Xeliou66

I hope this is a joke because I don’t think I could stomach part 2 of this shitshow. Next week will probably feel like part 2 given that it looks like another hour of St O taking it personally.

Exactly what I was thinking - Maroun is starting to remind me of Serena some - she’s kind of disagreeable and a bit too empathetic with defendants sometimes. She hasn’t annoyed me as much as Serena did, but she doesn’t add a lot to the show either.

One of the worst SVU episodes ever. Period. Just an hour of St Olivia worship with Benson being more unbearable than ever complete with Mariska’s horrible overacting. The plot was just a sidebar to the Benson worship - just pure cringeworthy awfulness from start to finish. Benson saving the day, Benson taking it personally, Benson in another hostage situation, Benson threatening a suspect and coercing a confession and it gets glossed over and we’re still supposed to think Benson is some kind of hero instead of a loon who is unfit for duty, and worst of all the Benson/Noah discussions to give Benson more drama and allowing her to play super mommy. The worship and complete focus on St Olivia has reached its all time high this season and is dragging down the show terribly. And as if this week wasn’t bad enough, next week we are in for round 2 of Benson taking it personally. I had a lot of questions about the plot - who exactly were the perps? How did they get away with prior assaults, they were pretty stupid and were tracked down easily. What exactly were they planning to do with the girl they abducted? But god forbid they actually give us more details about the case, that would mean less focus on St O. Why waste one of Carisi’s appearances on this crap? He was basically acting as Benson’s shrink, and the part where Carisi searched with them at the marina was giving me bad flashbacks to season 21 where Carisi was an ADA but they had him act more like a detective than a lawyer. I wish they would get Carisi back into court, but that would mean less Benson focus again and the Queen Bee won’t allow that. And again we have a high priority abduction and yet Fin and Sykes are nowhere to be found. Not even the awesome Bruno could make this piece of shit episode worth watching. Just pure awfulness from start to finish, and it looks like we are in for more of it next week. Just a horrible, cringeworthy episode that was 100% a Benson circle jerk.

They found the hammer in a garbage can at the residence. I agree that the judge’s ruling was really bad. And yeah since the defendant admitted to the crime the prosecution could use her actions afterwards, including disposing the weapon, to impeach her credibility. And yeah a line about the guy scamming the couples looking to adopt going to jail would’ve been nice, I’m glad Baxter said the office would open a case against him.

Interesting episode - pretty good - I have several thoughts I was annoyed with Maroun as well, and I didn’t feel much sympathy for the defendant - she committed a vicious murder, almost a double murder, and any sympathy I had went out the window when she used the baby as a bargaining chip to try to get off with a slap on the wrist, that was just callous and showed that she wasn’t a good person who snapped because of mental trauma but a cold blooded killer who would do anything for her own self interest. I was very glad Baxter said he wouldn’t let the killer use a child as a bargaining chip - in fact I liked Baxter throughout this one and things seemed more settled in with him tonight and I liked that. I also agreed with Baxter that the scumbag scamming couples didn’t deserve immunity and they could make their murder case without him - I hope he got the book thrown at him, a reference to that would’ve been nice. But yeah Maroun seemed ready to tank the case until Price called her out, and I don’t know how Maroun had any sympathy for this woman after what she did. The jury got the right verdict. Once again we have a judge making questionable rulings and letting the defense get away with anything - the tossing out the murder weapon was absurd, and then he just let the defense change course in the middle of trial even though you have to give notice - he was so biased. Having a judge harm the DAs case with ridiculous decisions is unfortunately a common theme on the revival. And we really need a psych expert - I sorely miss Skoda/Olivet - there have been several revival episodes where an expert could’ve been used to consult with the police/DAs and I miss that. The investigation was strong as usual - I love Shaw and Riley and I liked how they followed the various leads until they found the culprit. The detective part of the show is really excellent now. No foot chases this week which was a plus!! Overall a good episode, but I was annoyed with Maroun. I liked Baxter and I’m hopeful he’s settled in now. Pretty good case.

