Law & Order Franchise

The ending was surprisingly heartwarming but there is no escaping it: The episode was totally off the rails. Unfortunately, as good a drama as this show can be, whenever they do a longterm arc and case, they go off the rails. The problem is the case is a no-brainer so having a juror fall in love with this off-putting skeevy defendant with bad hair is this show's best hope of complicating things.

This show has the craziest jurors. It really speaks badly of the franchise's view of women that the terrible jurists are always in love with the offenders and tampering with the case. It's pretty obnoxious actually.

And while maybe the fact that it turns out Eileen was trying to toy with the dude is not completely insane, having the candid text photos be an alarming act break IS off the rails.

And of course he defends himself because this show has to make something completely straightforward and easy hard as hell.

Let me be blunt. This episode was not needed. The arc should have ended when he was caught. Having a huge trial and having things up in the air is complete nonsense. One of the things I don't like about the show is how often it indulges in nonsense. This episode did it too much. 1 1/2 stars.

I really hope Joe isn't Red Coat. It wouldn't be believable to me. But the cliffhanger was good.

Angus and his mother are not all bad.

Super lucky that lady was ATF. Stabler was busted otherwise. The team taking out Hightower was good too.

Not okay with what happened to Sam. There isn't enough Muslim representation on television and to kill him off like that is wrong. It's gross the dude took his wedding ring. I like that Stabler told Angus he was a Marine and one of them. Good tack to take.

I like that the mom likes Stabler.

I'm not happy about Sam but this was a decent episode. 3 1/2 stars.

Not great. Kind of dark and dour and creepy. I know the show is in general but it was a little too much this this week.

Is Kelli Giddish having second thoughts about leaving the show? I think she might have.

Not good. 2 stars.

Is Joe the Big Bad of the season? I think that would work.

I loved the episode. My favorite scene was Angus confronting Elliot in interrogation. His perspective is that Stabler is traitor. I love how Stabler reveals he KNEW Bashir, he was one of his, he had a daughter at home, and a pregnant wife, and I love Angus' reaction to that. He immediately realizes he does not have the high ground after all, and is willing to both cooperate and reveal how he got himself into this mess. Whatever magic Stabler has as an OC is pretty special if he can win over the people he's fooling after the fact by being real with them. And the thing I appreciate most about that is the Stabler on SVU would not have the skill to do that. His character has actually evolved a decade later.

For the record, Dean Norris and Christopher Meloni have a wonderful chemistry and interplay with each other. I did not buy them as brothers at first. But I do now. Which is cool.

I thought it was great. 4 1/2 stars.

It's kind of interesting that this phone call is the only interaction Liv and Elliot have had this season. Organized Crime moving to Peacock next year saddens me for this reason.

That DA Russell is the worst. I love the observation of Finn envying anyone who has never met her. You could accuse the show at taking an unfair shot at ambitious women, but the truth is McGrath, although having a different role, was the exact same way. I was hoping with him gone we'd be done with this shit, but assholes seem to abhor a vacuum. Next season will be rough. McGrath got some comeuppance by the end. Hopefully this chick will too.

One of the reasons I love and am fascinated by Ice-T as a person is that he's publicly disowned his entire career. He famously claims both rapping and acting are a part of "The Hustle" and says that if he didn't get paid for it, he wouldn't do it. Him saying that about rapping is particularly interesting, mostly because most musicians are all about "The Craft". But I do have to point out, whether he believes in his acting career or not, he's gifted in it. When Finn tells the kid to get out of there and he won't tell anyone about this, Finn, already one of the most amazing characters in Law & Order franchise history, just became ten times more amazing than I could possibly imagine. Part of me wishes the kid was Black instead of white, but it would have messed with the reality of the case. Still, it's pretty damn great.

I am a LITTLE disappointed last week's falling out between Liv and Sykes wasn't addressed. I hope it will be next season. But that was one of Liv's worst moments and I hope there is fall-out instead of the show simply moving on because Liv is too awesome. There is actual drama to mine in a Olivia Benson who is imperfect. I hope the show realizes that and says the squad might be on shakier footing next year because of that. If they did that, it might possibly have been the right idea to add the element of Russell when they did.

Solid finale. 4 stars.

Honestly, the teaser at the grave is a LITTLE unfair if it's actually Kathy. You expect it's somebody who's gonna die in the episode.

I AM impressed it's not Joe. He could still die next season (the Emery stuff is refreshingly unfinished) but I appreciate the show did NOT take the obvious route out for Stabler family drama. I think it could have and few people (outside of me) would have blamed them for that. But I am glad I don't have to personally complain.

