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To be fair this is the L&Overse. Doppelgangers are an every day occurrence...

I think the friction was understandable as this case was personal to them for different reasons. Plus Brady is on a show where they still care theoretically about legal standards. What we really could have used was Fin mediating and getting them to cooperate - it would have also been good for those viewers who maybe don't know as much about SVU history as most of the folks here. Something like Fin asking Brady about how many cases she's worked with kids and how many have had a happy ending, with both of them agreeing that there are too few and him pointing out this was one of those few that make the job bearable and having it end up with a body 2 decades later would make anyone a little intense. And then pointing out to Benson that this is an unsolved case that has been going on for a long time, and maybe she should be a little more gracious since she just spent a year freaking out to the point of wearing a victim's jewelry when she couldn't close a big case. Once again they are using the series' past for plot lines and somehow not taking advantage of having a big part of that history still here, one with a lot of good will among both Benson stans and the viewers who are tired of her antics alike, for reasons that completely elude me.

The Good: Silva got as much to do as she has all season. If there is any cast turnover for any reason on the mothership I wouldn't mind her moving over. The continuing crossover tradition of making sure to have someone call out Benson when she pulls her usual bullcrap. Carisi. He really fit in well and had good chemistry with Price. The COTW. The investigation flowed well and there was good reason for both squads to be involved without any need for plot gymnastics to justify having the casts working together. The Stabler cameo. It was a nice surprise and it felt natural. The Bad: I'm all for going back to basics and the old formulas, but I'm not liking the return of Benson charging into a situation without backup and/or tactical awareness and ending up with shots fired. Not nearly enough Ice-T. Why do an event and not feature one of the icons of the franchise? The transitions from one suspect, or lead to another in the second half were a bit lacking. We would be more impressed with Benson's investigative process if you showed, instead of told, and we could follow along with the squad/ Did they honestly have Benson saying under oath that her emotions have NEVER interfered with her police work? Seriously? The rest of the trial should have just been rebuttal witnesses. If it wasn't written by Mariska's biggest suck ups I would have assumed it was intentional comedy to follow that up with a scene where her emotions were interfering with the case and she needed to be slapped down by Baxter. Overall this was solid. A little too much of the Lts. in the field, but overall this was a worthy effort, especially in creating a story that felt bigger than usual without going overboard or relying on coincidence to bring everyone together. Not sure it brought in any additional viewers or will get anyone who watches one of the series and not the other to stick around, but they could do a lot worse for an event. And have, many times.

To be honest they pretty much ran through all of the variations of sexually based offenses over a decade ago. Now it's all variations on old themes. I doubt there will be any COTW that are truly novel ever again. Which is honestly a good thing as trying to come up with a new case only leads to getting away from the concept and into unrelated crimes that are loosely tied to a sex crime. And that is a road we don't want to travel again - remember this? Now imagine that with half the budget and having to end on a Benson speech... $$$. Recurring is usually around half the cost of main cast per episode. It can be more for big names or if the producers are generous and have a character recurring for creative reasons, but Dick Wolf is neither generous or creative. I actually like when a procedural hires someone known and doesn't make them the perp or a hero. It helps keep things interesting. I remember when The Closer had on Joe Spano and the ending was actually a surprise, because I kept waiting for the twist where he was actually the hero. And this series has done a lot worse with ER cast members over the years...