Here’s the thread for tonight’s episode

Season 4 is on today, so many strong episodes this season Pride and Joy is a pretty good case, the perp was a sociopath, he hated his dad because he saw him as beneath him, and Ben was right at the end that that much rage wouldn’t go away with a degree from Princeton - he would’ve been in trouble at some point. I didn’t get why the mom chose her sociopath son over her daughter, she was willing to call her daughter a liar in court to try to get her son off the hook, I guess she just couldn’t accept that her son was a monster, pretty much what Olivet said. Apocrypha is a strong episode, with the creepy cult leader, the ending with the followers committing suicide is chilling. The trial scenes were good and I liked Ben’s closing, and it was interesting how the cult leader did actually believe most of what he said, maybe he belonged in a mental institution but he wouldn’t plead insanity, but the jury got the right verdict, he did manipulate the woman into planting the bomb. American Dream is a classic episode, one of the best for Ben, with a very memorable perp, it cracked me up how Swann kept on referring to Stone and others by their first name, even in court, he was such a smug prick and it was satisfying seeing Stone nail him at the end. And I loved the exchange when Swann asked if Stone lacked a sense of humor and Ben replied “about murder, sir, I have none” - that was vintage Ben. There are so many strong episodes in season 4 it’s hard to pick favorites.

Pretty good episode last night - I liked the manhunt and how they took down the drug suppliers. It was pretty shocking when they found the kids passed out in the room. Remy was appropriately disgusted with those scumbags. I wondered when we would see Nina/Scola at home, Nina was the only one who we hadn’t seen at home yet this year, I was glad we saw them briefly and I sense a lot more romantic chemistry between Nina/Scola now than I did at the start of their relationship.

Intriguing and dramatic episode tonight - I liked seeing Jubal fly over to Europe to take part in the operation, and Jubal and Scott have great rapport together, their scenes are always good, nice that they got Jubal in person. I liked the continuity of following up on what happened to the drug cartel that Vargas ran and how they were still trying to take down players from it - good follow up. Vo was great once again I liked her standing up to the CIA woman. This show is on a string of good episodes right now.

Intense episode - it’s rare for there to be tension between the main characters here, so it was interesting seeing things get heated between Isobel and Scola/Tiffany at the end, personally I thought Isobel was right to question Tiffany’s actions, she was overzealous, fortunately no one got killed because of it but Tiffany was letting her emotions get the better of her. Then again, I don’t know if the target of the sting operation ever would’ve cooperated even if they had arrested him. The tension felt very natural here and was well done. I liked how the case played out and how they solved the murder at the start quickly and the rest was about how to best handle the situation with the terrorist organization. I wondered when they would return to the hunt for Hobbs’ killer and I assume the season finale will be about taking him down. I liked seeing Isobel do an interrogation again this week. Not a lot of Jubal and the analysts, most of the action was in the field, but it was a compelling hour. I kind of like how they are handling the hunt for Hobbs’ killer instead of wrapping it up quickly.

Here’s the thread for tonight’s episode

Awesome, glad all 3 FBI shows are coming back - I really enjoy them all!!

Yeah I really disliked the reveal about Olivet, it was one of the times L&O trashed a good character just for drama. I never took Olivet for a hypocrite but that’s what the reveal of her sleeping with a patient made her out to be, a gigantic hypocrite especially given this season 3 episode. I hate when L&O has trashed good characters.

About the spy - I don’t think she had diplomatic immunity, I don’t recall anything being said about that, I think the State Department just didn’t want to arrest her because of the reasons they gave about not wanting to compromise their asset. I thought it was absolutely absurd for them to act like the mastermind of a deadly bombing she get away scot-free and if they had given Isobel more grief about it I think she should’ve gone to the press - the public would demand justice in a case like this and would crucify anyone who opposed arresting the mastermind. As for Maggie, I think she won’t be the permanent guardian of the kid and I think this episode showed why she isn’t fit to have a kid - her work is too unpredictable and demanding and she has no one to watch the kid while she’s away.