I love that Trish is into Vargas. Threw Jett for a loop, for sure. I have to unfortunately say that since we didn't learn who the mole, is Vargas IS the most likely suspect. I mean they could make it a new character next year (and a lot of TV shows WOULD do that) but that wouldn't fly with me. Still, I hope it's not him after all.

Joe being good with Emery's kid Giles is interesting, and will probably set up interesting things next season.

You'd figure with that episode title and teaser, a main character was going out hard. Not loving the fake-out myself, but I do think a punishing death would have been worse. 4 stars.

I mean, well, okay. I don't know.

The ending was pure Perry Mason, which is kind of cathartic for the viewer, but also entirely unrealistic. Law & Order used to have the reputation as the realistic lawyer show. SVU is not as bad as the relaunch in that department. But the franchise is not what it used to be.

I can't believe they had Ice-T say the line "People are just looking for an excuse to beat up the cops." I can't believe he kept a straight face while saying that. Ice-T has been VERY open about his career as both a rapper AND an actor. He would do neither if he wasn't paid for it. He refers to both things as "the hustle" which is fucking awesome. He was hustling pretty furiously there in saying that line.

SVU walks the line of being a cop show that acknowledges the NYPD's shitty reputation with minorities and college students, while saying the cops on THIS show are more or less straight. It's an incredibly awkward thing, and I don't always believe its veracity. But unlike the travesty Rick Eid turned the relaunch of the mothershow into it at least makes an effort there. Also should point out doing so is NOT hard and Rick Eid should be ashamed of himself. I'm not kidding about that.

Kevin Kane was FINALLY made a series regular. I assumed the series was light on regulars last year due to budget cuts. They must have figured out a way to give Kane the pay bump but it's really annoying they didn't do the same for Aime Donna Kelly. Granted, she's only been a recurring detective for one season, while Kane has been for two, but it's still a bad look, especially when they added an entirely new white character to the main cast.

Silva describing cops as heroes is another moment in the episode in which SVU threading the needle as being sympathetic to negative public sentiment utterly failed.

I think the selling points of the episode to me were Benson and Carisi basically kicking ass at their jobs. Liv was getting shit done, and yeah, while the end was Perry Mason bullshit, the truth is Carisi was killing it before he got that asshole to admit everything on the stand. The latter thing bothers me mostly because this kid was studying to be a lawyer. His explanations for the evidence against him were shady, but possibly credible enough to create reasonable doubt with one jury member. Him losing his shit on the stand, although it felt good for the audience, isn't credible for a lawyer in training.

My favorite moment was Finn telling the chessmaster who played Teddy (who he didn't like) so late at night that he needed an alibi for his wife more than Teddy did.

Here's something that bothers me. When Silva discovers the murder weapon in the homeless dude's junk pile, she promises to get him a new one. It bothers me we never find out if she did. I mean, as far as loose ends go, it's not exactly a Twin Peaks cliffhanger, but considering how badly the cops are doing with the public, seeing a little good faith there could have been rewarding. Especially because she's a brand new character we know absolutely nothing about. That would have made a positive impression.

It was all right, I guess. 3 stars.

That was a TOUGH case. Honestly, that Judge was slick as hell. As stupid as the "I was writing a novel" thing was, the conviction in which he told the lie was believable. Carisi hounds him on whether or not he told anyone else about the phantom novel, and he claims he told the mother, and his lawyer tells Carisi he opened the door for her to testify. Except the wife lying for him was a bridge too far, and the son calls her on it, and they subpoena the doctor's records, and see the mother has been lying about the whole thing. And that's ballgame. The judge has to plead guilty. It's all an appalling scenario. I think it's possible the judge MIGHT have gotten away with a not guilty due to reasonable doubt if he hadn't piled on in the spur of the moment lie of telling his wife.

The fucked up thing is he told the lie on the stand because the wife knew about the abuse and was the one who forced him to write the passage. Talk about opening the door!

Carisi and Liv seem angrier at the mother than the Judge. And I get why. First of all as despicable as the Judge is, Maggie was not his daughter, or at least he didn't see her that way at the time. And abusers are gonna abuse. But her mother knew and said nothing and covered for him because she enjoyed her cushy life. And you know fear of leaving a "stable" living situation IS an understandable reason why abused women stay with abusers. The thing is, she tries to claim her 8 year daughter "seduced" him, and you're like "This is over. They are both done." In that moment you could tell her lawyer wished she had a different client.

The Judge saying he wanted to know what innocence was was pretty appalling. but Carisi quipping back. "You'll never know," was the perfect one-up. Who says the guy is rough around the edges?

