Xeliou66

Season 17 is the weakest L&O season both because of Detective Beauty Queen and because there are more subpar plots in this season than in any other season. There are some true clunkers in here - I also dislike In Vino Veritas and found its plot very forced and cliched and rather cringeworthy - my least favorite of the season is Talking Points, it was also a very cliched plot that was almost all politics with one note cardboard characters and I couldn’t even tell what it was going for other than trying to be controversial for the sake of being controversial. I also dislike Church, Melting Pot, and Release, again the plots felt stale and clunky. Those episodes I usually skip when this season is on. I agree the season finished strong - I like the last 4 episodes and think they have strong plots. My favorite of this season is definitely Deadlock - that was a genuinely terrific episode with an evil perp, an intense manhunt in the first half, and then a lot of good legal stuff in the second.

Wow this was the most I’ve liked an SVU episode in ages - a strong case with good detective work and we finally got some personal scenes and focus on characters other than St O and without trashing them or making it a soap opera. This reminded me of classic SVU. It was very nice to see Velasco get more material and development and in a way that wasn’t a soap opera. Fin also got good material and I liked his scenes with Velasco. Bruno and Silva were strong as well. I liked how the various characters were paired up at different times and it’s very refreshing to have a full squad of characters, and it was nice that for once Benson took a backseat and didn’t do everything herself and they dialed her back. Case of the week was solid as well, nice investigation of a heinous crime and it flowed well. I agree that Benson getting on Velasco earlier in the episode didn’t make sense and I don’t get why she doesn’t seem to trust him as much as the others. At least Benson recognized him for his good work at the end and finally someone other than Benson got to have good screentime. SVU has improved tremendously this season after the shitshow of last season, and they can still do good cases and they finally have a complete and strong cast of characters. If they dialed back the Benson worship the show would be strong now. But I like the improvement in the show since last season and it was very refreshing to see Benson take a backseat for once in this episode and let other characters get a chance to shine.

This was a very good episode overall - I loved the investigation as usual, good detective work by Riley/Shaw, even though it was predictable where it was going it was still well done, not every case has to have a lot of shocking twists or be sensational - this was simply a murder committed by a jealous boyfriend over a love triangle, with the added component of the sheltered community. But Price was getting on my nerves this week, after Maroun did last week - Price was starting to go soft because of sympathy for the families, thankfully Baxter held his ground and I was cheering his every word when he told Price to stick to the law and that the legal system they worked in was what they should go by and follow. I also liked Baxter telling the attorney that he wasn’t going for restorative justice for murder. I’m not opposed to restorative justice in some cases but murder is murder and must be punished severely. I was very glad the murderer got the lengthy sentence he deserved, and I really liked Baxter. I was also glad Maroun didn’t go soft and went at the fiancé/wife which got the husband to plead guilty. It was predictable that the judge would toss the confession and that the victim’s mom would have a change of heart. Overall this was strong, like I say a lot of it I could see coming but it was executed well and I liked having a more ordinary case instead of one filled with twists or involving the rich and famous. Riley/Shaw remain my favorite part of the show, and Baxter was really strong as well here. I agree that Price/Maroun can be too soft at times, at least Maroun was fine this week. Solid case that flowed well. Good episode.

Episode description Velasco teams up with a community security guard eager to prove his mettle to find a suspect in the assault of two teens

Episode description A young lawyer with a secret past is found dead; Price and Baxter debate the pros and cons of prison as a punishment versus alternative justice options.

He seemed to know Jack pretty well, the season 6 episode showed that. And it was just disappointing overall that Paul, without explanation, came to so drastically distrust the DAs office. They radically changed his character and didn’t even explain why.

Yeah it was so disappointing what they did with Paul - he was nothing like he was as an ADA. And yeah he knew Jack well enough to know he wouldn’t go along with framing someone for being a Muslim or prosecuting them due to their beliefs and Jack was on the opposite side in the season 12 finale Patriot where he prosecuted the Army vet who killed the Muslim guy he believed was a terrorist, Jack believed in the law and treating everyone equally under it. I guess Paul had to argue something since they had a lot of evidence against his client but it was still disappointing that Paul had come to distrust the office he used to belong to so much that he would argue they were framing people based on their religion. They certainly botched Paul’s returns. But the case itself was pretty good, and I particularly liked the twist of the Imam being the one who tipped the media off about the uranium plot because he knew the defendant was guilty and wanted the motive evidence to come in, I didn’t see that coming - the US attorney thought Jack or Connie leaked it, Arthur sent him packing when he went after their character which I liked, and it was a good twist that it was the Imam who was trying to get the defendant convicted and expose the truth. Also one of the few L&O episodes to feature a shootout, when the other killer opened fire and SWAT gunned him down. The opening was chilling as well with the murder on tape. It was one of season 17’s stronger plots but I wish they hadn’t made Paul basically a completely different character than he was as an ADA - it sucked they turned him into basically a one note rather angry and cynical lawyer who lost all faith in his former office without explanation.

Agreed 100% - FBI is much better and more entertaining than anything the St Olivia hour, I mean SVU, has done in years. I don’t think this was ripped off from SVU at all, and even if it borrowed elements from SVU, that SVU episode was 20 years old, most people wouldn’t even make the connection. And I’ve never thought of Maggie as anything like Olivia.

