Law & Order Franchise

I thought it was super cool when Carisi said in his closing argument that Megan was one of the strongest and most resilient victims he ever came across. That probably was the thing that convinced the jury. Him pointing out what the defense attorney did was a violation was true too.

Seriously, that was a majorly scuzzy move on that lawyer's part. She's awful.

Honestly, I think her husband sucks. It's nice he came around at the end, but he sucks for doubting her in the first place.

Solid episode with a good guest turn. 4 stars.

Deadlocked juries RARELY happen on this show, but I think it was the best-case-scenario here.

First of all, Stacy is guilty in the eyes of the law. The fact that Ryan is one of the most imperfect victims the show has ever produced doesn't change the fact that when Carisi gets her sobbing that he was 16, and she was 28, he's right. If not morally, than legally. Statutory rape is the crime a person should NEVER want to be charged with. Because there is no legal defense possible once the age is revealed.

It would have been SO much easier for her case if Ryan had deliberately drugged her. But it didn't seem that way.

Ryan isn't exactly a scumbag to me (he's just a kid) but he's the most imperfect victim I can think of. Frankly, I'm amazed Carisi brought Stacy to trial with that specific baggage. The thing this show refuses to get is how much discretion D.A.s have. They are not obligated to bring charges to every case, even one where a defendant is actually guilty. The absolute unwavering stances there the Law & Order franchise always takes are a bit ridiculous. There is a phrase "Not a jury in the world would convict them." And real-life D.A.s actually take that into account. And despite Stacy rejecting a plea deal, if I were Carisi, I would have let it end there. Especially because it's clear Ryan never wanted this, and his new possessive stepmom is, by God, taking some righteous Parental Initiative! She's calling Stacy a pedophile. Whatever else you want to say about the stepmom, she's dishonest. Just by saying that. And if she is dishonest about something that huge, JUST to bias the judge, why should her demanding this case move forward be taken seriously at all?

I mean Stacy's husband is throwing b.s. accusations that Ryan is a rapist himself, but the truth is the molly means he had a FAR better case for believing that untrue thing than the stepmom does her nonsense.

I hated Billy, but the fact that he's trying to stay in the marriage because he believes HE is the one who screwed up is a point in his favor. Wouldn't be the first instinct of another guy whose wife was charged with that. The lawyer was right to put him on the stand so he could say that.

The fact that Ryan had to do a rape kit makes the premise of the episode completely unusual.

Carisi is right that if you flipped the genders Ryan would be getting more sympathy. But if you had flipped the genders, the teen girl likely wouldn't be sharing ecstasy with the grown man without telling him.

I will say this. I LOVE Stacy's lawyer (who happened to be her brother-in-law). He is one of the best defense attorneys I have seen on this show because I don't ever feel he's arguing in bad faith to get a scumbag off the hook. The angry and pointed questions he asks Ryan feel like he's protecting his client who he genuinely believes has been mistreated, and even violated, even knowing she "cheated" on his brother. Upon the mistrial he hugs her at the end and says she's free, and it's over. And the episode ends when it does to show he's right. Because Carisi is not going to bother refiling those charges. Not after all that.

Carisi being amused he was her brother-in-law was pretty good, but when he was talking about the billboards he was on, I was envisioning a far shittier, scummier lawyer. The fact that he was so good and empathetic was a nice surprise for me and a bad one for Carisi.

At many points Carisi objected to his cross over "relevance" and I was like, "Really? You don't see how those specific questions could be relevant?" I mean, I know Carisi is just doing his job, and the questions asked really DID make Ryan look bad, but the judge says "Overruled," to every objection because she wasn't actually born yesterday.

When the defense lawyer withdraws one of his statements, I thought it was interesting, because nobody objected. He probably would have gotten away with it, but his complete professionalism kicked in, and he did it automatically. I mentioned I loved this guy, right?

I thought Bruno's confession to Liv was interesting, and I like his character when she asks him if he ever told anybody, he's like "Yes. You. Just now." Man, shit like that is why I like that character.

I think there WAS a way for Carisi to get her to accept the deal. And the show didn't do it because it wanted that messy trial. But she's like "I can't be put on the registry! My teaching career would be over!"

In real life it already would be just based on her being accused of that. The sex offender registry would not hurt her career any further. It would already be over. Unrealistic shit like that is why I don't like television.

Still, it was a pretty juicy episode. The hung jury was the best move because I would have been unhappy with BOTH a guilty OR not guilty verdict. Both verdicts seem right and wrong at the same time. So it's good the jury couldn't make up their minds either. 4 stars.

In earlier seasons, during the height of the Stabler era, the show would often have criminals say and do things that are so bugfuck crazy, you have to wonder how these psychos functioned in civilized society before they did the shit they were just caught for. These people are so fucking nuts they ought to be repeatedly publicly using their hands as toilet paper, and yet they somehow never set off ANY red flags to the many, MANY supposedly normal people in their lives they interacted with.

