21.1: A Safe Step into History

The #42Minutes:

There's no easing into the new ADA job for Carisi when, on the night of his going away (?) party (at a pub where Gunsmoke was playing on one of the screens), a young aspiring actress shows up at SVU and accuses entertainment mogul Sir Tobias Moore of sexual assault during an audition. Most of the episode focuses on how excruciatingly difficult it is to bring the wealthy and powerful to justice and how even people who should be fighting for victims (Tobias' assistant, shame on you!) either actively or passively enable predators. 

The Verdict:

I'm not a fan of carbon copy ripped from the headlines episodes because they're often too predictable than poignant. This episode teetered along that line and, around the thirty minute mark, lost a bit of steam as the detectives and Carisi painstakingly tried to make a case that would stick. Choosing to have a character bring up Weinstein acted as a subtle insistence that this episode, though the players and circumstances mirrored those of the actual case, wasn't about him. It was to point out there are more Weinsteins out there, and, more importantly, more victims' stories that haven't been told. 

Has there ever been a smarmier guest star than Ian MacShane? Damn, he killed that role. Oh, and btw, if anyone was playing Drink when you hear someone say "Sir Toby," you have a vicious hangover this morning, dontcha? Also, is it just me, or is Pilar the default name for Latino women on SVU? 

I'm bouncing up and down with excitement anticipating the new dynamics with Carisi as ADA. He's already rubbed his boss the wrong way and at some point his allegiance to Benson, Fin, and Rollins is sure to cause professional and personal angst. I'm envisioning all sorts of scenarios--Benson thinking she can work him, Rollins assuming she can charm him, Fin getting pissed off at him--I. Cannot. Wait.

I'm also all about Barth-as-Adversary. Not quite Rita Calhoun, but I'll take it. I'll also take Benson's incredulous, WTF expressions directed at Attorney Barth. Pleeeeease tell me she's recurring!

I'm not sad about Chief Dodds leaving, but I have to wonder if his transfer will weigh on Olivia's mind throughout the season. I'm also glad the promotion to Captain wasn't overdone especially since we all knew it was happening. Thank you, Twitter. 

I had to chuckle a couple of times--the pics of moustached Carisi at the bar, and, was that a bit of shade thrown at all the classic-movie remakes out there? 

Baynard Rustin Houses? Intentional error?

Quotable:

"This case blows up, it won't touch her."

"We're NYPD, we arrest people all the time without the DA signing off."

Dodds' little hints at politics...he didn't play nice and got transferred. Buckle up, Captain Benson!

"Guys like this they rule by fear. Nobody likes them."

"Sonofabitch."

"Ugh, I can't."

Thank gawwwwwwd we're back to people writing Benson who write like they know Benson. 

"Spoiler alert..."

Carisi, you're sounding like Barba already.

Wardrobe

It's not quite trench coat season, but COORDINATING POLKA DOTS on party night! How adorable!

And I Cannot Forget About...

I'm thinking Tucker was probably watching Noah when Benson was "up early on a Sunday morning" and goddam, Benson and Dodds in the bar and he says "stick your neck out" and she says he's "a good man" and all of these lines remind me of Tucker who can be considered a polarizing recurring character, no?

Fin and Benson waiting, watching, and listening...reminiscent of Collateral Damages

Is It Next Thursday, Yet? 

The episode looks intense! Bring it!

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!

XX.XXIII: PenUGHtimate

The #42Minutes

After Councilwoman Nahla Nasar is found beaten and raped in a synagogue, Benson and her crew set out to find the assailant amidst a firestorm of less-than-scrupulous media coverage and public outrage. As has been the pattern for most of this season, the audience has to spend almost half of the #42Minutes following the detectives down a dead end path before one of them (Carisi this time) unlocks the mystery box with a piece of evidence that should not have been all that much of a mystery.

