21.2: In Darkness, There's Leight

The #42Minutes

After an alcohol and drug-fueled girls' night out, Raegan James orders a QuikRide (how are they still in business?) and presumably heads home; however, when she wakes up the next morning she knows something horrible has happened. She stumbles into SVU and, little by little over the course of the episode, the squad is able to cobble together the bits and pieces of evidence into a case strong enough to force all four perps into plea deals.

The Verdict

A-

The episode did the "imperfect victim" some well deserved legal and poetic justice. Instead of hammering away at the imperfections, Benson, especially, zeroes in on piecing together the night and identifying the assailants. Had this same plot been the core of an episode in the past three years, we would have endured #42Minutes of the detectives lamenting Raegan's implied mental illness, her drug and alcohol abuse, and her penchant for engaging in casual sex acts in department stores. This episode prioritized the crime and the bad guys. Bravo.

The episode's one drawback was the highly anticipated trauma-based interviewing sessions. First of all, being in that cell-like office should have been trauma enough. WTF?

Rollins' and Fin's segments felt like filler. I know we're a bit overloaded with debriefing in bars scenes, but I would have liked to see the two of them add some after-hours context to what they experienced. As far as Benson is concerned, how many more times do we have to witness the specter of William Lewis come back to haunt her? After (I think it was Part 33?) there was speculation Lewis may have raped her and WL mentioned having to tie up some loose ends lingering from his hiatus, but nothing new came of Benson revisiting her trauma.

On the other hand, her relentlessness and compassion throughout the investigation showed growth and healing (as she mentioned at the end without being preachy, thank you very much writers)...but, then again, the "new interview technique" didn't seem all that cutting edge. It seemed like someone putting a name on an approach experienced detectives already use.

Finally, Lewis is NOT polarizing. He's universally loathed. So, that teaser was disappointing. My personal, and, possibly, futile, #TuckerWatch continues.

Wardrobe

Captain Benson sizzled! Perfect hair. Perfect blue blouses. And was that the Captain in chic sandals? I believe it was!

Quotable

"But I feel like I can trust you." Raegan speaks for us all. 

"Counselor Carisi..." LOL. I don't always love Amanda Rollins, but when I do, it's when she's at her sarcastic, skeptical self.

"That's Dennis, my old boss. I like your hair that way." I sincerely apologize, but I chuckled. BTW-the chemistry between Ariel Winter and Mariska Hargitay was phenomenal. Benson wrangling mercurial Raegan was the show at its finest, and I was worried I wouldn't be able to see Winter as anyone other than Alex Dunphy, but...Alex who?

"I just wanted her to get up." Finnnnnnn! Hugs!

"I drove her home. Who knows what would have happened to her?" Well, you could have driven her home in the first place, scumbag. 

Raegan recognizing Benson having said all of those lines...yes, true, but that doesn't mean they become irrelevant. Nice touch.

Is It Next Thursday, Yet?

I've scratched Uptown Girl from all playlists (thanks, SVU, for casting yet another sinister hue on something beloved).

I'm looking forward to Detective Kat joining the crew (this is all but guaranteed, right?) and watching Carisi settle into his new role. He didn't necessarily clash with Benson, but he was a voice of reason when she was leaning toward going all in with the four perps. I cannot wait to see this new dynamic play out over the course of the season.