A Final #Tuckson Goodbye

The #42Minutes

Well, guys...

Ugh.

I will say, Robert John Burke knocked it out of the park on his final #SVU episode, and I must dole out kudos to the writers and producers for clearing the stage and giving the episode to Mariska and Bobby to take home. Their chemistry is unmatched and I like to think the two of them hated that it had to end this way. 

Speaking of ending this way...

SERIOUSLY?

I won't ramble like I did three years ago. 

I do wonder what the powers that be have against either RJB or the character. Warren Leight so deliberately and artfully transformed Tucker into a suitable partner for Benson, made the relationship believable, and then made us fall in love. Yet, after he left Tucker, Benson, and Noah in a good place, Eidteen & Co. fucked it up...but not so much that it couldn't be salvaged. But instead of nudging them back together, our clamoring for Tucker's return was met with his marriage to another woman and his soul crushing death. 

For what?

I've said it a million times, but I think I'm committed to the sentiment now. I'm officially sick and tired of watching Olivia Benson tortured.

I will forever mourn not just the relationship but the stories, tension, and, yes, joy that a married-to-Tucker Captain Benson could have experienced. I am not here for another season or two or three or, if the 25 rumor is accurate, four of Benson agony. And the worst part is, I don't think I'll ever be able to buy in to another love interest. Tucker was just too perfect.

Setting their last scene similar to Heartfelt Passages was not only unfair, it was borderline cheesy. As was the Paris pic which she just happened to have in her desk? Tucker, at least, got some closure from Benson admitting she was too scared to let herself love him, but I will never excuse the writers for ignoring that they were in a relationship for OVER A YEAR and never once did he check in? Not when Noah was kidnapped? Not when she was being investigated for child abuse? And he didn't ask about Noah in their not one but two closure conversations? 

I feel like someone instructed WL to wipe the slate clean of Tucker already and shut everyone up. Mission accomplished. While I will always acknowledge the show is not a soap opera and has a broader purpose, #Tuckson added an addictive element that cannot be replicated. We see so many #SVU cases in real life...and while it's always gratifying to see the squad busting a perp and relentlessly pursuing justice, it was nice, for a while, to root for Benson and Tucker's seemingly improbable love story unfolding on the periphery. 

That dance card (such a Tucker line, btw) had some room for him...OMB just needed some help to realize it.

I doubt WL wanted it to end this way, and I'm irrevocably sad Bobby Burke will no longer grace the screen as Ed Tucker. I will probably still watch the show, but with less devotion than before. And for those of you who love the fic world I've created for these characters, that will go on until I join Tucker...wherever he is. 

21.11: No Pep Talk Like a Benson Pep Talk

The #42Minutes

What begins as a type of crime SVU has explored dozens of times turns into a media circus when victim Monica Russo lashes out against the incompetent, unsympathetic, and (at the very least) unethical police officer with whom she made an initial rape complaint weeks before plastering accusatory artwork all over the west side. Once Monica is located, Benson pulls every string she has to help her, but Monica and her lawyer, prove to be challenging allies in the fight to put the invincible Merkeevious Ryan behind bars. After one of several public displays of outrage, two more of Ryan's victims come forward and, even though the judge rules their testimony inadmissible, the women do give Carisi leverage to arrest Ryan. In the courtroom, our beloved detective turned ADA gets absolutely annihilated by the more experienced and more ruthless Elana Barth, but Benson saves the day with take out and a pep talk and Carisi ends up manipulating the defense into making a serious mistake by putting Ryan on the stand...after Carisi's terrible opening performance, it was the only way to get the guilty verdict...but wouldn't it be nice if Monica's words were enough?

The Verdict

B

First of all, the episode wasn't well balanced. It took 12 minutes for the squad to locate Monica (even though we did get to see Orfeh, yay!, and I learned strippers can pay $20 for spare thongs in the locker room. Who knew?)--anyway, the pace picked up after that, but I would have liked to swap some of those seconds for more legal wrangling time.

Most problematic for me, though, was the trial. Why in the world would the DA's office leave Carisi alone at the prosecution table to argue a case against a very high profile defendant and his shrewd defense attorney who has decades of legal experience on him? This made zero sense. I kept waiting for Hadid to show up and make some comment implying she'd hung him out to dry as revenge. The variables--intense media focus, celeb client, an outburst-prone accuser, and a novice prosecutor--were a recipe for complete disaster until...until...

Barth fucks up. 