The Verdict

It will probably be difficult to find a viewer who hasn't taken issue with part or all of the episode. Lately I've been more annoyed than angry with SVU, and last night's #42 was no exception. I suppose I would have been more exasperated if a) my expectations weren't already dreadfully low and b) if the patchwork of extreme, exaggerated stereotypes hadn't been so, well, absurd...almost comical. The plot was clearly penned by people hopelessly detached from the core issues jolting the world. To make matters worse, nobody apparently bothered with research or took the time to consult people who are currently in the trenches and directly embroiled in the political, social, and cultural cataclysm facing the nation. No, no...instead the writers gathered a bunch of lazy tropes, lampooned sensitive issues, and produced an embarrassing caricature of very serious and potentially devastating
behaviors and attitudes.

Only a Trumpish character was omitted...wait...there's Rob Miller! He fits the bill. Wealthy. Villainous. Doesn't play by the rules. Audacious enough to follow a Lieutenant and her son to a restaurant (yeah right he just happened upon them) and shake son's hand after he touched Benson's shoulder! Her recoil was priceless!

I sort of don't care about this Miller arc especially since Stone's probably going to lose his life or his job putting the motherfucker in prison. Oh, and the insinuation that the evil Miller could arrange Noabduction, Round II, was a cheap shot.

Speaking of Noah, not only is he almost twice the age he realistically should be, can we lose his whiny, inauthentic dialogue next season? Are we supposed to b-e-l-i-e-v-e he's eight or nine? Or a precocious first grader? I don't know...too bad...I loved Liv with little, pajama-ed, correctly-aged Noah. Huge mistake to age him solely because the "creatives" couldn't be more creative in their continued torture of Benson.

Quotable

"If we were in Iraq, they'd throw her off the roof."
"So it's free speech until you piss somebody off and then it's hate speech."
Fin's been extra surly lately. Wonder if that's going some---oh, never mind. 

"I don't know about that but I'm pretty sure she hates you."
Rollins at her best when slapping the cuffs on a perp and adding something snarky.

"You read the memo?'
Oh, fuck that memo. 

Wardrobe

Dodds' ties matched Benson's blouses. How cute.

The ep was spiffily camel colored! I didn't mind!

Nahla's hijab game was strong!

Is It Next Thursday, Yet?

I'm gonna need some expensive booze. I'm sure the outgoing showrunner is determined to give his darling Peter Stone a gushy, melodramatic exit. A pricey bottle oughta dull the dullness...

20.22: Fin TutuOVERLOAD

The #42Minutes

Snake, AKA Justin, AKA J is the prime suspect when his wife, Dallas, is found beaten nearly to death. After the squad clears Snake (a process which consumes too much of the episode, btw), their attention turns to the "diss war" Snake and Snoop (I didn't like his character name so I'm not using it) were having in which Snoop threatened Dallas; however, Snoop's alibi also checks out. Not to worry, though, because eagle-eye Rollins and Carisi make a Mongoose bicycle connection. Meanwhile, Fin follows the trail of a suspicious financial transaction between Snake's mother and a woman who turns out to be the baby mama of a man Snake murdered eighteen years ago. The dead man's son Andreas is arrested and admits to Fin that he wanted to force Snake into feeling some semblance of his pain.

 The Verdict

Thank you, SVU, for once again pointing out the obvious (cycle of violence and code of the street). Yawn. Also, I'm not so sure some audience members reacted well to the #MeToo cover story but I suppose that kind of thing does happen revolting as it may be.

Did Carisi and Fin just ditch the police vehicle they drove to the Apollo?

Why did Benson look so shocked when she saw Dallas on the gurney? I've been watching this show since the beginning and I assure you she's seen way, way, way, way worse. And WTF is she doing allowing Fin to interrogate Snake (albeit after some pretty flimsy probable cause). If law enforcement heard what I said to myself in the car on the commute to work I'd certainly be detained for making terroristic threats.

For such a severe head injury, Dallas was surprisingly lucid when talking to Benson and Rollins at the hospital.

So Fin just happens to know Justin and his mother...you know, this was quite the elaborate and tragic Fin backstory for it to never have come up before. It felt like a stretch, or maybe I just don't care as much about the character's history as I care about the others. I prefer him being snarky and sarcastic, annoyed with Carisi, and, occasionally, the doting yet sort of awkward Grandpa to Jaden.