I think the hardest part of the case for me is that for a long time, there looked like there was possibility this was an insane misunderstanding. I know what show this is, and I knew it wasn't, but it was like, "If it's that unclear to a person who regularly watches this show how the fuck can the jury see through this guy?" Is because neither the Judge nor his wife are actually as slick as they think they are. It's amazing to me he seemed a little nettled that Carisi asked him on the stand about whether he told anybody about the novel. This bit rang untrue for three reasons. First of all, the judge's lawyers should have expected it to come up. Second of all, this is something the police and the D.A. should have asked him before the freaking trial! Finally, Carisi's one mistake (which admittedly wound up working in his favor) is that a lawyer should never ask a question of a person on the stand they don't already know the answer to. THAT bit? Rough around the edges. Or more like poorly written.

Didn't know where this was going and that fact was kind of riveting. Good week. 4 stars.

I was frustrated with the husband James. I understand his fear, and in fact with a bullet in his knee, I even understand him selling out his wife in that moment of torture. What bothers me is this whole trauma is mostly due to how it will effect him and his supposed manliness. I like that he admitted he froze, but he's more concerned with HIS reaction than how his wife is doing. She was the one who was violated. He's turning it into about his own failings instead of what happened to her.

I guess that makes it an appropriate episode title. But it was kind of frustrating too. 3 stars.

I thought it was disturbing. Mostly because the kids at the beginning are so sweet and I knew the bottom would drop out.

It was a very interesting narrative choice to have the asshole father actually take responsibility during his guilty plea. Say what you will about the bastard, I've never heard a guilty plea on this show where the perp says "It turns out I was the problem."

It was a solid episode with a very distasteful premise. 3 1/2 stars.

I love that Liv pulling Kelsey off the ledge is literal. Great moment there.

I also love when Velasco reenters the van Bruno immediately demands his watch back.

Kelsey's ending "solution" feels almost like an unearned happy ending and is not realistic in the slightest. But Law & Order isn't much for happy endings anyways so whatever.

I thought it was good. The criminals were, what's the word I'm thinking of? Scumbags. That's it. 4 stars.

The guy stabbing himself to throw off suspicion of his guilt strikes me as a VERY unlikely plot turn. Until it's speculated he didn't expect to survive. Then is makes a LITTLE bit of sense (although it's still a very weird way to kill oneself).

He's one of those suspects who seems so unlikely at the beginning, but the investigation KEEPS being led back to him, until it's clear there is no other answer. His mother is a piece of work too.

Fair episode. 3 stars.

I liked it a lot.

Carisi's stuff was VERY interesting, because it's not often the squad is asked to help potential perps before they do something unforgivable. Liv was absolutely right that once he asked for their help, they pretty much had to give it. Just getting him fired isn't enough anymore.

I love Wallen. Despite the circumstances it's good to see her again and get an update. And yeah, I get why she both trusts and distrusts Fin and Bruno at the same time. I thought Liv was VERY professional with her. Wallen was skeptical the entire time, and Liv earned her trust too.

I love Fin making Bruno pay out the 250. Each. Because he can afford it, and because he's dumb enough to keep that much cash on himself anyways. He has nobody to blame but himself for that.

The things lined up pretty well for the case once the sister flipped. Yeah, Liv is good at this. When the sister asks how many times he's done this, Liv asks how many times has she alibied him. Correct answer.

This show has been on the air forever and it's somehow still worth a damn. Why is that? 4 stars.

It's a solid and powerful episode but I'll tell you what bothers me.

A few years back there was a genre show called Grimm. Silas Weir Mitchell played a lovable semi-Werewolf named Monroe. He was the show's break-out character. Before that Mitchell played tweakers and freaks on various cop shows. His wiry, squirrelly look made it so he'd get cast as little else.

A lot of people who loved Grimm believed it was Mitchell's break-out role. I knew better. I knew it was his Role Of A Lifetime instead. I knew that after Grimm ended he'd go right back to playing freaks.

I hate that I was right. And this episode proves it. And as good as it is, that pisses me off.

Peter Scanavino brought the dramatic goods in the episode. Probably his best performance on the show of all time. When he bursts into tears and the other woman hostage comforts him, I thought that was dynamite.

And Tess' scream once she got outside was absolutely chilling.

The other thing the episode itself sort of dropped the ball on was Carisi throwing Dante under the bus at the end. I know cops lie to suspects all the time, but I hope this comes up again in future weeks because I do believe Carisi owes him his life. He SHOULD stand up for him after all this over. We'll see.

Pretty dramatic episode. But I feel bad for Silas Weir Mitchell's career. 4 1/2 stars.