Problemo numero dos. 

I do not for one second believe former Judge Elana Barth would have been so stupid and full of hubris to put Ryan on the stand so he could hang himself. Surely she'd spent ample time with her client and knew he would be prone to shooting himself in the foot. She had already pummeled Monica enough to create reasonable doubt with the jury...everyone knew it. Barth should've been immune to Carisi's manipulation.

So, chalk up a victory for Carisi, and, most importantly, for Monica, but I'm quite sure Barth's decision opened the door for an appeal, although I doubt we'll hear anything else about this case as the season progresses. 

Rollins is suppressing whatever lingering "hostage-lite" trauma she's experiencing and, of course, has declared herself "cured" and no longer in need of therapy which we all know is miles and miles from the truth. I loved her little dig at Kat about checking with the Captain and I can't imagine she enjoyed Fin telling her to take five and then ten after he previously allowed Kat to roam unleashed around Getz. 

When Mariska Hargitay directs, we can always expect some well-timed, poignant close-ups and she didn't disappoint with this one, especially the shot of her escorting Monica into the police car after she's arrested and Carisi's strip club, what am I doing here, grimace...but, c'mon, Sonny, you've done this seedy OC thing before, dude. Maybe you'd be more comfortable with your camera-embedded specs?

And in the category of Annoying Elements I'm Thrilled Writers Omitted:

We were spared a Kat Ooooo I found some obvious detail that anyone else could have spotted but I'm the one looking so I'm awesome moment, and, I'll be damned, they found a way to include Noah without reminding us that he's now a dancer! 

I'm also happy we didn't have to sit through a snippet of the fucking Nutcracker. 

Wardrobe

Benson, you can wear that burgundy trench all day every day in each episode for all #42. Burgundy prevailed in this episode, with both Benson and Barth sporting the color and, speaking of Barth, her austere courtroom attire is spot on. 

And, of course, Benson's wearing these earrings again which I associate with Tucker because she was wearing them in the ep after Collateral Damages and even though she'd worn them in a prior season they were prominent and my romantic heart imagined he'd given them to her and...okay, I'll stop.

Quotable

"Certainly not a kids' movie..." And then Benson pushes Noah along...LOLOLOLOL...such a no-bullshit mom move. 

"It's a strip club, you'll be fine." Did I miss something? Does Fin have a penchant for patronizing strip clubs? I know this line was probably tossed in as banter among two longtime colleagues but it kind of rubbed me the wrong way. 

"I'm not pleading to anything."

"Good for you."

A Barba-esque response from ADA Carisi. OH, one more thing...why is it that Every. Single. ADA. has had some sort of an office...in Barba's and Stone's cases, quite an expansive one, but Carisi's relegated to a tiny desk in a room shared with others? A sign the DA's office is relegating SVU prosecution to a lower rung? But still...get the kid a fucking SPACE. Yet another issue I have with the whole Carisi-as-ADA concept...

"And I'm dead serious here." Oh, Carisi, green or otherwise, I love you so. He's so desperate to be good at his job...to be taken seriously...I winced in pain after Barth tore him apart, but the visit from Benson was sweet and the writers did a nice job of making the encounter fall along the lines of a mentor-mentee chat rather than something more patronizing. 

"You lied to my face." Oh, wait...that's next ep. But Tucker wouldn't lie to Liv unless it was absolutely necessary, right? RIGHT? 

RIGHT????

Is It Next Thursday, Yet?

Making us wait two weeks for the return of Tucker falls somewhere along the lines of an A Misdemeanor or a low-grade felony. The way the promo audio lined up with flashes of (still-gorgeous), smirking, smug Tucker sure makes it easy to expect a return of the villainous version of the character, though it would be wildly out of sync with how Leight wrote him and even how he was portrayed when Eidteen broke up the most perfect ship in the history of ships. 

And I'll be damned if the wife doesn't look like Barth, but after careful analysis (and I DO mean CAREFUL), I don't think it is. 

Frankly, I'm tired of speculating. Rip the Band-Aid off and get it over with. I survived Tuckson heartbreak number one, I can weather another. 

Hmmm...a box...did they recently move in? The "Just Married" sign still on their car? Whatever the circumstances, Tucker you're fine as hell. 

21.10: Relax, Carisi!