Fear America is a pretty good episode with an interesting case, but Robinette’s appearance was disappointing as it was all 3 times when he returned as the defense lawyer, and in this episode it was like Paul was a totally different character than when he was an ADA - he blatantly accused the DAs and police of framing his client solely because he was Muslim - that seemed very extreme even for what Paul became, it was disappointing they didn’t do a good job with his character - they did a much better job with Jamie when she returned, at least until the god awful trashing of her in season 21. It was a good case though - interesting that the terrorist plot was disguised as a hate crime, and I liked how Jack prosecuted the case and his closing was good, telling the jury not to see the perp as a terrorist but as a murderer, and it was interesting how the Imam was the one who tipped off the press to the uranium plot because he wanted the defendant convicted knowing he was guilty, that was a good twist. It’s a solid episode but Paul’s character was disappointing again. Before that episode I saw some of Home Sweet, which had a rather boring case despite its explosive opening and was very predictable, but had a few good character moments - I liked Connie calling out the blatantly biased judge, and Arthur confronting the same judge at the sushi restaurant was great, getting her off the case and then saying he liked his fish fried. Public Service Homicide is on now, a solid episode. Another one that showed Jack’s strong disdain for vigilantism and anyone who promotes it, that was always a pet peeve of his, people taking the law into their own hands.

Interesting I didn’t make the connection with the SVU episode even though I know it very well - I guess because Maggie and Benson don’t remind me of each other - I’ve never gotten the feeling that FBI hero worships its characters on near the level SVU does with St Olivia, yeah certain episodes make certain characters look very good but it’s not done anywhere near the level of SVU where St O constantly has everyone basically bowing at her feet and telling her she’s awesome.

Another strong episode, good manhunt for a very dangerous and evil perp. I thought they might screw up somehow given that Remy’s ex was a victim, and I did think it was odd that they let her go with them to talk to the other victim, but everyone did their job well and it was a good investigation. Thought Remy was really good here and I liked seeing his compassion and softer side. Good manhunt and case and it was nice to see an “it’s personal” case handled professionally and without an investigative fuck up. This show has consistently good cases

Another stellar episode, this show has hit its stride this season IMO. I liked seeing the team track down the two truly evil perps and bring them to justice. I also liked the Turkish cop who helped them out. Good stuff for each agent. Not sure what to make of the new agent who’s spying on Wes, I predict she’ll turn out to be upstanding and will side with Wes over the guy trying to take him down. The storyline of a rotten bureaucrat trying to take down an agent is cliched, and I’m not sure what this guy’s beef with Wes is. I’ve come to like Wes a lot. I wonder if the incident of him diverting the plane into Germany last week will be brought up again soon since the new agent wants dirt on him.

Good, intense episode. It was interesting how it was just Maggie, Scola and Jubal plus the analysts, but the episode worked fine with just them and flowed well. Interesting that OA and Isobel were gone without explanation at the same time though, but this show has a deep cast so the episode was fine. The episode started in the middle of a case which was unusual. I liked the action scenes at the warehouse, Scola had a couple of nice shots taking down the bad guys. I also liked Jubal talking to one of the victims to get a lead on the ring, and the work by the analysts. I did think Maggie kind of screwed up the situation at the start, Scola seemed to want to move in but Maggie thought it should be played out and it ended in disaster. It seemed like she should’ve been prepared for the traffickers to want to call, and maybe could’ve had something to disguise her voice to throw off the bad guys until the other agents could move in, seemed a bit unprepared. Elise blamed herself, but if anyone was to blame it wasn’t Elise but Maggie. I guess the 911 operator will be a new love interest/friend for Maggie, I liked him fine. Good episode overall, I wasn’t sure about the situation at the start but the episode improved and flowed well and was a solid story.

This was another example of a character being made to look dumb/unreasonable just so St Olivia could be the one to save the day. It’s happened over and over and over on SVU - other characters are thrown under the bus in an effort to make Benson look like a perfect saint who can do no wrong and who’s always the one to save the day. In this case, it was very obvious that the mentally challenged guy didn’t understand what was going on or the charges against him, and almost any judge would immediately dismiss the case, and it’s doubtful Carisi or any other prosecutor would even go forward with charges, so I didn’t buy that it would take Benson tracking down Baxter in a parking garage to get him to take a personal look at the case and get it dismissed. Felt just forced to make St O look good and to get Baxter in - while I liked seeing him crossover, I wish they had found a more natural way to write him in, still it was great seeing him tell St O she’s developed a reputation as being a pain in the ass and seeing him interact with Carisi (we never got a Carisi/McCoy scene). I liked this episode overall, Bruno and Silva were great, but it’s another example of how even in a good episode they put in an unnatural, forced plot to make Olivia Benson look good.

This was a good episode, I liked the case and investigation, good use of all of the squad members and a good storyline. Silva and Bruno were both very good, I’m glad that Silva seems to be a strong addition and that they are doing a good job with a younger female cop after botching Kat and Muncy terribly. Bruno was his usual awesome self. I liked that Carisi told off Benson at the start and I thought Benson was being ridiculous with her whining about cutting a deal with the original suspect to nail more perverts, but I disliked how they seemed to make Carisi irrational about the mentally challenged guy just so St O could save the day. If there was no reason they had to charge him then it was clear he should be released as he was nowhere near competent enough to understand what was going on, and it shouldn’t have taken Benson going to Baxter to see that. It was nice to see Baxter crossover and get a scene with Carisi and him calling St O a pain in the ass was great - that’s exactly what she is. It just seemed like it was simple enough that the guy shouldn’t be charged that it shouldn’t have required such a big rigamarole, but it was nice that Baxter appeared in person. Overall a very good episode, SVU can still deliver them when they care more about coming up with an interesting plot than making St O look good. And they finally have a strong cast of characters around Benson.