Yeah that investigation was great - I loved how Lennie and Mike got to the bottom of it all and realized the boyfriend did it and the shrink was manipulating them, and the bar canvas in the nasty weather was great. The interrogation scene is amusing just because the roles they were playing were the exact opposite of what they were actually like, Lennie was the laid back cop who didn’t get wound up easily while Mike was fiery and more hot tempered, but they did just the opposite in that scene trying to rattle the suspect. I always liked Skoda more than Olivet, but I liked Olivet also, but they pretty much trashed Olivet’s character with that stupid reveal, it ruined her credibility and made her look like a huge hypocrite - not only in the season 18 episode where it was revealed but also this episode. Olivet honestly looks like the biggest hypocrite imaginable in this episode knowing what we now know, it’s why I really disliked that revelation.

I love the episode Promises to Keep, which is on right now. Really compelling plot about the guy obsessed with his shrink and killing his girlfriend. I love the detective work in this episode, with Lennie and Mike realizing the killer wanted something from the victim’s home (which turned out to be the diary detailing his affair with the shrink) and zeroing in on realizing the shrink was manipulating them, and then canvassing the bars in the nasty weather and realizing the doctor knew the details of the murder, it’s one of my favorite investigations. It’s funny when Lennie played the aggressive “bad cop” in the interrogation room while Mike played the nice guy “good cop” which was an opposite of their actual personalities, with Mike being the actual more hot headed one while Lennie was laid back. Profaci’s “Donny gets the toaster oven” line was great as well. I felt that Judge Quinn made the right decision in sending the killer to prison instead of a mental hospital - I thought Ben was going a bit easy on him, he was disturbed and had been manipulated but he wasn’t insane IMO, he was just obsessed with and in love with the shrink, that’s not insanity, that’s killing for love. I didn’t feel one iota of sympathy for him, he strangled his girlfriend when she threatened to break things off and expose the affair, he seemed just in love, not insane. I have to say though Olivet looks like a huge hypocrite in hindsight here, given that she testified that sex between a patient and therapist was “abuse and exploitation” here when she slept with a patient (probably Logan) at around the same time. It’s why I strongly disliked the reveal about Olivet sleeping with a patient, because it basically destroys her credibility, especially from this episode. But it’s a fantastic episode overall with one of my favorite investigations.

Another pretty good episode last night, but it was extremely complex with all of the gang members involvement - I had a hard time keeping track of who was who. So did the gang leader order the abduction of the kid - I take it he did, since the dirty cop was on his payroll and I guess he got the info about where the prisoner transfer was taking place from him and sent his goons there to snatch the kid/shoot the cops, and then the kid’s hitman dad showed up and freed him from the kidnappers. It was very complex but an entertaining hour nonetheless.

Good episode last night - interesting case about the mafia kidnapping. I wonder if the Italian mob boss will be a recurring villain since they weren’t able to bring him down at the end. It was an interesting case and I liked the scenery of the Tuscany setting. Jubal appears in a cameo in almost every episode now, I like his appearances. Interesting seeing Forrester deal with the local investigator and I liked how he was able to find a way to work with him.

Good episode, I liked the intensity of it and the investigation - interesting how they uncovered how the spy had manipulated multiple people into planting bombs, and there were some exciting sequences, particularly the ending and the search of the apartment. Nice work from the whole team - I liked seeing Isobel take center stage and get a large role, and I liked her and Jubal doing an interrogation, and all of the field agents and analysts had good roles. That state department guy got no sympathy from me - I couldn’t believe he wanted Isobel to just let the mastermind of a bombing plot walk away scot-free. The victims of the bombing deserved justice and this woman was a terrorist who had to be arrested, consequences be damned. He could fuck off with his judgmental attitude. I can’t believe that the heads of the state department would want to let this terrorist mastermind walk either. This episode was yet more proof that Maggie has no business having custody of a kid given the demands and dangers of her job, I hope that’s only temporary. And I’m not sure what the point of referencing OA’s girlfriend again was, are they setting up a return for her? Good case with nice suspense and good stuff for each character. They did a good job of not letting the personal subplots detract from the case, hope that continues. Another solid outing for the show.

