts Staines for her involvement during the trial, Stone flips the script on cross and manages to recast Staines as desperate and terrified (which she is), and the jury shockingly finds Miller guilty.

Verdict

This episode wasn't all that bad and would have been actually pretty good if I felt any affinity for Peter Stone and if the Rob Miller arc were better developed. Honestly, other than raping Staines, I don't remember what exactly he did and, yes, I could have gone back and rewatched but I haven't done that since Heartfelt Passages.

Since Miller's malevolence hadn't yet blotted my soul a la William Lewis, Benson's terror seemed overly contrived at times. Yes, he's creepy. Yes, she's still reeling from multiple Noah-in-danger subplots. Yes, Mariska Hargitay's portrayal of a mother's anguish is Emmy-worthy. Nevertheless, there were times I found myself muttering, "oh, calm down." Nothing was going to happen to Noah (although I did freak at the schoolyard pickup), Benson isn't losing her job...there are some things the audience, with 100% confidence, knows will not happen so venturing into that territory feels silly.

I was happy Philip Winchester got one last chance to overact a bunch of scenes. What was it with all that teary-eyed emotion? God, grow up, Peter. You're a fucking ADA. And also, the melodramatic, I did this for a good friend crap at the end? Good friend? Really? Blech.

I might miss Benson staring down Stone...just a little.

I hope, as the series hits its twilight, we get more dynamic, inventive writing. I had to chuckle a bit at the copycat nature of the finale--a sex trafficking ring run by someone so powerful and recalcitrant they operate beyond the reach of justice (sounds familiar) and an ADA breaching ethics for "the greater good" (did the writers sit around, scratching their heads, wondering how to exit Stone and then say 'what'd we do last time we had to replace an ADA, let's do something like that again')

For a minute I wondered why Miller's attorney didn't make a motion to set aside the verdict but of course he couldn't because then we wouldn't have had time for that gross scene outside of the courthouse. The best part about it was OMB's earrings, a blast from the past.

Ok, maybe I didn’t like it after all.

Quotable

"I shoulda shot the sonofabitch." I welcome Benson saying sonofabitch at any time. 

"Her organs were liquefied." That happens? Yuck.

"Never gets easier, does it?" HATE HATE HATE these lines. She's been doing this for THIRTY YEARS. It may not get easier but does she have to say this every time? WE. GET. IT.

"...Pursue our relationship..." Ewwww Rob Miller and your nasty ass beard...ewwww.

"If you saw him so much as light up a cigarette in a no smoking area..." Get it, Carisi. 

"There are things more important than a license to tap dance around a courtroom." Perhaps...but it's helpful to have that license. Wonder what will happen to Nikki Staines. I liked the character and hope she'll return. 


Finally, kudos to the ME for basically telling Rollins to chill the fuck out.

Wardrobe

Pink blazer and chunky reading glasses? Yes, please!

Is It...21 YET?

Bring it home, Warren!
(and if that home includes RJB I wouldn't exactly mind *wink wink)

Cheers, fans! We deserve a drink or two for surviving this very difficult three years.

Turn that frown upside down, OMB! #LeightsOn!