Pastor Caleb is an especially alarming level of toxic crazy. Him being in the profession he is is quite galling. Every inch of his behavior screams red flag.

His "bust" in the Church is one of the best the show ever did. I have to wonder what the fuck his parishioners were thinking as he ran out of the Church. It's SVU, so it doesn't do the fucking tired runner chase the Rick Eid televised abortion of a relaunch does every fucking week. But when he says in interrogation that God wanted him to do this, I was a little disappointed and miffed Liv didn't say to him, "Then why did you run?" If his actions were truly blessed and preordained, why did he run?

I'll tell you another thing that bothers me about his crazy. His lawyer is shitty. He says an incredibly stupid legal theory even for THIS franchise. He suggests his client at least sincerely believes this and nobody can disprove it. I'm like, that's the best you got? I'd be like, "Ladies and gentleman of the jury, my client is clearly not guilty by reason of insanity. Here, let me play this confession to prove he is totally bugfuck beyond a reasonable doubt." And you know what? That could have worked.

Of course, I bet Carisi (who isn't in the episode for budgetary reasons) would have been smart enough to ask if he truly believed his own bullshit, Why Did He Run?

Why did he run? Why did he run?

Because he's a rapist scumbag who wanted to rape an unconscious woman. Baby-making had NOTHING to do with it. Because if she hadn't caught pregnant he never would have been caught. And if he had PLANNED to impregnate her the entire time, Why Did He Run?

Here is what I like: The obnoxious doctor who refused a DNA swab is the best suspect we saw all episode. What I loved is the second Liv swabbed him, he drops the asshole routine. Says she's gonna be disappointed the swab won't match, and he visited Essie so often precisely BECAUSE Liv had gotten into his head. What an interesting arc for that character nobody ever noticed before. SVU does that sometimes, which is EXTREMELY rare in any non-genre show, and it's happened quite a few times too.

Even in these current seasons the show has its good share of scumbag criminals. But Pastor Caleb harkens back to the guys Stabler would constantly be giving the "Can you believe this shit?" look to every episode. I won't say I've missed villains like that. But I'll think it. The only flaw in the episode is it could have used some Chris Meloni side-eye. 4 1/2 stars.

What's interesting about the episode, to me at least, is that in that hostage situation a few weeks ago, I believed Dante's culpability was minimal. I believed the idea that he was being coerced and manipulated from all sides. I guess the fact that Carisi lied to him about having his back after the fact really negatively effected me. Carisi seemed a little annoyed with the idea that the defense might play The Race Card in prep, but the truth is Dante's race makes Carisi using him that way feel shitty. It always did.

But despite my bad feelings about that, when laid out at trial over what Dante did and did not choose to do, there's really no excuse. The D.A. who tried the case pointed out that if he was truly afraid of Boyd, he could have walked out to the police outside while he was in that cooler for 40 minutes.

No, Dante simply didn't care about Tess being raped, and thought his chances of getting out of this unscathed were better at Boyd's side.

The defense attorney Vaughn was a piece of work. There is no question he can frame a good argument, but the truth is he strikes me as utterly slimy and untrustworthy. And the would-be lawyer in prison made me think that's probably why Dante was drawn to him to begin with.

I have to say Velasco sucks at his job. His one job was to make sure Tess stayed in that hotel room, and she snuck by him. It didn't have the tragic ending the Mothershow always uses with cops failing to protect witnesses they swear up and down they will (they always wind up dead), but it's still annoying.

Carisi losing his cool in court was kind of amusing, but not remotely believable. I'm not saying the dude is unflappable, but he's been portrayed as a decent lawyer, and decent lawyers don't do that shit. They made his character less believable to amp up the drama. Not good.

I will close with something nice. Oftentimes SVU will take an "arc" that lasts multiple episodes, and stretch it out over an entire season, which is, pardon my French, annoying as fuck. Especially on a weekly procedural franchise like this one. I have a sneaking suspicion an earlier season would have Dante found not guilty and and would have had him keep showing up as a repeated thorn in SVU's side, including in some quite legally preposterous ways. I think Liv's arc last season with the missing girl got SO much negative feedback that SVU probably won't be doing that shit again anytime soon, but it's not like that was remotely the first and only time the show did it, and in such a fucking ridiculous fashion.

One thing about the verdict I don't get. I don't get how he was found not guilty as an accomplice on the rape. Granted, it was the weakest of the charges, but he was found guilty on everything else, and it's obvious the D.A. struck a chord with her line of questioning. If I were on that jury, and only knew the testimony I had heard in that courtroom, I would have found him guilty of the rape too.

I will live with this being the outcome. SVU has a bad tendency to milk it whenever one of the series regulars either becomes a big part of the case or is an actual victim. Glad this show is quitting this while they're ahead. They might not have in an earlier season. 3 1/2 stars.