Here’s the discussion thread for tonight’s episode.

It is the darkest, creepiest and weirdest - for sure. We have Magnificat with the kids being blown up, Want with cannibal Tagman, Death Roe with Tommy putting his son in law through the meat grinder so he can keep raping his daughter, In the Dark with the “stone baby”, No Exit with the suicide pact, Stress Position with the off the books prisoners and so on. It’s an incredibly dark season but that’s one reason why I like it, sometimes the dark and disturbing cases are some of the most compelling. Magnificat is certainly horrific and the scene where that sadistic scumbag husband makes his wife sleep in the dead kids room is chilling. I’ve said before how disappointed I was with Carver for refusing to prosecute the husband - he came off as soft and gun shy, the only time I would ever say that about Carver

Season 4 is on Charge this week Gone is an interesting episode, it’s complex but a good plot about the former chess grandmaster who had become paranoid and was trying to get money from his family - it was just coincidence that the woman had the travel brochure from the hotel he stayed at and that’s why he killed her, they had no connection and he had just descended into complete paranoia. Interesting plot and I liked how Goren/Eames got to the bottom of it and I liked their final confrontation with the killer. Collective was next and I love the scene where Goren plays with the toy weapon in the toy shop, that was absolutely hilarious, one of my favorite Goren moments. The rest of the episode is strange, about the vampire club, the story about the con artist woman who caused the original killing by the cops was interesting, but then it became about her murder and the weird vampire obsessed people and it just didn’t click for me. Tonight 4 good episodes will air on Charge - starts with Death Roe with monstrous chef Tommy - that’s a classic, and then Ex Stasis, Shibboleth and The Good Child - all strong episodes. Season 4 may be the best CI season.

Sonata For a Solo Organ is a great episode as well, it took a rather far fetched plot based on an urban legend and made it into a compelling, believable episode. I love the testimony of the guy who lost his kidney and how he compared it to being raped, he was very sympathetic and his testimony was powerful. I didn’t feel any sympathy for the rich guy who orchestrated it, yes it was sad his daughter was sick but nothing justifies stealing an organ from someone else’s body, it’s a grotesque assault and violation of bodily autonomy and I liked how the episode pointed that out and I was glad the DAs were able to nail the guy. Adam dealing with the high powered lawyer who was whining about his client having to go to Rikers was good also. That episode and The Troubles would be in my top 5 episodes for season 1, as would Mushrooms. I also like Life Choice, even though the plot holes are hard to ignore, the two parter The Torrents of Greed is a strong mob case, Indifference is chilling and disturbing, although not that suspenseful, the extreme creepiness and evil of Lowenstein made it compelling, Prisoner of Love is pretty good, and Prescription for Death is good also, really most season 1 episodes are strong - the show was still finding its footing early on but it had a lot of interesting plots.

That was back in the glory days of SVU - the episode you are referring to is Manhunt from season 2 - an all time favorite of mine - Munch/Fin going upstate and then to Canada to track the serial killer was awesome. Starting around season 9, the show became all about Stabler/Benson and the plots became more and more far fetched (the monkey in basketball episode from season 10 was probably the epitome of that). When Stabler left, the show actually got better again for about 2 seasons - the other characters starting getting more screen time, the cases became more compelling, and while not as good as golden age SVU still a pretty good show overall. Then Munch/Cragen left, Benson took over the squad, Noah was introduced, and the show starting descending into the St Olivia circle jerk that it is today. There have still been good moments from these seasons - season 17 in particular had quite a few good episodes, but the St Olivia worship has been built up more and more over the years and has reached its peak this year it seems. The only thing making this season interesting is having more investigators around, and Bruno in particular has been a fantastic addition to the show. The cases have been a mixed bag, which is the usual for modern day SVU, but it’s notable how the Benson worship has reached an all time high.

DAW is a great episode, the doctor was such a creepy villain, especially when he told the guy about one of his patients “you should’ve seen her when she was 25“ or something like that. And Goren eating his steak and the end was hilarious.