For a few minutes I thought Jo arranged the hit on Dallas and I think that would've been way more interesting.

The Andreas character seemed neither angry enough nor nervous enough (at the beginning of the ep when speaking to Carisi). I didn't think the way the actor played the role fit what the audience was supposed to perceive or infer.

Quotable:

SNAKE CALLED CARISI "WONDER BREAD" lololololol...second only to the female cons calling Rollins "Elsa" in Intersecting Lives.

"Will someone please explain why our investigation is on the front page of the paper?" Well...duh Peter...you idiot.

"This isn't my first time with stalkers. You see, I've seen them all..." Now there's the experienced Lieutenant showing up to question Andreas. Took 34 minutes, but there she is!

"Take care of them ladies upstairs, man."

Wardrobe

Dull this week. Pass

Is it Next Thursday, Yet? 

We're down to the home stretch. Let's see what sappy send off they give to Peter Stone before Warren comes to the rescue. I've written thousands of words of fanfic to cope and I need a goddamn break.

Next week's episode sounds like another less than scintillating foray into hate crimes.

Back to daydreaming about "Tuckson"...

20.21: Another Reason to EXCHANGE Showrunners!

The #42Minutes

A taxi driver assaults fifteen-year-old Emilia and, although he is quickly apprehended and arrested, a video on Emilia's phone and her less-than-forthcoming sister Laura lead the squad to a separate investigation which eventually implicates Richard, who has spent a lifetime abusing and pimping out teenage exchange students from around the world.

No Stone...guess Philip's out doing job interviews. Silver lining--he will forever have "I worked with Mariska Hargitay" on his resume.

The Verdict

Run-of-the-mill Season 20 episode. Average. Predictable. Cautious.

The one thing that did bug me the entire time was the amount of freedom Laura and Emilia had despite being under Richard's spell, particularly when Emilia showed up at Benson's apartment late at night. I find it hard to believe Richard or his wife would have allowed her to leave on her own, especially when the investigation into the girls' backgrounds was heating up. And while I'm on the subject...it was completely inappropriate for Benson to have Emilia come to her home. I KNOW Benson has heard of coffee shops.

When the episode began, I thought Emilia would be a college kid--her strip poker buddies certainly looked older than 9th or 10th graders. Lazy casting? Also--I would have given everyone a pass on the lack of Italian accents but explaining the American away with "they were in American school" was weak...and also, these people are actors...they can't do an accent?

Mishmash of a few previous #SVU plots--the one with the therapist who convinces girls their father molested them and then one of them kills the Dad? And the tragic effects of the cycle of abuse was hinted at but cut short when Richard flung himself off the balcony...

Even though I stayed interested for the entire 42, the decision to have Laura put her hands all over Richard's chest to calm him down at the hospital was a spoiler I could have picked up even after having several cocktails.

Quotable:

"...por favor..." Rollins struggling with Italian...lol

"I'm Catholic, I always feel guilty." As if we needed yet another reminder about Carisi's faith. Should've left it at him praying the rosary in Unholiest Alliance.

"Home of the sick bastard." I hear they're adding that to the anthem, Fin.

Wardrobe

Hair pulled back and caszh Benson. Need I say more? No. Have a pic:

Is it Next Thursday, Yet?

Rollin' down the street smokin' indo...sippin' on gin and juice...laid back...with my mind on my money and my money on my mind...

XX.XIX: Dearly Beloved, We Are Gathered Here, Hoping for a Consistently Written Benson

I've been on a blogging break (not all that interested in the show...nice weather...busy at work....), but I'm trying to finish the season strong! 

