Monkeybball

I liked Alex especially in the earlier seasons in eps like Manhunt but I think Casey Novak was my favorite. I liked that she was a little more rough around the edges, and I personally think Diane Neal is very beautiful haha. Barba was the SHIT through season 14 and 15 but the character went to hell in a hand basket cause of Benson. Ugh.

Man after watching some of the older SVU episodes this weekend during a USA marathon, what they’ve turned Olivia into is even more painful.

They’ve always liked to use this as an example of Benson being sexually assaulted, as a way for her to relate to the victims. It certainly was an assault with heavy sexual overtones, but a full-on rape it was not. Similarly to how they treated her incident in Undercover (although that did meet the criteria for sexual assault, it’s not typically what people would think of when they hear the term). I personally have always been uncomfortable with how they’ve treated her character as a result of these incidents. Olivia’s big thing was that she was the product of a rape - she didn’t need to be assaulted twice in order to understand the victims.

I think this episode would have worked better if they so clearly hadn’t given us what was Right To Think. If they had truly considered what Rollins and Stone were saying, instead of writing it off like “pssssh.” Making it a real, true debate like they used to do in the older days (Doubt, for example). They were just hitting us over the head here that Benson and Carisi were in the right. i also don’t think it was perfectly in character for Rollins and carisi to take the positions that they did, but some of you have made good points about that. you tell the truth and let the jury decide. Not the cops.

She taunted him at one point saying “what’s wrong wth you? Are you afraid of me?” Because he hadn’t raped her yet. He raped the lawyer’s mom and made her watch, but I don’t believe he ever did her. He would have if the housekeeper didn’t knock of the door, MAYBE, but ultimately didn’t. And then when he escaped she told him to rape her but she wouldn’t fight back so he wasn’t into it. That’s when he came up with the Russian roulette.

Okay here’s what was most annoying to me even on top of all the other annoying stuff. When Olivia was testifying at the end and Annabeth looked at her all betrayed - Bitch what?! She’s a cop - you didn’t expect her to lie for you did you? And if you did, You could have said something else in the interrogation. Stop trying to guilt us into feeling some type of way, SVU. Manipulative af.

Guys, I was literally SCREAMING at the tv during this episode. I could not wait to get on here and complain to you all, AND THEN THE FORUMS WERE DOWN! 😩 UGH! this was literally the WORST episode of SVU i have ever seen.

The EAR/ONS case is so effing fascinating, I don't know how they managed to make it into a snoozer. The guy's trajectory from a teenage B&E-er to a serial rapist to a rapist & murderer, and all over the state of California. There could have been SO MUCH MORE focus on this guy. I almost have been feeling like the episodes aren't long enough lately, which is weird, because they do seem to drag, but there is a lot of unnecessary scenes it seems. And I don't care if Benson and Stone get together, whatever, just don't draw it out with a will they or won't they. It's been done too much. They wouldn't have been able to bring the guy in for the voice idea without first identifying him through the "poisonous" means.

I really liked this episode lol. I'm in the minority it seems.

I haven't posted in forever but I logged in specifically to say this: Hey SVU Writers! It's PROBABLY important to note that antifa HATE cops, chant things like "Cops and Klan go hand in hand!" and spray paint "ACAB" everywhere (All Cops Are Bastards). Maybe think of that next time you write a POLICE PROCEDURAL sympathetic to them. Will collect my thoughts and make a better post later. EYEROLL!

It's true. However, the person who signed the NDA can also be prosecuted for accepting money in exchange for not reporting the crime. Although I'm sure a D.A. would cut a deal to have that person testify. You'll also stop receiving the benefit you received from the contract and can't sue to enforce it, as it was based on illegal activity (assuming the payment wasn't in a lump sum or something). I'm sure people add certain protections in these types of contracts to incentivize abiding by the NDA.