Actress Taylor Dearden talks about portraying neurodivergence on 'The Pitt'

The Good: The opening. If they insist on doing the whole showing the victim before the crime thing, this is a good way of doing it. It was mercifully concise, didn't spoil the suspense, and lead into having the squad actually show up on scene WITHOUT Benson personally supervising in the field from the beginning. Plus it was a good musical choice and didn't rely on quick cuts to hide the lack of budget (just Criminal Minds levels of darkness.) Fin and Bruno. Putting the two most likeable and charismatic characters together with lots of screen time is always a good thing. Bruno solo. A lot of good stuff for him this week. Kevin Kane has such great chemistry with just about everyone. He was reminding of us of how you do a detective showing empathy for the victims without becoming a savior or miracle worker therapist. Mariska would do well to take notes. The COTW. It flowed nicely with everyone involved, and showed how you can focus on one of the ensemble without relegating everyone else to bit players, and still keeping Mariska as the lead. It felt like old school SVU in a lot of ways, which is a good thing. The Bad: Even in a week where Liv is mostly acting like a CO and a cop we still have her acting like nobody else in NYC knows what they are doing. Plus the shock and disapproval that they had to use handcuffs. Benson is to the police what Maroun on the mothership is to prosecutors. Overall this was a good episode after a couple of blah ones and hopefully is an indication that what seemed to be a promising trend is not a mirage. It mostly stuck to the classic SVU formula, and didn't try to pretend this was something new or unique, but relied on having some new characters to give us something that didn't feel like a complete retread. Hopefully they do a good job with the crossover and don't kill the momentum again.

You don't need most people to keep going with it. You just need enough people to ignore the obvious to do very well. And both history and current events show that it is sustainable for a very long time...

I never knew Bryn Mawr had a law school...

I always thought the odd part was a billion dollar media company using an intern's first attempt at Photoshop as a promo on their flagship streaming service, but to each their own I guess...

The Good: The guest cast. They did a good job with the material, even when there wasn;t much to work with or where they were little more than scenery for the regulars. Velasco. He also made the most of limited screen time, Peter Scanavino. He did a really good job elevating some cliched material. The Bad: No B plot. It's good that they followed up on this story, but devoting a whole episode to it, with basically nothing for the squad to do was too much. If they had stuck more to the trial prep and tried to use it as a peg to show us the actual process for prosecuting a rape that was not open and shut that would be one thing, but this was just soapy melodrama. Too much time with Benson playing shrink, and showing off her magic healing whisper. Why wasn't this case being handled by a more senior ADA? It would seem that a hostage situation with an ADA would be handled by one of the senior staff. But I guess then it wouldn't have been believable to have Carisi trying to tell her how she should be prosecuting the case (Benson would have no problem explaining how the law should work to anyone, up to and including James Madison and Moses.) Once again why isn't Fin playing a big part in this story? If you are going to bring back Rollins and get the band back together again, he should be there. He has a relationship with both Rollins and Carisi and could be a supporting mentoring figure without being some sort of heroic savior figure. Instead he's off on the sidelines with a couple of lines supporting Velasco. Overall this was kind of a meh end to this arc. It did what it needed to do, but nothing more. Not a train wreck, but nothing special. It really felt like a space filler and not as special as the end of an arc with a special guest star should be. At least the previews for next week look potentially interesting.

So apparently there is a reason that it felt sort of random... Morgan Wallen refused to do ‘SNL’ sketch before abrupt exit, so another singer stepped in: ‘Not super friendly'

‘Law and Order: SVU’ Names Michele Fazekas First Female Showrunner in Series History Law & Order: SVU Names Gen V EP Michele Fazekas New Showrunner Hmmmm. Perhaps this will mean they will continue going back to basics? I wonder if she has enough pull with Mariska from their previous relationship to keep her ego in check at least some of the time?

Only if they go full fan service...

We don't really know anything about the timeline and the details of the shooting and we probably never will. And not all of the injuries are GSWs since there are also people being trampled, the OD, etc. I would say there are unfortunately plenty of real world examples to draw from that say things that shouldn't be able to happen do. Heck there was a shooting at an outdoor event in PA in the past year that we would call terrible writing if it had happened on TV...

Worse than that unfortunately. If he was to go full MAGA he would get a spot on Fox News while playing smaller and smaller venues and the mainstream industry would slowly forget about him. Instead he's another cranky old white male comedian who wants us to believe that the excesses of wokeness and performative activeness should be treated as seriously as authoritarianism and deliberate destruction and cruelty because he needs to write some new material or can't book some of the younger, hotter guests that bring better demos. A true believer is better than someone who knows what's up but is more upset about their minor personal inconveniences.

Ah yes. The old dramatic principle of Chekhov's Myrna...

The Good: Fin. We got a classic "that's messed up" as well as a recognition of his special place in the series and as Benson's ride or die confidante that has been ignored too often in recent years. Bruno. He didn't get enough to do like everyone else who isn't Liv, but he makes the most of limited time with questionable material like nobody else on this show since Donal Logue. The Bad: All Benson all the time. It's like they used AI to create a script with all of the worst tropes of later seasons SVU. Benson as superhero with sidekicks, not a CO. Benson everywhere all the time. Benson whispering and making constipated faces to show how she is Taking!It!Personally! Benson is supposed to be Super SVU Detective and master of empathy, so why is she questioning the mother with all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop? Does making goofy faces and whispering make you an elite investigator of sexually based offenses no matter how you go about it? The script. It takes some doing to make an episode that both feels like there isn't enough story to fill the hour, but that also drags to the point it feels like 2 hours. Overall this was a real dud after a run of mostly well executed, and even good episodes. A real slog for anyone who doesn't worship at the altar of St. Liv. A mediocre story poorly executed, with the only redeeming value coming from some good performances by a few of the actors getting the least time on screen. Hopefully the next episode is better and gets back on track.

I don't think we have to worry too much. In all of the post-reboot crossovers there's usually been at least one moment where Benson is told to get over herself. I suspect that will continue as long as Rick Eid is showrunner so he can continue to subtly work out his trauma from his one season running SVU.

I actually thought the casting was very good. As originally mentioned, his features do mean he can play younger. And the way the shot and lit the scenes he looked early 20s in the opener and younger in some of the later scenes. I was unspoiled having the previews cut off last episode (unless they didn't air) and from the episode description was thinking the husband had drugged her and they would end up in some sort of rape by proxy case with Liv pushing Carisi to prosecute both men for rape because they are men and no matter what the law says and jurors think it is always Rape 1...

The Good: The central concept. Having 2 participants legally unable to consent, with neither being given a free pass by the squad or the writers and trying to apportion legal and moral culpability is a really good idea. Carisi and the legal side. It was a good presentation of everyone doing their jobs and following the law even if nobody was satisfied with the choices. Bruno. While the writing wasn't always as sharp as the last couple of weeks, and there were quite a few lines that could have been swapped between characters without anyone noticing they at least gave him a bit of focus as well as his usual awesomeness. Benson can't save the day by whispering until everyone agrees! The Bad: Benson taking the lead from the beginning. You have another captain, a sergeant, and a senior detective in the squadroom and you are taking random walk ins? It's not like there wasn't enough reason to get her actively involved soon enough. Let somebody else take the report and start off before Benson takes over. Overall this was another above average episode. If they could have had someone other than Benson as the lead investigator and tightened up some of the writing a bit it would have been an excellent episode on par with episode 13, but it is still better than the last episode and another episode that is actually good. I'm hoping that Mariska will be kept busy with OC crossovers and we can actually have a few more episodes where she is the CO and not the primary detective with the writing at the level it has been, because it is possible we could have the best stetch of episodes since early Season 17. It would be nice to have something in 2025 that actually is better than expected...

It's actually been suggested before here that they should have a counselor or victims' support specialist as a regular. It would be something that hasn't been done to death and give us some new variations on the old themes. It's not like it's impossible for police dramas - Hill Street Blues did it after all and that show is older than I am. They don't need to be main cast (and probably shouldn't be), but we really could use some recurring characters in those roles. We usually have had techs, MEs, TARU, etc. as recurring across the franchise. It really does add something and gives us an opportunity for comic relief, exposition that flows naturally, and just a general sense of a bigger world.

The Good: It's nice seeing a victim who actually looks like a normal person and not an ideal version of affluent urban women 18-35 who the execs are trying to target. The squad. Besides playing active roles in the investigation they were stil written distinctly and in character and not just delivering the lines needed to advance the plot as interchangeable parts. Carisi. It is always nice to see him acting like a prosecutor and serving as the voice of reality instead of a moral crusader. The actual courtroom scenes were pretty well done. The Bad: Benson in the opening. Not only are we backsliding into Benson worship, but it's clumsy and heavy handed and would be even if we had somebody else delivering the academic lecture. Isn't show, don't tell Screenwriting 101? Benson in the middle. This is Olivia at her worst, therapist and advocate instead of cop. Because she feels the victims' pain. But not he husband's - she feels free to dismiss him and order him around. Plus sighing and rolling her eyes at Carisi like a spoiled teenager when he had the gall to act like part of the legal system and not the victim's best friend. At least she let her elite squad do the actual field work? Benson at the end. Her magic victim whispering makes everything all better and converts another nonbeliever to the Church of Liv. They spent so much time on Benson and the victim that they never bothered to properly flesh out the perp. It would have been interested in seeing how he got from the earlier victim to today - might have also filled in the plot hole of why he was cold calling tourist traps in Times Square on a weekend pitching premium wine? It seems like it wouldn't be hard to show that it was part of him coming undone, but that would require caring about something other than making sure we have heard the Word of God(dess). Overall this was a standard issue SVU story, mostly competently executed and dragged down by needing to make up for last week by making sure we know Benson is still the center of the universe. It's especially disappointing because they just showed us they can do better. And how much better would Benson have looked if they dialed it back to 11 and spent some of that time telling a better story with her front and center? Hopefully this is just giving Mariska a "showcase" so they can do a few more better episodes before they have to go all in on massaging her ego again.

Uh oh...

The episode title was a reference to Benson telling Velasco he needed to "put out the fire" in his neighborhood. As far as the interview I too wondered at fist if it was setting up some sort of twist, but it was just about the family not trusting the system and/or not being sure about sharing what happened with strangers. Probably could have been done a little more gracefully, but it didn't end with Liv preaching to them until they saw the light or waiting until the parents were gone and then whispering to the victim and magically changing her mind. So it was pretty much more realistic and less heavy handed than 90% of the victim interviews the last half decade or so...

The Good: The opener. Relatively subtle establishing Velasco's neighborhood and stake in the case, plus we didn't see the whole crime or waste a lot of time with a montage of the victim. Plus it is nice to see Benson actually assigning a case instead of immediately taking the lead. We actually got to see some technical specialists instead of having the squad doing everything. Velasco. It is great to see him getting some actual material, instead of being just another warm body. Pisiano may not have Kevin Kane's charisma (very few actors do) but he is a solid performer and deserves more than he has gotten from the writers. They also did a nice job pairing him up Bruno and Fin at the right times to take advantage of their perspectives. Fin. Speaking of characters who have needed some more solid material and actually got it... Benson. A rare appearance in this section, but she was actually acting like a CO who is also series lead rather than single handedly solving all sexually based offenses in NYC. The COTW. It was a solid investigation with a team approach from start to finish, and more importantly than just using the squad, actually used them thoughtfully instead of just as random supporting players for Benson. It was a refreshing throwback to days gone by. The Bad: Benson and Velasco. Why is she always giving him shit and holding him to standards nobody else is expected to live up to? I mean NOW she has no advice and isn't going to use her magic psychic powers for community relations??!! Yes she apologized in the end and complimented him, but it's getting a bit ridiculous. Overall this was an actually very good episode. Best in a long time. The script actually cared about ALL of the characters and not just Benson and maybe whoever else they had as #2 this week. And it was a good story that actually gave us a fresh take on things. Graziano and Martin should be proud to put their names on this script. And now we know they can still do more than "better than we expect these days" and shouldn't accept less.