The #42Minutes

The Steve Getz case, which we knew somehow culminated with his jailhouse suicide, continues with the squad frantically trying to find Rollins' location after she's kidnapped by Frank Bucci. It takes an abnormal amount of SVU Time to get GPS and cell pings (is it me or doesn't the show's TARU typically come up with locations much more quickly?) which give Bucci time to swap license plates like all good kidnappers, and drive Rollins out of the city. Meanwhile, people in Getz's inner circle start flipping like it's going out of style, and he and his procurer are arrested on the tarmac seconds before fleeing on a private jet. In the squad room, Benson and company are scratching their heads about next moves when Rollins escorts a handcuffed Bucci into the precinct. She's safe but not okay, Bucci gets off easy, and Getz takes his own life, bringing a close to the squad's work but leaving the victims on a path to justice that goes nowhere.

The Verdict

A-

The minus is purely a personal issue. I confess, I've watched too much SVU. Like many of you I've watched certain episodes and seasons over and over again. As a result, many plot "twists" and nuances feel carbon copied from one episode to the next. Corrupt judges, Carisi's suspicion of the higher-ups in the DA's office, a judge who can't sign a warrant, Getz's "black book"--I swear some of the dialogue was swiped from the pages of Manhattan Transfer/Unholiest Alliance.

The whole "black book" thing was left unresolved...will it stay that way like in real life or have the writers mined it for a reason for Tucker resurfacing?

However, considering we already knew the ending and knew Rollins would survive, the episode was well-paced and captivating. Kelli Giddish (who looks alarmingly skinny) was fantastic, and I loved how she was able to both convey terror but also maintain Rollins' cocky, this-shit-is-a-waste-of-my-time  and btw-you-suck-at-hostage-taking edge. Except for that pesky Glock, the bungled kidnapping was kind of adorable at times, especially during the impromptu therapy session in the car. Rollins hits the nail on the head when she finally verbally admits she is her own worst enemy, and, for the first time ever, I had some sympathy for her. Rollins has always been frustrating to me because she fucks up and rarely ever takes full responsibility for what she's done--but in that moment in the car--"I am I guess"--gawwwwwd that was heart-wrenching. Not only does she think she doesn't deserve a nice guy, she apparently has permanently relegated herself to middling detective, probably on account of the multiple dings in her jacket, but she believes she is beyond redemption. I could keep unpacking and unpacking...kudos to the writers for finessing this hostage crisis into something that may be a painful yet revolutionary turning point in Rollins' life and career.

While my affinity for Rollins is on the rise, my opinion of Kat tanks. Do we have to have a moment in every ep in which she "miraculously" figures something out. Oooo, she connected Hanover's office to the cell pings, an important observation, but not necessarily a genius one. And I really want to see Rollins' face when someone lets it slip that Kat briefly entertained the idea Rollins was in on her own kidnapping. Pleeeeeease let that happen!

Annnnd on my continuing list of things I don't care about...we're really taking this whole Noah dancing thing and running with it, huh? Why must it be the core of every single exchange between mother and son? Will dance somehow turn into an SVU case (please, no)?

Did OMB drop off the food before she went to find Rollins?

Wardrobe

I bet everyone was glad to get a fresh change of clothes! Not a dazzling episode for the wardrobe department, but Benson was sporting what looked to be an onyx pendant around her neck as the episode came to a close. Symbolic or simply @svustyle changing up her jewelry?

Quotable

"Just shush." LOLOL Oh, Bucci...nobody listens to him...

"We need a no-knock warrant." And then Garland shoves his way in to the Judge's home. I loved how the chief was written in this episode--dogged, no-nonsense, and unwilling to crumble in the face of the powers that be. A chief-centric episode is coming up, and I wonder if Ellery's comment about Garland not knowing is place will be at its core. 

"Is that okay with you? Officer?" Get it, Carisi! Speaking of not knowing your place...Kat, ouch. 

Is it Next Thursday, Yet?

Captain Benson is being written as confident, steady, decisive, and oh-so I'm-in-chargey which is accurate and deserved. But when she remarked that Rollins' family consisted of the squad and her daughters, it doesn't take Kat to point out that the same can be said for Benson and Noah and that OMB hasn't yet processed Simon's death. With married Tucker's (and Lindstrom's) return on the horizon, I can't help but fear we're in for a soul-crushing Benson breakdown.

Q: Until then, is there anything more perfect that Carisi sparring with Barth in his first trial?

A: No.

Cheers, everyone (but with a soft drink for me since it's my third annual Dryuary...so how about doing me a solid and going easy on the emotions, WL?)

Thought I'd ask...