I've railed on this multiple times in other episode threads, but the YOU HAVE TO TESTIFY thing drives me nuts. Just getting that out there from the jump. HOWEVER - I like the answer that she didn't want to let him take her dignity. That resonated. As someone who is a survivor of sexual assault, I'm going to say something that's going to be pretty surprising I'm sure, but I feel it needs to be said: We need to stop acting like being raped is the worst thing in the world that could happen to a person. It is horrible, it is violative, and it is demoralizing, but it is OVERCOMABLE. I hate the visual of the first victim being all alone in her super fancy apartment being like "....oh well, at least I'm rich." I'd wager that she's not sitting in that apartment every day, reliving the rape over and over again. If you're going to make that choice, I'm sure you've already justified it in your mind of "oh well, it's not like I was dragged down into an alley and held at gunpoint and beaten half to death. At least it was a billionaire in his giant apartment. Sure, his entitlement is shitty, but at least he had to pay for it SOME way." Like someone said above, why do we barely ever get to hear what the consequences might be to the person who does ruin her career or reputation by going public and testifying? You think the victim from this week is going to have an easy time of it getting hired in the future? You think any of her next jobs are going to pay her $5mil for 4 years? Obviously it's better to know that you earned your money the honest way, but it's a fair question to ask yourself. And I'm sorry, with the Army Ranger girl - no one even mentioned the fact that being a sexual assault victim, publically, could be used against her in combat. That was the argument (as bullshit as it was) about gays in the military. These are real world, real life things that have to be considered. And yes, you talked about it publically and MAYBE the guy goes to jail (maybe). Does that erase what happened to you? Nope. What about those of us who have been sexually assaulted who never got the chance to even have the CHOICE whether to testify? It's ridiculous. Are we not able to heal because we didn't get to face the guy in court? According to Benson, it kinda seems like that's how it would be! It reminds me of the Ray Rice episode with Meagan Goode. Where she says "I'm NOT a victim, and you're trying to make me one." The way Benson (and the show on a larger scale) treat victims of sexual assault makes it seem like the trauma SHOULD BE UNBEARABLE. And yes it IS for some, but it doesn't have to be, and you need to let people know that it is something you can move on from, regardless of what happens afterword. /End rant.

I liked the episode because it felt like old school SVU for the first half. Although immediately upon the realization that Jennifer MIGHT have been killed by someone other than the serial, I knew exactly how it was gonna be i.e. boyfriend hacked NYPD computers, saw the pattern, recreated it, he actually did it. Shouldn't be THAT obvious. But it was cool to see the Barba reveal. Although I don't believe what he did is big enough to warrant any sort of suspension or firing, all that he could feasibly get in trouble for is paying money to a witness. And in that instance it may be dicey even. Anyone else wanna know what the rope guy was hiding?! UGH! Let's speculate! I kinda wish the episode was longer cause I would have liked to see his defense, but oh well. ETA: Not to be super morbid, but I also think it was really anticlimactic how he ended up killing her. It really was an accident the way they showed it. That kinda softens the blow (no pun intended) of him killing her, where I think this would have been a good opportunity to show how obsession and stalking is not too far from eventual elevated behaviors. When they said 34 B I immediately thought: "Hey, that's Rollins' bra size!"

I thought this was an interesting case/episode and I like that they added a little more legal drama into it (i.e. the preliminary hearing regarding the privilege issue surrounding the "confession"). What I didn't like, and haven't been liking for awhile now, is this sort of "ADA's Assistant" role that Olivia is taking on with Barba. "So what if WE lose the motion?" Shut up Olivia. No cops are that involved on the legal level. It's ANNOYING. She. Can't. Do. EVERYTHING. I liked the issue being about the genes thing, because it really is such a cop out that it almost drove a completely innocent kid to kill himself. I kinda wish we had one more scene with the bartender victim from the beginning. It IS interesting that that guy rapist, I think his name was Nick, did have both a father AND a brother who have been in jail for rape. I'm really over Olivia being so angsty about Noah. And BTW, didn't Huang and her sort of go over the reason WHY her father turned into a rapist so late in life? Like he was on medication for depression that caused sexual dysfunction, etc etc. Obviously it doesn't excuse anything but it makes him slightly different than your run of the mill "rape gene" type rapist. Also, Noah's dad was a pimp....also a little different than a "regular" rapist (although he did rape). Btw his mother was a drug-addict hooker too, where's that worry Olivia? I missed Finn. Also, I know there's a new show runner this season, but did they get new writers as well? I've been really noticing how clunky and awkward a lot of the dialogue has been in the last few episodes. Rollins and Benson in her office talking about her father; Carisi and Barba yelling at each other with no real context/background and then it not being addressed much at all after. The best dialogue IMO was in the car shop with the guy they originally suspected, cause he was funny as hell.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - Olivia's whole "you HAVE to testify thing!!!!!" drives me absolutely up the fucking wall. Oh, so I was just raped, my sovereignty violated, and now you wanna strip me of my power again by telling me what I HAVE to do? Go home Olivia. You have a baby waiting.