#The42Minutes

In every getting-married-person's nightmare, Kitty Bennett stands up after the "speak now or forever hold your peace" instruction and accuses the groom of rape. Instead of hosting a wedding ceremony, the church functions as a temporary squad room as the detectives get to work. Later, comparing notes, Carisi, Benson, and Rollins already pinpoint problems with the victim's story. Even worse for Kitty, Josh is believably claiming innocence, is completely transparent, and initially has the unwavering support of Lana, his fiancee. Meanwhile, things get worse for Kitty when it is revealed she's stalked people on Instagram and Facebook, and, one man got so freaked out he took out a restraining order against her. The first break in the case comes when Kitty reveals she's pregnant and a paternity test reveals Josh is, indeed, the father. Unable to deny sex, he then changes his story and claims he and Kitty had a consensual relationship which also, according to surveillance video, seems to be true. The second break comes when Lana shows up at the precinct and tells Benson she and Josh met while she was his patient and goes on to describe him as domineering and controlling. Before the detectives can pursue this angle, Kitty forces the issue by showing up at Josh and Lana's loft and holds a broken wine bottle to Josh's neck in an attempt to force him to confess. Lana flips, spelling doom for Josh, when she realizes he had raped and manipulated her in the same way he'd raped and manipulated Kitty.

The Verdict

After two Badassisodes, this one fell flat and dragged and this was me watching on Hulu without commercials! At least I had my own little challenge going on--I was trying to figure out what other SVU ep Kitty had been in without Googling...I eventually had to Google (Military Justice).

A few nitpicks before the bigpicks--

1. How did the Poppy Liu character remember December 11 that easily? It was mid-March. Or is there something wrong with me? December 11? Hmmm...where was I December 11? I'm guessing somewhere saying "fuck, I need to start Christmas shopping."

2. When Benson says to Kitty "now everyone does," they are walking out of the church. Then, in the next scene, she and Rollins are interviewing Kitty in the church.

3. Isn't the pregnancy timeline a little off?

So, I can't figure out what the writers were trying to do with this one. The main plot itself was okay, but the addition of Kitty's abortion dilemma knocked a B- episode down to the D range. First of all, Benson, who, yes, always wears her heart on her sleeve and will move mountains to help victims, nevertheless crossed a line in her statements to Kitty. The correct answer was "Whether or not to have an abortion is your choice." The end. End of conversation. Everything else needed to be saved for Benson's next session with Lindstrom, speaking of therapists, or maybe even an after-work chat with Rollins. And why were Benson and Rollins so shocked that Josh had also been Lana's therapist? Goddamn...how does Benson go from basically pulling the strings over Dodds' head one episode and then acting like it's her first day on the job the next? 

The anguish felt shoehorned and insincere (even WITH the stairwell scene) and as if the writers were sitting around thinking, "Hmmm, how can we further make Benson's life miserable?" and instead of doing something creative grabbed the easiest option.

How many times in her career has she had to counsel a victim through the horror of being impregnated by a rapist? Why the anguish now? Of course, this is something Benson will never "get over" and the abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother will always haunt her, but FFS the preaching and sanctimony were unprofessional in this one and yet, AND YET all would have been 80% forgiven if we'd had some insight on the whole did-OMB-have-an-abortion-and-if-so-when-and-under-what-circumstances debate, but, alas! Nothing! Maybe the writers are busy rewatching past seasons for a plausible retroactive pregnancy and maybe, while they're at it, they'll realize it was a vodka bottle Serena wielded against her daughter.

On a lighter note, five cheese wedges for the business names in this one--"A Toe Above the Rest" and "Fitness Junkies Gym"

Wardrobe:

Can never, ever, go wrong with Benson in a beanie but who in the hell thought it was a good idea for her to raid Mrs. Roper's closet?

I know it's cold, but I prefer the trenches over Montcler parkas! #BringBackTrenches

Quotable

"...like you guys do before you get married..." Oh, Rollins. Never lose your cynicism, sister. 

"Red, burgundy, we're not really Sherwin Williams here." I love it when we get sassy, no-nonsense Carisi. 

"It's not." Benson seemed annoyed and a little impatient from the get...this interjection was one of those little pieces of dialogue that makes me chuckle. 

Is It Next Thursday, Yet?

"The Good Girl" sounds familiar and my expectations are very low at this point but Stone's leaving so let's fucking party.

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: